Why is diet pop bad for weight loss?

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,574 Member
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    Diet soda has been linked to everything from dehydration to Parkinsons. But if you need 100% proof, I hope you get it soon. At one time, they said cigarettes weren't bad either.
    CURRENT PEER REVIEWED STUDIES have deemed it safe in moderation. Pirate population is linked to global warming. Truth look it up.

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  • riginthering
    riginthering Posts: 67
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    Diet soda is not bad for weight loss. In fact, caffeine is an appetite suppressant. As long as you're logging your calories, you're fine.

    However...

    ...sodas have carbonation, which is thought to harm bone density over a long period of time, AND...

    ...colas (dark sodas with high carbonic acid levels, e.g. everything in the Coke and Pepsi family) have a LOT of acid in them. I have seen people who have severely f'd up their teeth and bowels because of ridiculous amounts of cola consumption.

    Also, extremely high caffeine intake jacks up your heart and can ruin your sleep schedule.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,574 Member
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    It won't kill you. Drink up. I'll buy more Coca-Cola and United Health stock.
    Lol, then you won't make money on me since I drink Diet Pepsi and have Kaiser.:laugh:

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  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    In a nutshell:

    The TASTE of sugar sends a message to your brain saying it has received glucose, so you secrete insulin to sequester the sugar from your blood.

    But there isn't any sugar, so it sequesters the baseline sugar that should be there, giving you low blood sugar.

    That does several things. Most importantly it makes you hungry so you want to eat more food. The insulin dump also stops fat burning.
    Fascinating.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,021 Member
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    Why would you want to consume something with artificial sweeteners?
    AND...Study after study has proven that reg soda vs diet made no difference in regards to weight loss.
    A better alternative; mineral water with balsamic fruit vinegar or natural flavored stevia drops added.

    Assuming for a moment this is a serious question - the reason I drink diet coke or coke zero (in moderation, I drink about 3 or 4 glasses of it a week) is because when I go out for lunch I like to have a cool drink other than the plain water I drink most of the time at home and work - so diet coke is a no sugar, almost no calorie option.

    Also works as a mixer with spirits - which I have a few drinks now and then - perhaps once a week.

    I don't think going out to a café for lunch and ordering mineral water with balsamic vinegar or stevia drops added would go down too well - likewise I cant really see those as good spirit mixers.:bigsmile:
  • MadisanMcKenna
    MadisanMcKenna Posts: 3
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    I agree Diet Dew taste just like the real thing
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,574 Member
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    It's really good for your teeth too.
    Sugar is worse. But of course if someone has good dental hygiene, this isn't a problem.

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  • MadisanMcKenna
    MadisanMcKenna Posts: 3
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    I don't think it affects weight loss at all it has zero calories. It's gross thigh and tastes like chemicals. I gave up soda for health reasons not weight loss.

    It is NOT gross thigh. :angry:
    I agree Diet Dew taste the same
  • cheegerz
    cheegerz Posts: 26 Member
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    Speaking from my own personal experience...

    Between 2007-2008 I lost 50lbs. I went from 180lbs down to 130. During that time, the ONLY TWO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES that I made to my daily lifestyle were: cutting out soda (cold turkey) and incorporating a 25 minute pilates DVD into about 4-5 days of my average week. Those are the only two significant changes that I made in that year.

    Before completely cutting soda from my diet, I was chugging 4-6 cans (12oz) of diet soda per day. I only drank diet soda, because I preferred the flavor of diet sodas over other sodas, or other beverages in general. I primarily drank Diet Coke.

    I replaced every can that I would have drank with the same amount of water. I did a little bit of pilates. I lost 50lbs.

    I'm not a nutritionist nor a scientist, but my results pretty much speaks for itself. I can't say that diet soda consumed in moderation hinders any kind of serious weight loss strategy, but it certainly doesn't positively contribute to it. You can do no wrong by consuming no fluid besides water and the occasional green tea. =]
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,021 Member
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    Diet soda has been linked to everything from dehydration to Parkinsons. But if you need 100% proof, I hope you get it soon. At one time, they said cigarettes weren't bad either.

    The comparison to cigarettes is just silly - there are many many studies, overwhelming evidence, of the harm cigarettes do.

    Nobody is refuting that.

    But there are not comparable studies showing the harm of diet drinks - in moderation.

    IF there are in the future ,then, sure, recommendations will change - but until then, there is no reason for everyone to stop drinking them.

    Individuals who find individual effects like sugar cravings etc - sure - give them up.
    But for most people there is absolutely no problem - in moderation, of course, just like everything else.
  • eeeekie
    eeeekie Posts: 1,011 Member
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    http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/how-artificial-sweeteners-promote-weight-gain-and-poor-health/

    Personally when I have soda I prefer the real thing. Have you seen that study of the ants that went completely around the artifical sugar to the real sugar? If bugs find it gross it's gotta be bad..

    http://api.ning.com/files/3jTl2qg9wX1443L98loEcxaGVRl*K--ojBJL8q0piyS73eeUz*DtUppjI9i1CPhkDYxPYez1sR1r3voe*rjb1tYiCAqrFYGT/246539_528447297205469_373657223_n.jpg?width=500&height=500
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,574 Member
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    Speaking from my own personal experience...

    Between 2007-2008 I lost 50lbs. I went from 180lbs down to 130. During that time, the ONLY TWO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES that I made to my daily lifestyle were: cutting out soda (cold turkey) and incorporating a 25 minute pilates DVD into about 4-5 days of my average week. Those are the only two significant changes that I made in that year.

    Before completely cutting soda from my diet, I was chugging 4-6 cans (12oz) of diet soda per day. I only drank diet soda, because I preferred the flavor of diet sodas over other sodas, or other beverages in general. I primarily drank Diet Coke.

    I replaced every can that I would have drank with the same amount of water. I did a little bit of pilates. I lost 50lbs.

    I'm not a nutritionist nor a scientist, but my results pretty much speaks for itself. I can't say that diet soda consumed in moderation hinders any kind of serious weight loss strategy, but it certainly doesn't positively contribute to it. You can do no wrong by consuming no fluid besides water and the occasional green tea. =]
    In other words you BURNED more calories which creates a calorie deficit. Calorie deficit leads to weight loss.

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  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
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    I drink Coke Zero probably a little too much! Diet pop has never been bad in weight loss or maintenance for me personally. It has never made me crave more food. I prefer it to regular pop.

    Now as for other things.... diet pop, or just pop in general, can be bad. Like tooth decay ( from acid ), possible kidney stones, etc etc. Everything in moderation.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,021 Member
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    I'm not a nutritionist nor a scientist, but my results pretty much speaks for itself. I can't say that diet soda consumed in moderation hinders any kind of serious weight loss strategy, but it certainly doesn't positively contribute to it. You can do no wrong by consuming no fluid besides water and the occasional green tea. =]

    If this worked for you, sure, your result speaks for itself - for you.
    (Of course, the adding exercise bit probably helped too :wink: )

    Many other posters, myself included, have said diet drinks did not hinder their weight loss at all - so I suppose their results speak for themselves too.

    Also I don't think anybody s saying diet drinks positively contribute to weight loss - I agree they only do indirectly by drinking them instead of a high sugar alternative (like 'normal' coke, for example).
    I agree replacing sugar drinks with water or green tea would have the same effect - but, you know, sometimes people want to drink other things than water or green tea.
    They even - shock horror - want a drink to mix with their alcoholic spirits. Sad to say water and green tea don't do this very well, IME.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    In a nutshell:

    The TASTE of sugar sends a message to your brain saying it has received glucose, so you secrete insulin to sequester the sugar from your blood.

    But there isn't any sugar, so it sequesters the baseline sugar that should be there, giving you low blood sugar.
    That explains all the hordes of diabetics who drink diet soda dropping like flies in the streets. You know, from the overdose of insulin.

    Any detriment confined to fat loss is due to people overeating because they think the diet soda entitles them to eat more. If you measure and track your intake and restrict it to the same level with and without diet soda, your fat loss will be unaffected.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,021 Member
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    . Have you seen that study of the ants that went completely around the artifical sugar to the real sugar? If bugs find it gross it's gotta be bad..

    I imagine bugs are attracted to sugar.

    Probably they would walk around a broccoli stick to get to sugar too - does this mean broccoli is bad??
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    In a nutshell:

    The TASTE of sugar sends a message to your brain saying it has received glucose, so you secrete insulin to sequester the sugar from your blood.

    But there isn't any sugar, so it sequesters the baseline sugar that should be there, giving you low blood sugar.
    That explains all the hordes of diabetics who drink diet soda dropping like flies in the streets. You know, from the overdose of insulin.

    Any detriment confined to fat loss is due to people overeating because they think the diet soda entitles them to eat more. If you measure and track your intake and restrict it to the same level with and without diet soda, your fat loss will be unaffected.

    Look, I'm not making this up, although it's after midnight and I'm not going to track down the original scientific article. This first one is a review, the second one by the science editor the NYTimes.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/diet-soda-health_b_2698494.html

    The original - big headline - study WAS done by the American Diabetes Association (because lots of diabetics do drink a lot of diet soda). And they did find people gained more weight using diet soda than regular soda. Counter-intuitive right? One reason is - just as you say - people pig out more after drinking a 'diet' drink. The other reason is insulin.

    Insulin is what keeps blood sugar balanced all the time and for everyone. It's what makes you hungry at lunch time - even when you just ate. It's very responsive to learned stimuli. Including the taste of sugar.
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
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    I did some research on diet soda a few weeks ago. There's a lot of stuff that says it makes you gain weight. But the sources that seemed most credible to me kind of said more that the evidence is inconclusive. I still drink it, but I don't drink as much. I don't really think it has any impact on weight loss. But I think all that junk is just bad for you.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,574 Member
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    Look, I'm not making this up, although it's after midnight and I'm not going to track down the original scientific article. This first one is a review, the second one by the science editor the NYTimes.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
    Didn't see anywhere in the study that insulin was raised.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/diet-soda-health_b_2698494.html

    The original - big headline - study WAS done by the American Diabetes Association (because lots of diabetics do drink a lot of diet soda). And they did find people gained more weight using diet soda than regular soda. Counter-intuitive right? One reason is - just as you say - people pig out more after drinking a 'diet' drink. The other reason is insulin.

    Insulin is what keeps blood sugar balanced all the time and for everyone. It's what makes you hungry at lunch time - even when you just ate. It's very responsive to learned stimuli. Including the taste of sugar.
    Hyman's own "quote" on raised insulin was his own summation. The studies he referenced didn't state insulin was raised. This is the same Dr. Hyman who believes in "detoxing". Not strong evidence here.

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