Diet Soda???
 

Is it OK to drink diet soda? In moderation, of course...
I love Diet Pepsi. Many years ago I drank alot of regular pepsi, but now am just fine with diet. However, I have heard mixed reviews about diet soda.

Of course, the nutrition label says 0 calories, 0 fat, 0 sugars, etc. Sodium seems to be the only thing there. I used to drink 4-5, 16-20 glasses a day. But, since starting FitDay on 1/4/2010, I drink 1-2 glasses and the rest of the time, water or 1 cup of coffee in the AM. Is this OK? Or could this negatively affect my weight loss efforts??

Any advise is appreciatted.
Thanks!

I try to stay away from it completely. I will only drink one every 3 or 4 weeks (diet Dr.Pepper). I have noticed that when I drink it, I wake up in the morning and my fingers are swollen, so I know it makes me retain water. I don't mean a little water either. I can tell because my wedding band is so loose from losing weight that I can barely keep it on. After I drink pop, my fingers are so swollen that it leaves an indentation on my finger. That is a big change going from falling off to being tight. I think it is best just to do without it. Water is much better for you anyway :)

All artifical sweeteners are very bad ,you would be much better off drinking something with real sugar in it unless you are diabetic.As far as swollen fingers go that is from the Free Glumatic Acid or MSG in it ,you should read the post that pertains to artifical sweeteners just below this one,I have 2 links in there that are very helpful understand our food that we eat now days.

The Washington Times ran "Diet Soda: Doorway to Weight Gain"
 

By STUART DIAMOND on Jan. 12, 2009

Here's an except:
Diet soda isn't the silver bullet to weight loss it's often made out to be. Nor does it prevent weight gain. In fact, drinking diet soda is strongly correlated with overweight and obesity.

Diet soda has 5 calories or fewer per serving, of course, but emerging research seems to suggest that drinking sugary-tasting beverages, even artificially sweetened ones, appears to develop a preference in the human body for a whole range of other sweet things. And when we consume sweeter cereals, snacks, breads and desserts, we tend to consume more calories, and eventually put on pounds.

A 2005 study, by Sharon P. Fowler and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, showed that people who drink diet soda gain weight - lots of it. In fact, the research found, "There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day."

See the whole article at:
Diet Soda: Doorway to Weight Gain - Take Off the Weight - Washington Times

Thats exactly right,and thats what I try to tell people thats drink that stuff and they look at me like im from mars or something.LOL

As someone who drinks a lot of diet soda (3 or 4 cans a day) and is also extremely overweight, it's hard for me to say there is not a possible connection between the consumption of diet soda and weight gain.

But personally, I don't blame diet soda, nor do I think it causes me to eat more.

I think the only connection is that when you are overweight, you try to eat/drink anything you can to prevent weight gain. So you drink diet soda because its an easiest alternative. Therefore, over weight people drink a lot of diet soda..

Of course drinking water is always the better option, but if you are choosing between diet drinks or sugar drinks, I don't see how anyone could favor sugar drinks.

But that is just my opinion :)

I was a heavy, heavy diet coke drinker until about 2 months ago. I would literally drink at least 2 liters of it a day. I always figured there wasn't any harm because it was "diet". Then I began reading a lot about aspartame. The history of aspartame is pretty scary. Not only is it a poison, but it also confuses your body. Your body doesn't know what to do with artificial sweeteners because they are man-made. The result is that you end up craving sweets and carbs.
I used to hear people say how bad it was for me all the time, but I never cared. However, the craving the sweets and carbs thing really hit home for me. It was VERY difficult to quit, but I have been soda free for a couple of months. Though I still love chocolate and pasta, I definitely notice I don't "need" them as much. I also feel like I have way more energy. Most people would attribute this to the fact that I've started to exercise and eat better. However, I didn't really start that until about a month ago. The first month the only change I made was the no soda. I am now a true believer about all the negative things you hear about aspartame.

> Not only is it a poison, but it also confuses your body. Your body doesn't
> know what to do with artificial sweeteners because they are man-made

I'm really sorry you have been lured into the aspartame conspiracy theory. That is all it is. The websites spout a lot of pseudo-science most of which is nonsense. Of course drinking water is best, but don't give up on diet soda just 'cos you have read rubbish on a few websites.

I definitely respect your opinion, but I believe it because of how I felt when I drank it vs. how I feel without it. I'm not saying anyone else has to believe this....it's just been my experience.

Kristy, I certainly wasn't trying to imply that you can't have the issues you described. I'm sure aspartame, or any kind of artificial sweater, can have negative side effects with certain people. i just don't think diet drinks/soda should be labeled as bad for everyone or that it will lead to over eating.

With that said, I am trying to cut back also. I still drink more than I probably should (diet soda and diet iced tea) but I've been mixing in more water and vegetable juice.

Thanks, Edward. I was actually replying to rmnsuk. I guess I didn't specify that. I completely recognize that everyone has different experiences with diet soda. I drank soda heavily my entire life. I switched to diet soda when I was 17, and drank about 2 liters a day for 11 years. For those 11 years I didn't believe the negative things about diet sodas at all and would dismiss the idea that it had these negative effects on people. I started feeling pretty nauseous on a daily basis over the summer. Then two months ago I figured I'd give the quitting soda thing a shot. For me it definitely helped me feel better. But I think soda is fine for people in moderation. My husband definitely doesn't believe the negative things about it, and many of my friends are also soda addicts. I was just sharing the things I'd learned because it might help someone else who is not feeling up to par make a connection they otherwise might not make.
Trust me, if I hadn't seen the negative things it did to me first hand, I'd still be drinking it like crazy. I love soda! :-)

I know this is an older thread, but does anyone have advice/ suggestions for someone trying to quit drinking diet soda? I used to drink it much more heavily, and I've worked myself down to having almost none at all, but it seems like every time I get stressed it's the first and only thing I crave.

What have other people done? Gone cold turkey, or gradually eased off?

I may drink one diet coke a day. Not a coffe drinker so that's my wake up drink. Most days probably don't finish that one.
But if we are out and I want one I get one! Haven't seen any problems so far. I do try to drink water, ice tea, and a protein shake I make with fruits, water, etc.
Maybe just try and cut back or see how it goes............:cool:

I used to go through a lot of regular coke. I switched to diet pop for a while, but I have to be careful about sugar free stuff because some of it triggers migraines for me. Lately I drink water, iced tea, and hot tea almost exclusively, and my morning coffee of course :p Don't buy 12 packs or 2 liters, if you absolutely have to have a pop, buy a single serve bottle. Sometimes I'll get flavored sparkling water, most of them have artificial sweeteners but there's one I get that's unsweetened, made by Faygo. They're a local soft drink company here in the Midwest, but maybe there's a similar option where you are. If not, there's always club soda.

for what its worth, I used to drink almost a case of diet pepsi a day for almost 20 years. I started drinking diet in college so that when i went home for the summer my parents couldn't give me a hard time about how much soda I was drinking.

Anyways, my sister and friends would always send me copies of the studies about how bad it was for you every time a new study would hit the paper. But I didn't care. Of course over those 20 years I was also steadily packing on the pounds.

It used to be so bad that if I was out of diet pepsi, my husband would go to the store to buy more rather than listen to me whine about it. I also got really bad headaches if I didn't drink it.

Did it make me gain weight? Are the studies about how bad it is for you a big conspiracy? I don't know the answer to either.

This spring I decided to quit drinking it and switched back to regular soda and tried to cut down on the number of pops I was drinking in a day.

Well, this fall I had emergency gall bladder surgery and after not eating or drinking anything in the hosptial for 4 days while i waited for the pancreatitis to clear so they could do the surgery, I decided to get serious about getting healthy and have not had a pop since.

For me it had to be cold turkey. And I know if I ever cave and drink one, that one will lead to two and then three until I am right back to where i was. I do think that the diet pop at least is very addicting. Whether it is the caffine or the sweetner, I have no clue.

So, i drink water - at work, at home, at resturants. A nice unexpected benefit is that the food bill is less now lol.

If you are stronger than me, maybe you can drink one or two and stop. But I know for me, cold turkey is the only way that would truly work. Hope that helps.

I, too, had a bad diet soda habit--at least 2 litres of diet Mt. Dew a day.

I do drink coffee in the morning (always black), other than that (and my Saturday beer) it's water--at least 2 litres a day.

After a while, I just didn't miss it and good riddance.

I stopped drinking ALL soda about 3 months ago and since then have dropped 10 pounds without changing anything about my lifestyle. I didn't even add any exercise to my days. I am 5'6' and used to weigh 156lbs (size 10). After no soda for 3 months, I am now a size 8 (146 lbs just this morning). I am starting to add exercise to my weight loss plan only now. I use "Your Shape" with Jenny McCarthy for the Wii and walk/jog 1 mile 3x week. We will see how much more weight I can cause to fall off. :)

SODA = EVIL!!

I'll admit I'm a Diet Dr. Pepper addict ! There I said it :)
I drink about 1 liter per day. Very seldom drink water, because to me it doesn't quench my thrist. I have coffee in the mornings, then by 10:00 am start on my DP's. I will drink tea for dinner however, then more DP's before I go to bed.
I've read all the bad things its suppose to be doing to my body. And I do believe some of it. I've read that the aspertame can make you have body aches and I do. More so as I get older. As if my bones just ache from drying out....hard to explain the feeling. So this past week made the decision to really try to stop it. For the past 3 days I've only had one 12 oz can per day. Yippy for Me! That is a big deal.
Still having a problem drinking more water. I had my coffee, then got a big glass of water, it took me almost all day to finish it. :-( But I'm not giving up, I am determined to get off the DP.

Good luck to us all ! ;)

I've been off and on soda over the years. I am currently off. I can't really stand diet sodas, except maybe diet Dr. Pepper. The first time I tried to quit I just reduced my intake over a couple of weeks, but that basically game me a headache every day. Now I just quit cold turkey. I still have a headache from the withdrawals for a couple of days -- that's what Advil Liqui-gels are for -- but then I don't have to worry about it.

The bottom line is when you're trying to lose weight, it's better to drink diet soda than regular soda. After you get thin, you can give up diet soda. In the mean time, don't sweat the small stuff. It makes it so much harder when you deprive yourself of things like diet soda. Isn't it hard enough? When I lose the most weight, I drink a lot of water and diet soda to help keep me feeling less hungry.

We all do what we have to do. For some like myself, diet soda makes us hungry. For other like you, just the opposite. There really are few absolutes in this process and each body is different. Keeps things interesting! :D

Regards,
Michael

I'm neither a doctor nor chemist, but your swelling sounds more like an allergic reaction than inflamation. I've noticed in myself that certain allergens tend to impact me more severely if I've been unexposed to them for a while. IE: I have a very mild cat dander allergy; so mild I live with three of them and do just fine. I left on vaccation for two weeks, came back, and couldn't breath right for days.

You may wish to have that checked next time you visit your doctor to see if you've developed any particular over sensitivity to the stuff in your drink. Just my two cents.

[Edit: I wasn't paying attention tot he date on this thread. XD]

I agree about the dangers of artificial sweeteners. My husband is diabetic and eats sugar-free desserts, etc. It only creates a craving for more sweet foods. I finally convinced him to cut out all of the sugar-free foods. A little sugar in moderation is ok.

Pop diet or otherwise is a bad idea
 

:(:rolleyes: Go to Dr. Oz's website....pop of any kind can mess you up big time and depletes water, vitamins and minerals ~ diet pop has aspartame etc. which is carcenogenic - go for a smoothie or water with lemon or lime wegges really refreshing :)

Hmmm--well, it may not be THAT bad for you, but it's probably not THAT good for you, either. Common sense seems to indicate that, like most anything, in moderation it is OK. I'll admit I do eat three or four low cal/low fat fruit yogurts a week that have Aspartame in them. Other than that, I don't use it.

Regards,
Michael

I would have some on occasion but have basically given it up. It makes me feel bloated. The last time I wanted one it actually tasted kind of gross.

As far as the artificial sweeteners, I was using Splenda but switched to Truvia. I ran out of it, decided to use some Splenda that was stashed in the cabinet. I just realized today that the annoying headache I have had for the last 4 days is from the Splenda. I completely forgot that was the reason I stopped using it about a year ago! :rolleyes:

I don't drink soda at all. It's just empty calories. It's pretty much the same for alcohol. Oh and with regard to soda I try to stay away from caffeine.

I don't like misinformation. I'm not saying it is good for you. :)

LOL!

Well I try to avoid artificial sweetener. I'm one of those people who just uses the actual ingredient. If it calls for sugar I use sugar. Same goes for butter, mayonnaise, etc. There are two exceptions to this rule. I have a glass or two of sugar free Kool-aid at night and I eat turkey bacon. I know it's heavily processed but it tastes almost like bacon. ;)