Can drinking less sugary drinks cause weight loss?

heatherlovezu
heatherlovezu Posts: 13 Member
edited November 8 in Food and Nutrition
I would drink at least two 32 fl oz cups of raspberry tea at work and another 32fl oz of soda. So will stopping this help? I'm trying to drink only water or flavored water. At most one bottle of soda a day(i get caffeine headaches if i don't). Any advice?
The past two days I've had only water, flavored water, one cup of soda, some milk, and maybe some sunny d(but not a lot). So will this help?

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    removing those results in you getting into a calorie deficit (i.e. burning more cals in a day than you consume), then yes it will. A calorie deficit is all you need to lose weight.

    But it's not the absence of sugary drinks that causes the weight loss, it's the reduction in calories and specifically, the calorie deficit. There are lots of ways to create a deficit.
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    jacksonpt wrote: »
    removing those results in you getting into a calorie deficit (i.e. burning more cals in a day than you consume), then yes it will. A calorie deficit is all you need to lose weight.

    But it's not the absence of sugary drinks that causes the weight loss, it's the reduction in calories and specifically, the calorie deficit. There are lots of ways to create a deficit.

    ^^^this

    For some people reducing sugary drinks works well to cut calories.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If you cut out the calories and don't replace them with anything (consciously or otherwise), sure. Depending on the number of calories it may or may not make a big difference.
  • RibStabsHeart
    RibStabsHeart Posts: 71 Member
    edited November 2014
    If you're drinking sugary drinks -- definitely! I lost about 10 lbs in high school switching from Regular to Diet sodas, and never looked back. Coke Zero is where it's AT!

    If you like Raspberry Iced Tea, I'd also recommend you make it yourself instead of buying the Lipton brand -- its tastier, and you can use a lot less real sugar than they put in those bottles. One pink packet of aspartame should sweeten 32oz of tea like crazy.

    If you start to get really serious about weight loss and sugar intake, you might want to consider cutting out soda and those bottled, sugary syrup-filled teas all together. I've read that some artificial sweeteners can affect your body's metabolism and blood sugar levels similarly to the real thing, meaning that it can be harder to lose weight if you're drinking any soda or sugary drinks. I must note that my PERSONAL experience with this in the past was that I did not gain more weight drinking diet sodas when I would have had regular ones, but now that I've cut out soda almost entirely I find that its easier to stick to healthy eating and feel less of a crash after a big meal. I still drink diet soda occasionally, but it's more of a treat for me.

    I love me some tea, coffee, and water, though! Feel free to PM if you want any suggestions.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    You lose weight from a calorie deficit, drinking diet or less sugary drinks means they'll have a decreased amount of calories. So I guess they help by not taking up a bigger calorie amount
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Yes, it will help. But you'll still gain weight if you eat too much.

    Those sodas give you nothing that you need and add a lot that you don't. I know it's really hard to kick the caffeine habit, but if you switch to water, I promise you that you'll feel better!

    Best of luck. :)
  • mbusch2
    mbusch2 Posts: 3 Member
    Remember, a calorie is actually a unit of ENERGY. Sugars are used for fast energy that don't last very long (think of a sprinter). After your body burns through that, it goes on to carbs, fats and proteins (middle distance to long distance runners).

    For example purposes, let's say you're drinking 300 calories of sugary drinks per day. That's 300 units of fast energy that doesn't last very long (which is why you might be hungry not too long afterwards). Your body needs at least 1200 units of energy (calories) throughout the day to sustain itself in a sedentary setting. So, if a lot of that is sugar that doesn't last long, your body might be yelling at you to give it more energy -- which might mean you're over eating somewhere else in your day.

    Make sure you're giving your body good quality energy to use. You might find that a daily intake of 2000 calories that are mostly sugar, might actually make your body act the same as 1400 calories of proteins and carbs. (Numbers are estimates for example purposes, but you can see how quality of energy might actually help your calorie deficits without making you feel weak and hungry)
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    I always tell people "I would rather eat my calories than drink them." This has help me stay at a fairly decent weight my whole life.
  • nuvimi
    nuvimi Posts: 103 Member
    If you stop drinking the soda for a week or so, your headaches will disappear. Drinking it to keep from having headaches is pretty ridiculous.
  • Makterbro
    Makterbro Posts: 101 Member
    I learned that replacing soda with water can save you about 150-250cal a meal.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,266 Member
    As long as you don't replace the calories with chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake. Maybe I should replace the chocolate cake with coke......decisions.
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