Is Mio really a good idea?

amusedmonkey

You reminded me of the conversations I usually have with people around me. Such statements often confuse me because I have the exact opposite reaction to artificially sweetened drinks. Granted I don't drink them often, but once in awhile I would buy a 12 pack of diet 7Up cans and drink daily for a week or two. I find they actually curb my appetite and leave me feeling full because of they are carbonated. I also find I reach for sweet snacks less often because it feels like I've had my sweet fix for the day. So why do I not drink them every day if they make weight loss easier for me? Because I like tea more and get bored of soft drinks fast. Simple as that.

I wonder if using the "habit" argument is just an excuse to demonize artificially sweetened beverages. I mean no one around me comments on my habit of drinking a liter of unsweetened teas of all flavors and varieties every day, apparently beverages don't fuel a snacking habit until you add artificial sweeteners to them because as soon as someone sees a can of 7Up in my hand I'm suddenly "fueling old habits".

What's wrong with having a snacking habit anyway? It is not the snacking that leads to weight gain, but he consumption of too many calories. If someone is a grazer by nature, a full overhaul of habits is not needed and is often not well-tolerated long term. All that is needed is to consider the types and quantities of foods used for grazing making sure they don't put you over your calorie goal. Attempting a 180 is often one of the main reasons some dieters fail to last, because it's too extreme of a change.

Is it because they "replace" water? Not in my case, if anything they actually add to the water I already drink. I drink tea/diet soft drinks because I feel like it and I drink water because I'm thirsty. The two instances are completely separate to me. Nothing in existence can quench my thirst as well as water. I only found out that some people actually don't like water when I started communicating on the internet. The concept felt foreign to me at first. It sounded like someone saying "I don't like breathing air without an air freshener because I don't like the way it smells". I mean water to me has always been something that you drink without thinking or any kind of judgemental calls, just like breathing or going to the bathroom. Since then I have learned it's actually common not to like water. If that's the case for some people and artificially sweetened beverages help them quench their thirst then why not? They would still be getting the H2O their body needs, even if it comes packed with other flavors.

I believe people over-react to certain nutrition topics trying to micro-manage every aspect of weight loss when in reality not stressing about all the details and learning from your own experiences may be the best route for a smooth ride, regardless of the type of beverages you like, number of meals you prefer, snacking, carbs, fat, meal timing, exercise type/timing or any other micro-detail that highly depends on personal experience. Who is anyone to generalize a "one true way" of doing something when different people find success using different strategies?