Sodas are ‘deadly’. The ones with artificial sweeteners are bad as well.
My elderly dad wants to lose some weight - his knees are ‘gone’ and he’s carrying extra poundage. I calculated the carbs in what he was drinking ... OJ first thing in the morning (8-12 oz), LOTS of milk during the day (we should have a cow - he grew up on fresh milk & can never get enough), & juices like cranberry, apple, & prune juice. It amounted to at least 300 carbs/day, just with what he was drinking, much less eating.
So .. he agreed to some steps to reduce those carbs and is now limited to a cup of OJ in the morning (his “treat” - won’t give it up totally) & a bit of milk on occasion. Other drinks are all ‘lite’ or ‘diet’ now. We’ve encouraged him to drink water every other time he’s thirsty, which he’s doing. He’s on diuretics, so he’s thirsty a lot. The food he’s getting is mostly ‘real’ food ... salads, meat, low carb veggies and for treats, a few fruits, sugar-free ice cream.
He was 228 .... stepped down to 218 & now he’s around 210. This is with NO exercise (can barely walk to the bathroom) ... he’ll be 100 next month.
If people cut out 3 things: vegetable seed oils, sugar, processed food, they would most likely lose weight with no exercise required. The soda habit is terrible and a hard thing to break (I had a Diet Coke habit back in my 30’s when I had a high stress job). Now, I do not do ANY soda - coffee, cold-brew tea, mint herbal tea & an electrolyte drink I mix for myself. Saves a lot of money, too.
My father drinks way too much milk in my opinion too. I think milk is responsible for a lot of autoimmune type reactions. In general, it should be minimalized after 40 (again just my opinion).