Diet Soda: Friend OR Foe??

candi82

So Ive hit a plateau... wondering now could it be the Diet Pepsi Ive switched too? Done some researching online and cant come up with a definative answer. So please tell me if you have or havent experienced weight loss issues drinking diet sodas.

Cletc

I'm quitting Diet Squirt today in fact.

I think "there is something" to diet soda that doesn't help.

Not to mention there is nothing good about them.

I think the Research is all over the place still on them, but....

My intuition and anecdotal evidence says Foe

:noway:

dawnemjh

I lost over 125 lbs at which time i was drinking diet soda. I am sure you will hear lots of feedback regarding the health benefits (or lack there of) of drinking it, but it did not hinder my weight loss at all!!

LarryPGH

A lot of folks around here will tell you that diet pop makes you crave food, so it can be detrimental to your weight loss goals. You mention that you've "switched" to DP, so that wouldn't seem to apply. Others will mention that all those chemicals can't be good for you, and they may have a point... but then again, we're biochemical machines, so *everything* we put into ourselves is chemicals... so take that one with a grain of salt, too, I think.

I drink diet pop -- not excessively, i don't think, but maybe one a day... and I haven't found it to hinder my weight loss. (Not that one data point proves the assertion, though, of course...!) My WAG is that it's not what's at the source of your current plateau...

ShaeDetermined

carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

so, foe. definitely foe.
drop the diet soda and replace it with water.
when u need a sweet fix pour some crystal light in your water.

Sasha_Bear

I would drink it only in moderation, I don't think it will hinder your weight lost but I doubt if it's benefiting either.

Sasha_Bear

carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

so, foe. definitely foe.
drop the diet soda and replace it with water.
when u need a sweet fix pour some crystal light in your water.

Yep what she said!! LOL

basschick38

I used to think diet sodas were a gift from God (zero calories) but later discovered the added sodium and chemicals actually worked in reverse and made me feel bloated. I would lose the diet drinks if I were you. They just don't have healthy stuff in them even though they are no calorie drinks. Okay, you can have one occasionally but don't make it part of your daily/weekly diet. That's my advise (from experience).

lizzybethclaire

I would say ditch it if you tend to retain a lot of water. I have been a lot less bloated (lovely word, isn't it) since I started drinking only water.

jmruef

I'm quitting Diet Mountain Dew just because I drink WAY too much of it. I've set a quit date for Monday. [There are logistical reasons for not quitting this weekend...just trust me. ] It's to the point where my eye twitches once in a while because of the caffeine...SO don't need that. I've never noticed that it has slowed my weight loss or made me crave sugary stuff, but I will concede that it's full of chemicals and other things that are probably not good for me anyway.

And if there's weight loss involved as a bonus for giving it up, why not?:laugh:

kimmerroze

I personally think diet soda is discusting, the aspertame taste is horrid.

With that said, I have never had a soda addiction like a lot of people, but I have heard that your body treats the fake sugar just like regular sugar. so it plays with your insulin levels, and causing you to be more tired. tired leads to making poor food choices and choices as to whether or not your going to work out etc.

I have also heard that soda in any form diet or regular, and a leading cause to belly fat in particular.

Believe what you will, but NOONE has EVER come out and said that water has bad side effects, noone has ever come out and said that all natural fruit juice is BAD for you (except the sugar)

Noone has said the fresh fruits and veggies and lean proteins, healthy things like that are BAD for you. So when I see something that is soooo controversial as diet pop, it leads me to believe that there is SOMETHING that is bad for you, and that in about 10 years we really will find out there there are some horrible side effects to it.

So better safe then sorry I say, Stick to water.

olo567

carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

Where have you heard this? Almost everything you hear about carbonation being bad for you is untrue, it's just carbon dioxide in the water.

Doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with diet sodas, but it you need a fizzy fix there's nothing wrong with seltzer.

pilotdrew

I used to be hooked on soda bad! A couple years ago I would have at least 3 Mountain Dew's a day most days. Last year I started only drinking Pepsi Max, Coke Zero, etc. which is no calories, but no significant difference in weight.

Since starting MFP on 4/19, I have not had a single soda of any kind. What I did to replace it was start buying MiO water enhancer. I can't drink plain water, especially the city water here that is like drinking pool water (chlorine) so I love this stuff. It's like Crystal Light, etc. but liquid and 0 calories, 0 sugar, 0 everything pretty much. The other great thing is that you can squirt as much or as little as you want in there, so it can either taste like KoolAid or just barely have enough flavor to notice. Great stuff!

I'm down 8 pounds so far with another 10 or so left to goal. Most of it is watching calories and giving up giant heaping bowls of ice cream....but the water probably helps too I suppose.

LorinaLynn

I see a lot of people mention the sodium, but Diet Pepsi is fairly low in sodium. 25mg per serving... 1% of your daily allowance.

I'm not saying diet soda is GOOD for you, but unless you're sensitive to aspartame, I have no issues with it.

strongwoman84

One a day shouldn't make a huge difference. I generally have that just for the caffeine... But if you are drinking 3-4 a day or more it could be that you are getting a lot of sodium and retaining water. So, as I tell my friend that drinks 3-4 red bulls a day, you may need to "Lay off the smack" and just cut down. :laugh:

strongwoman84

I see a lot of people mention the sodium, but Diet Pepsi is fairly low in sodium. 25mg per serving... 1% of your daily allowance.

This is true, unless one is drinking several servings... At one point I was drinking about 3 12 oz bottles (diet mtn dew) a day or more. I counted up the sodium and I was consuming around 160mg just from soda. That made me stop rather quickly.

ShaeDetermined

carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

Where have you heard this? Almost everything you hear about carbonation being bad for you is untrue, it's just carbon dioxide in the water.

Doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with diet sodas, but it you need a fizzy fix there's nothing wrong with seltzer.

Carbonated beverages are not the devil!
I think the caffeine content and the fact that diet pop is loaded with chemicals are more significant factors to me.

But, any carbonated beverage increases bloating because the carbon dioxide trapped in the bubbles creates gas, which can create discomfort, slows down stomach emptying....etc

lauristewart

I LOVE diet soda and will refuse to give it up. I drink 96 oz of water a day so if I want a soda I drink it! My highest weight has been 268 and it hasn't hurt my weight loss or the ability to keep it off! Now my love for Little Debbies is another conversation! LOL!

beckajw

So Ive hit a plateau... wondering now could it be the Diet Pepsi Ive switched too? Done some researching online and cant come up with a definative answer. So please tell me if you have or havent experienced weight loss issues drinking diet sodas.

Last year, on WW, I lost 20 pounds while drinking diet soda. Then I stalled. So, I cut out the soda. It didn't make any difference. After 3 weeks with no soda, I went back to it and started losing weight again.

FearAnLoathing

I drink diet everyday and have had no problems with my weight loss

therealangd

If you are thinking that diet soda somehow changes your metabolism to stop you from losing weight. That is false. It's the other things that you may or may not need to be worried about. Sodium. Caffeine. Chemicals. Increased appetite, if that's an issue for you. If you are replacing water intake with a caffeinated soda, that's probably not a good thing either.

jessimacar

In my opinion, if you're not concerned about the crazy crap that's in it, there's really nothing wrong with diet pop. I started this in November and switched to diet pop then. I lost a lot of weight, fast. I gave up pop for Lent and didn't notice a difference in my weight loss. If all you're concerned about is how it will affect your weight loss, then my experience tells me it doesn't make a difference. But remember to drink your water too!

saral89

I drink Diet Coke DAILY, and I dotn see that it has hurt my weight loss progress. I even went off it for about 2 weeks and results still the same. So for me I don't see why it should hurt your weight loss.

lisabel87

It may not hinder weight loss (although there are many sources that say that diet drinks make you crave more sweets versus regular soda that already has the sugar in it and therefore doesn't make you crave sweets)

Regardless if diet soda is or isn't making you gain weight, its still terrible for your health.

bzmom

FOE!! that is all...

alexandrarae90

Foe.
I'm cutting out soda because its the fact that you're craving soda in the first place which isn't good. Soda has absolutely NO good thing about it. It doesn't HELP you in any way at all. It does not help your health at all. I'm going to replace allll soda with water. The more I crave soda, the more water I'll drink.. the more water I drink, the better my body will be, my skin will look and healthy I'll feel

gooooodbye soda all together!

beccala18

I drink a diet soda a day as well. It doesn't seem to be affecting my weight loss. And having my happy Diet Dr. Pepper at lunch every day actually keeps me a bit happier and cuts back on my sweet tooth. That said I also drink between 8 and 12 glasses of pure water a day too.

If your soda is important to you (for whatever reason) then keep drinking it. Or cut it out for a couple of weeks and see if it changes for you.

LorinaLynn

It doesn't HELP you in any way at all.

You wouldn't say that if you saw my mood before and after a Diet Dr Pepper.

I my caffeine fix.