Cheat days and Pepsi Max

nolegirl82
nolegirl82 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all. I'm new to the forum, but not new to the MFP program and apps. I just had a couple of questions and looking for opinions. I just restarted my plan and made a few tweaks (increased calorie count from 1200 to 1500). I have 15lbs to lose (current weight 200lbs). I have, what I call a cheat day on Saturdays.
This doesn't mean that I eat three or four cheeseburgers or eat a whole pizza. For me, my cheat day consists of mainly cereal (silly, I know). I LOVE cereal (Smacks and Fruit Loops) and will generally eat about 4-5 bowls throughout the day. I may eat something else, but I usually just binge on cereal. However yesterday, I had the cereal then for dinner had pork steak and mashed potatoes. Is it okay to have a cheat day and still lose weight? I also don't log it mainly because I know my count will be out of whack.
Also, I gave up on soda completely back in February as it has greatly contributed to my weight gain. But I recently learned about Pepsi Max and saw that it has 0 calories and sugar. Can I just drink that and not have to worry about weight gain? Do diet sodas harm weight loss at all? Thanks in advance.
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Replies

  • Adriam88
    Adriam88 Posts: 78 Member
    Bump because I am wondering about Pepsi Max as well! Zero calories & Zero sugar... seems like a dream come true if you still want cola during your day but are counting calories :-P
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Calorie deficit=weight loss
    Calorie surplus=weight gain
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I drink two cans of Pepsi max a day a few times a week. I honest to goodness don't even log it most of the time.

    I don't seem any worse off for it.
  • Adriam88
    Adriam88 Posts: 78 Member
    So it's perfectly fine to drink zero calorie cola all day if you really wanted to? Somehow that just seems surprising to me.
  • Adriam88
    Adriam88 Posts: 78 Member
    Not that I'm complaining of course :-P
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    So it's perfectly fine to drink zero calorie cola all day if you really wanted to? Somehow that just seems surprising to me.

    ...surprising in what way? Pepsi max is, let's say, 4 calories (anything under 5 calories can be labeled as 0) let's say you have...Idk, 10 cans. Which is a lot, BTW. 40 calories consumed. Barely a drop in the bucket.

    Logic says 40 calories isn't going to make or break you. Any claim to the contrary is just illogical.
  • BunBun85
    BunBun85 Posts: 246 Member
    My doctor told me that the problem with diet soda and artificial sweeteners in general is that it can leave you craving more and more sugar and that a lot of people don't always just opt for more of the diet/artificial stuff, they eat a candy bar and therefor end up eating a surplus calorie amount and gaining weight. She said if you don't get crazy cravings for more sweet things after drinking it, drink as much as you want. If your body ends up starving for more sugar, don't drink it.
  • nimbi
    nimbi Posts: 27
    There's some suggestions that it makes you more receptive to sugar and so more likely to put on weight and that the sweeteners are the devil etc etc etc.

    I drink it. It tastes nice. I've lost weight. *shrug*
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    My doctor told me that the problem with diet soda and artificial sweeteners in general is that it can leave you craving more and more sugar and that a lot of people don't always just opt for more of the diet/artificial stuff, they eat a candy bar and therefor end up eating a surplus calorie amount and gaining weight. She said if you don't get crazy cravings for more sweet things after drinking it, drink as much as you want. If your body ends up starving for more sugar, don't drink it.

    I feel like on a website where you can log and track your intake that scenario is mostly a non issue. I would assume most people will see that the candy bar will take X calories out of their goal and choose accordingly.

    That is the point of mfp after all
  • VeeSis
    VeeSis Posts: 23
    Weight loss-wise, I think Pepsi Max (zero calories) is fine. I have to be VERY careful of my sodium intake daily, and Pepsi Max is relatively low in sodium compared to some other diet drinks. But I'd still be cautious if you drink a LOT daily as it contains a really high amount of aspertame (207mg in a 20 oz. bottle) and my doc says this is the one sugar substitute to avoid completely. But then, my doc is kind of a health nut. :)
  • vickyplum
    vickyplum Posts: 193 Member
    I honestly think it is a very personal thing

    Alot of people on here think you shouldnt, but again I think it is a personal choice

    I just know what works for me and having a day off/cheat day works for me as it means on
    that day I can eat what I want, but what I do is if I fancy something I say to myself I can have that
    on Monday (my day off) and sometimes I dont even have it but the option is there if I want to

    But if you having a day off works for you then do it, it may not work for everyone, but if it does for you
    then keep doing what your doing

    Good luck in your journey xx
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    This post READS like an AD to promote pepsi max.

    In my humble opinion save your money, SAVE YOUR $$$$, you don't need to buy pepsi max and keep the shareholders in profit. Get a cheap plastic hand juiceer and squeeze a couple of oranges.

    IN FACT WITH THE MONEY $$$ YOU ARE SAVING NOT BUYING PEPSI MAX YOU COULD INVEST IN A REAL FINE ELECTRIC JUICER.
    YOU ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME AND PEPSI MAX'S SHAREHOLDERS?? WELL WHO CARES.

    :huh:
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    This post READS like an AD to promote pepsi max.

    In my humble opinion save your money, SAVE YOUR $$$$, you don't need to buy pepsi max and keep the shareholders in profit. Get a cheap plastic hand juiceer and squeeze a couple of oranges.

    IN FACT WITH THE MONEY $$$ YOU ARE SAVING NOT BUYING PEPSI MAX YOU COULD INVEST IN A REAL FINE ELECTRIC JUICER.
    YOU ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME AND PEPSI MAX'S SHAREHOLDERS?? WELL WHO CARES.

    :noway: :huh: Juice ≠ Pepsi
  • PokerChris
    PokerChris Posts: 120 Member
    I drink a lot of diet soda, several cans a day, and Pepsi Max is my flavor of choice. I don't think it affects weight loss or gain in and of itself. If I drink Pepsi Max and eat a bunch of junk, I'll gain weight. If I drink Pepsi Max and eat healthy, I'll lose.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,455 Member
    This post READS like an AD to promote pepsi max.

    In my humble opinion save your money, SAVE YOUR $$$$, you don't need to buy pepsi max and keep the shareholders in profit. Get a cheap plastic hand juiceer and squeeze a couple of oranges.

    IN FACT WITH THE MONEY $$$ YOU ARE SAVING NOT BUYING PEPSI MAX YOU COULD INVEST IN A REAL FINE ELECTRIC JUICER.
    YOU ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME AND PEPSI MAX'S SHAREHOLDERS?? WELL WHO CARES.

    WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BOTTLED WATER? IS THAT OKAY?
  • Adriam88
    Adriam88 Posts: 78 Member
    Thanks for the (mostly) helpful tips guys! I pretty much figured as much but thought I might as well see if anyone had personal experience with it being helpful or harmful :-)
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    I have only ever consumed tea, full fat Coke or Irn Bru for the past few years. So cutting out Soda was ridiculously hard as I hate the taste of diet drinks! They even hurt my stomach because I find the taste so unpleasant.


    After much trial and error, I discovered the the closest tasting to the original drink is: Pepsi Max. After 55 days, I can't tell the difference. I am sure if I drank full fat Pepsi or Coke now, I'd find it vile! I bought an Irn Bru for the first time in a month and thought " Wow, seriously? o_0 " it was awful.

    Pepsi Max in particular has been essential in keeping me away from my previous only fluid source. ( I hate water and flavoured water )

    And Vimto Zero. Yes, its diluting juice which I usually dislike, but its the only one I like that is virtually 0 calories.

    I've lost 21 lbs as you can see, in 55 days. Pepsi Max instead of Pepsi has a lot to do with that. I've went from 700 calories a day in juice to 1 cal a day. Wow.
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    Regardless of the previous post, to this day all nutrition studies say that definitively we don't KNOW the effect of diet drinks as most studies are inconclusive. I hear this on every nutritional show and documentary I have seen. And I watch them regularly. And done my own research before embarking on my " Pepsi Max Journey " :laugh:
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
    "Cheat Days and Pepsi Max" more or less sums up my entire summer
  • trackmyday1973
    trackmyday1973 Posts: 393 Member
    I drink one 591 mL bottle of Pepsi max a day and managed to lose 19.8 lbs and going :)
  • mcowell12
    mcowell12 Posts: 1 Member
    I drink two cans of Pepsi max a day a few times a week. I honest to goodness don't even log it most of the time.

    I don't seem any worse off for it.

    Same - Pepsi Max (UK) are 1.3 cals, better than most types of flavoured tea really.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    I find it amusing when someone with a posted 0 pounds of weight loss tries to tell me my daily Diet Dr. Pepper is evil and will interfere with my weight loss.
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
    Short answer:

    Pepsi One/Max/Diet is fine to drink if you want to drink it. It will not affect weight loss. Calorie deficit = weight loss.

    Cereal should be fine. Unless you eat, like, two whole boxes, chances are that you deficit from the week will not be undone. Log it. No big deal. It will be beneficial for you to know how much your weekly deficit is if you hit a plateau and need to evaluate your diary/caloric intake.

    Good job increasing calories. I didn't look at your profile to see if you have stats, but there's no way I could survive on 1,200 OR 1,500. I feel like I'm being punished if I eat less than 2,300. Truth. :smokin:
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,706 Member
    I find it amusing when someone with a posted 0 pounds of weight loss tries to tell me my daily Diet Dr. Pepper is evil and will interfere with my weight loss.

    Having " zero pounds lost " on the ticker does not mean the person has not lost anything. It often means that the ticker only starts when the person has lost over 20 pounds. That happened to me and several others I know here in MFP.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Diet soda is the debil, where have you all been?


    Oh and in for ridiculous claims.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I have yet to see a study where sodas diet and otherwise improve the quality of my life, and Health {bones, teeth, hair, metabolism , weight , energy levels}

    You would think with the multi millions the soda industry are making they would be able to come up with one.


    Pepsi tried to make the company’s products healthy, a dip in sales panicked the shareholders they insisted it went back to flogging sugary drinks to the masses.
    http://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/2013/08/30/tv-review-the-men-who-made-us-thin/

    I've never seen a study that pancakes improve any of that stuff either, but no one ever tells me not to eat pancakes. :huh:

    Something doesn't have to have a health benefit to be worth while, but rather not be harmful.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    First of all, when it comes to food, 3.2 is NOT very acidic. Considering most fruits are between 2 and 5, vinegars are all around 2-3, and honey is about a 3, food in general is very acidic. Brush your teeth. Problem solved.

    As for that "study," correlation does not equal causation. It's far more likely that people with metabolic syndrome are overweight, and have switched to diet soda to try and lose weight, not that they drank diet soda and magically gained weight and contracted metabolic syndrome.

    Logic and critical thinking skills are required when reading scientific studies, even more so when it's a website trying to give an interpretation of something they don't understand.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Looks like the crusade continues.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I have yet to see a study where sodas diet and otherwise improve the quality of my life, and Health {bones, teeth, hair, metabolism , weight , energy levels}

    You would think with the multi millions the soda industry are making they would be able to come up with one.


    Pepsi tried to make the company’s products healthy, a dip in sales panicked the shareholders they insisted it went back to flogging sugary drinks to the masses.
    http://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/2013/08/30/tv-review-the-men-who-made-us-thin/

    So?
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    facepalm

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