Sugary Soft Drinks

[REWahoo]

Yep I know what you're saying. Just like bread used to be the foundation of the food pyramid. Now its a no-no

And 'fresh air' was good for you - until we came out with chunky style...

 

[Looking4Ward]

Nash's diet sounds almost scientific to me - throughout my entire 20's and into my mid 30's, I was a professional powerlifter.

That meant my daily diet consisted of meat, eggs, tuna, peanut butter, milk......

And I was in really good shape.

Now, not so much so. Have to admit I drink close to a couple of liters of soda each day and not enough of the good stuff. Haven't worked out in a couple of years. And my body is reminding me of "the good old days".

This thread has been inspiring. I think I'll stop buying soda, slice up some lemons and limes, and throw them in a gallon jug of water that I'll keep in the frigde.

And start working out again. Yeah, I need to do that. It really helps.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

The primary reason to lower my intake of processed sugar is that it is an energy vampire, and the older I get, the more I value foods that keep my energy humming along. Which is the primary reason I kicked the majority of my processed sugar intake to the curb some months ago. There is no better feeling, to me at least, than the surge of well being and energy I get when I eat well and exercise vigorously. Only a few other things in life come close.

And I'm sorry, but say whatever some of you will, at the end of the day caloric intake vs caloric expenditure will always dictate weight in the long run. The quality of the calories you elect to put into your mouth will affect many, many things, energy and long term health among them, but your body will still respond to the sum total, regardless.

Why do drastic procedures like gastric bypass work to reduce weight if caloric intake isn't extremely relevant?

 

[AnIntentionalRoad]

Nash's diet sounds almost scientific to me - throughout my entire 20's and into my mid 30's, I was a professional powerlifter.

That meant my daily diet consisted of meat, eggs, tuna, peanut butter, milk......

And I was in really good shape.

Now, not so much so. Have to admit I drink close to a couple of liters of soda each day and not enough of the good stuff. Haven't worked out in a couple of years. And my body is reminding me of "the good old days".

This thread has been inspiring. I think I'll stop buying soda, slice up some lemons and limes, and throw them in a gallon jug of water that I'll keep in the frigde.

And start working out again. Yeah, I need to do that. It really helps.

Good for you. I wish you success! It will likely add years to your life.

 

[Marita40]

I probably drank 1-2 cans or glasses of diet soda every day from my teens through 40s, beginning with Tab and then diet Pepsi. It was a staple grocery item. No more--haven't had one in at least 15 years and no desire for it. I drink water and plain black coffee; my favorite summer refresher drink is plain iced coffee.

Since this thread is also about general nutrition, I'll also say that I've been eating mostly paleo (protein, veggies, healthy fats, very small amt of fruit and dairy) for a couple of months and feel just great. I've lost weight easily and am maintaining. The hardest thing for me is indulging in occasional sweet binges (baked goods, candy), a problem I've been trying to control my whole life with some, but not perfect, success.
Paleo cuts down on the occasional sugar cravings but hasn't completely eliminated them.

After years and years of trying "no fat" diets, having daily good portions of good fats (coconut oil, Kerrygold butter, avocado. animal fats like bacon) is enormously satisfying and filling.

 

[Mulligan]

The primary reason to lower my intake of processed sugar is that it is an energy vampire, and the older I get, the more I value foods that keep my energy humming along. Which is the primary reason I kicked the majority of my processed sugar intake to the curb some months ago. There is no better feeling, to me at least, than the surge of well being and energy I get when I eat well and exercise vigorously. Only a few other things in life come close.



And I'm sorry, but say whatever some of you will, at the end of the day caloric intake vs caloric expenditure will always dictate weight in the long run. The quality of the calories you elect to put into your mouth will affect many, many things, energy and long term health among them, but your body will still respond to the sum total, regardless.



Why do drastic procedures like gastric bypass work to reduce weight if caloric intake isn't extremely relevant?

I like that term "energy vampire". In order to keep my energy levels up as I get older my body is telling me to eat less if I want to stay active. Soda and candy have no negative effect on my energy level, but bread, pasta, or steak put me in on the couch. I miss the days of Big Macs and fries, then immediately go do something active.


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[6miths]

Diet Coke is my one vice. No coffee so it was my caffeine drink.

 

[audreyh1]

I love smoothies, especially made with frozen mango or passionfruit pulp and frozen bananas and yogurt, but we had to give it them up entirely, because afterward drinking one we would go into some type of horrible stupor that I assume was caused by a severe insulin reaction/crash. Don't think anything else hits me that way, but the smoothies sure did!

 

[6miths]

Coke bottles held only 6.5 oz (one third the size of the OP's Pepsi, so one third the calories) until 1955. My dad drank a six pack in a week. We kids had none.

Portion control for me trumps carbs vs fat vs protein effects, but hard to implement when the standard sizes are insane.

Absolutely this! I can remember the 16oz single serving glass Coke bottle which seemed so unbelievably huge in the late 60's and 26 oz was the 'family size' and lasted days and days. Now this is a single serving size!

 

[someguy]

What else were you putting in them? A smoothie with say 1 frozen banana, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1 cup almond milk is delicious and should not be too bad at all for sugar spiking. If something like that causes trouble, you should probably consult with a doctor and get checked for diabetes and blood sugar issues. Now if you were doing whole milk, 3 bananas and either ice cream, frozen yogurt (which always has some kind of sweetness added) or yoplait-type unfrozen yogurt, I could see that causing issues.

I love smoothies, especially made with frozen mango or passionfruit pulp and frozen bananas and yogurt, but we had to give it them up entirely, because afterward drinking one we would go into some type of horrible stupor that I assume was caused by a severe insulin reaction/crash. Don't think anything else hits me that way, but the smoothies sure did!

 

[audreyh1]

No peanut butter and more fruit than you listed. Plain yogurt.

I don't have a blood sugar problem - my fasting glucose are well within healthy levels.

 

[someguy]

No peanut butter and more fruit than you listed. Plain yogurt.

I don't have a blood sugar problem - my fasting glucose are well within healthy levels.

Wild -- just goes to show one size doesn't fit all when it comes to diet/exercise!

 

[audreyh1]

Wild -- just goes to show one size doesn't fit all when it comes to diet/exercise!

Yep - I would say. The after effect would always blow us away so we quit drinking them.

 

[Derslickmeister]

Diet Coke guy here, drink 3-4 everyday. I'm completely addicted to Sonic Diet Coke, I'm so ashamed

 

[Midpack]

And I'm sorry, but say whatever some of you will, at the end of the day caloric intake vs caloric expenditure will always dictate weight in the long run. The quality of the calories you elect to put into your mouth will affect many, many things, energy and long term health among them, but your body will still respond to the sum total, regardless.

Why do drastic procedures like gastric bypass work to reduce weight if caloric intake isn't extremely relevant?

No one claimed there's NO correlation between calories in and weight gain/loss, but it's not that simple either. We don't metabolize all calories the same, and your personal metabolic rate changes in response to many factors. Beyond "burning" calories, exercise changes metabolic rate. Yo-yo dieting changes your metabolic rate. Individuals actively/passively change their metabolic rate within some range. Just two examples.

Then there's the variation in base metabolic rate between individuals.

Debunking The Calorie Myth - Why “Calories in, Calories Out” is Wrong

 

[nash031]

Nash's diet sounds almost scientific to me.

I eat more stuff I like now than I did before. Eliminating the vehicles for sauces and things that taste good - pasta and bread - means I get to eat more of the stuff that makes it good: meat, butter, veggies, fresh sauces. I still eat a dessert, or a slice of restaurant bread if I want one... But I don't miss the stuff that many can't seem to go without such as soda and bread...

Now coffee? Yeah I would miss that!

 

[HFWR]

I recommend to those interested to run down to the local used bookstore and buy a nutrition textbook. Interesting to see what how the body processes various macro nutrients.

 

[Midpack]

I recommend to those interested to run down to the local used bookstore and buy a nutrition textbook. Interesting to see what how the body processes various macro nutrients.

+1. And the jury is still out but make sure you research what's known about how your body processes artificial sweeteners, especially those who think it's all simply calories in & calories out.

 

[nash031]

+1. And the jury is still out but make sure you research what's known about how your body processes artificial sweeteners, especially those who think it's all simply calories in & calories out.

Ditched diet soda about five years ago for this very reason.

 

[HFWR]

+1. And the jury is still out but make sure you research what's known about how your body processes artificial sweeteners, especially those who think it's all simply calories in & calories out.

I don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners anyway...

I still think CI/CO is the primary mechanism for weight. Obviously, some of the crap people eat is unhealthy, and may negatively affect both metabolism and health, but it is virtually impossible to gain weight without a calorie surplus...

I would add that most people underestimate how many calories they consume and how much exercise they do, thus rendering most "survey" type studies inaccurate at best...

 

[ERD50]

Can someone post a link to one of those sites that list the nutritional values for different foods? I googled some, and none were as good as what I recall from some earlier posts here. I'll bookmark it this time.

I don't eat a lot of sugary stuff, and don't add much sugar to things, but out of curiosity I decided to keep a diary for maybe a week and thought I'd see how much sugar is in the foods I normally eat.

First one that was somewhat of a surprise, was a bowl of cereal (non-sweet type, 'grape nuts') with some blueberries and milk. I only eat cereal maybe 2x a week, but the milk was ~ 12gm sugar, the cereal ~ 4gm, and the blueberries ~ 1gm (I weighed stuff as I added it).

I don't even know enough to know if a 17 gm sugar breakfast is 'a lot' or not.

-ERD50

 

[Midpack]

You can Google and find a source you trust, but most of what I've been reading said about 40g day of sugar is a good target for an adult male - there are 39g in a 12 ounce Coke. The US average is closer to twice that at 76g per day according, and many people regularly have 3-5 times the target daily.

It's been remarkable to me to check sugar content in everything I eat, way more than I realized. I used to pay more attention to calories, sat fat and total carbs, with only a passing interest in sugar.

 

[someguy]

ERD50, if you have a smartphone or tablet you might check out LoseIt. It is primarily a calorie in/out counting app, but it also has a huge database of foods with nutrition info, including a lot of national restaurants. Plus, it has usual grocery items and a shocking number of boxed grocery type items. It's got a good barcode scanner, so, for example, you can scan a package of shredded cheese and it will usually pull all the info right up, including default serving size.

Sugar is everywhere. Instead of dairy milk check out almond milk. Make sure you get the unsweetened type. I like Silk Unsweetened Vanilla. A half cup has 15 calories, 1.2g fat, 0g cholesterol, 0g carbs and 0g sugar. I don't care for drinking it alone as one might a glass of dairy milk, but it's fine in cereal/granola/oatmeal. It also works really well in smoothies.

 

[nash031]

Sugar is everywhere. Instead of dairy milk check out almond milk. Make sure you get the unsweetened type. I like Silk Unsweetened Vanilla. A half cup has 15 calories, 1.2g fat, 0g cholesterol, 0g carbs and 0g sugar. I don't care for drinking it alone as one might a glass of dairy milk, but it's fine in cereal/granola/oatmeal. It also works really well in smoothies.

Easiest way to avoid sugar is to avoid foods that come in packages! We can get plenty of sugar (we need some!) from whole fruit.

Otherwise, I second the recommendation of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I use it in my breakfast concotion every morning. I've also used unsweetened vanilla coconut milk for the same thing, but I think I like the almond milk better.

 

[Midpack]

DW insisted on fat free organic milk until "we" noticed how much sugar it has.

We switched to this a few months ago, very reasonable in 3 packs (at Costco). Only 7 g sugar per (8 oz) serving, it's easy to drink as is, and DW gets her calcium. I didn't realize there was an unsweetened 0g version, we'll have to look for it to try.