Soft Drink/ Pop/ Soda whatever you call it.

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Replies

  • DebzNuDa
    DebzNuDa Posts: 252 Member
    Also, water is calorie free, has a sweet taste (try Crystal Geiser or even better, Fiji), NEEDS your body and won't cause any health problems. Good luck hon. :)
  • Cut it completely and you'll reap the benefits. I used to drink regular, then diet and for the last month I cut it completely. My liquids now are coffee, almond milk, protein shakes and water.
    At first it was a little hard because there is some addiction or habit (not sure what it was exactly), but I'm over that hump now and I don't even think about it anymore!

    What benefits are you reaping?

    A quick google search will return scholarly articles correlating soft drink consumption to increased risk of type 2 diabetes and a potential carcinogen (diet). There is also plenty of studies linking soft drink consumers with higher levels of belly fat than non-soft drink consumers. Diet soft drinks also gave me severe migraines. This lead me to getting a brain scan, which return no abnormalities. In the end, I cut out the diet soda and the migraines went away completely. Mild type 2 diabetes also runs in my family so I like to minimize the risk as best I can.

    As mentioned above, I also choose to eat my calories as opposed to drink them. There is no scientific backing for this but soft drinks don't exactly seem synonymous with perfect health to me; I notice that I feel better overall without them in my diet so I continue to avoid them. Ultimately, it's all a personal choice; that's just my 2 cents.



  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    I'm not a huge fan of pop - but if I am going to have some, I buy Zevia. 0 calorie soda sweetened with the stevia leaf.
  • I swore off sugary sodas awhile back. For me, the draw was always more about the carbonation than the flavoring. For awhile, I switched to store bought soda water, but I began to be conscious of the waste, both money and resources, that went into it. I looked into the sodastream system, but it seemed like I wasn't saving that much with the expensive replacement cartridges. Ultimately, I found instructions online for building my own carbonator. I have a 5lb tank of food grade CO2 that costs me $25 to fill up every 6 Months, and I can have sparkly water whenever I want. You can get the CO2 from pretty much any Airgas type of store, as well as the regulators that you need. My wife likes to add a splash of fruit juice or even a slice of fruit to hers.
  • shandy82165
    shandy82165 Posts: 184 Member
    DebzNuDa wrote: »
    Per Harvard Health Publications -

    One concern is that people who use artificial sweeteners may replace the lost calories through other sources, possibly offsetting weight loss or health benefits, says Dr. Ludwig. This can happen because we like to fool ourselves: “I’m drinking diet soda, so it’s okay to have cake.” The AHA and ADA also added this caveat to their recommendation.

    It’s also possible that these products change the way we taste food. “Non-nutritive sweeteners are far more potent than table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. A miniscule amount produces a sweet taste comparable to that of sugar, without comparable calories. Overstimulation of sugar receptors from frequent use of these hyper-intense sweeteners may limit tolerance for more complex tastes,” explains Dr. Ludwig. That means people who routinely use artificial sweeteners may start to find less intensely sweet foods, such as fruit, less appealing and unsweet foods, such as vegetables, downright unpalatable.

    In other words, use of artificial sweeteners can make you shun healthy, filling, and highly nutritious foods while consuming more artificially flavored foods with less nutritional value.

    Artificial sweeteners may play another trick, too. Research suggests that they may prevent us from associating sweetness with caloric intake. As a result, we may crave more sweets, tend to choose sweet food over nutritious food, and gain weight. Participants in the San Antonio Heart Study who drank more than 21 diet drinks per week were twice as likely to become overweight or obese as people who didn’t drink diet soda.

    But you say you can give up diet drinks whenever you want? Don’t be so sure. Animal studies suggest that artificial sweeteners may be addictive. In studies of rats who were exposed to cocaine, then given a choice between intravenous cocaine or oral saccharine, most chose saccharin.

    Yep, this is what my experience has been. Eliminating the artificial sweeteners has changed my tastes and I can taste sweet tastes better than I used to. I used to have to add loads of sugar to all kinds of foods because I couldn't get anything sweet enough. Even a fruit like strawberries wasn't sweet enough.

    Now that i've cut out artificial sweeteners, I can taste sugar again! Fruit tastes sweet again, and I barely use any added sugars anywhere in my diet anymore.

    I was really desensitized to the taste of sugar, and I can directly attribute it to the use/overuse of artificial sweeteners. And sweeteners taste so overly sweet to me now, I can't even handle them.
  • during your weight loss did you completely remove fizzy drinks or just cut down on them?
    During the week I am fine and can go with little to no fizzy drink but as soon as it's the weekend I'm drinking fizzy drinks with the rest of the family, is this damaging to my progress?
    Would you suggest cutting it out completely?
    No not at all, as long as it has low calories or says diet you'r good to go
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    Water is a soft drink...


    OP is in Australia.
    Water is not a soft drink here.
    The term soft drinks means what other people elsewhere call pop, soda, fizzy drinks.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    Chey16 wrote: »
    Personally I would suggest no soda and especially no diet soda. The diet soda has additives (like aspartame) in it that cause numerous health issues, so even though they are zero calories they are still negative towards your health and weight loss. And regular soda is high in calories and sugar. I would suggest if you like the fuzziness of the drinks then you drink carbonated water (but make sure there are no artificial additives)!

    Good Luck!!

    Most people do not get any health issues from aspartame so be need for them to avoid it.

  • tanyabecka
    tanyabecka Posts: 39 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    DebzNuDa wrote: »
    Also, water is calorie free, has a sweet taste (try Crystal Geiser or even better, Fiji), NEEDS your body and won't cause any health problems. Good luck hon. :)

    But doesn't taste as good as Diet Coke. Which doesn't cause any health problems either.

    Diet soda is terrible for you. Artificial sweeteners period are.
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    tanyabecka wrote: »
    herrspoons wrote: »
    DebzNuDa wrote: »
    Also, water is calorie free, has a sweet taste (try Crystal Geiser or even better, Fiji), NEEDS your body and won't cause any health problems. Good luck hon. :)

    But doesn't taste as good as Diet Coke. Which doesn't cause any health problems either.

    Diet soda is terrible for you. Artificial sweeteners period are.

    Nope.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited February 2015
    Yep, this is what my experience has been. Eliminating the artificial sweeteners has changed my tastes and I can taste sweet tastes better than I used to. I used to have to add loads of sugar to all kinds of foods because I couldn't get anything sweet enough. Even a fruit like strawberries wasn't sweet enough.

    On the other hand, I used to drink diet coke regularly and never had this issue. I found strawberries and carrots plenty sweet, enjoyed my coffee black, have never added anything but fruit to my oatmeal, and always preferred drier wines back when I used to drink wine. So it's hardly a hard and fast rule and I suspect it's less common than not (or that something else was up with your palate).

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Water is a soft drink...


    OP is in Australia.
    Water is not a soft drink here.
    The term soft drinks means what other people elsewhere call pop, soda, fizzy drinks.

    As used in the US, the term is the opposite of "hard drink" and just means non-alcoholic. I suspect that's the derivation elsewhere too, but could be wrong of course.
  • Bellanzp6
    Bellanzp6 Posts: 5 Member
    When I crave for soda I like to drink h2oh or the la croix waters. They are carbonated so it tastes like you're drinking soda. :)
  • AussieShaytard
    AussieShaytard Posts: 16 Member
    Thank you all. These are some really great suggestions and I'll definitely take them into consideration.
  • shandy82165
    shandy82165 Posts: 184 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Yep, this is what my experience has been. Eliminating the artificial sweeteners has changed my tastes and I can taste sweet tastes better than I used to. I used to have to add loads of sugar to all kinds of foods because I couldn't get anything sweet enough. Even a fruit like strawberries wasn't sweet enough.

    On the other hand, I used to drink diet coke regularly and never had this issue. I found strawberries and carrots plenty sweet, enjoyed my coffee black, have never added anything but fruit to my oatmeal, and always preferred drier wines back when I used to drink wine. So it's hardly a hard and fast rule and I suspect it's less common than not (or that something else was up with your palate).
    Of course, which is why I said that it was MY experience.
  • jdstathopoulos
    jdstathopoulos Posts: 32 Member
    I cut it out completely. Last time I had one, I couldn't finish it. I never used to notice how sugary they are. After drinking only water for a few months, it tasted terrible
  • sunman00
    sunman00 Posts: 872 Member
    couldn't tell you the last time I drank a fizzy drink
  • amyweiser47
    amyweiser47 Posts: 2 Member
    Sparkling water is fizzy and it tends to settle my pop cravings. My favorite flavor is grapefruit. Just find a flavor you love! <3
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I cut down to a can a day, then switched to diet. The only time I have more is either if I'm out to eat or it's Sunday morning and I'm chugging a 24-ounce bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper when I get to work (I don't drink coffee).
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Lots of hate on aspartame for no reason. I miss this post being a sticky. If you're afraid of the scary chemical that is aspartame, please read this. It's harmless and one of the most studied subjects in the scientific field. Some people are fear mongering and have no freaking clue what they're talking about.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1
  • leahannhorton
    leahannhorton Posts: 20 Member
    My two cents are that you should eat foods that naturally occur. TOTALLY MY OPINION, but the best foods for you are the ones mother nature readily gives. If I ever have a soda, diet or not, I always feel bloated afterwards. If you are looking for something fizzy, I'd go for some kombucha. Love the probiotics and how they aren't typically overly sweet.
  • lchadwick3
    lchadwick3 Posts: 66 Member
    You'll read plenty of articles on here about how you can lose weight drinking all the soda products you want. And you can. But the biggest problem with soda isn't so much the sugar as it is the acid it puts in your body and the danger for kidney stones and osteoporosis later in life. Your body has to pull calcium from your bones to counteract the acid in sodas. On an acid-alkaline scale, sodas are right next to battery acid. I just couldn't drink them anymore after reading that.
  • cndkendrick
    cndkendrick Posts: 138 Member
    I love La Croix water. It's carbonated water and is sugar-free, sodium-free, and doesn't have any added artificial sweeteners. I've never been a soda drinker, but I can say that they definitely don't taste like soda, but still have all the fizz of soda.

    This fizzy drink is great.
    I'm a little unsure as to why there is encouragement to drink something so unnatural. Some chemical corn that our bodies have no idea what to do with.
  • @Topic
    Just drink water and tea, thats pretty easy.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    I love La Croix water. It's carbonated water and is sugar-free, sodium-free, and doesn't have any added artificial sweeteners. I've never been a soda drinker, but I can say that they definitely don't taste like soda, but still have all the fizz of soda.

    This fizzy drink is great.
    I'm a little unsure as to why there is encouragement to drink something so unnatural. Some chemical corn that our bodies have no idea what to do with.


    What exactly do you mean by ' that our bodies have no idea what to do with'?
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
    I drink at least a gallon of diet soda per day. It has made no difference either way.
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
    lchadwick3 wrote: »
    You'll read plenty of articles on here about how you can lose weight drinking all the soda products you want. And you can. But the biggest problem with soda isn't so much the sugar as it is the acid it puts in your body and the danger for kidney stones and osteoporosis later in life. Your body has to pull calcium from your bones to counteract the acid in sodas. On an acid-alkaline scale, sodas are right next to battery acid. I just couldn't drink them anymore after reading that.

    Do you eat fruit?
  • kimtober
    kimtober Posts: 52 Member
    I stopped drinking pop (Coke) at home a year ago when I started MFP, but I totally still get it when I go out to eat. It's the best from the fountain and I don't feel guilty when it's just a couple a week. I've lost about 35lbs.
  • rhiannon_dale
    rhiannon_dale Posts: 4 Member
    La Croix waters!!
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