Is quitting Diet coke really important?

adriaarnett

Hi! i just joined MFP because a friend reccomended it and I am enjoying the calorie counts and the exercise journal. I have been working out now for a little over a month for about an hour 3-4 times a week.(combo cardio and strength) and I have been watching what I eat and I haven't really lost any wieght yet and my clothes are still tight. My main source of liquids is diet coke which I know is terribly unhealthy but could it be keeping me from losing the weight? I have about 48 lbs to lose and would like to see my hard woork pay off. Any support would be helpful!

That_Girl

Well, the chemicals in it are crippling.

Just have a real coke sometimes and keep it mostly to water.

xaintes

I used to be an avid diet coke drinker, but I stopped drinking it entirely because of the sodium content. Be sure to log all diet drinks consumed so you can keep track of sodium, and be sure to get some regular water, too.

xlumabao

here you go:

http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2010/01/03/three-reasons-to-rethink-that-diet-coke-youre-about-to-drink/

bmontgomery87

You'll be much better off in the long run if you quit.

jenniferg83

do you log in the diet coke to see whats in it? maybe switch to water

TNAJackson

Personally, I won't give it up. It's like a drug to me... I have to have it.

SimplyDeLish

You'll get tons of comments both pro and con on this one. I gave up my beloved DC (4 liters a day) when I started MFP. I haven't noticed any difference in ability to lose weight after the first week (when the water weight left). Just my true to life experience.

simplynila

Diet coke, as all diet sodas and regular sodas for that matter, have a lot of sodium. Sodium makes you retain water! Read Jillian Michaels, "Master Your Metabolism", she's got some great insight on sodas. It says in there that for every can of coke that your drinking that you should drink twice that in water just to counter act the affects! That's a lot of water! I use crystal light in my water to change it up a little bit. One a day isn't going to kill ya, but you should definitely drink more water!

SheilaSisco

And really... if you HAVE to have coke... Because I get that way too.... I just cut WAY back with it.... I only have maybe 2 or 3 a week now and I drink Coke Zero. WAY less sodium and no calories, sugars, etc.

pinksoldier

stop drinking diet coke lol......i know how you feel, i was there......totally addicted to diet coke. i still drink some, but maybe one or two in a week. i got myself off it by drinking a glass of water before i drank a diet coke. it helped me get full quicker and after time, i found myself drinking only maybe a half a can because i just wasn't thirsty anymore.
if you don't like water plain, try adding some crystal lite packets to it. i'm serious tho.....soda is a killer negative for weight loss!

BobbyDaniel

Start replacing some of the diet drink with water and build up from there, your body will respond much better. Personally, I still drink 1 coke zero a day most days, but that is it...but I also drink 12 or more cups of water a day too.

nicolej216

I personally was a heavy pop drinker (reg non diet)until 3 1/2 weeks ago and since my life style changes i drink diet coke everyday 1 or 2 cans and no more i work out 6 days a week and i have lost 16 lbs to date so i say drink it just less of it and lots of water i dont know if i could ever give pop up completely!Hope this helps.....And good luck on your journey! :~)

LillysGranny

You need to switch to water--aim for 8 glasses per day, more if you workout hard and/or consume a lot of caffeine (it dehydrates you). And if you need a caffeine boost like most of the diet coke addicts I know, have green tea or coffee. At least it isn't a bunch of chemical crap.

ronda_gettinghealthy

AAAAAaaaaCCCCCccccKKKKKkkkk Diet drinks are POISON- that said I do love a good ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper. till I really found out what is in them and how really harmful they are for you. I gave them up long before MFP so I dont know how it will affecdt your weight loss- but from my experience my health, mental clarity and general body aches all improved from the stoppage of this nectare of the gods. LOL it is hard the headache was a real killer for several days, but worth it in the end.

JennyJogger

To cut back on Diet Coke I quit buying it at the grocery store. But every time I go out to eat I order one If I told myself I could never have diet soda again, I'm the type that would go out & buy a 12 pack that day, haha.

chelsifina

My mother was a avid DC drinker all of her life (before Diet Coke was around it was Tab!) and she drank very little water. She now has kidney stones, which her doc says is a direct result. May don't quit so much as look at it as a treat, and only have a couple a day while still get your 64 ozs of water a day. As Buddha says: "Everything in moderation, including moderation."

chevy88grl

Artificial sweeteners which is what is in diet coke aren't good for you - at all. It can and often will hinder your weight loss - even though it is "diet". If it is the caffeine you need - find an alternative for it. (I went from Mt Dew to coffee for the caffeine). Let me tell you that you won't feel so hot as you give it up though. When I gave up Dew, I had a headache, stomachache and felt like crap for a week. But, it was worth it. I dropped 7lbs giving up pop completely.

srp2011

I would definitely cut back and swap some water for some of the diet coke, but you probably don't need to give it up altogether. In addition to the sodium that people have mentioned, you're consuming a lot of caffeine which can overstimulate your adrenals, increase cortisol production, and other things that can mess with your metabolism. That said, though, this is probably not what is keeping you from losing weight, and you need to take a real close look at what you are eating - losing nothing over that period of time suggests calories in are equal to calories out.

jeneey

I personally think Diet Coke is bad all the way around, any soda really. I use to be the queen of DC and have stopped entirely. I drink average 12 glasses of water per day - sometimes more. Once you get into the routine of it, nothing else will do except for water. I highly recommend stopping it, but if you have to have it, one a day with lots of H2O.

sweetpeaga7

If you have to have Coke you are much better off indulging in a regular classic coke than the diet ones. The diet cokes have SOOOO many chemicals and nasty things in them that they end up being worse for you than a regular coke. Just sayin. If it were me I would definitely quit. I drink all water all the time and every once in a while I will indulge in a regular Coke.

UpEarly

Is Diet Coke really that high in sodium? I don't drink soda, but I just looked at my co-workers can. The entire can has 40mg of sodium. I thought the RDA limit for sodium was 2400 mg. If so, a diet soda would be less than 2% of your daily sodium. Is that considered to be high in sodium?

nursegessica

You can only make so many changes. Stick with your healthy diet plan and routine exercise at first. Those are the most important changes. Once that becomes natural to you, then wean off the diet drinks. I drink the energy crystal light (has a little caffeine in it). I have been exercising regularly since around Feb 4th this year. I've lost 10 lbs total. Progress is slow, but I'm sticking with it. I didn't gain overnight so i know i won't lose overnight. Now that exercising and calorie counting has become easier for me I am feeling up to eliminating the diet soda habit myself. I am going to start by not allowing myself to have any diet soda until I have had that amount of water (if i get a 20 oz bottle of diet soda... i cannot open it until i have had at LEAST 20 oz of water).
Good luck with it all. Hope this helps.

Juliebean_1027

This is a personal choice. Do what works for you. I still drink my Diet Coke. Yes, I'm aware that it's awful for you. I am addicted to Diet Coke and consume far more than I should. I have a fear that my body is slowly dying, from the inside out, because of the aspartame. I know that it turns to formaldehyde and is probably preserving my insides, but I still love it. That being said...I drink about 8-10 glasses of water on a bad day, and 15-20 on a good one. I drink 1 diet coke in the morning as my cold caffeine and I drink one at lunch. I've cut back considerably and haven't noticed a change in my diet or how I feel. Again, do what's right for you.

MooseWizard

Cut back, but don't necessarily cut it out unless you want to. This is a lifestyle change, but only if it is reasonable and manageable to you. If you deprive yourself completely of things you want, it will only be a matter of time before you cave and have some. It will feel like 'cheating' since it was 'off-limits' to begin with and that will lead to disappointment and stress--nothing you need while trying to lose weight and adjust to new living.

Moderation, rather than abstinence, is the key in my opinion.

Woodman725

You can only make so many changes. Stick with your healthy diet plan and routine exercise at first. Those are the most important changes. Once that becomes natural to you, then wean off the diet drinks. I drink the energy crystal light (has a little caffeine in it). I have been exercising regularly since around Feb 4th this year. I've lost 10 lbs total. Progress is slow, but I'm sticking with it. I didn't gain overnight so i know i won't lose overnight. Now that exercising and calorie counting has become easier for me I am feeling up to eliminating the diet soda habit myself. I am going to start by not allowing myself to have any diet soda until I have had that amount of water (if i get a 20 oz bottle of diet soda... i cannot open it until i have had at LEAST 20 oz of water).
Good luck with it all. Hope this helps.

Great advice here. When I started MFP, I already had fairly healthy eating habits, I just snacked too much. But the first thing I did was just pay attention to my calories. Then as I started to lose, I payed more attention to sodium and carbs. I still don't really pay that much attention to fat, I actually probably eat too little if anything. Point being take one thing at a time and it will be much easier.
On a side note, but still in line with your question, I have a $0.25 pop machine at work and I would drink 2-3 Dr. Peppers a day, sometimes just one, but rarely none. When I started MFP, I gave it up completely, even the diet. Personally, if I have the diet, I will want to have a regular one. But I still haven't had one since January, almost 100 days now and I don't miss it. I snack on fruit and veggies and drink lots of water. I'm sure you're getting the point about water by now, nuff said.
Good luck with your goals and if you need to, take it really slow with the changes you make.

adriaarnett

Thanks for all the info, and really quickly too! It is nice to know there are so many of you out there for support! I think I am going ot try to cut back and maybe eventualy quit. it is hard because I do love it so much. Thanks again!

esme86

Hello.......if you haven't lost weight, it could be that since you have been strength training you might be making more muscle. But I know you said your clothes are still tight....You know I have a co worker that gave up diet coke about 2 months ago. She always had to have her diet coke every day. So far she has lost about 8 pounds and says she feels less bloated. She does't do much exercising, so she was surprised how much of a difference that made. You might want to try it. Try to maybe drink some tea or something instead of coke...........Good Luck

beckajw

I gave up diet coke once when my weight loss stalled. After two weeks, and still in the plateau, I started drinking it again.

You don't have to give up diet coke. You should try to get 64 ounces of fluid a day, but it doesn't have to be only water. All liquids work. With that being said, yes the caffeine has a diuretic effect, so you should drink extra water if you're drinking caffeineted beverages.

There have been some studies that show that the sweeteners in diet coke (and other diet drinks) are bad for you. However, those studies were based on lab rats getting more sweetener in a day than a normal person gets in a week. There are also studies showing that there is no harmful effect. Take them for what they are and who conducted them and make your own choices.

I am a diabetic, so I don't have the option of drinking regular coke. I probably wouldn't anyway, I don't like to have calories in my drinks. I do drink the occassional diet coke. I drink much less now than I used to, but diet coke tastes like a treat for me. It's like I am not dieting...

At the beginning of a diet, I wouldn't try to quit diet coke (or anything else really) cold turkey. But I would try to replace some of that diet coke with water or tea (unsweetened).

blwood41

I lost 15 lbs just because I stopped drinking diet coke. This was within a couple of months.

antijen

Caffeine was my reason for drinking diet sodas. When I gave them up I replaced it with Water Joe mixed with those little individual sized packets of Crystal Light. They don't carry Water Joe where I live anymore, but Crystal Light now has caffeinated products.

Water Joe: http://www.waterjoe.com/ (caffeinated water)

Crystal Light "Energy": http://www.energyfiend.com/caffeine-content/crystal-light-energy