Diet caff. free sodas & water weight is it sabotaging me?

LadyGrey75

I know there are a million and one theories out there and I am trying to weed out the ones that come along that affect me personally. I do my best to get in at least my 64 oz of water per day but I also drink alot of dcs. I have HEARD something to the effect of your body starting to treat the sweetners as real sugar therefore sabotaging weight loss. I banned regular sodas years ago and dropped several pounds with no other changes made. IDK if this is true so I am asking those of you who know a whole heck of a lot more than me. I am trying to learn not only how to get rid of these excess 11-12 lbs that haunt me but also get healthier. I have also banned my sweet tea (down here in SC it has to be sappy sweet lol) and coffee. The sodas just do something for me that water doesn't!

Now as to water weight...I have been on this binge before I know...but I do not get it. My mind is saying weight is weight and I am struggling to understand it differently because I do not understand how I can possibly be retaining extra pounds of fluid at a given time. Not to get too TMI but after the birth of my son I have had trouble with overactive bladder and I go to the bathroom a million times a day. i use ro never drink water and it was the same then too so it is not from the water intake. I tried medications and it was so bad that the doctors actually implanted a nerve stimulater in my hip to try and help regulate my bladder (does not work, just shocks the **** out of me). I have always THOUGHT that your body expells excess fluids (same with vitamins/nutrients) if it is not needed for the body's functions. So what gives????

StaciMarie1974

Water weight is temporary - and can be influenced by things like sodium, hormone, stress, etc. Things that cause your body to hold onto extra water in the cells. (Though I honestly don't know WHERE it goes.)

As to the soda - I think it depends on the person. Some may drink diet soda and figure that gives them room to splurge for calories in other areas. If you keep careful track of your calories, then the diet soda should not impact the scale. I drink a good bit every day - though I also make an effort to drink more water now. That has indirectly cut back my soda.

If you're not losing weigh, and its been more than 3-4 weeks, then reassess your nutritional intake goals. Also consider if you're over-estimating your burn, and how you are logging your calories in. If you're not using a digital food scale, then your count is bound to be off. And with 10 or so pounds to lose, accuracy is important. If you're overestimating your burn by 200-300 calories a day, and underestimating your food by 200-300 a day, it would eliminate any deficit and put you at maintenance.

StaciMarie1974

Ps-on my profile I have a couple of images resulting from graphing my daily weighins. One is a 30 day, one a 90 day spread. In the middle of the 30 day, the spike upward is sodium + TOM. That's water weight...

Branstin

The only way sodas will prevent you from losing weight is if the calories pushes you out of your calories deficiency. Unless there is a medical reason or you just don’t like certain foods, don’t waste time trying to figure out which foods not to consume. Your time will be better invested in figuring out the amount of calories you need to consume daily or weekly in order to burn fat and drop weight. Fill those with a variety of foods while leaving room for snacks.

Water weight is a cause by sodium retention in the body, your TOM, and sudden exercise like weight lifting. It passes after a few days. This is different than body fat in which case you need to burn 3500 calories in order to lose 1 lb.

Check out these links to better understand:

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I_Will_End_You

Diet sodas will not sabotage weight loss. The rumors floating around the internet are false. Sugar has calories, zero calorie sweeteners do not....your body can't change the makeup of those sweeteners.

I'm not sure what you're asking about in regards to water weight. Retaining water can be due to high sodium intake, time of the month, or muscles holding water after hard workouts and physical activities. People tend to drop a few pounds of water weight when they decide to lose weight because they often cut some high sodium foods out of their diet, and they also deplete glycogen stores because they're eating at a deficit. Glycogen is your body's first source of energy. You don't eat what you need to maintain your body weight when you're "dieting", so you basically run through your glycogen and then your body moves onto burning fat and muscle.

GiveMeCoffee

None of it is sabotaging you. What might be preventing you from losing is inaccurate and inconsistent logging. Sodium might be one cause as to a water weight fluctuation, but if you really want this to work you need to work on your logging make sure it's accurate, consistent, and honest.

StaciMarie1974

For me, learning how certain things have a temporary effect on the body's weight has been very useful. I'd go crazy agonizing over being up otherwise. My last 'low' weight was 148.4 last week, and 148.5 on May 11. I typically show a steady or higher # for a couple weeks following that due to TOM and such. Have I gained weight or maintained? No - but I know there are things that mask my true efforts. Looking forward to the next 2 weeks when the scale will act like I've 'lost' 2-3 pounds in no time at all. In reality its just the work of this past month finally showing.

LadyGrey75

During the week I am logging accurately but it is mainly because I have picked out a few things and eat them over and over. The weekends are a whole different animal because we are out and about so much and there is no routine so I have trouble (lack of will power) to keep up with what I do or do not eat. On the weekends I get busy and often forget to eat breakfast and/or lunch but chow down on ribs, steak and potaoes for dinner but come monday feel to ashamed to try and remember to log it in. I drink beer on the weekends ( generally just on saturdays). Guessing I need to cut my cheat saturday out...humph...depressing

evileen99

Diet soda doesn't sabotage weight loss. Here's an excerpt from a CNN article about a diet study:

CNN) -- Most people choose artificially-sweetened soda over regular soda to avoid packing on extra pounds. But what if you already choose diet? Would it be helpful to quit that too?

Dr. Jim Hill says he gets this question all the time from patients in his weight loss program at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Health and Wellness Center.

With funding from the American Beverage Association, Hill helped design a study that divided approximately 300 adults into two groups: One group would continue drinking diet, and the other group -- referred to in the study as the "water group" -- would go cold turkey. The study was published in the journal Obesity.
Both participant groups received intensive coaching on successful techniques for weight loss, including regular feedback on the meals they logged in journals.

"The results, to us, were not at all surprising," says Hill.
While the typical participant banned from drinking diet sodas lost 9 pounds over 12 weeks, those allowed to continue drinking diet soda lost, on average, 13 pounds in the same time period. That's a 4-pound difference.
Hill says that in his clinical experience, many people who have successfully lost significant weight "are heavy users of noncaloric sweeteners."

But why was the diet soda group more successful? The most likely reason is that this group had the easier task.
Cutting calories and boosting exercise takes a lot of willpower. Trying to simultaneously give up something else you regularly enjoy -- such as diet soda -- taxes your ability to stay the course. Most psychologists agree that our willpower is a limited resource.


So while this study did not track calorie consumption, the group blocked from drinking diet sodas most likely ate (or drank) more calories over the course of the 12-week diet.
"It makes sense that it would have been harder for the water group to adhere to the overall diet than the (artificially-sweetened beverage) group," says Hill.
He added, "The most likely explanation was that having access to drinks with sweet taste helps the (artificially-sweetened beverage) group to adhere better to the behavioral change program."

bevmcarthur

LadyGrey if you are trying to eat clean and healthy then anything that is highly processed or made with chemicals and words you can't even pronounce is not healthy. and diet or low fat anything is on the top of that list as they put so much crap in it to make it taste better . I am like you i like to have wine not beer on the weekend but i have limited it now as it was really slowing down my progress . What works best for me is to log everything i have just started back doing that on here i was tracking it in a book and on hear and i would find i would forget to log it here so now i just use MFP. And by logging everything is keeps me on track . If you are trying to eat healthy add more veggies and healthy fats to your diet and lean protein. I hope this little advise will help you with your journey of a healthy life .

ninerbuff

LadyGrey if you are trying to eat clean and healthy then anything that is highly processed or made with chemicals and words you can't even pronounce is not healthy.

In jest, everything we eat is "chemically" made up and some words many would fail at pronouncing at first shot. Here's an example:

Tryptophan, Threonine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lycine, Methionine, Cystine, Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, Valine, Argenine, Histidine, Alanine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Proline, and Serine. Trace amounts of Boron and Cobalt are found in apples.

So if we were to go on pronunciation, then many probably shouldn't eat an apple.

In processed foods (or even natural foods) of any type, dosage of whatever chemical is in it matters.

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

StaciMarie1974

What are your goals set at here? For example, I have mine set to lose 1 pound a week which means a 500 deficit per day. When you don't have much left to lose, 1 pound per week is probably the most you should aim for. Perhaps you could try a version of calorie cycling.

Aim for a 500 deficit 3 weekdays, 750 deficit the other 2 weekdays and only a 250 deficit on Sat/Sun. Same weekly total, but saving some weekday calories for the weekend. You can still have steak, potatoes, beer - just try to be accountable for them. And watch the portions. Looks like your diary is set for 1200 goal calories per day, so I'm guessing you put in a more aggressive weight loss goal than is reasonable. Try dialing it back to 1 pound per week.

KShufflebarger08

I ONLY lose weight when I drink water. I think my fat likes to swim... haha

Branstin

During the week I am logging accurately but it is mainly because I have picked out a few things and eat them over and over. The weekends are a whole different animal because we are out and about so much and there is no routine so I have trouble (lack of will power) to keep up with what I do or do not eat. On the weekends I get busy and often forget to eat breakfast and/or lunch but chow down on ribs, steak and potaoes for dinner but come monday feel to ashamed to try and remember to log it in. I drink beer on the weekends ( generally just on saturdays). Guessing I need to cut my cheat saturday out...humph...depressing

Plan ahead for the weekends. Log your food and activities beforehand. There is nothing wrong with ribs, steaks, potatoes, and beer. I wouldn't dream of giving those up. You just have to watch the calories and make sure you don't go over. If it helps then save some calories during the week to use on the weekends. If you have to eat at your calorie maintenance level sometimes then do it. Patience and practice are the main two things you need.

FITBY43PLEASE

Hi, I am a diet coke feign. I started drinking them at work on night shift (Emergency room RN), and I still drink 2-6 a day even though I am not working night shifts. I have 2 doctors that I see (family docs), and they each say a different thing, but I spoke to an endocrinologist, and he explained it to me, in a way that I can believe. He said that the way drinks like diet coke, harm the body....as far as weight loss....is that it tricks the body. Even though it has no calories, it shuts any and all fat burning down, in anticipation of your bodies response to sugar. As long as you are drinking the soda, and for a time after, your body remains in that "limbo". That creates an issue for any food you consumed during that time as well, because your body does not break the foods down at an optimal level.

I still love love love my diet coke, and I am trying to break the habit, so if you are having success at breaking the habit, or if you get other info on the subject, please let me know. I am brand new to all of this. I have been a member for about an hour now.

jjwilde265

cheat days are never gonna help. just have a cheat meal and still log it. one bad cheat day can undo your whole week very easily :-)

LadyGrey75

Looks like your diary is set for 1200 goal calories per day, so I'm guessing you put in a more aggressive weight loss goal than is reasonable. Try dialing it back to 1 pound per week.

I am being pretty aggressive right now (during the week haha) because I have a poker run coming up that requires a bikini and in a few more weeks the beach so I was trying to jump start it and then work a little slower after all that but it is obvious it is not going to happen. My doctor suggested too that 1200 was too low but my simple mind thought okay if i can do 1200 Monday through Friday I should have wiggle room on Saturday and sunday...but there I go thinking again:blushing:

Branstin

At 13 lbs. to go, 0.5 - 1 lb. loss a week is advisable. In additon, you will get more calories to eat and not have to stress about the weekend.

segovm

I think I would have more faith in diet sodas if they weren't manufactured by the folks that have made trillions off getting us all to be overweight. Even if they are not physically bad for us I still am not a fan of supporting companies that would trade a population's health for profit.

Sadly, getting rid of them can be a pain. I'm currently quite hooked on Naked Juice... a company owned by Pepsi.

GiveMeCoffee

During the week I am logging accurately but it is mainly because I have picked out a few things and eat them over and over. The weekends are a whole different animal because we are out and about so much and there is no routine so I have trouble (lack of will power) to keep up with what I do or do not eat. On the weekends I get busy and often forget to eat breakfast and/or lunch but chow down on ribs, steak and potaoes for dinner but come monday feel to ashamed to try and remember to log it in. I drink beer on the weekends ( generally just on saturdays). Guessing I need to cut my cheat saturday out...humph...depressing

You don't have to cut anything out, just cut back on the portions. Get a food scale weigh your food, only work with a small calorie deficit as you don't have much to lose. Aim for .5 to 1 lb a week. Have patience. And log everything! It doesn't take that long and without knowing how much you are consuming you can be eating your total deficit on the weekends.

I eat 1600-1900 calories daily and my weight loss has been pretty consistent, only time I stall is when I get lazy with my logging and weighing food.

GiveMeCoffee

I think I would have more faith in diet sodas if they weren't manufactured by the folks that have made trillions off getting us all to be overweight. Even if they are not physically bad for us I still am not a fan of supporting companies that would trade a population's health for profit.

Sadly, getting rid of them can be a pain. I'm currently quite hooked on Naked Juice... a company owned by Pepsi.

The manufacturers held you down and forced you to drink them? You had a choice, they are in business, if you don't want to drink it you can always say no.