Diet soda???

Emilylind95

I was curious about how you guys feel about drinking diet soda. I have heard SO much conflicting information. Right now I'm only giving in to diet soda twice a week. Do you guys avoid it all together?

Shuuma

I like Diet Dr. Pepper. I buy the little baby cans so I can have a treat when I feel like it. I'm watching sodium as well as calories, so I need to keep track, but the little portions give me a treat without feeling deprived.

If I want a soda, I have one, but I have water more often. Do what you like, but log it and be accountable for it. Even the zero calorie stuff. (I say that for the sodium thing for me, primarily.) Also, if something wonky happens and you're looking back on your diary for a reason, seeing everything you've consumed helps.

LisaMS83

I personally I have cut it out. I use to drink anywhere from 2-3 cans of diet coke a day. That was on top of already drinking 1-2 cups coffee in the morning. So for me I wanted to cut out all that caffeine and unnecessary chemicals. So I've only had 1 diet soda in the past month, and that was when I was out for lunch. I've switch to just my coffee in the morning, and water with lime/lemon in it and unsweet tea. I feel I have more energy now, and don't feel as bloated all the time. But that's just me

sfbaumgarten

I feel just fine about it. I drink 4-5 cans a day.

Greenrun99

Gotta mix alcohol with something right?

sillyvalentine

I'll have a big one if I go to the movies (maybe 6 times a year) because I don't want anything else they have but I am generally against it for it's chemicals linked to causing cancer. I think in about 20 - 40 years we are going to see a huge increase in cancer because of the current popularity of it.

sarahd2002

I have an everyday battle with this. I quit drinking it for several months and then got sucked back in over the holidays. (don't know why the holidays have anything to do with soda) I have cut down to 1 diet mt dew every morning. Then switch to iced tea with splenda or water with lemon.

That being said, I felt so much better when I didn't drink it. No aches and pains and just all over better. However I love the crap out of diet mt dew so if I want it i am going to drink it. LOL.

Fenrissa

I love diet pop, especially Diet Mountain Dew and Sprite Zero.

QuietBloom

Diet soda is fine.

ashenriver

I don't drink soda. I find it too acidic, and I hate the taste of aspartame in diet sodas.

I do love drinking mineral/club soda/tonic water though.

I also don't like to drink my calories, unless its beer.

CindyB97

It depends on your personal eating philosophy. If you are trying to stick to clean eating, then don't drink diet sodas because they are full of unhealthy chemicals. If you don't mind prepackaged and processed food and are only looking at calories, then diet soda fits in well with that philosophy.

bacitracin

I have yet to see any credible sources proving that any chemical in diet soda is bad for you in normal quantities.

They give rats enough artificial sweeteners to equal me drinking about a thousand liters of Coke Zero or whatever per day. You know what would happen if I drank a thousand liters of water a day? I'd die from hyponatremia, not just have a higher risk of eventually maybe getting cancer.

Some 0-calorie sweeteners might have an insulin response, sure. You know what has MORE of an insulin response? Cane sugar (sucrose), high fructose corn syrup, glucose, dextrose... Yknow, actual caloric sweeteners.


In normal quantities, drink your diet soda and don't regret anything.

Tonyour06

I stopped drinking diet coke and all forms of aspartame on September 3, 2013. After reading all the issues with it – I decided it wasn’t good for me to drink. It is pure poison!

Since I stopped the pain I’d had in my shoulder for months has gone away, I am sleeping better, my hair is growing and is thicker, I don’t have the aches and pains I had (was taking Motrin daily because of it).

But… Be careful if you stop. I replaced it with juices, sweet ice tea and regular soda. I gained 18lbs in 3-months (to be fair the holidays were in there and I didn’t exercise as much) I have now gone to water, coffee, and regular ice tea.

mittenswillet

i drink coke zero and have no qualms, i wont touch water. its a personal choice, myself being a cola addict, coke zero was the most sensible way to go.

I dont listen to what others say about diet soda, it has no calories and gives me my cola hit....

keeponkickin

Been drinking diet soda since I was 12 because of type 1 diabetes. I haven't sprouted a third eye yet. I'll take my chances and keep drinking it.

ladylattier

If you're gonna drink soda, diet is definitely better than regular, if you can handle the diet "twang".

1princesswarrior

I had to quit drinking it because the aspartame was a migraine trigger. If not for that I'd still be drinking my Diet Mtn Dew in moderation.

wsuduce

mmmm, Diet Coke and me go way back. It works for me.

callas444

Lots of conflicting data on it, and waaaaaaayyyyy too many people with more opinion than fact. It comes down to a personal choice for you. Personally, I like to have some once in a while to change things up. But water is always going to be my top choice for hydration.

kgeyser

I was drinking one diet soda per day and gave it completely before Thanksgiving. Other than a raging headache for a few days due to caffeine withdrawal, I have not seen any change in my body from giving it up except one place. My teeth. I have very sensitive teeth and they haven't been bugging me since I quit. But as far as weight loss or reducing sugar cravings, it didn't do a damn thing.

Krista916

I don't avoid it for the reasons mentioned in the OP. I just have never ever been a huge soda person. Even as a kid, I chose water over pop. These sayd I maybe have Diet Coke maybe once a month but it takes me the whole day to drink it. I actually perfer La Croix flavored sparkling water. It's not sweet at all but it nice and fizzy.....and I often find myself finding ways to add alcohol to it to create a fun cocktail. :drinker:

parkscs

Is it healthy? No. Can you lose weight while drinking it? Of course. I have started moderating my diet soda intake in favor of drinking more water, but I still have several diet cokes a week and never feel guilty about it.

Danka_Doo

Like Shuuma, I starting buying the small (7.5 oz) cans for when I want one. I never have been a huge soda drinker but Coke was my drink of choice. I found the more I drank it, the more I wanted it. So, I worked hard to not drink and drink more water. The less I drank them, the less I craved them. I found it interesting and encouraging, last night when I grabbed one at dinner, I only ended up drinking half of it and was satisfied.

I think you have to allow yourself to have one if you really want it BUT try to limit it as much as possible. If I deny myself completely, I seem to fall off the wagon more. Just my opinion.

leesee88

Based on personal experience and light research:

STOP drinking it.
It contains aspartame, and most simply put:

"While it sounds like a wonderful alternative to sugar, Aspartame has been getting a lot of negative attention since it was first legalized in the United States. When you ingest it, the components of aspartame work like neurotransmitters, or molecules that signal neurons in your brain that control the rest of your body. Aspartame signals the body that it is receiving sugar, so the body responds to digest that sugar by releasing insulin for sugar breakdown. However, because the body is not actually receiving sugar, it is looking to process something that isn’t there. As a result, the body craves more sugar, because it now thinks it needs it. Therefore, you start to crave more sugar, or more aspartame, in order to sooth that lack of nutrients."

OR

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-diet-soda.html

everyone can have their own opinions, but why bother with it. It gives you absolutely no nutrition or benefits, its a cup of synthetic chemicals. I used to drink it, I understand it tastes good (until you stop drinking it for awhile or eat clean and try it again- literally tastes like poison) but really its garbage. Spending money and putting your health at risk for garbage!

Drink Water and tea!!!! Kick the diet soda addiction.

parkscs

everyone can have their own opinions, but why bother with it. It gives you absolutely no nutrition or benefits, its a cup of synthetic chemicals. I used to drink it, I understand it tastes good (until you stop drinking it for awhile or eat clean and try it again- literally tastes like poison) but really its garbage. Spending money and putting your health at risk for garbage!

Drink Water and tea!!!! Kick the diet soda addiction.

There's really no conclusive evidence that diet soda has any negative effects on your body. While some studies suggested it may cause you to want to eat more of other foods, if you're tracking your calories and maintaining a caloric deficit while drinking diet soda such a side effect is irrelevant. As for it not being healthy and thus you should eliminate it altogether, people consume all sorts of unhealthy substances purely for enjoyment's sake, e.g., alcohol. Life is about balancing enjoyment with your health and you can do a lot worse than drinking a bit of diet soda.

allisonxjane

There's really no conclusive evidence that diet soda has any negative effects on your body. While some studies suggested it may cause you to want to eat more of other foods, if you're tracking your calories and maintaining a caloric deficit while drinking diet soda such a side effect is irrelevant. As for it not being healthy and thus you should eliminate it altogether, people consume all sorts of unhealthy substances purely for enjoyment's sake, e.g., alcohol. Life is about balancing enjoyment with your health and you can do a lot worse than drinking a bit of diet soda.

^^^This. There are so many things which may lead drinkers of diet pop to end up eating more/being heavier. Maybe they think they can eat more since they aren't drinking any calories. Maybe they were already overweight or obese and this is their attempt to cut back. There is no set causation yet found. The same goes for cancer. The only true way to test if the aspartame itself causes cancer is to somehow magically get a sample of people who are being exposed to zero carcinogens, known or unknown, and expose them only to aspartame for their entire lives. However, that would be literally impossible to do since we do not know all carcinogens. Also, it would be a pretty unethical experiment! (I'm not saying there are no studies which could indicate a higher risk at some point, but I think you all get what I am trying to say!)

handyrunner

it has never been an issue for me. i drink 2 or 3 a day. it definitly keeps me away from the high test stuff!

krist3ng

I used to drink, like, a 2 liter bottle of diet soda (usually Fresca!) a day. I think I was a major factor in keeping Fresca in business. But I've gone cold turkey on artificial sweeteners, mostly because I've heard vague scientific rumors that they give you cancer and whatnot. I figure, even if they don't give me cancer, what's the harm in drinking water instead? Also, it was getting kind of expensive to buy all that Fresca, and I really wouldn't drink any water when I had that delicious elixir around.

Also, there is something weird about artificial sweeteners. I've trained myself to like it, after years of drinking diet drinks, but it's quite a chemical taste.

Blue801

I've noticed anything I drink with no-cal sweeteners is rockin' for a moment, but then I end up getting really hungry sooner than when I abstain. That being said, I still drink splenda in my tea and am just uber conscious of when and how much I eat when the hunger strikes. It is totally worth it in my opinion to drink a diet drink.

avskk

I like diet soda. I'm not even picky as to type, really -- I'm drinking a Pepsi Max right now, but only because it was on sale.

rondaj05

I've cut way back but I still have an occasional coke zero.