Diet drinks advice..

stages95

Hi,

I am wondering whether Diet drinks such as Diet Coke or Pepsi Max affect weight loss.

I drink a few cans of Pepsi Max, I haven't really noticed it affecting my weight loss target for each week.

But in general could it slow down progress? I know there's a lot of substitutes for sugar in the car that are not great.

Cheers

vanessalkl

Hi there! To answer your question-yes, diet drinks/sodas can slow down progress. In order to lose weight, you've got to cut down on sodas and sugar because these two cause bloating and will cause weight fluctuations. Even though the label says 'sugar free', it's still laden with artificial sugar. The best drink is water!

laura0770

I am a diet soda junkie as well! I am trying to cut down and then cut out for good as they have a lot of sodium and do cause a lot of bloating. :happy:

TammyS327

I dont have the scientific proof but diet sodas are not good for you and can slow your weight loss. In my case I think they contributed to my weight gain.
Put them to the test. For the next 2 weeks drink only water and follow whatever diet plan you are using and see if it makes a difference. If you loss weight you will have your answer.
It worked for me.

stages95

Thanks all! Will cut them out and see if they improve my weight loss!

vanessalkl

Good luck!

laserturkey

I drink a can of Diet Dr. Pepper every single day, and I've lost 65 pounds. Go ahead and enjoy your diet soda in moderation.

rick30316

When your fat burning engine is revved up, a diet drink will stop it in its tracks. Further, the sodium in those things makes you thirsty for more and makes you retain fluid. Stay away from them. Find flavored fizzy mineral water and get used to the taste of it. It is an adjustment, but you will come to appreciate the clean flavor and feel of them.

I also like drinking unsweetened soy milk with meals.

rick30316

Here is what Dr Weil has to say: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401099/Diet-Soda-Downside.html

sloth3toes

I drink a can of Diet Dr. Pepper every single day, and I've lost 65 pounds. Go ahead and enjoy your diet soda in moderation.

I had a pretty bad Diet Dr Pepper habit, like 6 cans a day.... and for me, quitting completely was the only solution. So, I come from a pretty 'anti diet soda' background... and, IMHO.... the only real reason diet soda would derail your weight loss, would be if it causes you other cravings. Otherwise, for the most part, it should be calories in, calories out... and the diet soda shouldn't by itself, have any significant impact on your weight loss.

QuietBloom

There is evidence in rats that high intensity artificial sweeteners induce weight gain. There are other mitigating factors, but for me, after reading this study, I would avoid using artificial sweeteners (I do anyway, because they don't agree with me).

Adverse effects of high-intensity sweeteners on energy intake and weight control in male and obesity-prone female rats.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23398432

QuietBloom

When your fat burning engine is revved up, a diet drink will stop it in its tracks. Further, the sodium in those things makes you thirsty for more and makes you retain fluid. Stay away from them. Find flavored fizzy mineral water and get used to the taste of it. It is an adjustment, but you will come to appreciate the clean flavor and feel of them.

I also like drinking unsweetened soy milk with meals.

Do you have any evidence to support this? Because I have never heard this to be true.

ElusivePete

I used to be a big Pepsi Max drinker myself. My experience was that cutting out all carbonated drinks really helped my weight loss in indirect ways. As I discovered, the bloating sensation was making my hunger pangs much worse and more frequent. Sticking to still water and other non-carbonated drinks meant that my desire to snack during the day almost disappeared overnight.

In physiological terms though, don't expect any direct effect on your weight loss; i.e. soda doesn't make your body somehow burn fewer calories or whatever. That's not possible because your body's still outputting the same energy, so it has to burn the same amount of fuel. It's also worth noting that the bloating is just gas -- it may make you feel bigger, but it doesn't affect your weight because there's nowhere for the extra weight to come from.

Carnivor0us

Diet soda has no sugar or calories and will not actually effect true weight loss. The sodium in diet drinks could cause some water retention.

ninerbuff

Hi there! To answer your question-yes, diet drinks/sodas can slow down progress. In order to lose weight, you've got to cut down on sodas and sugar because these two cause bloating and will cause weight fluctuations. Even though the label says 'sugar free', it's still laden with artificial sugar. The best drink is water!

Disagree. A diet drink labeled with 0 calories and artificial sugar hasn't been scientifically shown to impair weight loss.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

When your fat burning engine is revved up, a diet drink will stop it in its tracks.

Where's the clinical study for this? I for one would like to read it. And don't ask me to google it. If you state it, show us the actual peer reviewed proof or else it's just BS.

Further, the sodium in those things makes you thirsty for more and makes you retain fluid. Stay away from them. Find flavored fizzy mineral water and get used to the taste of it. It is an adjustment, but you will come to appreciate the clean flavor and feel of them.

There's more sodium in many "natural" items than in a diet soda. 40 milligrams (on a standard limit of 2500 milligrams a day) is hardly a dent to cause thirst or retain a lot of water.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Here is what Dr Weil has to say: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401099/Diet-Soda-Downside.html

Which of course states that it's correlation and not causation. Even in the end his biggest concern isn't the diet soda, but the relationship of food choices from people who drink a lot of it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

There is evidence in rats that high intensity artificial sweeteners induce weight gain. There are other mitigating factors, but for me, after reading this study, I would avoid using artificial sweeteners (I do anyway, because they don't agree with me).

Adverse effects of high-intensity sweeteners on energy intake and weight control in male and obesity-prone female rats.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23398432

Unfortunately studies on rats don't seem to have the same results in humans.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

I drink a couple a day (diet Pepsi), but I also consume 90oz of water a day with it. And have been doing this for over 25 years. Moderation is fine.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

JaxDemon

Have a few glasses of pepsi max a day. Helps with cravings and has NOT stopped me losing weight. I don't really believe in the scare stories.

Flixie00

I drink a can of diet coke every day, I also drink 2 litres of water a day. I am happy with my weight loss.

KathieSwenson

This one hits close to home for me. Yes there are many scientific evidence stating that diet sodas
can make you gain instead of loose. They cause cravings, they cause a slowdown of the metabolic system, but most importantly the chemicals threat are contained in that nutra sweet can cause adverse health effects such as seizures, headaches, cancer, mood disorders, ect. For me it's seizures. 1 can of diet soda will put me in the emergency room. Look up "dangers of nutra sweet/ aspartame on google. You will be shocked about what it says. The main thing you have to know is that everything you put into your body is broken down into smaller ingredients for your body to digest and apply where needed. Nutra sweet breaks down into its smallest parts as formaldehyde (cancer causing chemical that is found in just about anything you eat but not to the degree that it is in nutra sweet, and also used in embalming people for burial. Hmmm isn't that ironic) and ethyl alcohol. And extremely deadly form of alcohol that is not readily available to just ingest like that. We'll kinda it is rubbing alcohol). Formaldehyde then breaks down into amino proteins and acts as a neurotoxin. Hmmm now why would I want to poison my nuero abilities, brain). That's the brunt of it. Most people have an intolerance to it and don't know it because they have been ingesting it for so long. We found out about mine through a series of ekg's. And cat scans while they were determining if I was epileptic at 5 yrs old. Somy advice is to cut it out for a full month and see what happens. Add it back in after a month if you feel "funny" in anyway, lack of sleep, cravings,headaches, seizures, memory loss, ect. Stop it immediately. Nutra sweet is extremely bad stuf!

KathieSwenson

Have a few glasses of pepsi max a day. Helps with cravings and has NOT stopped me losing weight. I don't really believe in the scare stories.

You should. I am severely allergic and intolerant to the evil stuff. It is cancer causing and causes me the have seizures. I have to check everything for nutra sweet/aspartame!

GBPack93

Personally I never had a problem with diet soda (other than the aftertaste) for weight loss. I think the people who say it "causes" you to crave more sweets or slows your metabolism, or w/e had personal negative experiences with drinking diet soda. Mostly it is based on the individual. Personally I would say drink up, if your not losing weight re evaluate your diet and go from there.

KathieSwenson

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/23/aspartame-artificial-sweeteners.aspx
http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/hidden_dangers.htm
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/5-reasons-aspartame-is-bad-for-you.html
http://www.thankyourbody.com/is-aspartame-dangerous/


I apologize jets not ethyl alcohol it's methanol

This is just 4 articles I pulled up. There are more

JaxDemon

Have a few glasses of pepsi max a day. Helps with cravings and has NOT stopped me losing weight. I don't really believe in the scare stories.

You should. I am severely allergic and intolerant to the evil stuff. It is cancer causing and causes me the have seizures. I have to check everything for nutra sweet/aspartame!

Show me scientific proof it does all that and maybe I will believe it. Btw smoking causes cancer so they say but according to scientists everyone has cancer it just lies dormant in some people.

alienrite

There seems to be a varied response to diet soda. For me, I noticed a significant increase in my appetite when I drink large quantities of diet soda. My weight gain accelerated after I switched to diet soda to limit my calories. I won't claim there's a real connection but there's an emotional connection for me. I'm much happier and feel generally better when I limit my artificial sweetener consumption. That being said, many people seem to do great with them. Listen to your body and try different things...in the end you're the only one living with your body

PinkNinjaLaura

I used to drink 8-10 cans of diet coke a day. I got down to 1-2. Then I gave it up. I no longer have acid reflux or daily headaches (both of which come back within a few days of trying to work it back into my diet). The stuff is addictive. I primarily drink water & tea but I still crave diet coke, even knowing it's going to make me feel crappy.

Does it affect my weight loss? Yes, not necessarily because anything in diet coke directly impacts my weight loss, but because without acid reflux or headaches I make better food choices and can work out harder.

tigersword

This one hits close to home for me. Yes there are many scientific evidence stating that diet sodas
can make you gain instead of loose. They cause cravings, they cause a slowdown of the metabolic system, but most importantly the chemicals threat are contained in that nutra sweet can cause adverse health effects such as seizures, headaches, cancer, mood disorders, ect. For me it's seizures. 1 can of diet soda will put me in the emergency room. Look up "dangers of nutra sweet/ aspartame on google. You will be shocked about what it says. The main thing you have to know is that everything you put into your body is broken down into smaller ingredients for your body to digest and apply where needed. Nutra sweet breaks down into its smallest parts as formaldehyde (cancer causing chemical that is found in just about anything you eat but not to the degree that it is in nutra sweet, and also used in embalming people for burial. Hmmm isn't that ironic) and ethyl alcohol. And extremely deadly form of alcohol that is not readily available to just ingest like that. We'll kinda it is rubbing alcohol). Formaldehyde then breaks down into amino proteins and acts as a neurotoxin. Hmmm now why would I want to poison my nuero abilities, brain). That's the brunt of it. Most people have an intolerance to it and don't know it because they have been ingesting it for so long. We found out about mine through a series of ekg's. And cat scans while they were determining if I was epileptic at 5 yrs old. Somy advice is to cut it out for a full month and see what happens. Add it back in after a month if you feel "funny" in anyway, lack of sleep, cravings,headaches, seizures, memory loss, ect. Stop it immediately. Nutra sweet is extremely bad stuf!

This is completely false. To start with, an apple has over 10 times more formaldehyde than a diet soda. There is actually ZERO scientific evidence for any of the claims you are making. As for ethyl alcohol? That's the kind of alcohol in beer and wine. Formaldehyde also doesn't become a neurotoxin, it's metabolized into formic acid and exhaled from the lungs. It's actually a quite normal part of the respiration cycle, every time you breathe out, you're exhaling formaldehyde.

KathieSwenson

Have a few glasses of pepsi max a day. Helps with cravings and has NOT stopped me losing weight. I don't really believe in the scare stories.

You should. I am severely allergic and intolerant to the evil stuff. It is cancer causing and causes me the have seizures. I have to check everything for nutra sweet/aspartame!

Show me scientific proof it does all that and maybe I will believe it. Btw smoking causes cancer so they say but according to scientists everyone has cancer it just lies dormant in some people.

I have ekg's and cat scans to prove it but I will not post my private medical records so that you can believe it. It was stupid to ask me to do that. However I posted just 4 documentation a in the post before that for it. I do know I will not touch the stuff again till I'm admitted into the hospital and have full testing done before and after because it will cause a seizure. I have not had a seizure in 30 years since I was diagnosed and taken off it and even then my physician was having trouble believing it. Don't ever accuse someone of liveng to you about it. You may just find out that one product would cause them to die if the ever got ahold of it.

tigersword

Have a few glasses of pepsi max a day. Helps with cravings and has NOT stopped me losing weight. I don't really believe in the scare stories.

You should. I am severely allergic and intolerant to the evil stuff. It is cancer causing and causes me the have seizures. I have to check everything for nutra sweet/aspartame!

Show me scientific proof it does all that and maybe I will believe it. Btw smoking causes cancer so they say but according to scientists everyone has cancer it just lies dormant in some people.

I have ekg's and cat scans to prove it but I will not post my private medical records so that you can believe it. It was stupid to ask me to do that. However I posted just 4 documentation a in the post before that for it. I do know I will not touch the stuff again till I'm admitted into the hospital and have full testing done before and after because it will cause a seizure. I have not had a seizure in 30 years since I was diagnosed and taken off it and even then my physician was having trouble believing it. Don't ever accuse someone of liveng to you about it. You may just find out that one product would cause them to die if the ever got ahold of it.

It sounds like you have PKU, which means you can't process phenylalanine, which is one of the ingredients in aspartame. Just because you are allergic to it, doesn't make it bad. It means it is bad for YOU. Millions of people are allergic to strawberries, I don't see people trying to get everyone else to stop eating strawberries.