Weighing in on Soda

About two years ago, Kevin started me thinking about soda. At the time, I was drinking six to eight liters of Coca-Cola a week at home, and usually ordered a Coke or Dr. Pepper when I was eating out. I drank a lot of water too, but soda was, at the very least, a close second in my total liquid consumption. Kevin at the time decided to cut back, or maybe quit, drinking soda. I thought it sounded like a worthy thing to consider, and started cutting back a bit myself. Cutting back a little meant there wasn't always an open two liter in the fridge, making drinking soda less convenient. I was particularly busy at the time this all started, and before I knew it, that slight decrease in convenience meant I wasn't drinking any soda at all. Then I started ordering iced tea (no sugar — coffee and tea are meant to be black — thank you very much) or water at restaurants.

I essentially quit drinking the sweet stuff without really thinking about it much.

Now, I drink just a little soda. An energy drink-type soda once or twice a week, a Coke on a rare occasion, a Dr. Pepper if I go to Taco Bell (since their iced tea isn't so great)… that kind of thing. When I combined this with trying to be just a small bit more active, stuffing myself just a bit less at dinner and so on, I essentially ended up going on a painless diet. I went from hovering at somewhere around 275-280 lbs. (127 kg) down to somewhere slightly under 195 lbs. (88 kg). That took me from being considered obese according to the NIH through the realm of being overweight and, in the last six months or so, into the territory of “normal weight.”

This is interesting. Yes, I've tried to quit eating a whole 12” pizza when a little over a half will fill me. Yes, I don't always supersize my french fries. But, by and large, I've not really changed my eating that much. I still eat unhealthily. And, while I've tried to walk and do other healthy activities a bit more, I still spend more time reading, listening, writing, driving, computing or otherwise sitting than moving. While I knew I drank a lot of soda, I never thought I drank that much! Calorie percentage wise, I don't think I really have lowered my intake that significantly. What maybe 300 or 350 calories a day? It makes me wonder what's in that stuff.

Food, or drink, for thought.