negative effect of the coke in a runner

[cesar]

well, as the subject says,  i wanna know what are the  negatine effects of the coke( cocacola or such beverages)  in a runner? i think that my increase in weight is due to that, at least partially, i drink about 30 onces of coke about 5 times per week.

[Andrew A.]

Right, that would be a lot of empty calories.  That would be about like drinking four 40 oz. bottles of beer and I could not imagine averaging that every week.  While I do enjoy beer (I have been shifting more to gin and scotch to eschew the calories when I do want to enjoy a drink, however), I have completely cut out all sugary drinks.  Sugary drinks in general are bad choices, and those sweetened with HFCS are worse still.
This topic has been touched on here previously:
http://www.hillrunner.com/forums/index.php/topic,6830.0.html
http://www.hillrunner.com/forums/index.php/topic,7208.0.html

[Andrew A.]

Also, there is the possibility of increased incidence of kidney stones, the affect on teeth and bones, etc.

[cesar]

Andrew, how often do you drink coke(soda) or juices?

[Andrew A.]

Andrew, how often do you drink coke(soda) or juices?

I have completely cut out all sugary drinks.

 

[cesar]

alright,


so when you go out with friends or go to a party, what do you drink? beer only?

[Ryan]

I looked up the nutrition information for regular Coke online. 140 calories in a 12 ounce can. that means 30 ounces a day is 350 calories a day. Since one pound of fat is 3500 calories, that means it would take 10 days of drinking 30 ounces a day of Coke to gain one pound. Or, put another way, it would take 10 days of not drinking 30 ounces of Coke a day to lose one pound.

I'm just explaining it this way to point out the danger of such empty calories. It's not like you have to completely deny yourself of all treats. I just got done enjoying a root beer myself. However, to drink large amounts of those empty calories every day can be a bad thing. As Andrew mentioned, what does that do to your teeth and kidneys, not to mention all the other health aspects of so much refined sugar.

I've cut nearly all sugary drinks out of my diet, to the extent that one or two sugary drinks a week would be considered splurging. I've trimmed up some while doing that, due to not replacing some of those calories with anything other than water. I've also developed a healthier diet as I've exchanged some of those calories for healthier choices like fruit.

[Andrew A.]

Mostly water, to be honest.

[cesar]

what about ice tea, it is a sugary drink?

[Andrew A.]

What part of this do you not understand yet? 

I have completely cut out all sugary drinks.

[cesar]

 i am asking that if the ice tea its a sugary drink, so if i give up the sugar beverages, my question is if i can drink ice tea as a substitute.


i understood Andrew, i understood!!

[Andrew A.]

Now I do, too. 

Find out the ingredients, that will tell you.  Brewed tea by itself should contain no sugar or sweetener.

[Ed]

I am cutting the sugary drinks to include fruit juices (although they are slightly healthier)  I drink mostly Propel 10 calories per 17 Oz and plain water.  I used to drink 3-4 20 Oz bottles of Mountain Dew daily    - that took some time to break the habit and addiction.  I have not had a caffinated beverage in 14 months 
 
I am working on reducing the Root Beer soda that I drink to 12 Oz cans and not drinking it everyday.
 
Soon I will cut out the soda and be free of all highfructose corn syrup products.  Then I can work on reducing the propel to plain water.
 
You might want to consider doing this Cesar - as you age - the sugary drinks will add more and more weight than they do at younger ages.
 
As far as the tea - if you buy it already brewed (can, bottle etc.) it will likely be heavily sweetend in some manner.
 
You might want to try to brew your own tea - then you know exactly what is in it.

[Andrew A.]

As far as the tea - if you buy it already brewed (can, bottle etc.) it will likely be heavily sweetend in some manner.

Which would be indicated in the ingredients and nutritional info on the label.  An option to consider when sweetening drinks (tea, homemade soda, etc.) oneself is agave nectar.  It is soluble even in cold liquids and has a much lower glycemic index than other sweeteners, including honey.

[cesar]

ed , congratulations in your accomplishment, have you lost weight eliminating the high caffeine beverage?


i don't drink coke since monday, that is a big accomplisment for me, maybe tomorrow i ll drink one, i ll try to drink it to the  minimum.

[Ed]

I did lose weight - until my running became poor.  That was because I failed to adjust my caloric intake.
 
It might be difficult to stop drinking Coke all at one time - try drinking less each day for a couple weeks and then drink even less for a couple weeks until you don't drink any.  That made it much easier for me.

[r-at-work]

one issue, especially if you drank a lot of caffeinated beverages (coffe, tea, soda) and you just 'quit' is that you may get a withdrawal headache. This can be nasty.

[Ed]

The withdrawal headaches suck actually.

[Irun100s]

Hmm, I never had a negative effect drinking Coke at races.
Here is an interesting article about the positive effects of Coke: http://www.hawaiianshirtray.com/food-fueling/coke-for-an-upset-stomach/

[dring]

This is a great topic.  As a coach of adults and high school athletes this is a topic that I always tell them about.  Look at food labels and stay away from sugar when psossible.  High Fructose Corn Syrup is worse than sugar mainly because it is in everything.  Because it is so cheap and nost Americans are addicted to sugar HFCS is very dangerous.  I really believe HFCS has helped our country to be over weight.
In 2011 I drank only water.  I was not difficult for me because I gave up soda (sugary drinks) over 6 years ago.  I gave up milk 4 years ago, and I have stayed way from sugar for over 4 years.   There is not much left.   

MSN normally has very shallow articles about fitness, but here was one that caught my eye today.  http://health.msn.com/healthy-living/5-best-reasons-to-drink-water