Yup, it always makes me think "TANSTAAFL". I used to be a big soda drinker in my teens; pretty much cut it out as an adult but those calories were probably repl

Yup, it always makes me think "TANSTAAFL". I used to be a big soda drinker in my teens; pretty much cut it out as an adult but those calories were probably replaced with beer. As someone who meal tracks and exercises regularly, I definitely generally feel (calories in)-(calories out) is most of what matters, BUT, once you start doing that, there just isn't much room for junk. You can't really exercise your way out of a tub of ice cream a day. The more you work out, the more (good) fuel you're gonna need, so there's only so much wiggle room for junk. Sadly, when I do have my soda-or-two a month, because I DO calorie count, I've finally given in and started having something like Coke Zero, but I should probably stop lying to myself, just have the real thing, and track it for the calories it has :)