SparkPoints: (33,944)
Fitness Minutes: (11,889)
Posts: 3,572
11/18/08 5:00 P

This is so true!! I feel like I cant support or back this enough so bear with me here. LOL

I used to drink an average of a couple LITERS of soda a day. (ok half of it was diet but still) I also drank regularly whole milk, fruit juice, and coffe with heavy cream, Hot Chocolate, very sugary iced tea, and lemonaid. At night I would have 2 to 6 regular beers or some sort of alcoholic frozen drink.
On top of this was an incredibly poor diet too but I got the message from spark people to START SMALL with smarter choice substitutions, and that so counts with fluids.
So I gradually mixed my whole milk with 2% then skim and soy until now I only drink skim or soy.
I mixed cold green tea with my soda gradualy increasing it until now I drink almost half a galon of iced green tea a day.
I only drink one cup of coffee if I have any, (hot green tea is good too) and If I do- I use sugar free sweetner and fat free creamer, in which I gradually become accustomed to.
I might flavor my green tea with lemon or another fruit flavor, but nowheres near the calories of added sugar fruit driks was.

I did most of this in my FAST BREAK time before I actually started trying to modify food choices, ya know while first starting tracking food and reading all the articles I could because I couldnt believe spark people was free and didnt believe it would stay that way.

Granted I was walking like 10-20 minutes in the morning and at night, but after my first 2 months I had dropped like 30 pounds.

SparkPoints: (24,921)
Fitness Minutes: (28,885)
Posts: 2,361
11/18/08 9:52 A

Most people don't realize how quickly they can drink their calories, and when they cut back on sugary drinks, they almost instantly lose weight. That makes sense when you realize that a 12-ounce can of soda has 150 calories and the equivalent of about 10 teaspoons of sugar. You can lose half a pound a week simply by cutting out two sodas a day — talk about the benefits of small changes!

Today, cut your intake of sugary soft drinks to no more than 8 oz. a day. If you're used to drinking more than that, try some of the healthier and lower-calorie substitutions below.

When it comes to keeping yourself hydrated, nothing does the job like water. But plenty of other drinks are available, some of which even have sexy marketing campaigns going for them. How do you decide what's worth drinking?

The most nutritious liquids are 100 percent juices, low-fat milk, soups, and smoothies. Pure juices are naturally packed with nutrients like vitamin C, folic acid, and potassium. Low-fat milk provides calcium and essential B vitamins. And soups and smoothies are also loaded with vitamins and minerals. However, all of these foods have calories, so keep portions in mind.

For flavorful, low-cal options, try adding a splash of juice and/or a squeeze of lemon to ice water or club soda. Herbal teas, served hot or iced, are also a good hydrating choice, and many have a natural sweetness.

Sodas, soft drinks, sports drinks, and juice drinks are excellent hydrators but are loaded with calories and lack the nutrients of 100 percent juices and milk. Basically they are sugar water, which when you suck them up through a straw adds hundreds of empty calories to your day.

Diet drinks are an option if you want your soft drinks without the calories, but use artificial sweeteners sparingly, so try to limit diet drinks to one a day.

current weight: 149.0

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