What is a simple way to explain why drinking sodas and energy drinks regularly (more than 1 per day) is not good for your body?

Here is a simple way to explain why drinking soda and energy drinks regularly is not good for your body.

These drinks:

1. Contain useless sugar calories (no nutrition)

2. Rot your teeth

3. Cause weight gain

4. Aggravates Diabetes or pre-diabetes

5. Cause blood pressure issues (energy drinks especially)

6. Cause energy sag after wearing off leading to more food or more energy drink or soda consumption

7. Cost $250 per person per year and provide no food value

Additionally diet sodas are no better than regular sodas and have been shown to cause weight gain.

For more information about soda and energy drinks, please think about reading or purchasing my book "Diet Myths Busted; Food Facts Not Nutrition Fiction." I devote an entire chapter to the subject.

Here is a great example of how myths are started and how they grow.

Click here -->: Red meat is OK?

I'm trying to get my body back in shape. What exercises do you recommend? I need my butt worked on plus my legs and my belly from my last child. I don’t know where to start at or what exercises to do. Please help a 37 year old mother of 3.

Hello – what a great question!

It’s a little difficult to answer without knowing a little more about you but here’s what I would say based on a few assumptions about a 37 year old mother of 3:

1. I am assuming you want to lose some weight – perhaps 10 or 20 pounds
2. I am assuming you want to be more physically fit (stronger, more shapely, leaner, tighter)
3. I am assuming you are not on any particular kind of diet

Step 1 - you need to start at the beginning. Exercise is a learned skill. Unless you’re a fitness professional you don’t have that skill. You will need to enlist the services of a Personal Trainer. It’s possibly the best investment you will ever make.

Step 2 – go slow. It took a while to get this way; it will take a while to undo it. You probably haven’t done much exercise in a long time. Don’t go for broke. Try for 3 days a week, 1 hour a day, moderate intensity for a few months. On 1 day do an hour of cardio exercise. On 2 other days do some kind of strength exercises for an hour each day. Your personal trainer can assess specifically what you need and get you on the right program. If you can’t get to a gym or can’t afford one, get some workout DVD’s (for example Jillian Michaels has some really good ones) and start working with those. Ramp up to 5 days a week, 2 days cardio and 3 days of strength exercises for one hour gradually increasing weight & intensity.

Step 3 – Clean up your diet.  This is where most of us go wrong. Diet is a HUGE contributor to fitness, much more so than exercise. I repeat: diet is a huge contributor to fitness, much more so than exercise.  This is too big of a topic for one question but I would encourage you to read more on my website (www.dietfitnessdiva.com) or check into my book on this subject (Diet Myths Busted: Food Facts not Nutrition Fiction). A few general guidelines are:

1. Learn to read labels on food
2. Cut down on sugars of all kinds especially sugary drinks of all kinds (pop, juice)
3. Cut down and eventually stop eating processed foods
4. Beware of snacking – most of us eat many more calories than we realize
5. Start a food journal – again, most of us eat many more calories than we realize
6. You CANNOT out train a bad diet
7. Allow at least 2 months to start noticing changes

Thanks for writing and write back in two months to let me know how it’s going.

I really don't want to overeat over the holidays this year! Do you have any advice to avoid this?

I am so glad you asked that question! Holiday foods are a real treat for many of us so if you overdo it just a bit don't worry about it. Worrying will just make you eat more! To avoid making a habit of overindulging, remember what the holidays are really about. Reconnecting with family and friends is the important thing, not eating as much as we can. When visiting with friends and family, socialize first and when presented with a buffet, go through without a plate and make mental food choices first. Pick foods that you don't get very often over foods that you can have anytime. For example, we can have sugar cookies anytime but not homemade rumcake!  When having a full meal, remember to take small portions and eat slowly. Wait a few minutes until you go and grab seconds! That way you will feel full sooner without overeating. Have a glass of water with your meals and be careful of alcoholic beverages because they contain a lot of calories and go down easily. Plus they tend to make you more hungry. Lastly, enjoy the holidays! If you indulge here and there a little and resume normal, sensible eating habits later, you will be just fine.

Are natural energy drinks/shots ok to have on a regular basis? I tried one that didn't make me jittery or make me crash afterward. I felt ok. I'm afraid they may cause health problems later in life. Every now and then I’ve had one of these energy shots to help me get through a busy afternoon, workout after work, and evening full of my daughter's gymnastics, dinner, bath and bedtime.

Energy drinks typically contain a lot of sugar and caffeine which is why people feel awake and have a feeling of being energized. Having one every now and then won’t do any long term damage and with your active schedule you may need a few more hours beyond the 24 in a day we all have! Rather than rely on processed, overpriced energy drinks with questionable ingredients, pack some trail mix (nuts), a hardboiled egg or yogurt cup for an afternoon snack. Sugary snacks generally make us feel lethargic so stick with proteins and good fats. After a workout, stop and get a protein shake or just a plain cup of good coffee or tea (not the high calorie sugared up, candy bar in a cup type!!)  and have it before going home or while watching your daughter in gymnastics. A lack of energy is often our body’s signal that we are lacking nutrition and a snack of whole unprocessed food is cheaper and superior to “high energy” sugar jolts.  Other reasons for having low energy is that we are overextended in our daily activities or are slightly anemic for which you would need to see a doctor.  The fix for being overextended, if that is the case, is reassessing ones’ priorities.   I have addressed this question as it pertains to you as an adult. Such drinks do have negative effects on children and children don’t need drinks like this. For more about energy drinks look at the article; http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/14/energy-drinks-may-harm-health/ or check my chapter on Energy and Food Replacement Bars and Energy Drinks in my book Diet Myths Busted.