Diet Soda / Crystal Light

Kelley528

I only drank diet soda and crystal light my whole life because my sister is diabetic and those were the only types of sweet drinks that were kept in the house. My mother and sister were big soda drinkers so it always seemed like diet soda was the only drink we ever had. Carbonation bothered me alot as an adult so I decided to quit diet soda and drink only natural drinks or juices---not carbonated, chemical nonsense.

When i quit drinking diet soda I wound up losing 10lbs over 3 months. I did not change anything else about my diet and I didnt change my exercise habits--the only change was soda. The fact that diet soda has zero calories and that cutting it out of my life still led me to lose 10lbs over 3 months says alot about what type of garbage it is.

I used to feel bloated all the time, retained so much water that sometimes I had to wear bigger clothes on some days. The soda was gone and all that went away.

This was 7 years ago.

My opinion, just because diet soda doesnt have any calories doesn't mean its harmless to your body and diet.

SopranogirlCa

LorinaLynn, I love your repy. Well done!

taylor5877

I'm a toxicologist and I drink about a gallon/day of crystal light and 1-3 sodas per week.

TotallyTina

haha well put!!

misspastry

There is NOTHING wrong with Crystal Light. Not any different than Kool Aid, and people have been drinking that for almost 100 yrs.

shicken684

Giving up diet soda will not help you lose weight they are only a few calories a can. Some people give it up if they are concerned about the ingredients or are sensitive to aspartame.

I have been drinking diet sodas all through my weight loss so far and had no problem.

Its all crap! Give it all up! If you switch to unsweetened iced tea it will definitely help you lose weight! I save soda for when I am having pizza... they go together like beer and cigarettes! LOL! When I do indulge I like pepsi throwback. It tastes better, and is made with actual sugar... The regular sodas are all made with that high fructose crap, which is just as bad as artificial sweeteners... I think Stevia is probably somewhat better but it still seems like cheating...and you know what they say...

Do you even know what you're talking about? First off there is zero scientific evidence showing artificial sweeteners do any harm to the human body in the doses we consume. The only study where it showed an increase in cancer was when they gave rats the equivalent of 100 diet cokes a day for their entire lives. The reason high fructose corn syrup is bad for you is because its insanely cheap. Companies now have a very cheap way to add sweetness to their products. So now sugar is in more foods, and in higher amounts. Once again, no peer reviewed scientific study has shown HFCS is any more harmful than normal sugar.

I don't have much knowledge on Stevia but it seems to fall under the neutral phase where there hasn't been enough research to form a conclusion. Now this is all for the average person. If you are sensitive to any of these sweetners then they are not for you. I have issues with Stevia so I can't drink/eat it or my stomach hates me for a day or two. Also about artificial sugars causing you to crave more sweets is somewhat true. The human body is hard wired to crave high calorie foods. That's why sugar and fat taste so good. So that one comes down to will power. For me, a coke zero or some zero sugar jello is a nice healthy way to calm my sugar cravings without eating actual sugar.

Conclusion, if you do not have an allergy or sensitivity to artificial sugar, then they are going to be much better than real sugar.

imhungry2012

Flavored seltzer/club soda is what I switched too and I love it. Giant brand raspberry lime is my go to when I am craving something bubbly. Much better choice than diet soda!

bulbadoof

Everything that I could have said has already been said; it's a decision you'll have to make on your own.

I will say that I notice I eat more overall and I get mild headaches when I drink diet soda, but that's just a personal reaction and I couldn't use that information to tell somebody else whether it's good or bad.

ahamm002

I would avoid artifical sweeteners b/c they make you crave sugar. The fact that you're still craving diet coke shows that they have semi-addictive qualities. Drink water, black coffee, or tea. They all have health benefits instead of negative health consequences. And if you stick with them, you will eventually learn to love either black coffee or tea (no matter how much you may think you hate them now).

cmcollins001

Diet sodas/drinks may give you the benefit of zero sugars and low carb but the other lurking evils are super high sodium content and aspartame.

And this right here is where the "diet soda is evil" people lose me. They're just regurgitating things they've heard, without doing any research for themselves.

Diet sodas typically contain 25 -35mg of sodium per serving. That's about the same as the sodium content in three raw baby carrots.

SOME people do have negative reactions to aspartame and those people should avoid it. I have a negative reaction to Ivory soap, so I don't use that particular brand. I'm not out trying to tell the rest of the world to avoid Ivory because it's 99.44% pure and the other .56% is the blood of unicorns.

.56% blood of unicorns...hmmm

Note to self: Hey, Voldemort, immediately have one of the Death Eater minions go to the store and buy tons of Ivory Soap. It will keep you alive even though you are an inch from death.

dzuspann

I drink a lot of diet sodas also and it has had no effect on weight or the ability to lose weight. It does of have a decent amount of sodium but not a crazy amount. 2-3 a day will be fine.

shicken684

I would avoid artifical sweeteners b/c they make you crave sugar. The fact that you're still craving diet coke shows that they have semi-addictive qualities. Drink water, black coffee, or tea. They all have health benefits instead of negative health consequences. And if you stick with them, you will eventually learn to love either black coffee or tea (no matter how much you may think you hate them now).

They are only addictive because they are enjoyable. Your brain will get addicted to anything that causes stimulus. So you better just stop doing anything fun because you might become addicted to it! Besides the caffeine, there is zero chemically addictive properties in artificial sweeteners. So if drinking a diet coke makes you crave a cupcake, then don't drink a diet coke. Yet for a lot of us, our diet coke makes us not want/need that cupcake.

I do second your notion to drink coffee or tea. They do provide some health benefits while getting your caffeine fix. But to call diet colas and crystal light unhealthy is just false. All current, reviewed scientific evidence points to it being completely safe for human consumption. Stop listening to **** you just heard someone on the television say.

ahamm002

I drink a lot of diet sodas also and it has had no effect on weight or the ability to lose weight.

How do you know that? Have you ever given it up for an extended period of time? I definitely noticed that my sugar cravings decreased a couple months after I stopped drinking diet soda. Everyone is different of course.

MandiK3

I do mot know much about stevia... BUT, I used to drink 4-6 cans of diet pepsi a day and it was ruining my stomach and one day i just quit! i am not as hungry i dont have crazzzy cravings and that is what actually started my weight loss.... i dropped 10 lbs seemed like over night. now 3 months later i have lost 26 lbs

Katalyst77

Giving up diet soda will not help you lose weight they are only a few calories a can. Some people give it up if they are concerned about the ingredients or are sensitive to aspartame.

I have been drinking diet sodas all through my weight loss so far and had no problem.

Its all crap! Give it all up! If you switch to unsweetened iced tea it will definitely help you lose weight! I save soda for when I am having pizza... they go together like beer and cigarettes! LOL! When I do indulge I like pepsi throwback. It tastes better, and is made with actual sugar... The regular sodas are all made with that high fructose crap, which is just as bad as artificial sweeteners... I think Stevia is probably somewhat better but it still seems like cheating...and you know what they say...

Do you even know what you're talking about? First off there is zero scientific evidence showing artificial sweeteners do any harm to the human body in the doses we consume. The only study where it showed an increase in cancer was when they gave rats the equivalent of 100 diet cokes a day for their entire lives. The reason high fructose corn syrup is bad for you is because its insanely cheap. Companies now have a very cheap way to add sweetness to their products. So now sugar is in more foods, and in higher amounts. Once again, no peer reviewed scientific study has shown HFCS is any more harmful than normal sugar.

I don't have much knowledge on Stevia but it seems to fall under the neutral phase where there hasn't been enough research to form a conclusion. Now this is all for the average person. If you are sensitive to any of these sweetners then they are not for you. I have issues with Stevia so I can't drink/eat it or my stomach hates me for a day or two. Also about artificial sugars causing you to crave more sweets is somewhat true. The human body is hard wired to crave high calorie foods. That's why sugar and fat taste so good. So that one comes down to will power. For me, a coke zero or some zero sugar jello is a nice healthy way to calm my sugar cravings without eating actual sugar.

Conclusion, if you do not have an allergy or sensitivity to artificial sugar, then they are going to be much better than real sugar.

Hey if you want to eat fake food, go for it! I have some plastic grapes that I could sell you! Also I have heard that you can sweeten jello with antifreeze! Hey, why not! LOL!

Tarin626

Throwing away the fact that I am trying to get the artifical crap out of my diet and that there haven't been any studies to prove one way or that other that's it's bad for you because no one is going to pay for such studies and the food lobbists rally against that constantly as it is.

I real problem - and this is a fact - is that artifical sweetners like aspartame are 100s of time sweeter than cane sugar or fructose (fruit sugars) and the body/our brains are fed false information about the food we are eating if we consistantly expose them to these sweetners. Sugar is addictive as the brain craves it for the body as fuel and caffeine is also addictive (present in some of these products).

The logic of calories in/calories out is true but the body works SO much more effeciently if it has better quality fuel to work with :-)

ahamm002

I would avoid artifical sweeteners b/c they make you crave sugar. The fact that you're still craving diet coke shows that they have semi-addictive qualities. Drink water, black coffee, or tea. They all have health benefits instead of negative health consequences. And if you stick with them, you will eventually learn to love either black coffee or tea (no matter how much you may think you hate them now).

They are only addictive because they are enjoyable. Your brain will get addicted to anything that causes stimulus. So you better just stop doing anything fun because you might become addicted to it! Besides the caffeine, there is zero chemically addictive properties in artificial sweeteners. So if drinking a diet coke makes you crave a cupcake, then don't drink a diet coke. Yet for a lot of us, our diet coke makes us not want/need that cupcake.

I do second your notion to drink coffee or tea. They do provide some health benefits while getting your caffeine fix. But to call diet colas and crystal light unhealthy is just false. All current, reviewed scientific evidence points to it being completely safe for human consumption. Stop listening to **** you just heard someone on the television say.

I never claimed aspartme caused cancer or any of that garbage. However, the epidemiology linking diet soda to obestiy and other related conditions is very strong. And then you have the MRI evidence of people's brains reactions to it. And yes anything sweet is addictive, but aspartame is super sweet. It's much sweeter than sugar. Plus it's accompanied by zero calories which raises other questions about how that might affect your body's internal systems for regulating appetite.

So, while there is no definitive proof that diet soda independently causes obesity, it's completely inaccurate to state that scientific evidence points toward diet soda being completely safe for human consumption. The scientific evidence points towards diet soda likely being one of the many factors that can lead to obesity. It's very difficult to design a RTC to prove it though.

pennyknipprath

I must chime in. I was a life long Diet Pepsi addict. Some people wake up in the morning and drink coffee, I would drink diet soda almost exclusively. Usually 3 to 4 liters a day.Very little water if any daily. In 2001, I had a Gastric Bypass, they advised me stop drinking diet soda, because the cabonation streches your stomach, and the sweetner causes you to crave sweets. I gave up Diet Pepsi for two years and was able to keep my weight under control. Then one day I jumped right back into my diet pepsi habit and started gaining weight.

Getting older (48) I noticed effects such as very strong urine, constipation, kidney pain, dry skin rashes, dizziness, insomnia. It turned out I had serious hypertension. I was also Calcium deficient and ended up with stress fractures in both feet. My weight eventually went from 138 to 206. I finally choose MFP and to give up soda, and really limit any use of artificial sweetners. In fact eating nearly vegetarian/vegan these days.

NOW I DRINK WATER! Maybe one Ice Tea with artificial sweetners a day.

Five months later I have dropped 45 lbs with diet and exercise. Blood Pressure is much better, all my other symptoms are gone. I find I don't crave sweets as much, able to control my appetite better and sleeping better than I have in years. Actually if you stop drinking it long enough it starts to taste like 409 or some other cleaner and you wonder, "why did I ever drink that junk".

I was able to indulge myself when I was young, but as I age, the more it impacted my overall health. They say sometimes the first sign is a Heart Attack. Not to scare you, but it's true.

Been there, done that!
Good Luck kicking the habit.
~P

MrDude_1

I drink a lot of diet sodas also and it has had no effect on weight or the ability to lose weight.

How do you know that? Have you ever given it up for an extended period of time? I definitely noticed that my sugar cravings decreased a couple months after I stopped drinking diet soda. Everyone is different of course.

yes. I have.

It doesnt have any effect on my craving of sugar or sweet treats...
The primary addiction I have to it is a caffeine boost... and it goes away completely if I get caffeine from some other source (like EC or workout powder for example)

justmyalias

I stopped drinking Diet Coke (and all artificial sweeteners - which seem to be in EVERYTHING - even Tums = ( ) either 2+ or 3+ years ago. I still am not handling the break up very well. It was June 1st. I just forget which year. I still hate it and it feels like forever.
Anyways... I have suffered from killer migraines since about age 12.
That is also when I first began drinking diet sodas.... coincidence. Who knows.
Anyways, they got so unbearable, that I figured I would just try giving up the Nutrasweet. I still get the migraines, but not nearly as often. So not a perfect solution, but I'm trying not to look back (and cry) as often. I did start drinking regular Coke (UGH!!! so pick your posion... chemicals or sugar... sigh) - about one every one or two days. I have stopped that as well.

I dislike the Zevia sodas, and they are waaaaay too expensive. I have been trying to drink flavored soda water or sparkling water. It's just, eh... okay. I do love the Vitamin Waters with Stevia, but again... kinda expensive. Kroger does have their own brand which runs a lot cheaper, and I do actually think they taste better.

no soapbox and no hard and fast answers
just my experience