Diet Soda?

xsmilexforxmex

I was just curious what everyones take on diet soda is...

I have switched from regular sodas to diet but now I find myself drinking more 'because I have the calories..' I know they still aren't good for you and I also know if I had nothing but diet soda all day I wouldn't lose weight.. but why? I don't like the way most of them taste but I have found I enjoy Diet sunkist, gingerale and A&W root beer...

So I guess just do you think diet soda is a health(ier) substitution for regular soda or should it be ignored just the same?

emmaps55

I was hooked on Coke Zero, I seriously think it is addicting, because I still crave it. Six months ago I got unexplained shortness of breath, and all heart/lung tests were negative. Then I learned that aspartame can cause exactly that. I cut out all artificial sweeteners that day -- except for a dash of no-sugar syrup in my one cup of coffee Google "Aspartame Sickness" -- it certainly put me off drinking any diet soda ever again. Not that it made a difference in my weight -- although I've read some people immediately drop pounds when they quit. But I FEEL so much better!

auticus

It's addicting. And poison. Do research on the chemicals in it.

Nasty stuff.

wmass1

I drink way too much diet pepsi myself and am also wondering how bad it really is for you.

vinylscratch

I hate the bitter taste and it really screws with my hunger just like normal soda.

BrandyontheRun

All Sodas and pops are a huge whopping NO. They are loaded with crap that our bodies don't need and I agree as previously stated they are addictive and harmful. Google it and you'll find loads of info.

mwilke

I was a regular soda drinker (drank pretty much a 6 pack a day), but gave it up 3 and 1/2 months ago. I didn't like the taste of diet soda, and actually think it may be worse for you because of the artificial sweeteners. I had tried coke zero, but found that if I drank too much of it I would get incredible stomach pains. I would say that it should be ignored as well.

fakeplastictree

I drink diet soda. It is yummy to me. But I don't chug it all day long.

unsivilized6

Here is an informative link. http://unsivilized.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-weeks-free-of-one-of-my-addictions.html . I was very much a diet coke in hand at all times until the end of December. I quit cold turkey and feel better than I have in YEARS.

bigtone34

I had the same problem back in 2006 and have cut out soda almost completely since then. I usually get a craving for it every 6 months or so and have 1 can.

TigersFanHoosierMama

Another big debate on MFP I personally drink it here or there. We don't buy it but when we are out I'll splurge and buy a diet pepsi and it fills me up so much that I find myself so much less hungry the rest of the day. Having said that I don't like the effect it has on teeth so I don't let my kids drink it hardly ever (my teeth are pretty much shot already so I guess I kinda gave up on them).

Each to their own. I eat ALL things in moderation

sbrouillet

Honestly.. I used to like soda. I hadn't had soda in any form for about a month. My hubby bought a diet pepsi and I thought I'd take just a swig... It's actually too sweet for me to drink now.. I honestly just gave it up cold turkey and will now not go back.

galegetsthin

every now and then I will have some diet soda in mixed drinks, but not by themselves anymore. I gave them up for a while and now, if I drink them, they give me the bubble guts.

kitkat1781

I'm sure you can google the effects of the chemicals they put in diet soda if you need a good scare. I mean think about it, if they remove the sugar, they have to replace it with something--almost always chemicals!! I've also heard (could be a total lie) that diet soda makes you crave other sweets.

As a personal story, I used to drink almost two liters of diet pepsi per day. I slowly cut down until last June I was off completely. I feel so much better!!! I won't lie, quitting was awful, I had headaches, I was tired, I would hear someone open a soda can in my office and my mouth would water (I wish I were kidding!!!!). But since quitting, I don't feel bloated, I don't ever get headaches, I have more energy, and I automatically started drinking more water (to replace the soda) so I got all the added benefits of increased water intake. I'm sure everyone has their take on this subject, but my suggestion is to let it go!!

Slimntrim90

If you drink your eight glasses (or more) of water per day, it kind of takes care of your beverage intake and quenches your thirst without the harmful effects of chemicals. I don't even crave sodas anymore. I DO crave water and finally learned after 56 years how to drink my coffee without sweeteners. Best of luck on your journey to fitness!

JinxRita

Aspartame, which as we know is in many diet sodas (and some yogurt, and Crystal light, etc. etc.) makes me extremely sick. I used to take sips of my mom's Diet Coke when I was younger, and even a small sip would give me an upset stomach and a headache. I am -extremely- sensitive to it. Honestly, as hard as it is, it's better to just give up soda completely. I'm trying to do so myself. We no longer buy soda, and if we go out to eat, I will either share a non-diet soda with my boyfriend, or just limit myself to the one glass. It's tough, but once I started thinking of it as syrup water, it became a lot easier. Seriously. Just imagine drinking watered down, flavored syrup. Blech!

Don't get me wrong, I still crave it. I just try to drink something else whenever I want soda. What helped me, when I was craving the carbonation, was adding a smidge of Sprite into my raspberry lemonade. That way I still had what I wanted, but to a lesser extent. Now I don't even need that!

jlewis2896

Everyone has their vices. I would say there are a lot worse things for you than Diet Soda, but agree with most of the above posters that the stuff in it is not the greatest. That being said, if I have a craving for one, I have one. I consider any soda, diet or regular, a 'treat'.

ambercanfly

I stopped drinking diet soda for a few reasons.

1) a lot of it has too much sodium in it. Sodium is so hard to stay under, and I don't need diet soda to sneak in a few extra 100 mg or so.
2) It's addicting... I've heard some crazy stories.
3) Who knows really whats going on in all those chemicals.... it's scary. If you're trying to be healthy and lose weight, you shouldn't be putting all that artificial stuff in your body. It's just not natural. There have been studies that say the fake sugars case more weight gain over time and cause cancer and blah blah blah bad stuff. The point is, why risk it?
4) It's expensive! You go out to a restaurant and pay $2-4 dollars for a soda, and then you are always buying soda cans, bottles, etc. WATER IS FREE!

That being said, every now and then I indulge in a soda craving. Recently I've been doing natural sodas (cane sugar instead of HFCS). Once maybe every 3-4 weeks. It happens *shrugs* I must be still addicted on some level.

cbmcphillips

Let's just say I had diet soda every day and then ended up having brain surgery.....
The internet has linked diet soda to brain injury....
Just saying - be careful!

k8blujay2

According to some articles I have read here and there (they were awhile back), the aspertame that is in most soda's (and sugar free anything) will supposedly make your brain crave more sugar.... I personally don't drink them because I don't like the taste nor the after-taste... and I find that if I drink a soda like the Pepsi throwback (made with real sugar, not a substitute or HFCS) that I crave less and I only need one... but that's just me.

Shannonnn92

I decided to quit soda all together, it usually made me feel gross anyways, and I HATE diet soda. It really doesn't do anything beneficial for your body, so why bother?

knielsen85

At the top of my icky list is ASPARTAME! a little fact about this product it was put in front of the FDA 8 times before it was approved, and with the approval is accusations of "manipulated" tests and results.


A list of just a few of the recognized symptoms are memory loss, migraines, joint pain, nerve damage, and weight gain. This is a 1 million dollar business and they dont care about your health.

NutraSweet and Equal contain aspartame ! Splenda contains small amount of heavy metals, and arsenic. Dont be fooled by fancy advertising showing happy fit people, happy fit people dont put arsenic in there bodies.

If you need your tea to be sweet, or your making a batch of cookies, my suggestion are to use natural healthy sweeteners. They are; agave nectar, stevia, evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, beet sugar, and raw sugar.



remember to always read the ingredients, I went to buy a multi-vitamin the other day and guess what one of the ingredients was, ASPARTAME! they sneak it in everywhere.

armaretta

I know they still aren't good for you and I also know if I had nothing but diet soda all day I wouldn't lose weight.. but why?

If you had NOTHING but diet soda all day, you'd lose plenty of weight, but you'd eventually collapse too. All things in moderation. A diet soda here or there won't kill you, but I'd recommend water first and foremost. There are many many artificial additives in all sodas, not just diet sodas. One diet soda isn't a big deal. 10 diet sodas might be on the wrong side of excessive. All processed food has its downfalls.

LFern

I drank Mt. Dew, then Diet Mt. Dew for 30 years. . . for the past 21 years it was on a daily basis - I ached, had headaches, mood swings. & heart burn. The Dr. told me 1 or 2 cans was not a bad thing for me - I was up to 3 or 4 before noon and before that I would actually drink as much as 8 cans a day....

4 months ago I quit. I just decided that I was sick of being bloated all the time & having so much heart burn. I now drink 2 quarts of water by noon. 1 cup of coffee (with a scoop of slim fast powder in it for sweetener) in the a.m. and I find myself not craving the soda at all.

As a matter of fact my cravings have cut down a LOT in EVERY area! I don't crave salty snacks or the sweet ones. (unless it's that time of the month - but even then, it has really lessened from what it was)

I feel better. No more headaches. No more bloated feeling. I still get the heart burn from the water which I think is weird, but I know it has to be a LOT healthier for me in the long run. I will be hitting the big 5 0 this year and I hope to take better care of myself the second 1/2 of my life on this earth than I have the 1st half.

Well there is my take on the subject - I wish you well on your path to a healthier you

roseemb

I love Diet Coke myself, but I do get nervous about ingesting too much artificial sweetener, whether it be aspartame or whatever. I try to limit myself to one per day, and I don't keep it in my home so that I'm not tempted to over do it. I also find that if its too avaialble, I won't drink as much water as I should. So, in order to keep up with my water intake, I limit the soda.

larsofrock99

I had a crippling diet coke addiction as well which turned into artificial sweeteners. It is the biggest regret i think i have. If you've read Jillian Michael's "Master Your Metabolism" she also kicked the addiction. Any kind of artificial sweetener will slow your metabolism and make weight loss extremely hard -- as well a wreak havoc on your appetite. Your body gets the sweet taste but without any of the nutrients or calories that normally accompany it -- so it craves more food. And when you finally do go back onto sugar it stores it as fat because you've taught your body that sweet doesn't mean anything when it comes to calories.

Terrible. I've completely stopped ALL "non-calorie" sweeteners to shed my regained 10-15 pounds. I hope this time it will stick.

grinch031

Despite the controversy surrounding diet soda, I have never felt any ill effect from drinking it nor met anyone else in person who did. It seems to be a completely irrelevant variable as it pertains to my eating or my overall health (at least in the short term). However I think its possible that some people could have intolerance to it, as I've seen a few negative testimonies on dieting forums about it. I'd say use it at your own discretion and let your body decide until better studies come out.

jennalink807

If you're a soda lover, try making your own. Alton Brown has a recipe for Ginger Ale that has ~85 calories per 8oz glass. Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/ginger-ale-recipe/index.html

Still a lot of sugar, but at least theres not a ton of chemicals in there

thepetiterunner

I gave up diet soda totally because it's still bad for you (too much of that fake sugar stuff and it still makes you crave sugar), and I also found I tended to want to eat unhealthy snack foods with it. It's just an association I can't seem to break (blame it on years and years of eating badly and vending machines).

I gave it up and now I can't really stand how sugary diet or regular sodas are. There are plenty of better options if you're inclined

xsmilexforxmex

Thanks for the imput everyone I think I may try to cut back as before I was only having 1-2 regular sodas a week and now I have 1-2 diet a day bc the lack of calories.. I would love to cut out soda completely but truth is I end up filling the void with juices or something, which while most are healthier, many are high calorie..

tigersword

At the top of my icky list is ASPARTAME! a little fact about this product it was put in front of the FDA 8 times before it was approved, and with the approval is accusations of "manipulated" tests and results.


A list of just a few of the recognized symptoms are memory loss, migraines, joint pain, nerve damage, and weight gain. This is a 1 million dollar business and they dont care about your health.

NutraSweet and Equal contain aspartame ! Splenda contains small amount of heavy metals, and arsenic. Dont be fooled by fancy advertising showing happy fit people, happy fit people dont put arsenic in there bodies.

If you need your tea to be sweet, or your making a batch of cookies, my suggestion are to use natural healthy sweeteners. They are; agave nectar, stevia, evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, beet sugar, and raw sugar.



remember to always read the ingredients, I went to buy a multi-vitamin the other day and guess what one of the ingredients was, ASPARTAME! they sneak it in everywhere.

Do you eat fruit? Because if you do, you're putting arsenic in your body. It's a naturally occurring compound in fruits. Also, your body essentially makes aspartame, aspartate is an amino acid that the body makes every day. And phenylalanine is the other half of aspartame, and happens to be an essential amino acid that your body needs.