Diet pop - is it really bad for you?

BRaye325

I am addicted to diet pop. I have been on MFP for 3 months now and I'm very happy with my progress. I have not only lost more weight than I expected, but I have improved my diet and fitness level substantially. However, I still have a long way to go. I have been trying to make changes slowly and incrementally. One of the changes I've been advised to make is to cut back or eliminate my diet pop. I don't have any real evidence that it is bad for me but I keep hearing that I should just be drinking water.
Does anyone have anything to help me make my decision on whether I need to do this and how high of a priority I should make it?

LosingItForGood13

I had my previous Primary care doc tell me to leave he reg Pepsi alone and drink diet and I read a article the other day nurtionist are saying u can drink Diet soda so Im weening self off in between drinking sparkling water to still have the fizzy in my mouth lol

_Waffle_

BRaye325 wrote: »

I am addicted to diet pop. I have been on MFP for 3 months now and I'm very happy with my progress. I have not only lost more weight than I expected, but I have improved my diet and fitness level substantially. However, I still have a long way to go. I have been trying to make changes slowly and incrementally. One of the changes I've been advised to make is to cut back or eliminate my diet pop. I don't have any real evidence that it is bad for me but I keep hearing that I should just be drinking water.
Does anyone have anything to help me make my decision on whether I need to do this and how high of a priority I should make it?

It will save you some money but it's not going to do much towards making you healthy if you switch to water. There's no real evidence that this affects your weight. Zero calories is zero calories.

extra_medium

Some people say it makes them crave sweets more, but if it doesn't affect you in that way it will not hinder you weight loss at all. Like waffle said zero is zero.

BRaye325

I've been told two things:
1) That it will increase my desire to eat sweets, which sounds like if I eat a chocolate bar it will make we want to eat more chocolate bars.
2) It won't help flush out your body like water does. If I'm not mistaken, diet pop is mostly made of water.

Unknown

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TeaBea

How much is a lot of diet soda? Is diet soda taking the place of plain water?

IMO having to have something sweet all the time is a bad habit. I have a diet soda everyday, I also drink lots of plain water everyday. I don't need something flavored or sweetened (fake or otherwise) all day long.

AmigaMaria001

In a word..... NO!
I've been drinking iced tea and diet soda for nearly 60 years with no adverse health effects.

ndj1979

No...

/thread

earlyxer

There is some evidence of an increase in cravings associated with diet soda... but if you can maintain your intake, have at it. Personally, if it increased my cravings I'd stop it because why torture myself?

Kevalicious99

Stopped that **** in Aug 2013 and feel so much better. I have the odd one now. If you think you are fine cause it is calorie free .. you are sadly mistaken. That stuff is just bad for you. I know that MFP thinks that it is all about calories and zero is good, but I think if you really knew what you were drinking .. your addiction would soon go away.

LeslieTSUK

nope, nothing wrong at all with it,

Maryam2014mfp

I can only speak from my experience; but I started losing weight when I stopped the pop (diet and regular). Last weekend I opened a 2L diet bottle I had put aside and over a few days drank it. My weight went up for four days. It was basically water retention. So for me, pop is not good. Whatever the chemicals are, they make me retain fluid. FYI. Good luck with whatever you decide. Take care

BRaye325

TeaBea wrote: »

How much is a lot of diet soda? Is diet soda taking the place of plain water?

IMO having to have something sweet all the time is a bad habit. I have a diet soda everyday, I also drink lots of plain water everyday. I don't need something flavored or sweetened (fake or otherwise) all day long.

I do drink a lot - like 75-100 oz/day. Sure it often replaces drinking plain water, but I really don't like drinking plain water.
I have considered the caffeine as a reason to stop, but it has far less than coffee and I don't ever drink coffee. According to the Mayo clinic, coffee has 4.5 to 8 times more caffeine than diet pop. I also never drink regular pop, after drinking diet for years I can't stand the taste.

akboy58

Drink the diet soda! It's all about the bait-and-switch. My lizard brain wants a soda in the afternoon, very, very, badly. If I give it plain water, it'll nag me the rest of the day, and probably sabotage me later ("Go ahead: you had plain water this afternoon, so you DESERVE that Dove bar!"); if I have a regular soda, that's extra empty calories I don't need. So I have my diet Coke (sometimes two ...). I'm happy, my id's happy, and I keep my diet on track.

spencekelliem

I know that when I hit a dreaded weight plateau, after being stuck for weeks, i cut the diet pop and my weight started moving again - It may have 0 calories, but think about the chemicals. And it still contains fructose and there is some evidence that the body treats that just like it does plain sugar

malibu927

In before the aspartame fearmongerers. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary

If you want to keep drinking it, just consume it in moderation, as with everything else.

BRaye325

malibu927 wrote: »

In before the aspartame fearmongerers. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary

If you want to keep drinking it, just consume it in moderation, as with everything else.

Thanks for that link, it certainly answers more questions than I could have even thought to ask. I think the aspartame fear-mongering just started back when Splenda (sucralose) hit the market and their PR people were trying to push their new product. It's amazing how some spin can turn into public perception and then perpetuate fear.

stevencloser

BRaye325 wrote: »

malibu927 wrote: »

In before the aspartame fearmongerers. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary

If you want to keep drinking it, just consume it in moderation, as with everything else.

Thanks for that link, it certainly answers more questions than I could have even thought to ask. I think the aspartame fear-mongering just started back when Splenda (sucralose) hit the market and their PR people were trying to push their new product. It's amazing how some spin can turn into public perception and then perpetuate fear.

It's actually quite easy. You just have to leave out part of the truth.
You can say "Aspartame breaks down to Methanol and Formaldehyde!!!!" and you'd be telling the truth, but you'd leave out that a glass of orange juice does the same a hundredfold.

Kate7294

I drink at least 1- 2 diet drinks a day usually in the evenings. I still try to get my water in too. Even if I do have to flavor it. I think too much soda in general isn't good for the kidney's. P.S. If you like tea the diet Snapple peach tea flavor packs are good and only 5 calories.

dbmata

Drink it, it's made from water, so it's fine. I'd use that instead of anything else during my workouts.

Ross36

Soda is mainly bad for your bones whether it is diet or regular. It has high levels of phosphates which decrease the Calcium levels in your plasma, so your body responds by releasing parathyroid hormone. This works at the bones to release calcium. The hormone also inhibits your kidney's ability to reabsorb the calcium in the plasma, so basically you are peeing out your bones.

Always choose water!

paperpudding

Ross36 wrote: »

Soda is mainly bad for your bones whether it is diet or regular. It has high levels of phosphates which decrease the Calcium levels in your plasma, so your body responds by releasing parathyroid hormone. This works at the bones to release calcium. The hormone also inhibits your kidney's ability to reabsorb the calcium in the plasma, so basically you are peeing out your bones.

Always choose water!

I think sodas in moderation dont really impact on osteoporosis.

The other thing is your "always drink water" statement - is there anyone out there who really ALWAYS drinks water - no coffee, tea, fruit juice, soda, wine, beer, milk etc?

I would venture to say very few.

So whilst drinking water is good, there is no reason to see it in such extreme "only": terms - most people manage to drink water and also drink other beverages, which may or may not include soft drinks.

psmd

Carbonation can affect your teeth.

50sFit

I stopped drinking soda because of my lack of trust in anything made by man and laced with tons of strange chemicals. The scientific egg-heads debate this issue with little resolution. Who knows if its healthy or not?
I just choose to drink water and green tea each dashed with lemon juice. To each his own.

ythannah

Anyone here really know how many chemicals are added to your municipal water supply?

But at least there are more regulations governing the content and quality of tap water than there are for bottled water (in my country anyway).

Diet pop is fine, unless you are sensitive to one of the additives. It's mostly carbonated WATER.

paperpudding

psmd wrote: »

Carbonation can affect your teeth.

Yes that is a valid point - not just diet soda, of course.

Dental hygiene is also important.

Alluminati

Yes it's bad. Give it all to me.

lbee0030

i thought the topic said diet poop ...

JenAndSome

If you have been making progress drinking the diet soda, why would you feel the need to change that? It is a no calorie drink. Treat it as such.

Junebuggyzy

I was a diet pop addict for years. I liked the kind with caffeine. I feel better not drinking it; that kind of tummy bloating feeling. I replaced the addiction to pop with an addiction to black tea