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[JJsMom]

This article reminded me of a friend of mine who gave up soda for Lent. She ended up losing 10 lbs, and when she tried to drink it again after Lent was over, she got a headeache and stomach ache. All of her clothes felt loose on her, and she had more energy. She did absolutely nothing else differenty other than giving up soda. She now drinks just water or hot tea.

Here's part of the article:

Soft drinks: Public enemy No.1 in obesity fight?

A 20-ounce regular soda contains 227 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). That single drink is more than 10% of the total calories an adult woman needs to maintain a healthy weight, according to USDA diet guidelines. Meanwhile, about 1 in 4 Americans gets at least 200 calories a day from sugary drinks. These numbers, along with work like Stanhope's, gives ammunition to doctors and public health officials who say soda should be treated as public health enemy No. 1.

About 1 in 4 Americans gets at least 200 calories a day from sugary drinks.

"Soft drinks and sugar-containing beverages are the low hanging fruit in public health today," says Dr. David Ludwig, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center, at Children's Hospital in Boston. "Many children are consuming 300 calories per day or more, just in sugar-containing beverages. Compare the challenge of giving up three glasses of sugary beverages, versus getting them to do two hours of moderate physical activity."

"If you switch from Coke to water, that's easy," says Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, a professor at the University of North Carolina and a recent president of the American Diabetes Association. "You don't have to make big complicated changes in how you cook, and shop, and all that. And the number of calories you can save, can be substantial."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/27/health/soda-obesity/index.html