Diet Coke

MtTovey

Last weekend I decided to splurge a bit and get a diet coke with my lunch and I checked the ingredients and the only I saw was that it was sodium. Not the best but better than others, I suppose. Anywho, I told my husband how excited I was that my mouth was having a party because I got something other than water and he got upset and said that Diet Coke is almost as bad if not worse than regular Coke because of the artificial sweetener in it. It's not an everyday thing but a fun little splurge on the weekend would be nice without feeling guilty about it or it possibly having negative effects on my body. What's your take?

katythemommy

Every once in a while is totally fine. Enjoy it and move on!

Amryfal

ah, the perennial diet coke thread!

i drink a lot of it.

let the flame war begin

missfelicia6

I checked the ingredients and the only I saw was that it was sodium.

You didn't check the INGREDIENTS hun, you checked the nutrition facts. If you look at the ingredients, you'll notice all kinds of bad stuff for you!!

Not to mention the carbonation.

Diet Coke is not as bad as regular coke, but it is still bad.

Also, it can make you bloated for days from carbonation AND artificial sweeteners.

Sorry, if I were you, I would try to stay away from any soda

Sidesteal

Last weekend I decided to splurge a bit and get a diet coke with my lunch and I checked the ingredients and the only I saw was that it was sodium. Not the best but better than others, I suppose. Anywho, I told my husband how excited I was that my mouth was having a party because I got something other than water and he got upset and said that Diet Coke is almost as bad if not worse than regular Coke because of the artificial sweetener in it. It's not an everyday thing but a fun little splurge on the weekend would be nice without feeling guilty about it or it possibly having negative effects on my body. What's your take?

My take is that the dosage levels at which aspartame can become problematic are so high that you'd have to make a diligent effort to try and cause problems.

Aspartame is composed of aspartic acid, phenylalanine (amino acids), and methanol (toxic at high doses).

You know what? Chicken and Fruit have all of the above, in higher doses than a can of diet soda.


If Aspartame gives you headaches, which apparently a very small % of the population has this issue, then don't drink it. Otherwise, enjoy it in moderation. You probably don't want to drink a case per day.

EDIT: Actually, a case per day would probably be fine in terms of dosage limits. Might not want to do that for other reasons though.

purplegoboom

You've going to get alot of people telling you Diet Coke is the devil.

Is it bad for you? Yes, IF you're drinking gallons of the stuff every day.

If you want one can every once in a while, and it fits your macros, go for it.

SueMizZou

You did the right thing. You can't have a successful journey if you try to eliminate everything that made you happy. Just plan for it. Diet Coke shouldn't replace water but as a treat now and then it can't hurt. Just remember to keep it so that such treats are occasional.

Jules2Be

it is currently my evil of choice.

Silverstar46

Look, anything other than water can be considered bad for you.

The truth is that a can of diet coke is a nice alternative to water sometimes, and a helluva lot better than drinking a regular coke.

I've had a hard time switching from Pepsi (which I LOVE) to diet Coke. But I've managed to start enjoying the taste of it and I may have a can a day or every other day. It has yet to affect my weightloss or anything else.

Enjoy your success and do not let minor things like this ruin it for you. Good luck! :drinker: :drinker:

sullykat

I had some diet cherry pepsi, and it was glorious! Water is absolutely the best thing to drink, but if we only drank water, it would be like never taking time off of work. We all need vacations, in every sense and aspect of our lives.

janehadji

I used to drink one diet soda a day, as I liked the bubbles. My husband also thought that it was incredibly unhealthy, and promised to buy me bubble water (Pellegrino) if I would stop the sodas. True to his word, he spent several years hauling home cases of Pellegrino from Costco (and hauling the bottles to recycling!). I would drink one large bottle with fresh lime juice each day -- it goes down so easily! He finally got tired of lifting the cases, so he bought me a SodaStream machine which lets me carbonate my own water at home. It works really well, and just uses our tap water. I'd highly recommend it if you're tired of regular water! I still have a diet soda about once a month, but I can't imagine that small amount will hurt me.

twaltemade

I dont think one will kill you. However, until the whole aspartame debate is settled I have decided to limit my occasional sodas to those using sucralose or Splenda. Pepsi One uses Sucralose (so does Shasta)

If you look carefully, there is a Diet Coke version using Splenda. It is hard to find...saw it at Sams Club two weeks ago.

MtTovey

I checked the ingredients and the only I saw was that it was sodium.

You didn't check the INGREDIENTS hun, you checked the nutrition facts. If you look at the ingredients, you'll notice all kinds of bad stuff for you!!

Not to mention the carbonation.

Diet Coke is not as bad as regular coke, but it is still bad.

Also, it can make you bloated for days from carbonation AND artificial sweeteners.

Sorry, if I were you, I would try to stay away from any soda

lol We all knew what I meant. Children and typing coherently don't mix. Thanks for your input, though.

mcw1976

I asked my doctor about drinking Diet Coke. His response was, "There are just as many studies saying artificial ingredients are bad for you as they are OK in moderation." His advise was drink Diet soda in moderation.

viannee

"Everything in moderation"

that's my mantra.

let the diet soda debate resume! *runs and gets popcorn*

This gon be goood!

MtTovey

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I haven't been here (actively) long enough to see one of those debates yet so sorry about that. I drink water for everything and all day. I think if it's my weekend splurge and it fits into my daily requirements, then it's a go for launch.

missfelicia6

I checked the ingredients and the only I saw was that it was sodium.

You didn't check the INGREDIENTS hun, you checked the nutrition facts. If you look at the ingredients, you'll notice all kinds of bad stuff for you!!

Not to mention the carbonation.

Diet Coke is not as bad as regular coke, but it is still bad.

Also, it can make you bloated for days from carbonation AND artificial sweeteners.

Sorry, if I were you, I would try to stay away from any soda

lol We all knew what I meant. Children and typing coherently don't mix. Thanks for your input, though.


Sorry, I thought you asked for our opinions. I was just giving mine. Didn't mean to offend.

MtTovey

Sorry, I thought you asked for our opinions. I was just giving mine. Didn't mean to offend.

Oh, you didn't offend! I was just stating that I knew what I meant to say but it came out wrong because I wasn't paying 100% attention. I probably came off as a douche before, again, didn't mean to. Sorry about that.

sarbar71

I used to be a Diet Coke addict - in college I probably drank 4 or more per day. It destroyed the enamel on my teeth for sure, which left me wondering what all the acid may have been doing to my insides!! Regardless, it is a guilty pleasure of mine. I have cut back to one diet coke per day - still probably more than I should have, but I still think its better than drinking a full strength Coke or even a sports drink, both of which are loaded with sugar!! You need to allow yourself some treats to keep you from losing your will power - Diet Coke is a lesser evil than going off my diet and binging on cookies

CommandaPanda

Aspartame is completely safe.

Don't listen to those hippies who will try to sway you to believe anything different.

JuneBPrice

Every time someone pulls out that "Diet coke is worse than regular coke" crap I buy a diet coke to celebrate. In my experience, that line has only ever been used by people trying to justify drinking calories.

CommandaPanda

Last weekend I decided to splurge a bit and get a diet coke with my lunch and I checked the ingredients and the only I saw was that it was sodium. Not the best but better than others, I suppose. Anywho, I told my husband how excited I was that my mouth was having a party because I got something other than water and he got upset and said that Diet Coke is almost as bad if not worse than regular Coke because of the artificial sweetener in it. It's not an everyday thing but a fun little splurge on the weekend would be nice without feeling guilty about it or it possibly having negative effects on my body. What's your take?

My take is that the dosage levels at which aspartame can become problematic are so high that you'd have to make a diligent effort to try and cause problems.

Aspartame is composed of aspartic acid, phenylalanine (amino acids), and methanol (toxic at high doses).

You know what? Chicken and Fruit have all of the above, in higher doses than a can of diet soda.


If Aspartame gives you headaches, which apparently a very small % of the population has this issue, then don't drink it. Otherwise, enjoy it in moderation. You probably don't want to drink a case per day.

EDIT: Actually, a case per day would probably be fine in terms of dosage limits. Might not want to do that for other reasons though.

Didn't even see this but I 100% agree with everything he's said. All of the research I've done was pretty much summarized in this quick rundown/suggestion.

JuneBPrice

I used to be a Diet Coke addict - in college I probably drank 4 or more per day. It destroyed the enamel on my teeth for sure, which left me wondering what all the acid may have been doing to my insides!! Regardless, it is a guilty pleasure of mine. I have cut back to one diet coke per day - still probably more than I should have, but I still think its better than drinking a full strength Coke or even a sports drink, both of which are loaded with sugar!! You need to allow yourself some treats to keep you from losing your will power - Diet Coke is a lesser evil than going off my diet and binging on cookies

4 a day destroyed the enamel on your teeth? I drink about a case a day, no problems here.

Owlie45

It had ill effect on me. And no I wasn't drinking gallons of it, just a can a day.

Terrible headaches, I bloated so much that when I quit I dropped 10lbs and it emptied my wallet.

MtTovey

Yikes! No headaches here! But I dislike that canned stuff. The fountain variety is the only kind of Diet Coke I will drink. Helps on the wallet and not stocking my home with it.

hannahamay

i personally hate the flavor of diet coke because it tastes like medicine. On the rare times that I do drink pop it's either and Izze Esque (which is a low calorie carbonated juice drink) or GuS Dry Cola (it's natural and has half the calories as regular pop, but tastes just the same). On occasion I'm sure it's fine to drink Diet Coke, but don't make it an every day thing, because drinking and eating unhealthy things on a daily basis is what got you to the point where you are now. Everything in moderation!

MtTovey

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4 a day destroyed the enamel on your teeth? I drink about a case a day, no problems here.
[/quote]

Gotta say, that is a *kitten* ton of soda.

MtTovey

i personally hate the flavor of diet coke because it tastes like medicine. On the rare times that I do drink pop it's either and Izze Esque (which is a low calorie carbonated juice drink) or GuS Dry Cola (it's natural and has half the calories as regular pop, but tastes just the same). On occasion I'm sure it's fine to drink Diet Coke, but don't make it an every day thing, because drinking and eating unhealthy things on a daily basis is what got you to the point where you are now. Everything in moderation!

Agreed! That's why I said it wasn't an everyday thing but when I'm working all day and grab some Subway for lunch, it's a nice splurge after drinking plain water all day every other day of the week! And it fits into my daily reqs.

bethb03

I used to be a hardcore Pepsi drinker, was nothing to have at least 4 cans a day and possibly more, had tried to stop numerous times, went through the withdrawals and would go right back to the stuff. Since starting my journey with MFP I've successfully stopped the bad habit. I must admit I still dislike diet sodas, I've managed to switch to Pepsi Next which is 60 calories compared to 150 per can but the big improvement is I have maybe one can a week now and I make sure it's always within my calorie budget. I'm like so many others on here, I'm probably not going to totally eliminate any one thing.

dustyd48

I have 1 coke zero a day, water, and than water with Ocean Spray Cran Packs to Go. I also drink coffee with creamer and green tea (without creamer). I hate plain water, and I especially hate coffee and tea without sugar. I've put the sugar in a cabinet where I want see it and keep telling myself not to go near the sugar. I sure would love a glass of sweet tea.

gmarosie1

I love my diet coke. I only have a couple of week and yes, my mouth says thanks as well. Have you tried putting lemon, cucmbers or strawberries in your water. They all flavor it nicely.