Horseman #1: Drinking Your Calories

This series of posts looks at the 4 Horsemen of the Foodocolypse that you can avoid to live a better, more successful life. The first is simple:

Avoid drinking your calories. There are a certain number of calories a person should consume in a day. You don’t want to spend those calories on beverages that don’t have nutritional content instead of on food with nutrients. Look at what can happen when you drink those calories.

The average male, depending on his age and activity should get about 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day. If you are an average male and have two 20-ounce sodas a day, unless you are very active, at best, that soda represents 20% of your calories that should be coming from food. The percentage is even higher for women.

Drink Chart

But what’s worse is how it stacks up in sugar. Think of a 5 pound bag of sugar. Do you know how many of those 5 pound bags you would consume in a year by drinking two 20 ounce sodas a day? 21. Yes, it is the equivalent of 21 5-pound bags of sugar with no real nutritional value. In addition it can set you up for several bad diseases.

Sugar

That’s basically two 5-pound bags of sugar a month.

You may be asking “what about diet soda?” To answer that I’d like to quote registered dietician Cheryl Forberg, author of “Flavor First”: “Some studies suggest that when our taste buds sense sweetness, the body expects a calorie load to accompany it. When that doesn’t happen, it may cause us to overeat because we crave the energy rush our body was expecting.”

Although the science is not decisive, studies have shown people gain more with diet soda than with regular soda.

To be healthy, we need to avoid putting this kind of fuel in our tank. The next blog post will look at why and how to avoid processed foods.

David Bishop

David is CEO of Cedowin Productions, dedicated to helping you live your best life through positive habits. He has inspired tens of thousands to improve habits and communication through books, articles, workshops, and apps. He is the creator of AweVenture, helping families enjoy fantastic, active experiences and Zombie Goals, literally making building healthy habits a game. He’s authored several books including How to Create Amazing Presentations, 7 Steps to Better Relationships, and The Man in the Pit, which helps people who have loved ones struggling with depression.

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