Pop, also referred to as soda or soft drinks, are the top source of calories in the average American's diet, ABC News reported in 2010 --- .accounting for about 7 percent of daily caloric intake. Eliminating these empty calories from your diet can help you lose weight --- and at a relatively fast pace if you drink several cans or bottles daily.
Ingredients
The main ingredients in pop include water, sugar and artificial flavoring. The sugar is the most fattening ingredient, particularly when corn syrup is used as the primary sweetening agent. Corn syrup is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, according to ABC. The glucose causes blood sugar to spike in your body, and much of the fructose gets stored as belly fat.
Calories
Sugar contains a relatively high number of calories, and pop contains a lot of sugar. For instance, a 20-oz. bottle of Coca-Cola contains 65 g of sugar, which equates to 240 calories per bottle, the SugarStacks website calculates; the average American consumes about one of these beverages per day. Consuming pop at a rate of two or more drinks per day can be very unhealthy and lead to significant weight gain, Dr. Michael Rickels of the University of Pennsylvania told ABC News.
Calorie Balance
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain that losing weight is a matter of properly balancing your calories. A caloric deficit is a term used to describe weight loss; this means you take in fewer calories than you burn. Cutting one pop daily from your diet eliminates about 250 calories. Assuming you make no other changes to your diet or exercise regimen, this will help you lose about a ½-lb. of body fat per week. Cutting out a two-pop-per-day habit will lead to a weight loss of 1 lb. per week.
Considerations
There are ways to still get your "pop fix" without adding empty calories to your diet. You can switch to diet soda from regular. Diet sodas contain zero calories while offering a similar taste. If you just can't make the switch, reduce your portion size to help reduce your caloric intake. For instance, switch from a 20-oz. bottle to a 12-oz. can per day. That can reduce your intake by about 100 calories per day, which equates to nearly 1 lb. of weight loss over the course of a month.
If you are significantly overweight, cutting pop from your diet might just be one part of a larger lifestyle change that may including modifying your diet and exercise routines. Speak to your doctor about weight loss and the proper eating and fitness approach for your situation.
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