Diet Pop..zero calories, but does it hurt weight loss

hpurtee1hp

So i know the goal is to stay within a certain number of calories, and diet pop is 0 calories.. however, has anyone had better success with eliminating pop completely? I mean obviously I know that it's best to not drink any pop at all, but with it being 0 calories, does it affect this program much??. What do u all think?

deannalfisher

zero calories mean that - i've had no issue losing or maintaining weight while having at least one coke zero or sprite zero a day

Poisonedpawn78

It does not affect weight loss. Its not opinion its scientific fact.

ObviousPanda

I don’t drink it. I feel there are too many chemicals in Coke Zero and similar drinks. It’s a personal preference. My husband drinks it and hasn’t had any issues.

DaddieCat

Hasn't hurt my efforts in the slightest.

mbaker566

it should not have any affect on weight loss as it is 0 cal

Running_and_Coffee

I used to be a Diet Coke addict and am thrilled I kicked that habit 4 years ago. But it has nothing to do with weight gain or loss. I stopped drinking it because I was concerned I was addicted to it and that I was flooding my body with chemicals and wanted to switch to water and tea. I had absolutely no weight changes switching from 4-5 cans of DC a day to water.

emmamcgarity

I think if it helps you maintain your calorie goal it’s a benefit. However as a “Diet Coke fiend” I have been reducing my intake and replacing it with water. I used to drink at least 6 per day and became uncomfortable with my dependence on it. It has taken me several months to reach a place where I have one every 2-3 days. I do not believe drinking it hinders weight loss nor do I believe it is unhealthy in itself. It helped me break the high calorie soda addiction many years ago.

ExistingFish

My husband drinks it all the time. I don't. I don't think it has anything to do with weight loss.

looney9708

I have no scientific data or know why. But two examples of it hurting weight loss:

On the 30/10 weight loss diet program they were adamant that it stalls fat loss and it was not approved. Any chemical type drink including crystal light. La croix was ok

I have another friend who sincerely swears she only cut a lg amount of Diet Coke daily. It was not just one can. She lost quite a bit of weight.

Just two things I always think of. But if you have one a day I don’t see it being an issue. But maybe experiment and see what happens

midlomel1971

I drink them, but I want to stop because I think it makes my sweet tooth worse.

hpurtee1hp

midlomel1971 wrote: »

I drink them, but I want to stop because I think it makes my sweet tooth worse.

Now I'm the exact opposite, when I'm craving something sweet I'll grab a diet coke haha. Of course then I want chips or something salty with it. Haha

hpurtee1hp

ObviousPanda wrote: »

I don’t drink it. I feel there are too many chemicals in Coke Zero and similar drinks. It’s a personal preference. My husband drinks it and hasn’t had any issues.

Yea, I agree there's a lot of chemicals I'd like to get away from!

deannalfisher

looney9708 wrote: »

I have no scientific data or know why. But two examples of it hurting weight loss:

On the 30/10 weight loss diet program they were adamant that it stalls fat loss and it was not approved. Any chemical type drink including crystal light. La croix was ok

I have another friend who sincerely swears she only cut a lg amount of Diet Coke daily. It was not just one can. She lost quite a bit of weight.

Just two things I always think of. But if you have one a day I don’t see it being an issue. But maybe experiment and see what happens

they may be adamant...but is there science to back up their belief?

did your friend cut out any other foods - or only the amount of diet coke...it would be a physics anonoly that would win the nobel peace prize if she managed to loose weight by ONLY cutting out a drink that has zero calories...

jgnatca

What does it matter what I think? All that matters is what the evidence says.

The evidence says that diet pop has no influence on weight loss.

fb47

Yolo, if you like it, drink it. I have yet to hear someone die because they drank too much diet soda in their lifetime. As for body composition, it doesn't make you gain weight.

cwolfman13

Let's think about this for a minute...a calorie is a unit of measure...it provides the energy for our bodies...how can something that provides zero energy have any impact on weight management?

CarvedTones

This article:
http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/
references two studies published in respected medical publications that found a statistical correlation with drinking diet soda and weight/fat gain but correlation does not establish causation.
Switching to personal anecdotal information, I do know people who seem to think that drinking a diet soda means they can have an extra slice of pizza or whatever. That's bad math.
I think if you are drinking diet soda while tracking calories and making sure you are in a deficit, it will cause no problem.

deannalfisher

CarvedTones wrote: »

This article:
http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/
references two studies published in respected medical publications that found a statistical correlation with drinking diet soda and weight/fat gain but correlation does not establish causation.
Switching to personal anecdotal information, I do know people who seem to think that drinking a diet soda means they can have an extra slice of pizza or whatever. That's bad math.
I think if you are drinking diet soda while tracking calories and making sure you are in a deficit, it will cause no problem.

the one article cited (JAMA Pediatrics) is available in full-text format...the one glaring measure that they didn't include was mother calorie consumption in general...they looked at food quality, but not food quantity...i would probably put more interest in results if they controlled for that - they also identified that mothers who were obese and used Artifical sugars were more likely to have obese kids...

i think your pizza anecdote is a valuable one...people think if they have a diet soda, they are being good - so they off set it with something extra like fries or pizza which have calories - thus increasing their intake and gaining weight...

CarvedTones

deannalfisher wrote: »

CarvedTones wrote: »

This article:
http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/
references two studies published in respected medical publications that found a statistical correlation with drinking diet soda and weight/fat gain but correlation does not establish causation.
Switching to personal anecdotal information, I do know people who seem to think that drinking a diet soda means they can have an extra slice of pizza or whatever. That's bad math.
I think if you are drinking diet soda while tracking calories and making sure you are in a deficit, it will cause no problem.

the one article cited (JAMA Pediatrics) is available in full-text format...the one glaring measure that they didn't include was mother calorie consumption in general...they looked at food quality, but not food quantity...i would probably put more interest in results if they controlled for that - they also identified that mothers who were obese and used Artifical sugars were more likely to have obese kids...

i think your pizza anecdote is a valuable one...people think if they have a diet soda, they are being good - so they off set it with something extra like fries or pizza which have calories - thus increasing their intake and gaining weight...

Another way to put it is even if it is true that people who drink diet soda are more likely to be overweight, it's not sneaking diet sodas that causes that...

deannalfisher

CarvedTones wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

CarvedTones wrote: »

This article:
http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/
references two studies published in respected medical publications that found a statistical correlation with drinking diet soda and weight/fat gain but correlation does not establish causation.
Switching to personal anecdotal information, I do know people who seem to think that drinking a diet soda means they can have an extra slice of pizza or whatever. That's bad math.
I think if you are drinking diet soda while tracking calories and making sure you are in a deficit, it will cause no problem.

the one article cited (JAMA Pediatrics) is available in full-text format...the one glaring measure that they didn't include was mother calorie consumption in general...they looked at food quality, but not food quantity...i would probably put more interest in results if they controlled for that - they also identified that mothers who were obese and used Artifical sugars were more likely to have obese kids...

i think your pizza anecdote is a valuable one...people think if they have a diet soda, they are being good - so they off set it with something extra like fries or pizza which have calories - thus increasing their intake and gaining weight...

Another way to put it is even if it is true that people who drink diet soda are more likely to be overweight, it's not sneaking diet sodas that causes that...

yup...

until i see a study where all calorie intake is controlled as a variable and the only discriminator is artifical sweetners - and weight gain is observed - then i'll believe it - but none of the studies i've seen thus far have resulted in that

ETA - IF i were researcher for a day - how i would create the study...

individuals who previously did not drink diet soda; who have maintained weight (+/- 5lbs) for x period of time; must be willing to consume 1 diet soda (20oz bottle) daily for y period of time. maintain all other food tracking,exercise habits

baseline it for a month (no diet soda); 1 month diet soda consumption; no diet soda (1 month); diet soda one month - do a multiple periods comparison analysis

BruceHedtke

CarvedTones wrote: »

This article:

Switching to personal anecdotal information, I do know people who seem to think that drinking a diet soda means they can have an extra slice of pizza or whatever. That's bad math.

Well, it's bad math if they think that just by drinking a diet soda, it's going to magically create more of a deficit. The diet soda won't ADD to your daily calories but it won't burn calories, either.

However, if they were going to drink a regular soda and decided to drink a diet soda instead, it would free up those calories for something else.

BruceHedtke

hpurtee1hp wrote: »

midlomel1971 wrote: »

I drink them, but I want to stop because I think it makes my sweet tooth worse.

Now I'm the exact opposite, when I'm craving something sweet I'll grab a diet coke haha. Of course then I want chips or something salty with it. Haha

I've tried the "drink water to help you feel full" trick and it doesn't work for me (usually). But, drinking a diet soda does satisfy me if I'm between meals and am feeling hungry. It doesn't make me feel full but it does take away that little gnawing hunger pain and I can think of something other than food.

kimny72

Everything is chemicals. There is worse stuff in the air you're breathing than in a diet soda.

Some people say it makes them hungrier, but there's nothing in diet soda that would explain that, maybe it's psychological. I know if I'm snacky for something sweet a diet soda takes care of it with no calories.

I drink several a week, and if there was more room in my budget I'd drink one every day. I have yet to see anything remotely scientific that shows diet soda CAUSES anything. And the correlation stuff I've seen is pretty easily explained by alternate common sense causes. :drinker:

sdolan91

kimny72 wrote: »

Everything is chemicals. There is worse stuff in the air you're breathing than in a diet soda.

Some people say it makes them hungrier, but there's nothing in diet soda that would explain that, maybe it's psychological. I know if I'm snacky for something sweet a diet soda takes care of it with no calories.

I drink several a week, and if there was more room in my budget I'd drink one every day. I have yet to see anything remotely scientific that shows diet soda CAUSES anything. And the correlation stuff I've seen is pretty easily explained by alternate common sense causes. :drinker:

thank you!! i dont get the "i stay away from chemicals" thing... what? when you break down anything, ain't it all chemicals! lol

Running_and_Coffee

sdolan91 wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

Everything is chemicals. There is worse stuff in the air you're breathing than in a diet soda.

Some people say it makes them hungrier, but there's nothing in diet soda that would explain that, maybe it's psychological. I know if I'm snacky for something sweet a diet soda takes care of it with no calories.

I drink several a week, and if there was more room in my budget I'd drink one every day. I have yet to see anything remotely scientific that shows diet soda CAUSES anything. And the correlation stuff I've seen is pretty easily explained by alternate common sense causes. :drinker:

thank you!! i dont get the "i stay away from chemicals" thing... what? when you break down anything, ain't it all chemicals! lol

It's just the fact that I felt addicted to it that made me concerned. I got severe headaches if I skipped Diet Coke and just felt like I'd be better off without that quantity of chemicals in my body. I DO try to choose more natural products when I can--I think a lot of people do. Of course we can't avoid chemicals altogether, but I prefer to go for fresher foods from simpler ingredients when I can.

dmsl977

Personally as a recovering diet coke addict, I replaced it with water. I've noticed much less bloat and acid reflux, but not a difference in weight loss.

yirara

I feel that if I drink diet coke I get into a mindset of "I should not be drinking this rubbish" and then start eating lots of snacks next to it, just because. I don't think diet coke is unhealthy as such, but honestly, I don't really like it. One just gets used to it I guess. I do like carbonated drinks after a whole day of hiking. But that doesn't happen too often. I guess the only big downside of carbonated drinks is the damage it does to your teeth (it's an acid after all).

winchestervol63

hpurtee1hp wrote: »

So i know the goal is to stay within a certain number of calories, and diet pop is 0 calories.. however, has anyone had better success with eliminating pop completely? I mean obviously I know that it's best to not drink any pop at all, but with it being 0 calories, does it affect this program much??. What do u all think?

I like Diet Mt. Dew and drink more than one every day. Have lost 34 lbs since May 10th. So, I don't think they have any detrimental effect on weight loss at all, unless there's some sort of indirect effect for a particular person where it might make them crave (and then consume) something that actually does have significant calories.

nutmegoreo

CarvedTones wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

CarvedTones wrote: »

This article:
http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-weight-gain/
references two studies published in respected medical publications that found a statistical correlation with drinking diet soda and weight/fat gain but correlation does not establish causation.
Switching to personal anecdotal information, I do know people who seem to think that drinking a diet soda means they can have an extra slice of pizza or whatever. That's bad math.
I think if you are drinking diet soda while tracking calories and making sure you are in a deficit, it will cause no problem.

the one article cited (JAMA Pediatrics) is available in full-text format...the one glaring measure that they didn't include was mother calorie consumption in general...they looked at food quality, but not food quantity...i would probably put more interest in results if they controlled for that - they also identified that mothers who were obese and used Artifical sugars were more likely to have obese kids...

i think your pizza anecdote is a valuable one...people think if they have a diet soda, they are being good - so they off set it with something extra like fries or pizza which have calories - thus increasing their intake and gaining weight...

Another way to put it is even if it is true that people who drink diet soda are more likely to be overweight, it's not sneaking diet sodas that causes that...

Another question is: are people who are overweight more likely to choose diet soda, rather than diet soda causing the weight? Chicken or egg?

vingogly

CarvedTones wrote: »

Another way to put it is even if it is true that people who drink diet soda are more likely to be overweight, it's not sneaking diet sodas that causes that...

As an illustration: The more people abuse alcohol, the more cigarettes they smoke, and vice versa. That's correlation. Causation means demonstrating drinking alcohol causes people to smoke cigarettes, or smoking cigarettes causes people to abuse alcohol.

See:

https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa39.htm