Can stopping drinking diet soda help me lose weight? Why?

jonm192

Yes and no.

Diet soda is supposed to have some hunger inducing effects, but eat right throughout the day, and you won't be hungry. Google IIFYM or IF. One of the two works for most people.

BethanyMasters

Here's the jist of it. Forgive me if it's been said already I didn't read through every post.

I'll give you the TL:DR simple explanation.

Your body doesn't know the difference between fake sugar and real sugar. If you consume aspartame your body will still release insulin. Insulin inhibits breakdown of fat in adipose tissue and is involved in further accumulation of triglyceride in fat cells.

Basically insulin has a fat-sparing effect. Not only does it drive most cells to preferentially oxidize carbohydrates instead of fatty acids for energy, insulin indirectly stimulates accumulation of fat in adipose tissue.

healthylifewealthylife

It is very true,diet soda is full of products that actually tell your body to crave more,if we crave more we will eat more,Jordan Rubin has articles that discuss this issue in great details,check it out,plus some of these ingredients used as sweeteners,cause brain tumors,etc.This is real,no joking around,when I found this out,I gave it up .I hope this helps.Keep moving forward.

Amy_nz

Just my two cents' worth.

I used to drink coke zero every day. I don't anymore - not because of the calories (obviously!) but because in my efforts to become healthier, I also want everything that I eat and drink to matter. I do need a caffeine rush in the afternoons at work. So I drink green tea - I get the caffeine, and also get the antioxidants and the like. When I drink coke zero, I get the caffeine, but that's about it.

Also, as someone said above, it's a bit symbolic. I used to have a rubbish diet. Coke zero was part of it. I've ditched all the rubbish from my diet and kept the good stuff - coke zero just doesn't make the grade as 'good stuff'.

I'm also trying to avoid processed food - ideally the food that I buy doesn't have a label (like fresh food). If something I buy does have a label, if there are things on the label that I don't know, or that my grandmother wouldn't recognise, I try not to buy it. Diet soda has lots of things in there that I don't recognise so it doesn't make the cut anymore.

momofgilliam

I gave up diet soda as of January 1. For lots of reasons, but mainly:

1. I was drinking a lot and not nearly enough water
2. I am trying to dramatically cut down on artificial sweeteners, colors, etc.
3. I have been drinking it so long and so often that I was sort of "immune" to the caffeine. I could drink it right before bed, no problem.

I wound up quitting cold turkey. I know, not the best plan. BUT, we are now 13 days in and I feel great. I had terrible withdrawal headaches for about 5 days. I get my caffeine through tea (unsweetened or with a bit of honey)

Think about it, how OK is it to consume something that you suffer withdrawal when quitting?? It was an eye opener for me!

JMHO... good luck!

allisonmmcgee

I used to drink a TON of diet soda, like maybe 5-7 cans of Diet Coke a day. I quit in August of last year and it hasn't made me lose any weight. But, I do feel like I sleep easier and I drink more water now for sure (I pretty much only drink water actually). There is one down side though, now if I comsume ANY caffeine at all I'll be up until two in the morning at least, even if the caffeine is in medicine or anything like that. I still think it was good to quit, but don't let people tell you it's a huge deal.

ninerbuff

I don't think cutting it will make you lose weight exactly but diet soda has a lot of sodium in it which will make you feel bloated and so it's possible if that's the only source of your bloating and you cut it, it will appear you are losing more weight. Also, studies have shown diet sodas cause you to eat more sugar (making you crave it) which obviously will make you gain weight, but I just don't eat that much sweets. I don't think I could ever completely give up soda. I've tried to cut down and/or drink the same amount of water as I do soda to hopefully try to combat some of that extra sodium.

35 mg per serving isn't high for sodium. What peer reviewed studies show the claims you are stating because I'd like to see them. It's important the we actually have the actual facts instead of what some anti diet soda proponents claim as facts.

andrejjorje

Another mega BS myth.

This statement is so wrong:

"Your body doesn't know the difference between fake sugar and real sugar. If you consume aspartame your body will still release insulin. Insulin inhibits breakdown of fat in adipose tissue and is involved in further accumulation of triglyceride in fat cells."

Here is a medical study where statistically this is so no confirmed.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=886000



Read the abstract or read the entire study.
There are other dozens of other studies with the same results all over the internet.

Plain and simple from the abstract:
"Aspartame ingestion was followed by blood glucose declines (40 % of subjects), increases (20 %), or stability (40 %)."

From here, every body's different and there is no general rule.

Here's the jist of it. Forgive me if it's been said already I didn't read through every post.

I'll give you the TL:DR simple explanation.

Your body doesn't know the difference between fake sugar and real sugar. If you consume aspartame your body will still release insulin. Insulin inhibits breakdown of fat in adipose tissue and is involved in further accumulation of triglyceride in fat cells.

Basically insulin has a fat-sparing effect. Not only does it drive most cells to preferentially oxidize carbohydrates instead of fatty acids for energy, insulin indirectly stimulates accumulation of fat in adipose tissue.

andrejjorje

After my opinion the right answer right here below. Test yourself.

Ok so someone told me that if I quit drinking diet soda I'll lose more weight. Why is that? Is it true? Why is it "diet" then if that is the case? I'm kind of confused and feel kind of dumb for asking but I'm like the cat I have tons of curiosity lol

Test your own system.

After you have had lunch, and you have digested it, and any sugar spike or lower energy you normally get has subsided, have your normal amount of diet soda.

If you feel a decrease in energy, or mind gets foggy, your body, like others, may have prepared itself for potential sugar because of eating something sweet, and released the insulin. Which would have then lowered the normal blood sugar causing the symptoms. Also puts the body into fat storage mode, so while at rest fat normally would have been main energy source, you just stopped that.

If you did get the effects, you could probably drink it with a meal with no problem.

If you did not get any effect - drink away if the sugar substitute part doesn't bother you.

andrejjorje

Prove it. Shows us something that would open up our eyes but something scientifically and medically proved.
When you throw words at people with such great impact they have to be backed up with proof.

Diet Soda = Bad for you

ninerbuff

Diet Soda = Bad for you
Regular Soda = Bad for you

Sez who? If it helps you to lose weight safely why would it be bad? Real evidence here and not pseudoscience please.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Yes. Fake sugars have a better chance of being deposited to your middle and changed into fat than say table sugar or pure cane sugar.

This is unfounded. It's irresponsible to make statements like this with no clinical study to back it up.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

they use substitute sugars! they use different names some weird ones High fructose corn syrup is the worse and most common use now on almost everything!

But the substitutes haven't been found by peer reviewed studies to cause issues that many claim.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Dave198lbs

This is unfounded. It's irresponsible to make statements like this with no clinical study to back it up.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

if everyone followed this these boards would shut down

heybales

they use substitute sugars! they use different names some weird ones High fructose corn syrup is the worse and most common use now on almost everything!

LOL - how old are you?!

The substitute sugars in diet sodas are not sugars, they are sweeteners with no calories, and therefore high fructose corn syrup does have calories and is not used in diet sodas.

Also, corn syrup is low fructose compared to normal sugar, it is made high fructose to match regular natural sugar.

heybales

Yes. Fake sugars have a better chance of being deposited to your middle and changed into fat than say table sugar or pure cane sugar.

So your body breaks down this non-sugar, and somehow knows what these non-carb non-fat chemicals are, and knows to deposit it specifically to your middle?!

That is some body!

becoming_a_new_me

Diet Soda = Bad for you
Regular Soda = Bad for you

Sez who? If it helps you to lose weight safely why would it be bad? Real evidence here and not pseudoscience please.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I agree...as far as it helping people lose weigh to quit...meh...I say if you are drinking enough water and eating the right foods, why not treat yourself? I used to love soda but I can't drink it now because of my stomach and I am allergic to aspertame.

tigersword

I stopped drinking soda (well, we call it pop, but same thing) almost 2 years ago, and have lots quite a bit of weight since then! I never really drank diet pop though, so I'm not sure if that makes a huge difference. Another reason I quit is the acidity of pop. It's really hard on your teeth, and also on the rest of your body. Coke and Pepsi are both pretty close to being as acidic as battery acid. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not put that in my body!

To be fair, your stomach acid is hydrochloric acid, which is just as acidic as battery acid anyway. Also, onions? Your eyes tear up when you cut them because of the acidic compounds in them. They mix with the tears on your eyes and create sulfuric acid, which technically IS battery acid. The acidity in the foods you eat is pretty overrated, honestly.

Yes, soda can be tough on your teeth, but so can onions, strawberries, apples, and a host of other rather acidic fruits and vegetables. Of course, if you practice good dental hygiene, you don't have to worry about it anyway.

jfluchere

because soda or diet soda is still just plain bad for you!!! there is nothing nutritional in soda. Diet soda still has artificial sugars and other potentially harmful chemicals for your body. Drink water and tea!

This...anything unnatural isn't good.

jenilla1

Speaking from personal experience, I had no problem whatsoever losing weight or staying on maintenance for almost a year now while drinking diet soda. I drink the non-caffeinated, low-sodium kind. Those funky chemicals might not be the most healthy thing to consume, but it's better than drinking sugar! Zero calories = zero calories. Some people say it's bad because it supposedly makes you crave sweets. I don't have that problem at all. :drinker: