Vending Machine Math: How Bottles to Cans Equals Pounds

Ed Fischer used to buy two 20-ounce bottles of Coke a day from the machine near his 7th-floor City Hall office.

He still buys two Cokes a day - but now the city limits sugar-sweetened beverages to 12 ounces.

Here's how the difference potentially adds up:

Bottles: 240 calories x 2 (bottles per day) x 5 (days per week) = 2,400 calories a week.

Cans: 140 calories x 2 (cans per day) x 5 (days per week) = 1,400 calories a week.

As a general rule, 3,500 calories equals one pound of body weight.

Difference between bottles and cans: 1,000 calories divided by 3,500 = 0.29 pounds per week, or 10 to 15 pounds* per year, depending on the number of weeks worked.

* Switching to Diet Coke or water could theoretically cut an additional 14 to 20 lbs.

SOURCES: Coca-Cola Co.; Temple University Center for Obesity Research and Education