interesting Points regarding Diet Pop from my trainer

George1567

for later.

TrailRunner61

This article is this guys opinion, none of it is fact. I would like to see real, scientific journal articles from a real medical journal. Many 'trainers' call themselves nutritionists, when they are not, in fact nutritionists or dietitians. I know plenty of people who drink diet drinks who are not overweight or obese. Excess calories and sedentary lifestyle cause weight gain. Diet drinks have ZERO calories, therefore, will not cause weight gain. Now, what if those who are drinking diet colas rationalize by saying "i saved 300 kcal by drinking diet instead of regular, I deserve the Big Mac and fries"? Is it the diet cola that caused weight gain? Or the Big Mac and fries? Am I saying diet cola is good for you? Absolutely not. Especially when it replaces healthier options like water and milk. Does it cause weight gain. Absolutely not. Be smart. Moderation is key.

Agreed! I do not encourage this but even when I was anorexic and below 100lbs I drank half a gallon of Crystal light.It sure didn't make me fat. I still drink it and I'm 2lbs from being in the 'healthy weight' catergory. Don't fear sugar substititutes and I'm sure the cane sugar companies have a lot to do with this fear campaign.

secretlobster

I'm not going to add to any fear-mongering that may be going on.

But I will say this: Through the years I have known many people who have lost weight. The most successful people at losing weight, and keeping it off, are those who dropped their soda drinking habit... All of it. It was kind of astonishing that all these people had one thing in common.

I drank a lot of diet soda when I was overweight. I switched to water/seltzer five years ago and have kept the weight off with no problem. It isn't because I stopped drinking diet soda - It's because I don't let food cravings control me anymore.

I'm not going to say that diet soda equals fat. However, it's significant that a very common thread people when they give up soda is that they care more about their long-term health than they do about having a flavored drink.

I cannot understand the mentality behind NEEDING soda. I have never regretted leaving it out of my diet, there is no craving at all.

MeMyCatsandI

I always say, don’t drink or eat anything that says “Diet” on it, it will make you fat. Ever see a skinny person drinking diet pop? I rest my case.

Uhhhh...... yes. All the time!

TexanThom

I always say, don’t drink or eat anything that says “Diet” on it, it will make you fat. Ever see a skinny person drinking diet pop? I rest my case.

Uhhhh...... yes. All the time!

Looking at 3 right now....

meechi53

I always say, don’t drink or eat anything that says “Diet” on it, it will make you fat. Ever see a skinny person drinking diet pop? I rest my case.

All the time................

I know many VERY (80 lb or more at least) overweight people that would never even try a Diet Coke because they didn't like the taste...not even Coke Zero which tastes the same.

I'm not saying it's good for you or anything like that, I've also cut down on the diet sodas but I have maybe 1/2 a small bottle a day. 8-10 oz.

kimdarren

I don't have anything with artificial sweetener in it. I've got a severe allergic reaction to aspertame, and I can tell within minutes if something I've had contains it. I also have Lupus (however, it isn't linked to the aspertame).

I find it absolutely hilarious that large people will buy a chocolate bar & a diet drink - what's the point?!? Nuff said

eesmetana

Thanks for posting this -- I'm on my 11th day off of diet soda and this only helps to motivate me to stay away from it.

secretbreakfast

There's a difference between correlation and causation. Diet drinks containing zero calories absolutely will not make you gain weight. It's physically impossible. Studies have shown that people who drink diet soda are more likely to eat and drink other sweet things, but that's easily avoidable. Also, I'm sick of the crap about "it's artificial and made in a LAB so it's bad for us!" How many things do you consume in a day that were created synthetically? In order not to be a hypocrite you'd have to give up all modern medicine (no antibiotics or tylenol for you), anything with high-fructose corn syrup (have you checked your bread? Your breakfast cereal?), and a whole lot of other things. This post is your (incorrect) opinion, not science.

MeMyCatsandI

The ADA is in the diabetes buisness, if you no longer have diabetes they are out of buisness. I used to work at ADA processing thier charitable gifts ( from Tour de Cure etc..) and they recieve MILLIONS of dollars from companys like Smuckers, Mars, Coke etc. They also used to hold 'ice cream and pizza parties for thier staff. After working there I have taken everything they say with a grain of salt.

ROFL, okay. And the AACE is in the business of thrashing our endocrine systems? The APA is in the business of keeping people mentally ill, and hospitals are in the business of keeping people sick? How about the CDC? Are they willfully misinforming us in order to perpetuate our ailments? The American Cancer Society--they looking to keep our cancer rates up in order to keep themselves in business?

What about trainers? They're in business, too--often, they're in the business of handing out medical information without a scrap of qualification, and getting paid a lot for it. What happens to trainers if everyone gets slim and fit? Hmm.

Again--science trumps pop-nutrition. And conspiracy theories. And, for the record, I used to "process charitable gifts" for St. Jude's, Save the Children, and the American Red Cross. Doesn't make me any sort of insider. Just means I answered phones and tapped in numbers.

Kris

Thanks Kris. You saved me from having to type this! And you said it better than I would have.

Sarauk2sf

I don't have anything with artificial sweetener in it. I've got a severe allergic reaction to aspertame, and I can tell within minutes if something I've had contains it. I also have Lupus (however, it isn't linked to the aspertame).

I find it absolutely hilarious that large people will buy a chocolate bar & a diet drink - what's the point?!? Nuff said

The point is - they may be able to stay under their calories with a bar of chocolate but a full calorie coke would take them over. Not sure what is funny about it.

tyra47

Oh my goodness. Thanks for sharing

crimsontech

Fear mongering, my (fat, but shrinking) *kitten*. I drank diet soda (several cans/bottles a day) while overeating and got fatter and had really bad lower back pain (in my sacrum/tailbone area) while sitting in most chairs for years. My chiropractor couldn't help, but not for lack of trying. I blamed it on my weight gain.

About 5-6 years ago, I was reading the "fear mongering" sites about aspartame and many of the symptoms listed were things I suffered. The most disturbing of which was a few times a day, I would get dizzy and have to grab a chair or wall to stay upright. These spells would only last 5-10 seconds. I had already decided to cut back on my aspartame consumption but after some of the stories I read, I literally dumped the one I was drinking down the drain and never had any aspartame for years after that.

After quitting aspartame and switching to full-sugar sodas in the same quantities, my capacity for food was cut in half, and for a few weeks, I could no longer finish a "super-sized" value meal from any fast food place. Of course, in that bad mental state of mine, eventually I was able to eat that much again and I continued to gain weight. After a few months, the lower back pain I had suffered with for years faded and eventually was completely gone. I did not attribute this to aspartame at the time. My dizzy spells stopped after a week, and I did attribute that to aspartame.

About two years ago, I weaned myself off of caffeine and switched to almost 100% water (sometimes Vitamin Water, juice, or non-caffeinated drinks) for my drinking needs. The fun thing about this, is after your brain un-wires itself from caffeine dependency, you can get a "wake-up affect" from it again!

In December, I restarted my weight loss journey. In an effort to keep my calories low, I decided to occasionally have a diet soda to satisfy my soda cravings. After having one soda a day for a few days, my lower back pain came back with a vengeance. I had already lost 30-40 pounds by this time, so it couldn't be because of weight gain! It didn't take long to realize the aspartame was causing it. Even in such low "doses", it was enough to trigger my symptoms again. Needless to say, I am off the stuff again. I can tolerate the amount in a "light" yogurt, but not the amount in a soda. Thankfully those dizzy spells didn't come back. I still don't know what it is about aspartame that causes such terrible back pain, but I am for sure off the stuff for good!

Your mileage may vary. I'm sure many of you can chug the stuff all day without a problem. Many of you might have problems caused by it that you don't even realize are linked. But between my symptoms, my aunt getting terrible headaches from the smallest amount, and my dad getting kidney pain after drinking it, that's enough to convince me that aspartame is poison.

My dad was recently drinking some 0-calorie flavored waters and he was raving about how they tasted good and I should try them. I looked at the back and saw the ingredient "Neotame" which is yet another name that Aspartame hides behind. I pointed this out to him and he was surprised. He immediately stopped drinking them and his kidney pain went away. He hadn't realized these new flavored waters were the cause.

So, you can keep calling it "fear mongering", but for some of us, the problems caused by aspartame-flavored products is VERY TRUE AND REAL. When I crave soda, I just budget in a full-sugar one.

katharineshalia

I don't even drink soda but now I want one, preferably with some bourbon. :drinker:

Sarauk2sf

Fear mongering, my (fat, but shrinking) *kitten*. I drank diet soda (several cans/bottles a day) while overeating and got fatter and had really bad lower back pain (in my sacrum/tailbone area) while sitting in most chairs for years. My chiropractor couldn't help, but not for lack of trying. I blamed it on my weight gain.

About 5-6 years ago, I was reading the "fear mongering" sites about aspartame and many of the symptoms listed were things I suffered. The most disturbing of which was a few times a day, I would get dizzy and have to grab a chair or wall to stay upright. These spells would only last 5-10 seconds. I had already decided to cut back on my aspartame consumption but after some of the stories I read, I literally dumped the one I was drinking down the drain and never had any aspartame for years after that.

After quitting aspartame and switching to full-sugar sodas in the same quantities, my capacity for food was cut in half, and for a few weeks, I could no longer finish a "super-sized" value meal from any fast food place. Of course, in that bad mental state of mine, eventually I was able to eat that much again and I continued to gain weight. After a few months, the lower back pain I had suffered with for years faded and eventually was completely gone. I did not attribute this to aspartame at the time. My dizzy spells stopped after a week, and I did attribute that to aspartame.

About two years ago, I weaned myself off of caffeine and switched to almost 100% water (sometimes Vitamin Water, juice, or non-caffeinated drinks) for my drinking needs. The fun thing about this, is after your brain un-wires itself from caffeine dependency, you can get a "wake-up affect" from it again!

In December, I restarted my weight loss journey. In an effort to keep my calories low, I decided to occasionally have a diet soda to satisfy my soda cravings. After having one soda a day for a few days, my lower back pain came back with a vengeance. I had already lost 30-40 pounds by this time, so it couldn't be because of weight gain! It didn't take long to realize the aspartame was causing it. Even in such low "doses", it was enough to trigger my symptoms again. Needless to say, I am off the stuff again. I can tolerate the amount in a "light" yogurt, but not the amount in a soda. Thankfully those dizzy spells didn't come back. I still don't know what it is about aspartame that causes such terrible back pain, but I am for sure off the stuff for good!

Your mileage may vary. I'm sure many of you can chug the stuff all day without a problem. Many of you might have problems caused by it that you don't even realize are linked. But between my symptoms, my aunt getting terrible headaches from the smallest amount, and my dad getting kidney pain after drinking it, that's enough to convince me that aspartame is poison.

My dad was recently drinking some 0-calorie flavored waters and he was raving about how they tasted good and I should try them. I looked at the back and saw the ingredient "Neotame" which is yet another name that Aspartame hides behind. I pointed this out to him and he was surprised. He immediately stopped drinking them and his kidney pain went away. He hadn't realized these new flavored waters were the cause.

So, you can keep calling it "fear mongering", but for some of us, the problems caused by aspartame-flavored products is VERY TRUE AND REAL. When I crave soda, I just budget in a full-sugar one.

I do not think anyone is arguing that some people have a sensitivity to it, but it is really no different than people having allergic reactions to, for example, peanuts. For some people peanuts cause severe problems, but that does not make them inherently 'bad'.

secretlobster

There's a difference between correlation and causation. Diet drinks containing zero calories absolutely will not make you gain weight. It's physically impossible. Studies have shown that people who drink diet soda are more likely to eat and drink other sweet things, but that's easily avoidable. Also, I'm sick of the crap about "it's artificial and made in a LAB so it's bad for us!" How many things do you consume in a day that were created synthetically? In order not to be a hypocrite you'd have to give up all modern medicine (no antibiotics or tylenol for you), anything with high-fructose corn syrup (have you checked your bread? Your breakfast cereal?), and a whole lot of other things. This post is your (incorrect) opinion, not science.

You're right. Diet drinks will not cause you to gain weight. But if you are the type of person who is clinging to and justifying an addiction to soda, are you the type of person who has a problem with food control in general? Causation no, but I have noticed this correlation myself.

I'm sorry but "because you eat other things made in a lab" isn't really a great argument for eating aspertame. I don't personally eat commercial bread or cereal, and I don't consume tylenol for food, so I'm interested in your response

now_or_never12

Personally I think it's a load of crap.

Just because your personal trainer has said something or believes something doesn't mean it's true.

If you ingest a lot of any chemical it will have side effects to you. Everything is a chemical. Sweeteners are in a lot of things. Artificial ingredients are in a lot of things.


Everyone has to do what is best for them.. If you have a sensitity to it, don't drink it. Diet pop doesn't make one fat.

MeMyCatsandI

I find it absolutely hilarious that large people will buy a chocolate bar & a diet drink - what's the point?!? Nuff said

"Small" people probably buy a chocolate bar & a diet drink on occasion as well. What's the point??

carld256

You're right. Diet drinks will not cause you to gain weight. But if you are the type of person who is clinging to and justifying an addiction to soda, are you the type of person who has a problem with food control in general? Causation no, but I have noticed this correlation myself.

Why does it have to be (yet another) "addiction?" Maybe I just like soda. And honestly, we all have problems with food control or we wouldn't be here.

dgyfrsh

I think it's BS. Diet soda will not make you fat. I've always averaged 5-6 cans of diet a day. I did this when I was fat, I did this while I was losing weight, and I still do it while maintaining 5% body fat.