I can’t remember the last time I had an uninterrupted night of sleep. Between one of my daughters coming to wake me practically every hour of the night with a nightmare and then the 5:45 a.m. alarm going off just an hour after finally getting to sleep.
As a mom, even if your little one isn’t waking you every hour, we’re sure you can relate.
Yes, Mommy is sleepy. So sleepy.
To start the day, some of our new clients have told us that they have been going into the fridge for a cold, fizzy shot of sugar + caffeine. Some tell us that for them it’s that sugary boost mid-morning – and after lunch when the 3 p.m. drag hits – that they need it. Funny thing is, all that sugar from your so-called pop-pick-me-up isn’t really a boost. It’s actually tanking your health.
Sometimes it’s tricky to remember that the calories you slurp down count just as much as those you chew.
Here’s a shocking fact – a habit of drinking two cans of sugary soda a day can add up to about 30 pounds per year. You definitely don’t want that when you’re looking to wiggle back into your skinny jeans.
Soda: Worse than You Figured. And Not Just for Your Figure
If the extra calories don’t sway you from swigging, there are still more reasons why drinking soda isn’t your best way to energize.
- Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): A recent Australian study suggested that people who drank about two cups of soda a day were more than twice as likely to develop either asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), when compared to those who didn’t sip soda at all.
- Coronary heart disease: Italian researchers warn that food and drinks with a high glycemic index (carbohydrate foods like soda, white potatoes and pastries that cause a quick spike in blood sugar) are linked with increased risk for coronary heart disease in women.
- Dangerous fat accumulation: According to a Danish study, soda drinkers have an increase in organ fat, and a 30 percent elevation in triglyceride blood fats. More fat in the organs and blood can increase your risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and non-alcoholic liver diseases.
- Stroke: American Heart Association research reported that people with prehypertension or early hypertension, and that kicked out just one daily 12-ounce serving of sugary drinks like soda, lemonade and punch dropped systolic blood pressure (the top number) by 1.8 mm Hg, and diastolic pressure (the bottom number) by 1.1 mm Hg over a period of a year and a half.
We don’t know about you, but that’s just too many risks to chalk up to a soda habit. Spending some outside time with your kids, exercising to get the blood flowing and carrying energizing oxygen to rejuvenate you, eating the right combinations of healthy foods, taking in a cup or two of coffee or tea (without extras of syrup pumps and overloaded creamer) and a short nap while your kids have quiet time or nap themselves are healthier ways to energize your sleepy body through the day.
And if you need a little more motivation to kick your soda habit, there’s a fun incentive to not only help you clean up your soda sipping, but increase your water intake too. HINT Water’s 21-day Healthy Hydration Challenge: A kick-it-for-good sayonara to sugar-sweetened beverages that promises to show you how to retrain your brain to love drinking water, not sugar. The challenge will sweep you into 21 fun, motivating, and pain-free days of healthy change, with registered dietitian Heather K. Jones to guide the way, daily action-oriented tips, plus a regularly updated blog. Join the Challenge and you’ll also have a chance to win the HINT Healthy Hydration Makeover.
