Soda Can Pack on the Pounds: A Morbidly Obese Guest on "The Dr. Phil Show" Learns The Truth About Her Addiction to Soft Drinks

TV talk show host and psychologist Phil McGraw (a.k.a. "Dr. Phil") -- author of The Ultimate Weight Solution -- often describes his work as giving people wake up calls about their lives and behaviors.

He delivered a real-eye opener on a recent episode of "The Dr. Phil Show", called "Overweight and Forgotten."

His first guest was a morbidly obese woman named Lorna, who weighs an astounding 650 to 700 pounds.  Needless to say, Lorna is an invalid because of her weight, and sadly, she depends on an allegedly abusive boyfriend named Blair to take care of her.

So how on earth did Lorna come to be so heavy?

On the "The Dr. Phil Show," she claimed she doesn't eat much -- coffee and bagel with cheese or Cheez Wiz for lunch, a steak, a potato, and some vegetables for dinner, and no lunch most of the time. Dr. Phil didn't quite believe that -- and neither do I.

However, boyfriend Blair mentioned that Lorna consumes as much as three liters of soda every day!

Despite her denial about the rest of her diet, Lorna admitted to ingesting that all those sugary drinks on a daily basis. With some prodding, she recognized that her soda jones is a significant contributor to her obesity.

I felt greatly saddened by Lorna's predicament. I simply can't imagine weighing 650 to 700 pounds -- it's such a massive amount of weight that it probably seems an exceedingly daunting task to do anything about it. But her life is literally at risk if she doesn't do something -- and soon.

Hurrah for Dr. Phil for getting right to the heart of the matter.

He displayed a graphic that revealed this startling information: If Lorna did nothing else but drop the sugary soda, she'd lose 125 pounds in one year.

Indeed, according to his calculations, she ingests 1,200 calories per day in soda alone (or nearly half a million calories a year!

“If you add to that the proper medical care, the proper exercise — and there is very much that you can do, even in the condition that you are now — then you can begin to have an impact on all of these things," Dr. Phil told Lorna. "You know, I’m an incurable optimist, and I don’t see this as a hopeless situation.”

Granted, losing 125 pounds in one year by dropping soda would still leave Lorna dangerously obese. But she has to start somewhere, and if she could lose that much just by cutting out soft drinks, imagine what she could do if she made other lifestyle changes, too.

Thanks to Dr. Phil for showing his viewers just how much these sweet drinks can pack on pounds. I hope Lorna heeds his advice -- as well as others similarly hooked on soft drinks.

From Jennifer Moore for the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog