Thoughts on diet sodas whilst dieting?

Should they be completely cut out or allowed because they have 0 calories? What are your thoughts?
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Replies

  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    Im not dieting, im hoping this is a lifestyle change. I drink diet soda, not everyday. Im still losing weight.
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    in b4 fear mongering
  • lessac
    lessac Posts: 105 Member
    Drink if you like it? I rarely drink soda (or juice, lemonade, energy drinks etc. for that matter) but when I do, I prefer diet ones since I have no problem with artificial sweeteners in an artificial drink.

    Nonetheless, this thread will attract many aspartame haters.
  • Drink if you like it? I rarely drink soda (or juice, lemonade, energy drinks etc. for that matter) but when I do, I prefer diet ones since I have no problem with artificial sweeteners in an artificial drink.

    Nonetheless, this thread will attract many aspartame haters.

    Yeah, we'll, I'm just curious. Some people say to stop drinking them, some people do. I still do.
  • I drink it once in a while whenever I'm in the mood for soda but usually I only drink water. I think it's good to drink in moderation, I mean I know some people condemn the stuff but hey, it all depends on your likes and dislikes:) It's not like a can of diet coke is going to sabotage the entire diet lol
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
    I love me some Coke Zero! YUMZ!

    Tea is my caffine of choice, but when I'm heading to work and I know I'm dragging and facing a long day of teaching, then meetings, and then meetings about the meetings or a glorious 'back to school night', I always pack a coke zero in my lunch bag.

    It makes me happy on bad days. ^_^
  • Artifical sweeteners are some of the most tested substances by the FDA, and they have found no adverse effects in quantities that are possible for humans to consume.

    -
    Passman CM, et al. Effect of soda consumption on urinary stone risk parameters. J Endourol. (2009)
    Nettleton JA, et al. Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Diabetes Care. (2009)
    Dhingra R, et al. Soft drink consumption and risk of developing cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults in the community. Circulation. (2007)
    Gardener H, et al. Diet Soft Drink Consumption is Associated with an Increased Risk of Vascular Events in the Northern Manhattan Study. J Gen Intern Med. (2012)
    Kaplowitz GJ. An update on the dangers of soda pop. Dent Assist. (2011)
    Cheng R, et al. Dental erosion and severe tooth decay related to soft drinks: a case report and literature review. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. (2009)
    Shenkin JD, et al. Soft drink consumption and caries risk in children and adolescents. Gen Dent. (2003)


    Contrary to popular opinion, diet soda does not spike insulin

    -
    Spiers PA, et al. Aspartame: neuropsychologic and neurophysiologic evaluation of acute and chronic effects. Am J Clin Nutr. (1998)
    Ford HE, et al. Effects of oral ingestion of sucralose on gut hormone response and appetite in healthy normal-weight subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. (2011)
    Ma J, et al. Effect of the artificial sweetener, sucralose, on gastric emptying and incretin hormone release in healthy subjects. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. (2009)
    Anton SD, et al. Effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels. Appetite. (2010)
    Steinert RE, et al. Effects of carbohydrate sugars and artificial sweeteners on appetite and the secretion of gastrointestinal satiety peptides. Br J Nutr. (2011)
    Møller SE. Effect of aspartame and protein, administered in phenylalanine-equivalent doses, on plasma neutral amino acids, aspartate, insulin and glucose in man. Pharmacol Toxicol. (1991)
    Wolf-Novak LC, et al. Aspartame ingestion with and without carbohydrate in phenylketonuric and normal subjects: effect on plasma concentrations of amino acids, glucose, and insulin. Metabolism. (1990)
    Horwitz DL, McLane M, Kobe P. Response to single dose of aspartame or saccharin by NIDDM patients. Diabetes Care. (1988)
    Teff KL, Devine J, Engelman K. Sweet taste: effect on cephalic phase insulin release in men. Physiol Behav. (1995)
    Malaisse WJ, et al. Effects of artificial sweeteners on insulin release and cationic fluxes in rat pancreatic islets. Cell Signal. (1998)
    Andrew G. Renwicka,Samuel V. Molinarya. Sweet-taste receptors, low-energy sweeteners, glucose absorption and insulin release. British Journal of Nutrition. (2010)


    Diet Soda is recommended as a "Drink of choice" by the American Diabetes Association.

    Anecdotal evidence: I've lost a lot of weight while regularly drinking diet soda(sometimes as much as 4 liters a day)
  • I'm trying not to consume ANY artificial sweeteners if I can help it. I have some protein bars that use artificial sweeteners and I will eventually finish those but I won't be purchasing anymore and when I do eat them it will only be one a day.
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    I used to drink LOTS of Diet Pepsi .. and then I changed and got smarter.

    I think that ANY pop is bad for you, even diet pop. The manufacturers spend billions of dollars promoting their pop .. and it is one of the worst things you can put into your body.

    I don't do pop anymore. I don't miss having it at all.

    - Kevin -
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Drink 2 or 3 Diet Pepsi a day and have lost a few pounds... Don't plan on stopping anytime soon.... Best of Luck
  • cosmonew
    cosmonew Posts: 513 Member
    I love Coke Zero. I don't know that I could give that up. Its a guiltless pleasure and sometimes a necessity for me from dozing off.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    Im not dieting, im hoping this is a lifestyle change. I drink diet soda, not everyday. Im still losing weight.
    Ditto!:drinker:
  • IndigoFlowers
    IndigoFlowers Posts: 221 Member
    If I want a diet pop, I'll have one!! I probably have 4-6 a week

    The only time I won't drink it, is if I'm going to bed soon after, because that damn caffeine keeps me up :laugh:
  • quiltchickie
    quiltchickie Posts: 50 Member
    I feel water is a so much better choice. Way too many chemicals in diet soda, specficallly aspertane. If I don`t drink water, green tea is my second choice.

    Here is a great article I just found today: http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/Pepsi-Coca-Cola-harmful-ingredients.php
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
    When I do drink soda(I have cut back tremendously mainly because I wasn't drinking pretty much anything else besides soda) I get either diet coke or diet pepsi. I stopped drinking it because I was having a hard time controlling how much I drank when I had it in the house. I had a soda with Taco Bell today, I threw it away after like two sips, just didn't taste good to me anymore :(
    I don't like the carbonation in it, just makes my stomach feel swollen. No problems with the general public drinking it though.
  • lavender_fairie
    lavender_fairie Posts: 76 Member
    I used to be a dr pepper fiend, then I switched to dr pepper 10. It's waaaay less sugar and calories, I'm not prepared to get rid of it any time soon, and as far as weight loss goes, it's not mattering. Winning!

    Baby steps. Maybe one day I'll switch to water or tea exclusively. I did that for years. But I don't wanna right now, and I don't have to. :)
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
    Drink it if you like it. I don't like it.
  • I rarely ever drink soda myself, if I do it will be sprite or sprite zero. I suggest trying the zero sodas because you don't want to waste your calories on beverages but just make sure youre drinking enough water everyday
  • MizSookeh
    MizSookeh Posts: 106 Member
    I suggest trying the zero sodas because you don't want to waste your calories on beverages but just make sure youre drinking enough water everyday

    This. Drank a Sprite the other morning (it's supposedly the best hangover cure, but I wasn't convinced...) and it had 61g sugar. I'm not one of those people who are afraid of sugar, but for one drink, that's huge!!

    I cut back on soda for reasons other than weight loss, (like dental. I used to do nothing but game and drink soda, and my teeth need lots of work!!), and as a result, I don't enjoy it as much as I used to because now I'm not used to it, it tastes too sweet.

    Cut back, but not cut out. There will still be situations that call for soda from time to time! (like pizza and Coke Zero :laugh: )
  • They contain aspartame and that causes brain cancer in lab rats. I call them diet death lol.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I drank diet soda while losing. I know its probably not the healthiest thing, but its probably not the worst thing you can consume, either. I don't drink it as much as I used to, I'm actually drinking more coffee now, but to each their own:)
  • chewenvy
    chewenvy Posts: 7 Member
    I LOVE coke zero, like I drink so much. But my trainer says it has heaps of sodium in it which apparently = doom to diets?
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    They contain aspartame and that causes brain cancer in lab rats. I call them diet death lol.

    There it is!!!
  • I love diet coke, but am not drinking it at the moment. Where I used to have 1-2 cans a day, I now drink 1 every week or two weeks. I feel so much more energetic and am definitely less bloated when I don't drink it as much!
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
    One reason to avoid: Caramel Coloring. I drink flavored water (and yeah, it still has aspartame)

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/03/pepsi-caramel-coloring-carcinogen-4-mel_n_3540683.html

    (Dated in July, it says Coke is okay but Pepsi still needed to change.)
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    of course the aspartame in them are not good for us and we should only be drinking water but I like my diet root beer. I try to look at it as a treat instead of just something to drink. Everything in moderation is okay. There are days at a time when I don't have one and there are days when I have one or maybe even two.
  • I am in LOVE with diet doctor pepper! I don't drink one every day (maybe a bottle 1-2 times per week MAX) and I think it's fine to drink soda in moderation :) even if it has calories, if you make room in yor calorie budget i don't see why not. I know people are super gainst soda because of the artificial stuff in it, but I also think it's because most people (like me) want to eat more food rather than drink a 240 calorie bottle of coke! Haha.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    not that I don't appreciate all the quotes and people you have listed but I am weary of any "study" that have been backed and paid by the food companies.. With this all said, just limit the amount of artificial anythings and you will be fine. Being overweight definitely over weighs the effects of aspartame or msg, etc
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    For myself, drinking diet sodas never helped me keep the weight off (and I was a huge Diet Pepsi drinker) even though I thought it was a good way to "save" calories. It was too much crap food I ate that made me fat. So I quit drinking it, along with a lot of crappy high-sodium food, because keeping my sodium intake way down is what keeps my blood pressure in check; I'm off all medications now and would like to keep it that way.
  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
    i hate the chemical nasty medicine taste of diet soda, and so for a few calories i'd get the real thing.

    Do what you feel is good for your body. Sometimes that is up to each one of us.