Is it worth it to quit diet soda? Have you?
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stevencloser wrote: »lacusfitness wrote: »My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.
Care to elaborate?
Just putting out my opinion based on what it has done for me. Cutting pop out of my life made it better and it made my doctor happy too. Also for the health wise I was basing it on the artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose that are in diet soda that are bad for you.0 -
lacusfitness wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »lacusfitness wrote: »My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.
Care to elaborate?
Just putting out my opinion based on what it has done for me. Cutting pop out of my life made it better and it made my doctor happy too. Also for the health wise I was basing it on the artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose that are in diet soda that are bad for you.
Anecdotal "it went like this for me" stories are not evidence. The way you presented your original statement implied you were stating it as a fact, not as an anecdote. Stating anecdotes as fact is how a lot of dumb myths get started.
Back in the world of actual evidence, those sweeteners are generally regarded as safe (that is why they're in your food to begin with), but of course if you consume a whole load of them, you're gonna have problems. Just like how if I go and eat 45 bananas in one sitting every day for all three meals I'll probably end up with some problems. Most things are bad for you if you consume too much of them, even the things that are objectively good for you.
In the case of things like sweeteners, it is more productive for people to gauge how they feel about it and how it affects them personally rather than take other people's anecdotes as fact. Soda causes cravings for some people, it lessens cravings for others, causes bloating in some, no bloating for others, etc. etc. we could babble on all day about how people's mileage varies with certain types of foods (and medicines and exercises and working patterns and blah blah blah).0 -
Diet pop has a bunch of stuff in it that's not good for you. That's not to say it's the worst thing you can put into your body, but it's also not the best, if you're looking to get healthy. It's clearly a habit for you, so I wouldn't recommend going cold turkey. In fact, I don't think you really need to quit at all. But I would try to gradually cut down. Maybe allow yourself no more than 5 cans. Then after a few weeks, decrease it to 4. Then 3. Until you're down to one can or bottle per day. Again, I don't think you need to cut it out completely. My personal philosophy is never to cut anything completely out of your diet. Just reduce it to a reasonable amount. Maybe one 20-oz bottle or 12-oz can with dinner would be fine.
As for drinking other things, there are a lot of alternatives. Adding natural, fruit flavorings to your water, adding flavor shots to water, drinking tea, these are all changes you can implement to cut down the amount of diet pop you drink.0 -
lacusfitness wrote: »My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.
The only thing you're correct on is the saving money part. Otherwise, No.0 -
MinatoandClover wrote: »Diet pop has a bunch of stuff in it that's not good for you.
Such as...?0 -
After giving up all artificial sweeteners (Diet Soda / Crystal Light etc.) two years ago, my body cannot tolerate any of those anymore. They make me very ill. I drink herbal tea in the AM, water & Kombucha.0
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I stopped drinking diet pop for 3 months and didn't notice a difference. I don't have any at home though, I only have it at family functions and sometimes when I get fast food.0
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I would think if you are not dealing with depression, diabetes, headaches or worried about your teeth I don't think you have to give it up completely. If its something you enjoy or look forward to then continue. If the quantity is bothering you then cut back a little bit. There have been no scientific studies that have linked the artificial sweeteners in Coke Zero to cancer or anything like that.0
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I have quit - just to prove to my kid I could. It has had no affect on my weight loss or health and I have no other good reason for doing it except to say I did. Its been over a year and a half now since I quit.0
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lacusfitness wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »lacusfitness wrote: »My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.
Care to elaborate?
Just putting out my opinion based on what it has done for me. Cutting pop out of my life made it better and it made my doctor happy too. Also for the health wise I was basing it on the artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose that are in diet soda that are bad for you.
How do you think they are bad for you?0 -
staceyseeger wrote: »After giving up all artificial sweeteners (Diet Soda / Crystal Light etc.) two years ago, my body cannot tolerate any of those anymore. They make me very ill. I drink herbal tea in the AM, water & Kombucha.
Funny how people who never had it before and drink it for the first time don't get ill from it.0 -
i use to drink diet soda a lot. now I'm trying to kick aspartame and artificial sweeteners. I rarely drink diet now, when i drink alcohol i have whiskey diet coke, or once in awhile ill just get one to treat myself. i honestly don't really miss it. but it took awhile as it was a crutch
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Do you actually prefer the taste of Diet Coke? If not, try cutting back on them and then replacing them with the real deal once every few days, as a treat. Personally, I prefer real sugar as opposed to artificial sweeteners. I think in moderation it's always best to have the real deal then something made in a lab. Real sugar vs. aspartame, real butter vs margarine, real half n half vs coffeemate, etc. When you actually have to consider the calories you are making a conscious decision whether to eat or not, and in my book mindfulness when eating is a good thing.0
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stevencloser wrote: »there have been so many studies on the adverse effects of diet soda.
i have found that mineral water with lime or lemon or even the la croix gives me a 'soda fix' and is much better for me. My kids even love it. Weird I know but they do.
Have there now?
I used to hate it, but after years of not having any I tried some and it tasted good. What do you say to that?powerplaymsu wrote: »Best thing I ever did was quit drinking pop/soda. Diet Coke was the culprit. Ever notice how disgusting it tastes after a month or two off? You can taste the chemicals. It should signal an issue when your head hurts because you quit! Withdrawal from caffeine. I have had one time I had some black coffee(not a thing in it) just to move my morning along, once. Getting up at 5 at the gym usually wakes me up. Lifting, then cardio and then a shower. Usually that is all the lift I need!
The scientifican american article talks about a study that talks about why artificial sweeteners might not be the best.0 -
stevencloser wrote: »there have been so many studies on the adverse effects of diet soda.
i have found that mineral water with lime or lemon or even the la croix gives me a 'soda fix' and is much better for me. My kids even love it. Weird I know but they do.
Have there now?
I used to hate it, but after years of not having any I tried some and it tasted good. What do you say to that?powerplaymsu wrote: »Best thing I ever did was quit drinking pop/soda. Diet Coke was the culprit. Ever notice how disgusting it tastes after a month or two off? You can taste the chemicals. It should signal an issue when your head hurts because you quit! Withdrawal from caffeine. I have had one time I had some black coffee(not a thing in it) just to move my morning along, once. Getting up at 5 at the gym usually wakes me up. Lifting, then cardio and then a shower. Usually that is all the lift I need!
The scientifican american article talks about a study that talks about why artificial sweeteners might not be the best.
Why not? What's wrong with them?0 -
Everyone should quit diet soda.
...that way there's more for me...0 -
I've cut down on diet coke a lot, used to drink 2 litres a day and now I only have one if I go for take out food. I'm now hooked on water with water enhancers, and the occasional diet coke and rum or wine.0
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pollypocket1021 wrote: »Everyone should quit diet soda.
...that way there's more for me...
LOL I wish they had a like button for comments on here.0 -
I drink diet soda. I will not be giving it up. It fits into my days calories and I prefer to mix that with a shot of something if I am out and drinking (a rare occasion these days) instead of drinking calorie laden cocktails or beer... and well wine smells and tastes like battery acid so I need to have one go to.
I have tried to cut back somewhat and have gone from drinking 2+ litres a day to maybe a can or two.
Again, I am jealous of the posts that read how much variety you get in diet soda over there. I am in Australia... we get diet coke and whatever the coke brand makes in a "zero" but with no flavour variations... so no diet cherry coke, or diet dr pepper. It kinda sucks.0 -
Sarasmaintaining wrote: »lacusfitness wrote: »My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.
The only thing you're correct on is the saving money part. Otherwise, No.
Absolutely not! Soda is dumb. There's no nutritional value density wise in the thing - it can cause weight gain, rots teeth, it's sick stuff. I cannot believe there are people on here who espouse drinking soda is fine as long as it fits into your macros. That's BS. Soda is awful stuff. No debate and plenty of evidence - and screw the "show me" crap.0 -
Love my diet colas! I have no plans for the rest of my life to completely quit drinking them. I am trying to drink more water and that leaves less room for diet drinks...but still.0
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I think it would be best if you try limiting yourself to one a week as a treat. Having so many a day is definitely not going to help you maintain/lose weight - especially since the sugars are replaced with other unhealthy substances to make up for the lack of sweetness in the drink. That was a big reason why I stopped drinking them so often. That, and it really wasn't keeping me as hydrated as I should be. It was really hard to train myself to go for a glass of water instead of a coke, but after a week I found it much easier to go around with a bottle of water rather than something else Hope this helps some! 0
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I personally gave up soda 7 years ago. My own choice.0
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I first gave up full sugar soda for the caloric reasons, then moved onto diet versions. I drank them for a while, but later after a lovely kidney stone experience, my urologist advised me to give them up entirely, so I did. I'll still very occasionally have a soda, but it's probably once every three months, and generally with pizza because pizza and soda go so well together. It's a rare treat, though.
Otherwise, I drink coffee, tea (iced or hot) and water. Alcoholic beverages are also once or twice a week.0 -
tedboosalis7 wrote: »Sarasmaintaining wrote: »lacusfitness wrote: »My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.
The only thing you're correct on is the saving money part. Otherwise, No.
Absolutely not! Soda is dumb. There's no nutritional value density wise in the thing - it can cause weight gain, rots teeth, it's sick stuff. I cannot believe there are people on here who espouse drinking soda is fine as long as it fits into your macros. That's BS. Soda is awful stuff. No debate and plenty of evidence - and screw the "show me" crap.
You're entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.0 -
I love my diet coke. I drink probably 2 liters a day. A few years ago I gave it up for 6 months or so and really didn't notice any benefits, when I started up again it was by simply getting one when I went for counseling or something... and the only thing I noticed was the burning feeling(not sure if that's the right word) in my throat... I kinda liked it. lol After that I think I eventually started drinking diet root beer and orange soda for a while. Then eventually, after having Diet Coke only occasionally I just decided I wanted to drink it again as my main drink. lol
Basically, I know I can quit Diet Coke at any time. I did it before, for about a week I allowed myself only a little bit of it each day, 2 liters lasted maybe a week.. then I dropped it completely. Thing is, I'm not crazy about water--I will only drink bottled spring water, anything else just doesn't taste right. Even then, I usually have to chug it to get it down. lol I also don't like hot beverages like coffee or tea. I did used to like this orange flavored energy drink mix for water, but they stopped selling it--that stuff helped me drink water like crazy! LOL
The cost factor I see, but bottled water is pretty expensive too.. and I would go through up to 10 bottles some days.. so really it's just a choice of which one I enjoy most. I do want to try to add some water again, but I don't believe diet coke is killing me, and it doesn't make me want to eat more. I am still able to keep a fairly low calorie goal, and that is my focus right now. I have already cut out a lot of things that I don't think are worth the calories at this time. Also.. I honestly and truly like diet coke, I always have, I don't even like regular coke, I have had regular root beer and stuff before, but I'm just as happy with the low cal alternatives.
TL;DR Diet Coke=Not Evil, Tasty, makes me happy--especially when I give up high calorie treats, but I COULD give it up if I *wanted* to.
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tedboosalis7 wrote: »Sarasmaintaining wrote: »lacusfitness wrote: »My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.
The only thing you're correct on is the saving money part. Otherwise, No.
Absolutely not! Soda is dumb.
What a nice, well-rounded argument.There's no nutritional value density wise in the thing
To be fair, there's really no nutritional value to water, either.it can cause weight gain, rots teeth, it's sick stuff.
So don't go over your calories and practice basic dental hygiene.I cannot believe there are people on here who espouse drinking soda is fine as long as it fits into your macros. That's BS. Soda is awful stuff. No debate and plenty of evidence - and screw the "show me" crap.
More insightful, mature debate.
Your opinion is your opinion, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying soda in moderation for an otherwise healthy individual. Not sure why you get so riled up over this stuff.
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I used to be a diet coke head but as I got older, the more I fell in love with straight up water. So now I never drink it. I don't miss it either. I love my water.0
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Some days I drink 5 cans, other days 0... I dont plan on ever quitting diet soda cause I really like it. It makes me feel full with meals, it tastes great and I havent noticed any side effects at all0
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I'm not rating one artifical sweetener over another, but as a group, I've come to understand that consuming them fools the body into thinking we are taking in sugar, stimulating insulin production and excretion. When the blood sugar doesn't go up, the brain does kind of a double take and say to the liver...there's no sugar, quick give us some sugar to meet the insulin we just made so we don't crash into hypoglycemia. Well some doctors believe, I believe Dr. Oz mentions this on his show as well, I'm that it may lead to a rebound type to diabetes from liver and pancreas over stimulation. I tend to believe this theory.0
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