diet soda or no diet soda

nikisab120

So I want to hear your thoughts on diet drinks. I hear they are horrible for you and actually can cause you to gain weight. Yet, I don't smoke or anything and feel that I should be allowed a vice. I don't go overboard with them, maybe 3 or 4 a week, but if they are really sabotaging my efforts then I need to cut them out.

CMmrsfloyd

3 or 4 a week will not sabotage your efforts. You can give them up if you want to, but it's not necessary for weightloss.

ETA: I drink 1 or 2 a day and my weightloss has come along quite nicely. :-) However I have cut back considerably - it used to be more than 2 liters each day and no water, ever, before I started MFP.

futiledevices

Yes, diet soda.

ElizabethRoad

Some people feel that they lead to craving sweets. I don't drink them myself (can't stand the taste) so I can't speak from experience. But I would suggest that you drink them and see if you continue to lose weight.

gigiangelique

its ok sometimes but not everyday

crzyone

I never liked the taste of diet sodas. I drank the real thing. When I started eating healthy, I cut them out altogether. I've not had one in over six months. Water and tea for me.

Mandysunshine2190

I have done my own personal study with diet soda and I tend to lose less weight while drinking them... when I stick to juices, water and skim milk I lose more weight and feel less bloated...

chickybuns

Of course they are not good for you. But i personally drink diet soda, because the only other thing I really drink is water, I would rather eat my calories. Diet soda has 0 calories, so it does not cause you to gain weight. As long as you stay within your calorie limit, it should not affect your weight loss.

rosebarnalice

I say "yes", in moderation.

I use diet sodas as a treat to replace some other sugary snack-- maybe 3-4 per week--and always decaffeinated [I prefer diet root beer and diet lemon lime-type sodas.]

Primm

Not for me, too many chemicals. I'm not just trying to lose weight, I'm trying to make my body healthier, and adding crap is not in the plan.

DannyMussels

I switched to mostly diet and enjoyed it for a few years, while losing then maintaining a healthy weight.

Currently, I've cut out all soda and juice for the past 2 years.

And I'm ballin' .

Betsybeee

I used to be hooked on diet pepsi, still love them but the more you drink the more you want. I agree with the post from earlier- everything in moderation.

dragonsfaerie

Hate the taste so it's water and Crystal Light for me. 38 lbs and counting.

livinginwoods

My Dr. told me she would rather I drink regular than diet any day but to limit mine (personally for now) to 3 cans a day. I was drinking 12 or more cans of Mt. Dew and if I were to just stop I would get migraines (which I did last time) and have a crash. And slowly get rid of the soda all together. Well I am down to 2 a day now and by this time next week I want to be down to 1.

seal57

I drink Coke Zero but only about 3 or 4 times a week...Hasn't stopped my weight loss...Sometimes I just need a fizzy drink....

SpitfireStacey

Of course they are not good for you. But i personally drink diet soda, because the only other thing I really drink is water, I would rather eat my calories. Diet soda has 0 calories, so it does not cause you to gain weight. As long as you stay within your calorie limit, it should not affect your weight loss.

This. Exactly. I have a coke zero every day. Sometimes two, sometimes only half... I need to open one so I can take my vitamin (they taste SO bad that I need the fiz to help them down) and then sometimes I leave it somewhere and forget it, other times I guzzle it down and have another. I don't think it'll really hurt as long as you're drinking your 8+ glasses of water as well to keep the bloat down.

cthoma70

I dont drink diet sodas but I do add art. sweeters to my oatmeal. I increased my oatmeal intake to lose more weight and gained 5 pounds and stayed until 1200 calories a day. IMO art. sweeters and diet soda in exceed will cause weight gain. I have cut out the sweeters and losing wieght so for me, art sweeters are bad

dsc32209

As long as you drink plenty of water, it shouldn't be a problem. Soda doesn't hydrate you like water,

Lainn

Diet soda may not have the calories, but you have to ask yourself "Why?". It has been chemically altered to be diet.

I would encourage you to research splenda, aspartame, and other artificial sweeteners. They can do corrosive damage to your body over years and in general are not good for you. Hence the artificial part. If you are wanting to lose weight by having healthy eating habits then I would say absolutely "no" to diet drinks or anything with artificial sweeteners. But in the end it comes down to personal preference.

IvoryParchment

I drink them. They don't make me crave other sweets. They just help me space out meals/snacks if I'm bored. I have extra calcium carbonate supplements to counteract the phosporus in the sodas, though.

Now that I finally got used to diet sodas, the regular ones taste gross and syrupy to me.

mommygirl81

When I quit drinking Diet Coke I lost 4 lbs that week. I drink them occasionally now as a treat but they taste weird.

Cdcaldwe

Dont' drink, don't use tobacco, don't eat crappy foods anymore. I drink a lot of Diet Mtn Dew. Guy has to have a vice.

Gunff

3 - 4 a week. you're fine.

I hate the taste of most diet but Pepsi Max and Diet Orange are unbeliveably good tasting.

i keep it to 1 or less a week, and my wife drinks regular pepsi probably 2 - 3 a week. As long as you are counting calories and drinking enough water, you'll be fine.

mwright24skinny

I drink diet rite when I need something

KarlDR

I did drink them a lot until I started dieting, I think since then I've had 2 cans in about 3 weeks and I can honestly say I don't miss it. At first drinking plain water wasn't as satisfying but now I don't even think about it. I think everyone agrees they are not good for you. Perhaps you could try giving them up for a couple of weeks and see if you really miss them, and if so I doubt 3 or 4 a week will do you much harm - but water will be better for you if you can cope without the diet fizzy drinks.

iKristine

Carbonation deteriorates your bone density. So does Caffeine when consumed in large quantities. That's before we talk about the artificial ingredients and colors that ARE KNOW carcinogenics. Fact from Biology educators.

Jillian Michaels talks about this issue pretty heavily. She drank a 6 pack of diet soda a day, and when she got her own tv spot after the biggest loser. They had her get tested for bone density as the staple example on the show. Come to find out she had beginning stages of osteopenia. She was 35 at the time.

That was from the soda. She cut it out entirely as a result.

If that don't motivate you, then consider this. Soda has ZERO nutritional value, in fact it's nutritional defeceit. What's that mean? It means it takes away rather than gives. Sure a soda a week, two cans a week not a big deal. As long as your not counting it as fluid intake. Drink as much water and more for every can you drink. But moderation is the key to it all.

Remember a 32 oz, is nearly three cans. And this is for diet. Don't get me started on the sugar and how high fructose interacts with your liver.

FluffyCanadianGirl

My hubby loves pop and he has switched to diet because cutting them out completely was really hard for him. I, on the other hand, can't stand diet pop, I don't drink juice, not a huge coffee/tea drinker, and only like milk in my cereal lol. I drink only water but some days have a really hard time getting in my full amount, so I have to remind myself a lot.

When my hubby was losing weight, he continued to drink diet pop, and it really didn't have any adverse effect on his weight loss. He knows it's not the best for him, but it's better than regular!

Emily_Katherine

I load up a glass with ice and diet soda as a 0-cal treat. I know it's not the best for you, but it is delicious.

iuew

diet soda has zero calories. hence, diet soda alone will not make you gain weight. it's unpossible.

CoraGregoryCPA

I havent drank a soda in 5.5 years! Wowza....i do remember having more cravings when i did drink diet soda. Cravings for junk and lots of fast food.

HMonsterX

As long as your not counting it as fluid intake. Drink as much water and more for every can you drink.

Completely wrong. In terms of hydration soda counts just as much as pure water. Caffeine does not dehydrate you.