Health & Fitness

Category: Terry Foster's battle with diabetes

Drinking water is a key step

One of my boys noticed my weight loss and wanted to know how he could shed a few pounds. I will hide his identity but if you see a short and squat gentleman who could stand to shed 40 pounds then you've got your guy.

He loves fried chicken wings, burgers, fries and pizza and is not willing to give it up just yet. I told him fine. You can keep eating the way you want for now, but take the first step by giving up regular soda and drinking two liters of water a day.

You would have thought I told him to drink gasoline and set his mouth on fire.

"Are you kidding me?" he screamed. "Man, I got a job and I got to work. I will be in the bathroom all day if I do that."

I never said any of this was easy. If you are not willing to take the first baby step then you are not going to lose weight. Getting rid of soda was my first step and it was not easy. I was addicted to Coca Cola, Pepsi and Vernors. I'd drink four cans a day and loved the burn and sweet taste of the pop on my tongue. Sometimes I loved the taste so much I'd close my eyes after taking a big gulp. But pop is filled with sugar. And when you are a diabetic, sugar must be limited.

If you are trying to lose weight,cut out the soda because is filled with way too many empty calories. Did you know that a large pop in a restaurant is about 320 calories? That is almost as much as a typical sandwich.

I take care of my soda addiction with two bottles of Wal-Mart flavored water a day. There are no calories or carbs and it is sodium free. Meijer has similar flavored water that is almost as good. My favorite flavors are grape, key lime and peach.

When you give up pop and replace it with water I can almost guarantee you will lose five pounds in a week. But it is not easy. I had headaches and felt light headed when I gave up pop. It was almost as if demons were escaping my body. If you do not want to give up soda I recommend Coke Zero and Pepsi Zero. They are filled with flavor and no calories.

One more thing. My friend was right. When you drink this much water you do use the bathroom a lot. But your body adjusts and you don't live in the bathroom after a while. You simply lose weight.

I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494. You can follow me at twitter.com/bigscoop.