Give up diet soda?

KateDonnelly
KateDonnelly Posts: 53
edited September 20 in Introduce Yourself
Do I have to give up diet soda? I've read that it has trace amounts of sodium and is bad for your liver therefore makes you store fat. Has anyone experienced adverse health effects from consuming moderate amounts of diet soda and/or had positive effects from giving it up! I want to eventually give it up just because it isn't a whole food but I am making so many changes right now, I feel a little bit panicky about the idea of giving up my two to three diet sodas a day. It's my control thing I guess. I drink about twelve glasses of water a day minimum because the caffeine makes me feel extra thirsty so I don't feel I am giving up liquids for soda. BUT, I don't want to keep drinking it if it's delaying the shedding of fat. I have a little under eight pounds to reach it to my first goal and I do not want anything to stand in my way. Your well informed opinions please?...:drinker:

Replies

  • rayemlls
    rayemlls Posts: 45
    Well, I would drink maybe 3 a day for a year and stayed at my weight and didnt have any problems and recently I went back to regular pepsi (Have no idea why) and started gaining weight plus I work with people who are diabetics and diet soda in moderation is much better for you....I really need to take my own advice and go get rid of all my pepsi..LOL
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
    I have only heard bad things about diet soda. I have given it up. I don't care that it is calorie free. My goal is to get healthier and diet soda is not healthy.
  • sportstergirrl
    sportstergirrl Posts: 6
    I've given up sodas, havent had one since december last year. And I feel so much better just from giving it up. Im not bloated and I feel like I have more energy from not drinking soda. Im sure one soda every once in a while is fine, but I was drinking sodas everyday, maybe about 2-3 sodas a day. My teeth even feel so much stronger!

    Ive heard that drinking even diet soda with the type of sweetners they use is just as bad as cosuming all the sugar in a regular soda.

    What helped me really stop drinking sodas is id take a couple tylenols as soon as I felt a caffiene headache start, and that helped alot. This only lasted a few days though

    Good luck to you!
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    Its more the artificial sweeteners used in diet sodas and some regular sodas that are the big red flag for me.
  • Beleau
    Beleau Posts: 143
    Hi, at the moment giving up is not an option for me...enjoy drinking caffeine free diet coke and/or pepsi...sure do quench my thirst...twice a day
  • kurly82
    kurly82 Posts: 1
    I stopped drinking the diet soda too-- I have one occassionally, but not drinking it has made me feel less bloated, and I feel like I have lost more weight because of it. Sometimes one just tastes good, but usually I just drink water.
  • photoman67
    photoman67 Posts: 116 Member
    Maybe don't give it up yet. I managed on one a day for a while and now I only have 2 or 3 a week, sometimes none at all.
  • uahorsegirl
    uahorsegirl Posts: 15 Member
    For me it is a habit. I could give up the soda as I have done it before but usually end up back on it after a week or two. I'm starting a new diet this weekend and the diet says I can't have it so I will try again. The first phase is a month-long and it takes 3 weeks to develop a new habit so hopefully I can keep it going. after a month. Wish me luck.
  • forestdancers
    forestdancers Posts: 146 Member
    I applaude your courage in changing your lifestyle however I feel that for some people sometimes too many changes all at once can lead to "falling off the wagon" because the body still is strongly craving the comfort food it used to get. If you feel that quitting soda right now would be too much then you could maybe just tapper off your use by a half can a week that way it would not be one more stress to your willpower. So while the fake sweeteners might not be good for you at the time if your still working at changing your life you will eventually get rid of them in the long run.

    I will say that for years I have tried dieting and always went back to eating poorly because of cravings however this time I have decided to change my lifestyle to a pH balance diet and have not had the bad cravings I used to get.

    Good luck
  • mworld
    mworld Posts: 270
    I think all of the ill effects of soda are inherent in both diet and regular soda...

    only difference is that diet has less calories...potentially offset by the use of more questionable ingredients.

    I still enjoy a soda with a meal a couple of times a week....but if you treat soda like say a smoker treats cigarrettes, then this may be the end for you :(
  • kfsooner
    kfsooner Posts: 40
    I have not had diet soda in over a year.....I am more scared of the sweeteners in diet sodas, and some foods, than I am of sugar. I don't miss them at all. The only soda I have, once or twice a month, is either root beer or ginger ale, no caffeine. (I only drink decaf coffee as well.) I drink water, raw fruit juice, tea, or decaf coffee.

    Good luck!!
  • lawkat
    lawkat Posts: 538 Member
    I gave up diet soda ages ago. When I do have one, which is rare, I never feel well afterward. You don't have to give it up if you don't want to because the amount of sodium in it is so tiny.

    However, there is evidence that diet soda increases your cravings for sweets. What the artificial sweetners do is trigger the body into thinking it is getting sugar. When it doesn't get that sugar, it increases your desire to eat and ups your insulin until you do eat causing you to eat more than you want to.

    Personally I stay away from all artificial sweetners because I don't like the aftertaste.
  • dclarsh1
    dclarsh1 Posts: 83
    Do you have to give up diet soda? No, you don't have to do anything. If you want to give it up, then that's a good thing, because you're right, it's not a whole food. It's not even a food at all. But don't feel bad if you're not ready to do it today. Or tomorrow. One step at a time is just fine. Maybe once you've gotten some of your other new habits down pat then you'll be ready to kick it for good.
  • spacie
    spacie Posts: 82
    When they take the sugar out of soda they replace it with the sweetener Aspartame.
    Aspartame is actually a rat poison (!) and it tricks your body into thinking you have ingested sugar so your body realease insulin (the fattening hormone) which tells your body to store fat.

    Have a look at this article.
    http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-sweeteners.html
  • deckerp
    deckerp Posts: 4,434 Member
    I have 3 or 4 20oz bottles of Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi each day. Sometimes more and sometimes less. I also drink 8 - 10 8oz glasses of water a day. I've had good luck with my weight loss goal so far.

    I think a good way to wean yourself may be to move away from a diet cola with caffeine to one without. I had headaches for a few days but got over it pretty quickly. I was very strict with the no caffeine drinks rule for about a month or more. Now I've decided I would rather drink a diet cola with caffeine than a non-diet drink with no caffeine.

    I think everyone reacts differently to foods and drugs so you may feel almost no reaction from dropping the diet cola habit.

    I'm sure there are some benefits to dropping pop (as we say in the Midwest) but I'm not too worried at this point. I think my most noticeable benefit to dropping pop would be financial. After my weight goals have been reached I'll tweak my diet more. I may even need to tweak it to reach my final goal.

    Good luck.
  • kellycrow
    kellycrow Posts: 140
    haven't had soda in a few years --- mostly due to the artificial sweeteners -- SO SO BAD... no more caffeine, either, and i have never felt better!!
  • cnflet2
    cnflet2 Posts: 42 Member
    When they take the sugar out of soda they replace it with the sweetener Aspartame.
    Aspartame is actually a rat poison (!) and it tricks your body into thinking you have ingested sugar so your body realease insulin (the fattening hormone) which tells your body to store fat.

    Have a look at this article.
    http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-sweeteners.html


    AMEN im so glad someone already said this cause i was going to if it hadnt been posted. my mum was hooked on soday and she cut back slowly. but overall its worth it to stop
  • charliecat
    charliecat Posts: 16
    We rarely had soda in our home growing up, and when we did have it, it was usually a treat. As I got out on my own, I too, started in to the soda habit that advertising has conned us in to, and got in to the diet soda eventually. Now-a-days the diet sodas taste so much better than the old Fresca and Tab....for those of us old enough! I have since reflected back on my childhood and thought about others who are alot older than me. How often did people drink soda 100 years ago? How often do people drink soda today? I mean, think about it...we are now ordering soda automatically with a meal if eating out. I now order water or tea. Once in awhile I get a diet soda because my tastebuds want some carbonated pep, but I keep telling myself to go with the water. This is what works for me. I think soda is not a necessity. Just like my addiction of chocolate that I am working on doing away with!
  • joanna_marie
    joanna_marie Posts: 17
    I know I drink far too much diet soda (coke zero) - I tend to use it as a substitute for dessert or when I need a sugar fix. I want to really cut back on it, but if the choice was between a diet soda and a chocolate bar when I am actively dieting, then I would have to choose a diet soda every time.
  • KateDonnelly
    KateDonnelly Posts: 53
    Thanks everyone. I am thinking of making this the beverage when I eat my "cheat" meal once a week. I can have my cake and eat it too. Just sparingly. I really do not like the idea that this raises insulin levels in the blood. Diabetes runs in my fam and I have to be checked twice yearly as it is. I want to do everything in my power to reduce risk factors. Thanks for the great tips and info folks.
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