What's The Best Drink For Losing Weight?

One of the biggest questions I get asked as a personal trainer from my clients is what should they drink when trying to lose weight.

My answer...water! I understand that drinking water can be a chore and sometimes your body wants something else to satisfy cravings.

However, when you look at the other options out there, water definitely doesn't seem so bad! Here is a breakdown of 3 of the most popular beverages for both children and adults in the United States.

Soda
In the last 50 years, soda consumption has increased 500% in this country. * Consuming just one regular soda every day can lead to a weight gain of over 15 pounds a year! (1 soda = 150 calories x 365 days a year = 54, 750 calories each year. 3, 500 = 1 pound. 15, 750 / 3, 500 = 15.64 pounds a year!)

The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid which will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. It will dissolve a T-bone steak in 2 days. It can soften a tooth in 1 day. Phosphoric acid has many other uses including cleaning toilets, coins, car battery terminals and windshields.

Soft drinks have NO nutritional value - just sugar, acid, chemicals, caffeine & colorings.One 12 oz. can of Mountain Dew contains 46 grams of sugar. The suggested daily intake for a person consuming 2000 calories per day is less than 40 grams of sugar TOTAL.Soda has been linked to tooth decay, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis & fatigue

Sport Drinks
A 20 oz. bottle of a sports drink contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar and 130 calories. Drinking just one bottle a day every day for a year could add 13 pounds to your waistline.
Unless you are expending mass amounts of energy over a long period of time (such as long distance running or biking), there is no need to replenish your body with added sugar.
Sport drinks are no more than sugar water with electrolytes. You would be better off finding a water with added electrolytes (Smart Water) or finding a low calorie flavored electrolyte powder to add to your bottled water.

Diet Sodas or other "diet" drinks (i.e. Crystal Light or Diet Snapple)
Diet drinks contain aspartame which has seriously negative health effects including headaches, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramping, blurred vision, depression and anxiety attacks among others.
Drinking beverages containing aspartame can actually trigger your brain to crave sweets and feel hungrier throughout the day.
Diet sodas also contain phosphoric acid which makes them have the same nasty side effects as regular soft drinks.
Many diet sodas and powdered drink mixes (Crystal Light) contain harsh chemicals and food dyes that can be harmful to your health including Red 40 or Yellow 5.

So, there you have it. If you have been drinking these beverages religiously, it is really hard to break the habit. Believe me, I was a diet soda junkie for YEARS.

However, if you are really serious about getting healthy, I would suggest sticking to water or unsweetened iced tea. Try also adding natural lemon or lime juice to your water to give it a different taste.

Jennifer Russomanno is a Knoxville Personal Trainer and president of New You For Life. You can can get a free copy of her report "The Supermarket Survival Guide: 5 Hidden Ingredients that could be permanently damaging your weight loss & 5 Foods that Can Get Your Metabolism Back on Track!" at http://www.NewYouforLife.com

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