Q: Is giving up regular soda really enough to make me lose weight without going on a diet?
A: "Going on a diet" is not associated with long-term weight loss for most people, whereas working on a permanent change in one particular habit, such as reducing or eliminating sugary drinks, could be a great start for weight management. Controlled studies show that when people consume more calories from drinks, they don't compensate for those calories by eating less of other foods, and total calorie consumption tends to be higher. Changes in drink consumption alone can produce modest weight loss. In some cases, substituting water or diet (zero-calorie) beverages for sugar-sweetened soda is even enough to achieve the 5 percent weight loss linked with significant health improvement. About 25 percent of Americans consume more than 200 calories a day in sugar-sweetened drinks. If you are in this group, you are among those most likely to notice a weight change if you give up sugar-sweetened soda. Of course, this is assuming that you don't replace these drinks with juice or sugar-laden coffee or tea specialties or "reward" yourself for giving up soda by eating more cookies or other treats. Once your healthier drinking choices are an established habit, if you want to lose more weight, you can then look for other eating habits for which you can substitute lower calorie choices or smaller portions. On the other hand, if sugar-sweetened soda is something that you have only once a week or less, you can still focus on just one change in your eating habits to start losing weight, but you'll see more results by changing something other than soft drinks.
Q: Eating more calories than I should won't cause a weight problem as long as they're largely from protein, right?
A: No, if you eat too many calories, you will add body fat, even if the calories include lots of protein. It's true that protein is important for weight management and healthy body composition. Studies now show that protein helps keep hunger satisfied longer than either the carbohydrate or fat that we eat. What's more, getting enough protein is important to build and maintain lean body tissue like muscle and to maintain metabolic rate, which is probably important to long-term weight control. In one controlled trial where 25 participants were required to eat similarly excessive calories, body fat increased equally in all groups, regardless of whether people were consuming low, normal or high levels of protein. Bottom line: whether your goal is to lose, maintain or gain weight, do make sure each meal totals up adequate protein from beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains and vegetables, as well as dairy and seafood, poultry and meat if you choose them. But don't think of protein as some magic food that goes only to muscle; excess calories from any source still promote excess body fat. This is important, since the real link to increased risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes is not weight itself, but excess body fat.
Q: How are Americans doing at meeting current dietary recommendations?
A: Studies show we are still not consuming nutrient-rich plant foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans in amounts that support good health (and a healthy weight). Those foods are being pushed out because we overdo on foods high in empty calories from SoFAS (aka solid fats and added sugars) and alcohol. The recommendation is that total calories from SoFAS provide no more than five to fifteen percent of our calories. Analysis of the most recent survey of Americans' eating habits shows U.S. men and women consume more than three times the amount of empty calories recomended as upper limits. About one-third of these empty calories come from snacks. Although our total grain consumption meets or exceeds recommended amounts, we eat too many refined grains and get only 15 percent of even the minimum of at least three servings of whole grains daily. Less than five percent of Americans get recommended amounts of dietary fiber from foods, 14 grams per 1000 calories. Another area where don't meet the dietary recommendations is sodium: Half of Americans are advised to limit sodium to no more than 1500 milligrams (mg) per day because they have or are at increased risk of high blood pressure, but less than two percent do so. Even for those advised to aim for a more lenient 2300 mg of sodium per day limit, less than 12 percent meet the target.
