What to Drink.

The biggest mistakes that I made when first starting my weight loss journey circled around liquids I was consuming on a daily basis. 

I didn't really get it. How could a can of Mountain Dew have as many calories as a sandwich? Could I really "drink" a day's worth of calories without ever chewing food? 

In fact, I was so lost, that I posted a question about drinking calories versus eating them on About.com's Nutrition Blog.

Even after getting my answer, I still didn't really follow it. I just drank whatever. That list included, but wasn't limited to:

Diet Mountain Dew
Orange Juice
Energy Drinks
Naked Juices and Smoothies 
Caribou Coffee Specialty Drinks 

And I don't mean half a glass or part of a can. I mean several glasses, and several cans, over the course of one day.

No wonder I felt like crap and still didn't lose any weight.

All of the things I listed contain large amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners. And excess sugar in your body causes it to pump out insulin, which is affectionately called the "fat storage hormone." Gross. 

Sugar is also very addicting. It actually lights up the same centers in your brain that cocaine does! Crazy right? Rats addicted to cocaine overwhelmingly still chose sugar when given the choice. 

Did you hear that? Sugar. Is. As. Addicting. As. Cocaine.

Let's start with diet soda. It MUST be better for you right? It's diet! Research shows that 1) diet soda tricks your metabolism into thinking that sugar is on its way, which causes your body to pump out insulin (which increases the amount of belly fat you have!) 2) constant exposure to sweet things makes you crave them even more, leading to more food on the plate and 3) artificial sweeteners are associated with increased body weight.

So, my obvious recommendation is to cut out the soda. Which is going to be very hard for you, because you're addicted to it. Your mental cravings aren't a joke - legit addiction to it. 

So let's talk about other things like juice! Naked Juice has vitamins and stuff, it must be healthy right? A bottle of Naked Juice has the same amount of sugar as a Mountain Dew. 

Whoa.

So you could probably just drink a Mountain Dew and have an apple, and you'd be about as well off as your bottle of Naked Juice.

The Point:

1) Sugar (natural and artificial) is bad for you. Because it makes you fat. 
2) Sugar is addicting. As addicting as cocaine! Your body truly craves sugar when you start giving it on a daily basis.
3) Diet sodas and fruit juices are not better for you. In some ways, they are worse. Because they either trick your body into thinking it's getting something it's not, or trick your mind into thinking it's healthier than it truly is.

My (not so expert) Advice:

1) Cut out the soda. Seriously. The empty calories are not helping you, and the soda is contributing to your weight gain, especially around the belly.

2) Limit the fruit smoothies, juices and specialty drinks. It is very possible to drink your calories away. And, many of these options contain as many empty sugar calories as soda.

So, if you have to cut out all of the yummy drinks you love, what are you even going to drink?

Well, you're not going to like it. But here's the answer:

1) Water. (look for a future post on how amazing water is for you!)
2) Coffee. (watch the amount of extras you add - like cream).
3) Unsweetened tea.

Jeez. I know. It's a lot to ask.

And because you're addicted to sugar, it's not going to be easy.

Probably close to impossible.

I certainly didn't do it the way I am recommending. For me, it was a slow process to remove these things from my diet. 

So choose one. Pick one goal. Research It  and see how you feel after one, two or three weeks without soda or sugary drinks. 

I don't recommend limiting your soda intake. Such as: I drink 3 cans of soda a day, I'm going to now only drink 1. It doesn't work. Why? Because sugar is addicting. Gradually, you'll start increasing the number until you're right back where you started. Do you think cocaine addicts just slowly decrease the amount of cocaine over time? It doesn't really work that way. Cold turkey is the way to go.

And just like cocaine addicts who suffer from forms of withdrawal and mad cravings, you're going to too. But it's worth it.

I promise you - if you're looking to loose weight, evaluating your beverage choices is the first place to start. It will have in impact - on how you feel, how you look and how your pants fit.

I'm not suggesting you never drink another sugary thing for the rest of your life. I'm suggesting you cut out your main source of empty, sugary, liquid calories until you're no longer addicted to it, and drinking just one won't cause you to start drinking just one or two or three every day.

I've included links to some of the research above. But I couldn't include links to everything, or this post would be a big wad of text underlined in blue. So I encourage you to do your own research and make sure I'm on the right page - start with the articles I've linked you to.

Reach out to me if you want more resources or advice on this topic!

Thanks for reading,

Samantha