The next time you pick up a can of soda, look at the amount of sugar inside a standard 12-ounce can. Once you do that, you might put the can down and pick up a bottle of water. If you're on a diet or trying to lose weight in some way, I strongly suggest looking at the "Nutrition Facts" label on every can of pop until you make the decision to cut those aluminum can from your diet.

Why the harshness, you may ask? Well, all the empty calories included inside each can of pop don't do a thing for your metabolism or waistline except for exciting both. Not only is pop overly expensive for what it is, but it's simply not a good thing to put inside your body.

The taste is what gets mo of us, though. Water has "no taste" according to many friends of mine, but is far healthier. Pop, on the other hand, has plenty of sugary taste (but is bad for your waistline), and most people choose taste over health. In fact, the rampant obesity in the U.S. can probably be attributed to that statement, unfortunately.