Red Is A Flavor

While filling up my water bottle today at work, I began thinking about my decision to give up soda that I made December last year. Now that I've been soda-free for over seven months, I wondered, was the actual cost or benefit in terms of sugar and calorie intake. So I ran some numbers.

I have never been a big soda drinker. One 12oz can in the afternoons at work and usually one with dinner when eating out on the weekends.

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Assumptions

• 140 calories per can
• 10 tsp (equiv) of sugar per can
• Consuming one 12oz can of Coca-Cola per day

Based on the assumptions above, drinking one can per day, equals 51,100 calories per year. Also,based on my weight and age, I burn 422 calories per hour walking 3.5 miles per hour. This means to burn that single can per day, I will need to walk 423 miles, or walk for 121 hours during the year, to burn the equivalent calories that are consumed.

If you drank 1/2 of a two liter bottle per day (33.83 oz), which still is not a lot for some people, things get bad. Annually, you will have consumed 140,525 calories, which will require walking 1,165 miles.

Soda begins to sound a little heavy on the gut doesn't it?

Side Note: Why I gave up Soda - There was truly no "stimulus" for going cold-turkey. I knew that it was unhealthy and knew it wouldn't be difficult to stop. Watching "Supersize Me" didn't hurt either.

Image: KB35 [via Flickr]

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