Run to Win

I wrote a couple years ago about how drinking sugar water can lead to weight gain, because your body does not feel as full when you consume the calories in a liquid form. The Kansas City infoZine News has an article this week that covers some research into why we do not feel as full when we drink an equivalent number of calories compared to when we eat those calories.

Scientists offer several explanations as to why we may not notice calories from some beverages. A drink’s rapid passage through the mouth provides less time for signals to trigger the brain you are eating. Compared to beverages, solid food seems to provide more of a feeling of fullness, which signals the brain to stop eating. Thick liquids (like smoothies and shakes) provide considerably more fullness signals than thin liquids, such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, and sweetened tea and coffee. As portion sizes of calorie-dense beverages increase, it is easier to gulp down larger amounts than to eat larger portions of solid foods. Finally, some researchers suggest that there may be a psychological component, too. Many of us consider beverages a separate category that does not “count” in the same way as solid food.

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Many people turn to exercise and diet control in an effort to lose weight (Disclaimer: I am not one of those people). I was reading how sugar water equates to weight gain, which links to a Los Angelos Times article on the subject.

Early research shows that your body does not feel full after consuming liquid calories, such as those in sodas, energy drinks, coffee, or juice. So, if somebody is trying to lose weight, then they should limit these types of beverages. The original article in the LA Times talks about the laws limiting the sales of soda in grammar schools, and argues that sports drinks should also be limited.

If your main focus on living a healthy lifestyle is to lose weight, then you probably do want to limit the beverages that you consume, other than water. Soda should already be limited, and it may not be a bad idea to limit sports drinks. However, while you are actually exercising and immiediately thereafter, I do not think that it makes sense to forgo the sports drink if that is what you are used to, especially if you will not be able to consume some solid calories immiediately thereafter.