Does quitting soda actually help with fat/weight loss?

For years I was a "red Coke" drinker. Yes, I adored the full calorie, wonderfully sugary stuff in the red can. Diet soda always seemed like a poor substitute so I wasn't tempted by it. When I had a young child my biggest temptation was fast food restaurants with play places and self serve drinks. I could easily consume 2 large Cokes. I also meet other moms who, like me, had figured out which of these restaurants mixed the Coke with just a tad more syrup.

These days, however, I've switched to Coke Zero. I have one each with lunch and dinner. When I finally did give up "the real thing" I was very hungry at first. I had to learn to eat my calories instead of drinking them. It has made a huge difference, not only am I seeing it in my weight, but I also have more energy and I wake up earlier now.

I'm trying to cut back on soda and sugary drinks as well. I still have a sprite here or there, but for the most part I dont really drink it anymore.

I have found your taste buds change. When I have a Diet Coke I crave something sweet after. I prefer unsweetened iced tea or flavor water.

After years of drinking soda on a daily basis, the last time I had soda was on the April 17th. I'm trying to give it up because I heard it helps with weight and fat loss. I have also heard that it can contribute to all sorts of medical conditions like artritis and multiple sclerosis. Granted, I'm not at much (if any) risk for either of those in particular, but I do have a family history of diabetes and would love to avoid that if I can. I have had anxiety and depression issues for a good chunk of my life and the nurse practitioner I see for that recommended at least cutting down on how much soda I drink to see if getting less caffeine helps me. I'm trying to go cold turkey and drink tea, water or milk when I'm thirsty. (I don't drink a lot of milk and haven't in the past few years, so I don't have the problem with getting extra fat through that.)

Has anyone had any luck with losing weight after giving up soda? I'm not expecting to drop a ton of weight and be skin and bones immediately since I see that as incredibly unrealistic. I don't expect to be skin and bones, ever, nor do I want that.

EDIT: Feel free to add me as a friend. I always look forward in helping encourage others in their weight loss goals.

Soda has nothing to do with MS. Also you can't ever be "at risk" of MS. You either have it or you don't.

EXACTLY!!! I don't drink soda, never liked it and I have MS. I have relatives who drink soda every day all day and they don't have MS. There is no connection between soda or anything else for that matter and MS period!

Phenylketonuria can mimic the symptoms of MS and usually goes away once you stop drinking diet soda.

I have heard the same thing. I never drank full sugar soda but I was hooked on the diet soda, then when I went to have surgery I was told I needed to come off of sodas. I have, and that was in March, now I don't even crave them anymore. In fact I have even come off of caffiene and that is something I never thought I would be able to do. :blushing:

I don't know if it has helped me but it is a personal choice and one that I am glad I made. I drink water, coffee, almond milk in my cereal or protein shake and an occasional beer. I don't miss soda at all. As a matter of fact, I tried to drink one a few weeks ago and I couldn't drink even half of it. It tasted like fizzy salt water. Blech!

After years of drinking soda on a daily basis, the last time I had soda was on the April 17th. I'm trying to give it up because I heard it helps with weight and fat loss. I have also heard that it can contribute to all sorts of medical conditions like artritis and multiple sclerosis. Granted, I'm not at much (if any) risk for either of those in particular, but I do have a family history of diabetes and would love to avoid that if I can. I have had anxiety and depression issues for a good chunk of my life and the nurse practitioner I see for that recommended at least cutting down on how much soda I drink to see if getting less caffeine helps me. I'm trying to go cold turkey and drink tea, water or milk when I'm thirsty. (I don't drink a lot of milk and haven't in the past few years, so I don't have the problem with getting extra fat through that.)

Has anyone had any luck with losing weight after giving up soda? I'm not expecting to drop a ton of weight and be skin and bones immediately since I see that as incredibly unrealistic. I don't expect to be skin and bones, ever, nor do I want that.

EDIT: Feel free to add me as a friend. I always look forward in helping encourage others in their weight loss goals.

Soda has nothing to do with MS. Also you can't ever be "at risk" of MS. You either have it or you don't.

EXACTLY!!! I don't drink soda, never liked it and I have MS. I have relatives who drink soda every day all day and they don't have MS. There is no connection between soda or anything else for that matter and MS period!

Phenylketonuria can mimic the symptoms of MS and usually goes away once you stop drinking diet soda.

PKU has nothing to do with only diet soda. It will drastically affect someone if they consume ANY source of phenylalanine, which is basically any protein source (meat, nuts, even some fruits and vegetables.) If someone has PKU, they know it from birth, as without a diagnosis as an infant, they would they will suffer from serious mental disabilities and will fail to develop. PKU is a genetic condition, it's not something someone can develop later in life.

Even diet soda is awful - there is nothing good in it for your body and usually has a ton of sodium. If artificially sweetened, it can make you have cravings for sweets too.

I like EmergenC when i want something fizzy. It's high in Vit. C (obviously) but really tasty and gives me a sweet/fizzy fix. I like tangerine, but there are many flavors. Sparkling water (not club soda) is good too.

I've seen articles saying that carbonated drinks, including diet, can actually grow cellulite in the lab. Whether it's true or not I'm not sure, but if there is no nutritional value, why consume it? I have a freind who gives up Diet Coke for Lent, and always loses around 10 lbs, so that is a good measure of what it does to your body!

*shrug* If it's not diet, cutting it out saves calories. I drink diet soda. I like it and I don't buy into all the scary stories about it. I've lost weight just fine. Besides, diet soda gets rid of my appeitite.

I dropped a lot cutting down soda.. i used to love the 500ml Coke.. now i dont drink at all for 6 months now.. not even the diet version

Giving up soda will help your anxiety, thats worth more than lost weight!! good luck

*shrug* If it's not diet, cutting it out saves calories. I drink diet soda. I like it and I don't buy into all the scary stories about it. I've lost weight just fine. Besides, diet soda gets rid of my appeitite.

Diet soda is even worse. The aspartame in it is highly toxic to the human body and is also extremely addictive. Google that and check it out. You'd be better off drinking the real deal.

Like everyone else, I definitely say yes, quitting soda helps! I love soda so I had a lot of issues with giving it up. And I told myself "I just don't like water." At some point, I just made the decision and stopped drinking soda. That change alone had me dropping about four pounds. I drink water constantly now and don't really crave anything else. I do allow myself an ice cold coke if I happen to be hungover, since that is the only thing on the planet that makes me feel better in that situation. But that's only happened once, and beyond that first amazingly delicious and satisfying gulp, it was way way too sweet for me and I ended up dumping the can and guzzling water. At the end of the day, we have emotional attachments to these things but the question I ask myself is, Is this doing my body any good? Is this soda (or chip, or big fat piece of meat with fat on it that I love, or any number of other things that I've developed unhealthy relationships with) going to help me toward my goal? The answer is always no, and if I ignore the question, or lie to myself, I inevitably end up feeling guilty about my choice. So I make it easy for myself and just drink water.

Even diet soda is awful - there is nothing good in it for your body and usually has a ton of sodium. If artificially sweetened, it can make you have cravings for sweets too.

I like EmergenC when i want something fizzy. It's high in Vit. C (obviously) but really tasty and gives me a sweet/fizzy fix. I like tangerine, but there are many flavors. Sparkling water (not club soda) is good too.

I've seen articles saying that carbonated drinks, including diet, can actually grow cellulite in the lab. Whether it's true or not I'm not sure, but if there is no nutritional value, why consume it? I have a freind who gives up Diet Coke for Lent, and always loses around 10 lbs, so that is a good measure of what it does to your body!

Water has no nutritional value, either.

But you need it to stay alive. so as far as liquids go, it's quite cool.

You need to be hydrated to stay alive. You can receive hydration from thousands of sources (including most foods,) and be perfectly hydrated and perfectly healthy without consuming a single drop of plain water.

I have read several times over the years that you shouldn't "drink" your calories. Point being it's too easy.