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Originally Posted by Angeline
Personally I believe that colas are a leading factor in the obesity crisis, it's about the worse thing you can consume. It's right up there with cigarettes in my mind. So there is no doubt in my mind about the evils of cola.
But I was thinking that if you are having a 800 calorie meal (or whatever a BigMac and fries is these days), wether you add a real coke or diet coke isn't going to make much of a difference.
Now if you are going to have a BigMac and fries everyday, well real Coke vs Diet Coke might make a difference, I don't know. Thinking about the effect of eating that much junk food is just too scary to contemplate.
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Think about it this way, there's 410 kcal in a Super Size Drink. Even more if you scrimp on the Ice.
410 kcal/day x 365 days/yr = 149,650 kcal/yr
149,650 kcal/yr / 3500 kcal/lb = 42.76 lbs/yr
If you are at exactly Maintnance Calories and add ONE Super Size Drink a day for a year, you could gain up to 42.76 pounds in 1 year. Fortunately, our bodies aren't 100% efficient at storing Sugar as fat, so the amount you gain will be a bit less than that. Now, let's assume you are in a 200 kcal/day deficit. That would mean you would lose 10 pounds a year. But, add a Super Size Coke, and instead of losing 20 pounds in the following year, you'll put on 20 pounds.
As for the 800 Calories, that may be alot for some folks, but its not for others. If your normal intake is 1500 kcal/day, it probably is too much for one meal. But, there are folks out there who need more Calories. For example, based on my own estimates I burn about 3,000-3,400 kcal/day. So, 800 kcal at a meal, especially if it was a Low-Carb meal, wouldn't be excessive if I was trying to maintain my weight at this level. 800 kcal/meal x 3 meals/day = 2,400 kcal/day. Assuming you don't snack during the day or night, 2,400 kcal is entirely acceptable for an active adult male whose not trying to lose weight.
Also, unlike the Cheeseburger, a Cola provides ZERO Satiation and ZERO Nutritional Value. My personal opinion is that if we could somehow get everyone to give up All Cola tomorrow, that Obesity rates would decrease significantly. There are a good portion of Obese persons, who could lose weight simply by giving up their Sodas, because there are so many out there who drink 1/2 Gallon (800 kcal) to 1 Gallon (1,600 kcal) a day.