Diet coke - does it make you put on weight

rumor23

I saw this on Dr. Oz and tried it, not too bad. I take a small Diet soda and poor half in a glass and fill the other half with Lemon flavored or plain seltzer water. It cuts it in half and make the soda last longer. I usually buy the 12 oz. bottles so when I start with the glass, the bottle that has 1/2 soda still in it gets the seltzer added so that it will be ready for me later. Now it is like having 2 sodas a day but in reality I am only drinking one and doubling my water intake at the same time. I really don't find it has a taste difference to me. Dr. Oz wouldn't lie!

ShadowChaser16

Does it make you put on weight? No.

I drink low-carb energy drinks and Coke Zeros almost everyday and I've never noticed them impacting my weight loss. It doesn't make me hungry at all. I think everyone should stop being so stuck up about diet soda, it's a lot better than the alternative.

stang_girl88

I used to work with a dietician and asked her about artificial sweetners. She said everyone has a different reaction to it. Some people it makes them crave more sweets, some people it curbs the cravings and some people it gives them headaches (I am in that category, it also gives me fuzzy brain). There were more 'side effects', but dont remember them all lol. She also said there has been no link to cancers, alzheimers or anything else (she said so far) from them. So I guess it comes down to the individual person. With that being said the dietician would drink at least one can of diet coke a day

deadmittens

I don't think it makes you put on weight.

I have lost 95lbs and have not given up pop. I drink about 2-3 cans a day, but I also drink lots of water and know how to control myself from over eating after drinking artificial sweeteners.

magerum

Dont let the food nazis scare you. If you like it drink it. There's mountains of actual scientific data that shows you would need to consume an all-but-impossible amounts of sweetner for it to harm you. Aspartane is one of the most highly studied food addatives in the world. I'd be more worried about the acidic content than the sweetner.

It didnt hamper my weight loss, maintenance or "cravings" (I havent had a craving for anything in over a year actually).

Good luck!

bohonomad

I think it depends on the person, I started having crazy cravings when I was using splenda instead of sugar and after I realised this and stopped using it the cravings were gone and I started losing weight again. However, studies say it can make you gain weight and it's been linked to heart attacks/brain cancer. Personally, I don't think its worth it. I only drink water and tea and I dont crave anything but water and herbal tea, and I know it's absolutely not going to make me gain weight.

jayliospecky

All this talk about diet Coke is just making me want one. I cut back as I used to drink a lot, and now I miss it.

Kara_xxx

Dont let the food nazis scare you.

I call Godwins Law.

I knew eventually someone would stoop to that level to make a point. :laugh:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

Weatherford102

I don't think diet sodas are horrible for you (internet reports on aspartame aside), but I my body has never felt better after drinking one. The taste may be nice, but it always feels like a drag on me to process it. That aside, I have never heard any reports that the ingredients in diet soda cause weight gain. I have only heard that some studies show that cravings increase due to the brain thinking it is getting sugar but not getting the benefit from the artificial sweetener. Personally, cravings seem more like a psychology issue. If it is a big issue for you, cut them out. If not, drink away. I worry more about my calories and getting enough whole foods in a day, than diet soda.

kaotik26

I read that sugar tends to make us crave more sugar. You're not the first I have seen here that asked this question and although you are trying to control your food cravings with soda and it may seem like it's working in the long run you are causing yourself to want more. I don't think it's the Coke necessarily that's making you gain, but the fact that it's making you want to eat more sugary foods in general. This is only my theory. I think that if you get a craving when you can't eat more, try to drink water. It will fill you up and might be what your body is asking for anyway. Also, there are lot's of foods out there that are very low calories like cucumber and celery that you could probably munch and not mess your goals up.

saraann4

I couldn't live without my diet coke in the morning. It's that or coffee which I have on rare occasions now.

obeserat

Its probably not the best thing for you. I fail to see why people say it will make you more hungry .
I drink a 2 litre bottle of pepsi max every day and I find it helps me eat less because I feel full when it
gets to lunchtime

1104Jen

Stop drinking it! Giving up sodas was this best thing I did a couple years ago. The artificial sweeteners in diet drinks make you hungry so you tend to eat more if you consume a lot of diet sodas.

^^^This! Plus it is filled wth chemicals! I quit all soda as of November 2011 and it was the best decision ever.

reasnableblonde

A lot of people tend to focus on the aspartame and caffeine, but I think it's actually the carbonation that gets a lot of people. When my best friend had gastric bypass, she was instructed to cut out all carbonated beverages. The reason? The gas bubbles can actually expand your stomach... making it easier to eat more.

I know for me personally, drinking 12 ounces of Diet Coke does nothing to curb my appetite (and may increase it). But downing 12 ounces of water tends to lead to eating less because I feel more full.

CassieReannan

I admit, when I am out and about I grab a coke zero or a pepsi max rather than a water. I see no problem having a can a day and slowly decreasing your intake. I drank 1.25L of pepsi max in one night last week and managed the biggest loss I have had in 2 months! Usually drinking a lot of diet drinks makes me gain water. Our bodies are unexplainable sometimes.

msprouse8

Definitely stop. I haven't drank tea in 8 years so I started with diet drinks........they make you retain fluids like crazy and the carbonation makes you bloat. Since March I have not had any diet drinks/sodas. I drink mostly Water with occasional milk/almond milk and sometimes a v8 fruit fusion. I allow myself one Crystal light drink mix a day. A few weeks ago I tried to drink a diet drink because someone handed me one on a hot day and I didn't want to be rude. It tasted like ACID in my mouth. Just wean yourself off!! You will thank yourself later!

JBankey

I feel this is so dependent on personality/. I drank diet coke when I was thin, I drank diet coke when I was fat, I drank it when I shattered my leg, I drank it when I finally decided to shed my weight. If you log everything and are disciplined, this doesn't matter. Stick to your goal and plan.

steveinct

Here is a link that has 68 different studies about aspertame. Read some and make your own decision. As for the people saying it is fine: they are finding studies that say wat they want to hear. If you are comfortable with that, then by all means keep drinking it. I will not put that poison in my body, but that's just me. And now you link to a crapload of studies about that junk:

http://aspartame.mercola.com/sites/aspartame/studies.aspx

adriadawn19

I used to drink 3-4 cans of soda a day but then i decided to start drinking mainly water because that was making me not want to consume water. So I quit and didn't really care, I realized the majority of my cravings were in my head. I will occasionally drink a cup of soda but it only equals like 2 cups a month.

I would just say to slowly cut down. If you are at 1 can a day right now try and only drink like 3-4 cans a week and keep cutting down till you are at 1 can a week. Then just stop and you probably wont even miss it.

LorinaLynn

As for the people saying it is fine: they are finding studies that say wat they want to hear.

And that goes both ways. Mercola is out to prove that it's bad, so they're only going to list studies that support that view.