Weight loss paused bc diet soda?
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I am 66 I started drinking Pepsi when I fourteen, every day after school I would go get my dad a pack of Player's cigarettes and he'd give me a quarter for a Pepsi. This was our ritual. (Yes, he did die of lung & liver cancer at 46 - awful) then when I met my husband at 28 he was appalled that I was drinking sugared Coke, so I started Diet Coke. I think giving up wine was even easier because I didn't start drinking that until my 30's. But I have been secretly feeling I should be giving Coke Zero up even tho I am consistently slowly losing every week. Maybe it will do better. I too dropped 15 lbs the 1st month but it has slowed down since. I don't want to do too low carbs because I have to stay on this diet for at least year to get to goal. Maybe the no drinking Coke will help??0
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My beverage choice since the '70s has always been diet something or other. In 2013 when I finally decided to get serious about losing my excess adipose, the intake of caffeine free Diet Pepsi or caffeine free Diet Coke increased significantly.
I've said before, "I'd hate to admit how much I drink daily". It's never effected weight loss or maintenance. True confession, I was drinking a 12 pack of 12 ounce cans, most days. No exaggeration. I'd place the empty cans on the kitchen counter throughout the day and crush them once every day or two. Crushing them became a "problem" when I tore my rotator cuff in May and could no longer lift my arm to use the can crusher. Dear, dear husband took over the can crushing duty (I can now do it and consider the motion a good exercise for the rotator cuff/subluxated bicep).
This October 1st I decided caffeine free Diet Pepsi and caffeine free Diet Coke are non-essential to my WOE and quit drinking them. The primary reason I quit drinking them is I started thinking: "what if" there is any truth to artificial sweeteners being "damaging" to the brain and "what if" artificial sweeteners are having an effect on my brain in regards to my Dystonia. I have no opinion or facts regarding the use of artificial sweeteners. I just quit drinking them as a personal experiment. I'm currently substituting. My current choice is seltzer water for the fizz, sometimes with stevia sweetened water enhancers versus other sweeteners. I'm not as obsessed with having seltzer in the house as I was with diet colas.
I have not experienced any sort of withdrawal symptoms/weight gain/weight loss since stopping CF Diet Pepsi or CF Diet Coke. I do think a piece of the reason for "no withdrawal" is because my choices have been caffeine free since June of 2000 when my neurologist suggested to cease using caffeine regarding my involuntary movement disorder (Dystonia). When I quit drinking caffeine, (regular coffee and all) initially, I did have withdrawal symptoms. I got headaches and became a bit lethargic. That passed fairly quickly.
TL:DR OP, the diet drinks may or may not be effecting weight loss. Hope you get the downward trend going again.
To others, the addiction to the drinks may be caffeine related. Just a thought.1 -
If you get one, let me know how you like it. I'm always super tempted by those machines...Me too - I am in but I am starting tomorrow - I just HAVE TO drink the last one in my house. But I want to quit too. I think it is the fizz that I like. Maybe I will get one of those fizz making machines. I already drink Perrier & Pellegrino.
Yes! You will have to tell us!0 -
I'm going to stop Coke Zero and my even higher addiction to Crystal Lite. At first when I started doing LCHF, it didn't seem to affect weight loss, but now that I am within 10 pounds of my goal, I haven't seen any weight change in 3 months. Maybe this is the key. I know it's not good for me anyway...2
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I know this infographic is alarmist (also I know nothing of its source)...and probably based on people who follow SAD. For me personally, I don't think diet sodas are good for our bodies. Also, aspartame has been linked to many not so healthy conditions.
That said, we each have to do what is necessary to stay on track diet wise - handle one addiction at a time. For me it's been food and possibly alcohol.
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I've seen that before @coloradoartstudio and I'm sure there is truth to it. I never worried too much because I would just have one soda per day, but I really do crave it when I don't have it.
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Oh this makes me so sad. I will quit soon too. I have the occasional cherry Coke Zero and sometimes a diet squirt at night. It's taken the place of a glass of wine after dinner.0
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We are all addicted2
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KetoLady86 wrote: »We are all addicted
Sigh...0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Unfortunately, diet soda is a required ingredient for my protein fluff recipes. Fortunately, I've never had any problems out of it, and I drink more in a day than most people do in a week. I'm pretty sure that if you cut me, a sickly combination of Coke Zero, Diet Sunkist, and Diet A&W Root Beer would pour out.
Yes, same here... except it is Diet Pepsi, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Sunkist, and Diet A&W Root Beer. I drink Diet Coke if I'm at a restaurant that only serves Coke products and has no other diet options.2 -
I'll join this challenge to quit the diet soda too. I usually don't have more than one per day but my weight loss has stalled the last couple months. I could blame it on the carbs that have been sneaking back into my diet but I have a feeling the two go hand in hand
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coloradoartstudio wrote: »I know this infographic is alarmist (also I know nothing of its source)...and probably based on people who follow SAD. For me personally, I don't think diet sodas are good for our bodies. Also, aspartame has been linked to many not so healthy conditions.
That said, we each have to do what is necessary to stay on track diet wise - handle one addiction at a time. For me it's been food and possibly alcohol.
My understanding of #1 is that the soda does very little to teeth because it passes over them too quickly. If you swish the soda around and hold it in your mouth for several hours, then there could be a problem. Nobody does that.
#2 - This is false, plain and simple. The explanation is that taste buds trigger our pancreas to produce insulin. The result of that process, if true, is that people who ingest soda will experience symptoms of hypoglycemia including hunger, an inability to concentrate or think clearly, seizures, and possibly even death. As you might guess, the reason diet soda drinkers are not experiencing hypoglycemic seizures is because there is no insulin response based purely on taste buds. The insulin response comes from a rise in BG. Since diet soda doesn't contain carbs, the only reason for BG to rise would be as a result of hormones that cause glycogen release. That hormonal response may be worth researching, but then the insulin response is necessary and does not cause hypoglycemia.
I can't address the other issues, but the incorrect explanation of how insulin release is triggered just makes me cringe every time I hear it. Our taste buds do not cause us to accidentally kill ourselves... at least not that quickly, anyway.1 -
Okay..I havent had a diet soda since last night around maybe 5...and yall??2
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I don't do diet sodas and never have but I love the cheap fizzy flavored water at Walmart but found I can't do that because of the aspartame in it. Made me bloated and icky. Sad because I like having something other than plain water and the fizzy is nice every once in a while but not worth the icky feeling after a day or two.0
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I dont mind plain water, Im used to it...but idk..i love a cold diet coke0
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I used to drink several Coke zeros a day. I decided to give them up two years ago and have never looked back. Had to do it in stages: first substitute Crystal Lite for the soda; then subsitute lemon water for the Crystal Lite; then just plain ole water. I could never go from soda to plain water--too difficult. Now how about those Quest/Kirkland bars.... hmmm did I just latch onto another addiction? Wish I liked those higher percentaged dark chocolates, but can't see any point in chocolate if it's not milk chocolate.0
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I have already quit Coke what about diet tonic water and my still strawberry flavoured water (4 cal in a litre) aarrgghh not sure I can give those two up at the same time. I live on them, and I mean I drink 2 litres a day, one bottle of each 0
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Check out the Bulletproof Radio episode about addiction and you may look a little closer at statements like "I'm not sure I can give x up".
http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/podone.noxsolutions.com/launchpod/bulletproof/mp3/BPR-HackingAddiction_BbEttitudeSuperG.mp30 -
RowdysLady wrote: »sherryrichie wrote: »RowdysLady wrote: »Yes it can be the diet soda. I used to drink nothing but Coke Zero. When I stopped drinking it and went to water I lost 15 lbs in a month. Yep....in a month.
I just may have had my last Coke Zero. So hard for me to give up.
I had been crazy miserable with itching, pain, exhaustion and I wound up going to a Naturopath because no doctor could tell me what was wrong. I told her I was addicted to them. She told me to give them up. Keep in mind I'd been drinking nothing but Coke Zero - I woke up with one, went to bed with one. She said it was my problem. I cried, literally, in her office. On the way home I drank one more 20 ounce and didn't touch another one for about 6 years. In that first month I really did drop 15 lbs. I also lost most of my symptoms that took me to the Naturopath to begin with. I felt so much better. Migraines were eased up, my gut pain was gone, I could sleep at night, the freaking itching that made me scratch my skin off went away...
I drank only water and was scared to death that if I had any soda I'd fall off the wagon. Over the last two years I started drinking sweet tea and sugared sodas again and that with my diet, I watched my weight climb. It wasn't until I decided to lose weight that I went to sugar free sodas but I don't drink them as my only source of liquid. Rowdy likes Pepsi products so that's what I buy now and it was really easy to have a diet Pepsi on occasion - they taste only "ok". But now Pepsi makes a Pepsi Zero that is AMAZING. I wish I'd never tried it because I think I could be right back where I was so many years ago.
I started logging again yesterday and added a spot for soda so I could see if my Pepsi Zero intake was getting out of control. I know some days I drink more soda than others but right now it's when I'm out and about - like at Anna's band competitions. I should not be drinking 5 a day at home. We will see...sigh...
I wish it were as easy, @HawkPNP as to just stop buying them and drinking water. Soda is as addictive as tobacco, gambling and alcohol. The only reason I was able to quit cold turkey back then was because I felt like I was dying I was so sick and miserable all the time. And the minute I had an "excuse" to drink them again, I did so here I am. With a Pepsi Zero in front of me right now. Even when you don't buy a 12 pack for the house, you stop at the gas station and buy one or get one at the restaurant. It truly is an addiction for some people.
Do you drop just diet sodas, or does this also include things like crystal light tea as well. If so I'd be totally screwed.0 -
RowdysLady wrote: »Yes it can be the diet soda. I used to drink nothing but Coke Zero. When I stopped drinking it and went to water I lost 15 lbs in a month. Yep....in a month.
Wow nice! I wonder if sweeteners are holding me back.. hmm. I'll have to cut way back on having them for awhile.0 -
Personally I think that my ability to stick with keto this time around has a lot to do with giving up Diet Coke (aka Diet Crack for me). I finally feel in control of my cravings, whereas when I drank it, the cravings never really went away, even when eating low carb. That's just my body though - YMMV. I am afraid to even try liquid stevia, since I gave up all sweeteners, I just don't want to go back!2
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@wtskinner I stopped everything but water back then. After a few years I did start drinking refreshers from Starbucks on occasion and was ok. I think you can do it however you feel most comfy. I had to go cold turkey to just water at first because I knew I'd never stick to it any other way. Today if I were to "quit"? I also love the cheap fizzy water from Wal Mart and I would probably drink that instead. In all honesty, right now, I couldn't give up the soda right now. I've given up so much other stuff and I need something like that available to me right now. In time, when I'm fully Ketofied maybe...I can only give up so much before I crash and go back to eating pizzas by the whole pizzas...ya know?1
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I can't stand the taste of water, the one time I tried low carb with only water to drink that was the sole reason I gave up.
My entire liquid intake is approx 4 cans of Coke or Fanta zero a day and a ton of liquid sucralose sweetened tea. I lose around 2lbs a week and can't see that it's likely I'd lose faster if I gave them up.
If I had a major stall I couldn't see any reason for I might think about it but I literally have no idea what I'd drink instead.0 -
I'm a coke zero lover, I'm drinking some right now. It doesn't have any negative effect on me, only on my wallet. However my husband always feels a bit yucky after drinking it - tired, sluggish and just off. He isn't dieting or doing any sort of low carb thing at all, but he has stopped drinking it.0
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Personally I think that my ability to stick with keto this time around has a lot to do with giving up Diet Coke (aka Diet Crack for me). I finally feel in control of my cravings, whereas when I drank it, the cravings never really went away, even when eating low carb. That's just my body though - YMMV. I am afraid to even try liquid stevia, since I gave up all sweeteners, I just don't want to go back!
I don't know how I would give up the liquid Stevia...I can do the diet soda...but the stevia
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KetoLady86 wrote: »Personally I think that my ability to stick with keto this time around has a lot to do with giving up Diet Coke (aka Diet Crack for me). I finally feel in control of my cravings, whereas when I drank it, the cravings never really went away, even when eating low carb. That's just my body though - YMMV. I am afraid to even try liquid stevia, since I gave up all sweeteners, I just don't want to go back!
I don't know how I would give up the liquid Stevia...I can do the diet soda...but the stevia
Stevia is not an artificial sweetener. You don't have to give that up
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I am starting today no more Coke Zero - it actually feels like a relief.2
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »KetoLady86 wrote: »Personally I think that my ability to stick with keto this time around has a lot to do with giving up Diet Coke (aka Diet Crack for me). I finally feel in control of my cravings, whereas when I drank it, the cravings never really went away, even when eating low carb. That's just my body though - YMMV. I am afraid to even try liquid stevia, since I gave up all sweeteners, I just don't want to go back!
I don't know how I would give up the liquid Stevia...I can do the diet soda...but the stevia
Stevia is not an artificial sweetener. You don't have to give that up
OH YEA!! DUH!!..LMAO0 -
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Currently riding on the bus with a 20 can case of Diet Coke in my lap lol
I'm not affected by it though2
