Diet sodas. Yes or No?

bradthemedic

No. Never.

myfitnessnmhoy

I still have a diet coke or two when I am craving it but I have never had it make me more hungry. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that my "binge" foods were all carbs and cheese rather than sweets. Maybe it only makes people hungry who have a sweet tooth?

In my experience, it's the other way around. Drinking soda all the time GIVES me a sweet tooth. Without it, I can enjoy sweet as the occasional treat, and I don't expect everything I ingest to be sweet.

With it, I have a much harder time controlling my sweet tooth and water (and anything that isn't sweet) starts to taste nasty.

Giving up soda entirely, not merely converting to diet like I started with, was probably the key point in my change to a healthier diet. It was tough, but I find that I can turn down sweet foods a LOT more easily now and I rarely crave them, and find that when I do a very small portion is sufficient to satisfy that craving.

Not everyone reacts the same, so what worked for me may not work for you. But I'd recommend at least trying it.

doorki

I still have a diet coke or two when I am craving it but I have never had it make me more hungry. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that my "binge" foods were all carbs and cheese rather than sweets. Maybe it only makes people hungry who have a sweet tooth?

In my experience, it's the other way around. Drinking soda all the time GIVES me a sweet tooth. Without it, I can enjoy sweet as the occasional treat, and I don't expect everything I ingest to be sweet.

With it, I have a much harder time controlling my sweet tooth and water (and anything that isn't sweet) starts to taste nasty.

Giving up soda entirely, not merely converting to diet like I started with, was probably the key point in my change to a healthier diet. It was tough, but I find that I can turn down sweet foods a LOT more easily now and I rarely crave them, and find that when I do a very small portion is sufficient to satisfy that craving.

Not everyone reacts the same, so what worked for me may not work for you. But I'd recommend at least trying it.

I believe you and I are saying the same thing. How did you get heavy in the first place? Was it by over indulging your sweet tooth?

SusanMcAvoy

Personally I don't drink diet soda often because water is such a great tool to lose weight. Every now and then I'll have some for a treat. I would never drink soda with sugar though. But here is something to consider for those of you who want to use artificial sweeteners. I come from a family of diabetics and they drank tons of diet soda and used artificial sweeteners in their baked goods because they had to. My grandmother lived to age 93 and died quietly in her sleep 25 years ago. My mother is 84 right now and still physically well other than the diabetes. The only thing I will say is... both my grandmother and my mother suffer from dementia. Maybe the artificial sweeteners added to that? I don't know. Like I said, I mostly drink water but if I end up with the dreaded diabetes I will have no choice but to use artificial sweeteners in my baked goods, gum, etc. So my point is, I don't think they are evil because tons of people with diabetes use these products and live long lives. Just saying!!

WhittRak

No. That easy.

Carol_L

Where to begin here....

Please excuse me if any of the information is specifically inaccurate but I am just reciting what I learned in several books I've read. (Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin's Skinny *****, Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution, Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet, & Jillian Michaels' Master Your Metabolism to name a few)

---

Anyone who is really interested in learning what is healthy vs unhealthy, I recommend reading 'Skinny *****' and/or 'Skinny *kitten*'. They promote veganism but if you can overlook that fact, it is full of a lot of really interesting information that can be hard to find elsewhere. They are super amusing, in your face, and easy to read. If you are offended easily and choose to read this book, I recommend keeping in mind that the way it is written was intended to be so over the top in your face to get national attention. It was on the NYTimes best seller list and there's a reason for that!

Blindly reciting a scientifically specious catechism is not going to help you in the pursuit of good health, and may ultimately lead to unforeseen consequences.

Perhaps taking diet advice from the New York Times best seller list is not an optimal strategy. Things are on that list, not because of any genuine value they might have, but rather, because of the promotion of the publisher. Diet books, by their nature, are quite popular because people are forever looking for that magic bullet and they will blindly follow the next big diet guru in the hopes that it will work this time for sure! A lot of these books may cite scientific 'evidence' for their point of view, but if you actually sit down and read them, you will inevitably find that most of these so called studies are poorly run, use statistically insignificant sample sizes, and are of such duration (very short) as to be unable to conclusively demonstrate their stated conclusions.

mcarter99

I've read dozens of diet books. Almost none of them recommend avoiding diet soda. Neither does WW.

I think the internet is full of misinformation and that a calorie is a calorie.

kimad

Like some won't give up coffee, I won't give up diet pop. I have one a day if I crave it, but if I don't I skip it.
I also only allow myself the pop if I am done my 9 cups of water for the day.

BrettPGH

Where to begin here....

Please excuse me if any of the information is specifically inaccurate but I am just reciting what I learned in several books I've read. (Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin's Skinny *****, Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution, Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet, & Jillian Michaels' Master Your Metabolism to name a few)

---

Anyone who is really interested in learning what is healthy vs unhealthy, I recommend reading 'Skinny *****' and/or 'Skinny *kitten*'. They promote veganism but if you can overlook that fact, it is full of a lot of really interesting information that can be hard to find elsewhere. They are super amusing, in your face, and easy to read. If you are offended easily and choose to read this book, I recommend keeping in mind that the way it is written was intended to be so over the top in your face to get national attention. It was on the NYTimes best seller list and there's a reason for that!

Blindly reciting a scientifically specious catechism is not going to help you in the pursuit of good health, and may ultimately lead to unforeseen consequences.

Perhaps taking diet advice from the New York Times best seller list is not an optimal strategy. Things are on that list, not because of any genuine value they might have, but rather, because of the promotion of the publisher. Diet books, by their nature, are quite popular because people are forever looking for that magic bullet and they will blindly follow the next big diet guru in the hopes that it will work this time for sure! A lot of these books may cite scientific 'evidence' for their point of view, but if you actually sit down and read them, you will inevitably find that most of these so called studies are poorly run, use statistically insignificant sample sizes, and are of such duration (very short) as to be unable to conclusively demonstrate their stated conclusions.

It doesn't matter. She deactivated. I guess she felt those books were all she needed.

It makes me sad. But there's only so much you can do to help people who refuse to listen.

stepharega

just stay away. what's the point?

Erica27511

I hate this topic because nobody is ever going to agree.

WildFlower7

I don't like it because it makes me feel bloated. Carbonated drinks will do that to you.

pam6870

I used to only drink diet sodas, but I saw a guy the other day while doing my pre-ops at the hospital for surgery. He had lost a lot of weight and one thing he stopped was drinking diet sodas. He's a diabetic so that was all he drank. He started having memory loss and couldn't even remember how to get to work in the mornings. Someone told him to stop drinking diet sodas for a month to see how he felt and he did some research on it. Since quitting he longer has memory problems and has lost even more weight.

I tool had a problem about two months ago where I got a migraine and forgot names of people. After listening to his story, I decided I would quit diets for a while. However....he told me PepsiOne and other drinks that have Splenda are ok to drink.

So my answer would be to try and avoid the diets with aspartame. It's a little scary when you think about the problems that may occur.

HollywoodDJ

WITHOUT A DOUBT ....NO NO NO...and TWICE ON SUNDAY NO!!!!

After years of drinking diet pops and using artificial sweeteners in my coffee I began to have dizzy spells. Eventually the ringing in my ear, spells of nausea , vomiting and dizziness were all diagnosed as Meniere's Disease (imbalance of the inner ear fluid). After I was unequivocally able to trace my attacks to anything I ate or drank that had AS in in it I stopped...completely . Since I have stopped I no longer have the severe attacks I used to have. I do occasionally still get a little woozy from time to time but as I said the attacks are no where near as bad as they once were.:sick:

Artificial Sweeteners have also been linked to muscle soreness, fibromyalsia, brain tumors, MS and dizziness and more.

Please...I can not tell you enough to please stay away from them and don't look back. :sad:

eesmetana

This is one of those topics that the answer all depends on the person giving, I've even had doctors with different opinions on it. That said, until recently I was a diet soda addict - putting away more Diet Mountain Dews and Coke Zeroes than I'd care to admit (I gave up full sugar soda for health reasons back in '08). I went cold turkey and stopped drinking the stuff on 5/21, part of a larger effort to eat more whole and less processed foods. The first couple of days were ROUGH, but it's getting better and I'm nearing the 21 day mark.

ElizaRoche

I've read dozens of diet books. Almost none of them recommend avoiding diet soda. Neither does WW.

I think the internet is full of misinformation and that a calorie is a calorie.

just because you are ´eating healthier´ doesnt mean you have to completely stop eating something. If ppl dont know how to ´moderate´ themselves.. well.....
If you drink lots of wine you will have problems, If you eat a glass studies (and even the doctor) say its a good thing.
If you eat lots of cake you will have an indigestion, If you eat just a tiny slice you will be good
If you eat lots of eggs you will get cholesterol, If you eat just one you will be fine, proteins!!!
If you eat lots of sugar you will get/stay fat, If you eat a small portion you will be fine.
If you drink lots of soda you will get sick and have lots of health problems, if you drink a glass every now and then you will be fine.

Your body NEEDS a little bit of everything, EVEN sugar, and if you dont believe me, ask a doctor.

McGruber03

its a crock, diet soda doesn't make you hungry
. doesn't store fat... I just went on a 3 day water fast, I only drunk water and it had no real effect, I felt a little more "lighter" and thats probably just because I hate water and didn't have as much fluid in me... but as any weight/health issues I.didn't see any.difference... Anyones only concern with drinking diet soda is are you comfortable consuming the faux sweetners. all this my trainner said drink real soda talk is just weird. one'd think you'd need a new trainer.

Trainers crack me up. They usually have no education in nutrition (not saying they don't know anything about nutrition, but...you get what I mean) and should be giving out exercise advice (proper form, sets, reps, etc) not nutrition advice. Funny story...I'm a registered dietitian. I was new to a gym and I was working out with weights (not new to working out, just new to this gym). This guy walks up to me and says "You're new here, right? I don't recognize you. You're going to be working out with weights? You are going to need extra protein". REALLY? He didn't ask me a THING about my current diet. As a blessed American living in this country, I, along with most other people in this country, get more protein than my body actually needs just from a 3 square a day diet. And he was trying to sell me a protein shake without asking how much protein I'm currently getting in my diet. Guess what extra protein would do for me? WEIGHT GAIN! I had 5 lb weights in my hands for goodness sakes! I didn't tell him I was an RD and that I knew that he was full of crap, I just listened...amused and surprised at the horrible info he was giving me to get me to buy a $7 shake. Extra protein, humpf!

Oh, and I drink Coke Zero sometimes. It's delicious! I've been drinking diet coke for years. My grandmother is a 97 year old diabetic who has has aritficial sweeteners for as long as I can remember. She's still alive and kicking. If you like it, drink it. If you don't like it, don't drink it.

hesn92

I don't typically drink diet sodas because they taste fake to me. If I want a soda, I get dr pepper.

Rdahl2

No to diet sodas, they are worse than regular soda. Artificial sweetners have been associated with cancer and other health issues. I tend to try to stay away from pop as much as I can but sometimes I just crave it. I drink lots of water and tea now.

Nastasha915

You can make your own soda, then you know exactly what's in it.