A Link Between Diet Soda and Gaining Weight
Back in 2005, some researchers discovered something interesting about those who drank diet soda. For every can or bottle of diet soft drink that was consumed, there was a 41% increase in the risk of becoming overweight.
“What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity,” Fowler tells WebMD. “What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”
In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.
[Via Webmd.com]
Researchers theorized why the obesity risk increased and their theory makes sense with me. When you drink something sweet like a diet soda, you are not getting any calories from that drink. Your body thinks that it should be getting something from it. That creates cravings for more food and could lead to overindulgence.
In February 2008, another study came out. This time, it links saccharin to weight gain. Like the 2005 study, they concluded that there was something about diet soda that made people eat more but this study narrowed the reason down to artificial sweeteners.
As with many things, there is a warning about applying the findings of a study too broadly:
He [Adam Drewnowski] added: “We now have studies showing that sugar calories are associated with obesity and the absence of sugar is associated with obesity. Pity those people trying to do something about obesity.”
[Via LA Times]
For my soda consumption, I used to drink regular Mountain Dew. Then I switched to Diet Mountain Dew. Then I quit the soda, then started drinking it again, then quit again, and now I’m back drinking Diet Dew again. I’m a roller coaster pop drinker. The caffeine and the sweetness lure me back to it every time.
After reading these studies, I was reminded of a few things:
- Diet sodas, while calorie free for the most part, add artificial stuff to my body that it probably doesn’t need.
- I could drink regular soda but I’d be drinking calories that are not nutritious.
- Water is healthy for you, satisfies thirst and has zero calories.
In my mind, I know the benefits of drinking water. I’ve written about water before on here because it is a great thing to drink while dieting. But my addiction to sweet, caffeinated drinks is strong.
Starting tomorrow, I will work towards weaning myself off of the Diet Mountain Dew again. It will be healthier for me, and I’ll save some money too!
Back to Basics - Learning How To Do A Push Up
When I think of a push up, I think back to my days in middle school when we had to do the Presidential fitness test. For a chubby kid, they were a nightmare. I dreaded that day in gym and I was lucky to be able to do a few push ups.
Fast forward to today. It was time to see how many push ups I could do. It didn’t take long for that dread I felt back in middle school to rear its ugly head. I wanted to give it a shot because it turns out that push ups are a good indication of your overall fitness:
The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.
[Via the New York Times]
I lack a lot when it comes to the exercising department. I know of exercises, but I don’t know how to do them correctly. If I am going to test and train my body to do push ups, I need to be able to do them the correct way. I found a neat little animated graphic that shows the push up form:
With a push up, you want your hands positioned below you directly under your shoulders. Your back, legs and head should form a plank. I like to think of it as being as straight as a board and you are using your arms and chest muscles to push that board up and down.
So simple when you write it down. Not so simple if you are me and are a muscular pile of mush (seriously). How many could I do? When doing a standard push up (which is on your feet), I couldn’t even do one.
Sad. Very sad.
There is a variation of the standard push up where you are on your knees. That results in less body weight being used with the push up. I fared a little better here and was able to complete three push ups.
According to the New York Times article I posted above, a 40 year old woman should be able to do 16 push ups (men should be able to do 27). These numbers are for the standard push up position with being on your feet.
Because I am a bit mushy and lack strength, I need to work my way up to being able to complete push ups. If I keep with doing them (even on my knees) I know I will get frustrated because I can only do a few. I found this little gem that shows how to do a wall push up. I can use these wall push ups to get me started with building some strength in my arms and chest.
The thing I love about wall push ups is that I can do these practically anywhere. Walking in the hallway? Take a few seconds and do a few wall push ups. Out walking in the park? Find a pavillion or gazebo and do a few “wall” push ups. You don’t have to get down on the ground.
Once I get comfortable with wall push ups and can do many of them, I will do the knee push ups and then the full blown, on your feet, push ups. It may take some time, but I want to be able to meet (and exceed) the numbers the New York Times article gave.
With some hard work, I know I can.
Weekly Weight Loss Progress: No Change
First of all, this is still Blogging Away Fat LOL. I saw a free theme that I liked the other day and decided to give it a whirl. I’m not crazy about the colors right now, but I love the way everything is laid out. I also love the little search box that includes info on archives and categories. It’s nice and neat.
I still have to figure out where I am going to put my weight info, so that will be up shortly. In the meantime, I can tell you that I am still at 218.5 pounds. There has been no change from last week. EDIT: I stand corrected. I was at 219.5 last week, so I did lose one pound!
That doesn’t surprise me too much. Even though I’ve been hitting the elliptical almost every day and I’m now doing some other exercises for strength, my weight seems to lag one week behind. Next week I do expect to see a change. We’ll see.
Finding that “Exercise Anthem” Song
After I finally start exercising, it’s not so bad. The hard part is starting. Thinking back to my younger days in high school, there were certain “anthems” that sports teams played to get them pumped up before a game.
I need something like that for exercising - I need an anthem. It’s the song that makes me want to get up and be active every time I hear it.
I sat down and started listening through some CDs that I knew had the potential of having an exercise anthem on it. My requirements were pretty simple. It’s a song that had to have a driving beat and be by an artist I like.
It didn’t take me long to find it. Just listening to it made my head bob a little bit back and forth and I wanted to stand up and do more.
I guess I can’t write a post about finding an exercise anthem without sharing what mine is. While I enjoy many styles of music, I really enjoy hard rock/metal. If I ever were to become a professional bass player, I would want to be in a band along the likes of Metallica, Korn or System of a Down.
The minute the bagpipes started with Korn’s Shoots & Ladders, I knew. That was my exercise anthem. Listening to that song takes me away to another place. A place where I am active and feel alive. It makes me want to get up and dance or hop around like a fool. It’s the perfect exercise anthem for me.
What’s your exercise anthem?
