Fizzy diet drinks- Do I really need to give them up?

lcyfrn
lcyfrn Posts: 121 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What are peoples thoughts on how diet drinks (low cal fizzy drinks) fit into a healthy lifestyle with a goal to lose weight and gain longterm health?

Who feels that they absolutely have to go? And Why?

Who thinks that a few diet cokes won't do anybody any harm? And again, why?

Please share your wisdom on this as I am a diet pepsi/ coke zero/ pepsi max etc etc junkie and want to know how realistic I'm being thinking that I can keep drinking them and continue to lose weight/ be healthy.

If you recommend banishing them altogether, what would you recommend as an alternative? I know water water water but what about the times you feel you need a little more?

Sorry for the long, questioning post that you have ,without a doubt, seen time and time again but would really like to see what peoples' insights are on this.

xoxo
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Replies

  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    You don't have to give anything up. Learning moderation and portion control for everything is the best way. Once you start giving things up and depriving yourself of things you like you are pushing yourself towards quitting.

    Don't make this harder than it is, small calorie deficit, get some exercise.

    You might want to read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    one problem with diet sodas (besides the artificial sweetener, which can be harmful in large amounts) is this: they give you a sweet taste, which makes your brain expect sugar. Since there isn't any, the blood sugar doesn't go up as the brain expected and it causes a craving for the sugar that some people have trouble with. Soda is something that should probably be a sometimes treat, even if it is diet. There is an ingredient in soda that causes your body to leach calcium from your bones into the bloodstream, which can cause problems with bone density and osteoporosis, especially in women. Drink more water and juice, or milk and skip the soda unless it's for a special treat now and then.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    They shouldn't effect your weight as they are no/low calories. They shouldn't effect your health either, unless you are drinking an insane amount.
    If you want to drink them then drink them, life's too short. Considering the amount you seem to enjoy drinking them it doesn't seem like it would do you much good to give them up without any real reason.
  • Butrovich
    Butrovich Posts: 410 Member
    I agree with McCindy...the artificial sweetener messes with the brain which then signals the body to release chemicals into the bloodstream. This throws the body out of whack, so to speak. If I am craving something fizzy, I usually mix a favorite fruit juice with soda water. The only calories are in the fruit juice, which you are able to control the amount added.
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
    It shouldn't inhibit your weight loss. It could mess with you in a lot of ways by creating cravings, but if you don't give in to them, you could theoretically be okay.

    But they are AWFUL for your health. I gave them up before I ever drank them (never drank them) because of the dangers of artificial sweeteners (brain tumors, messing with your liver/pancreas) and the dangers of carbonation are well documented. Plus they taste like battery acid. If you need the occasional soda fix, why not go for a regular soda made with real sugar? Still not ideal for your body, but certainly the lesser evil compared to diet.

    My advice is to think about the fact that you're addicted to them and why. The manufacturers WANT you addicted to them and you're happy to put them into your body for .... enjoyment? But at what cost? Just google "dangers of diet soda" and you'll get all the reasons why. Not to mention the money.

    The real question is ... why would you do that to your body when you're working so hard to make it as healthy as possible?
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Aspartame does not cause brain tumors. There is a lot of information out there about artificial sweeteners and the harm they can cause.
    You do mention that you like diet coke products I believe? If you must drink soda, look for the diet coke products that are sweetened with Splenda, that way you can avoid aspartame.

    Here's a link to cancer.org's information page about aspartame and any potential links to cancer.

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame
  • Slim_strategy
    Slim_strategy Posts: 199
    I haven't drunk diet coke in a while because of the way it has been demonised but I absolutely love the stuff and actually it helped with occasional hunger while dieting and of course it didn't affect my weight loss... <\3. Am I silly to think that if your diet is healthier than most then it's not so wrong to drink something supposedly bad for you?
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    There's no actual substantial eveidence that they are harmful to your health no matter what the dodgy information people peddle say. There's been 100s of reports and studies saying aspartame is perfectly safe and just 1 or 2 questionable pieces of research saying the opposite. It's just as with most things a perceived (if inaccurate) controversay gains more publicity.

    As with most things in moderation. If though you are drinking gallons of the stuff that as with anything isn't good.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    If sugar-free drinks give you the craving for sugar, you might as well have the full fat version!
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    Who feels that they absolutely have to go? And Why?

    At best, they're over-priced fizzy water with a unspecified colorings and flavorings. I can think of better things to spend my money on.
  • boymom75
    boymom75 Posts: 74
    Maybe it's just me but I truly do notice I crave sugar more after drinking a diet coke. I try only to have one as a treat weekly. I used to be a 4-5 a day diet coke person, the super size, sonic, giant ones. I rarely ever drank any water.
    I noticed after cutting them back,I dropped the weight and I felt better...just speaking from my experience.
    Hope this helps...:smile:
  • Wilhellmina
    Wilhellmina Posts: 757 Member
    I was a total pepsi max addict. A little while ago I stopped drinking it and I must say my skin starts to look much better, less fine lines and not so dry and flaky anymore. About the artificial sweeteners I don't know so much, but I guess looks count as well?
  • daj150
    daj150 Posts: 815 Member
    Need my fizzy drinks. Actually, I don't need them per se, but my beverage consumption is mostly water, followed by fitness drinks, then by soda (fizzy drinks). Since you mentioned diet ones, that is all I drink...no regular sugar ones. Based on many unverified articles, even diet sodas can play a role in hindering weight loss. However, that is typically for people who mainly drink that over any other drink (like my coworker who drinks a case of Diet Dew every week).

    The only real "health" issue you need to worry about is your teeth. Sodas are notorious for wearing away the enamel. This can be slightly resolved by just using a straw and not taking mouthful swigs.

    So, not real reason to give it up. As a disclaimer, some people are allergic to some of the ingredients in diet sodas. So, in that rare case, they can have issues that range from minimal to severe, just like someone with gluten allergy (the 2 are not related though).
  • lcyfrn
    lcyfrn Posts: 121 Member
    Aspartame does not cause brain tumors. There is a lot of information out there about artificial sweeteners and the harm they can cause.
    You do mention that you like diet coke products I believe? If you must drink soda, look for the diet coke products that are sweetened with Splenda, that way you can avoid aspartame.

    Here's a link to cancer.org's information page about aspartame and any potential links to cancer.

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

    In the UK we don't have diet coke available that uses splenda instead of aspartame :(
  • jim9097
    jim9097 Posts: 341 Member
    Depends on what you believe. They are zero calories, but a bunch of recent studies say that the sweatness is causing confusion to your body which may be causing weight gain. Now if yoiu ask me that is not even the biggest problem. The biggest problem for me is the actual sweatner. "ASPERTAME" Not sure if you are familiar or you know what that it, but if you don't believe what I am about to write look it up yourself. Aspertame is the waste "POO" of bacteria. So to drink zero calorie fizzy drinks, you have to consume bacteria poo. Have fun!
  • SusanL222
    SusanL222 Posts: 585 Member
    I think of sodas, diet and regular, as anti-nutrient. I would recommend trying GT's Gingerade Kombucha which I love! It is a fizzy drink with nutrients such as B vitamins, antioxidents, probiotics, enzymes, and is pretty low in calories (30 cal/8oz). It is definitely more pricey to buy than soda, but the good news is that you can make your own!
  • Amazingday
    Amazingday Posts: 682 Member
    I was a Mt. Dew addict. I married a diabetic and switched to diet sprite thinking well no caffeine better right? I found out a couple years ago after some medical issues that any soda makes me sick. When I gave it up my cravings went away. And then when I would think Oh I can have one.... the next day I felt like I had a hang over. In the end I have a corn and wheat intolerance. Figuring out that all that soda is what made me "sick and tired of being sick and tired" was the best thing for me.

    So for me.... no soda.... at all.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Aspartame does not cause brain tumors. There is a lot of information out there about artificial sweeteners and the harm they can cause.
    You do mention that you like diet coke products I believe? If you must drink soda, look for the diet coke products that are sweetened with Splenda, that way you can avoid aspartame.

    Here's a link to cancer.org's information page about aspartame and any potential links to cancer.

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

    In the UK we don't have diet coke available that uses splenda instead of aspartame :(

    Oh, that sucks! Can you buy a SodaStream? You make your own soda with that machine and can use whatever you want to make it.
  • hofi2010
    hofi2010 Posts: 15
    Sodas in general should only be enjoyed in moderation. The full sugar sodas are bad and only add empty calories, but no harm drinking them occasionally. Like with a lot of things occasional consumption is fine.

    Diet sodas don't add to the calories, but the artificial sweetener messes with the brain chemistry. The chemical is similar to some of the neurotransmitters in the brain. Also the artificial sweetener slows the metabolism.

    Regarding the tricking the brain here a good article form scientific american

    http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/2013/09/05/tricking-taste-buds-but-not-the-brain-artificial-sweeteners-changes-brains-pleasure-response-to-sweet/


    In general water is the best drink.
  • Spudnut72
    Spudnut72 Posts: 33 Member
    My weight loss results were better when I gave up the Pepsi max. Over the holidays I have let it slip back into the diet and feel bloated and my 'beer belly' has started to creep back - but I have not had a beer in about six weeks.
    My theory is all the un-natural crap in these drinks messes with our bodies. Give it up, or at least cut back. I find natural mineral water (unflavoured) still gives you the fizzy mouth feeling and is a far better alternative to sticking more chemicals into our bodies.
  • Fern890
    Fern890 Posts: 20 Member
    Not a scientist by any means, but there is research out there which states that when you drink fizzy drinks your body expects a blood sugar spike and takes glucose from your bloodstream in anticipation. So of course when your body doesn't get it, you've actually used up energy you don't have. Blood sugar is directly linked to self control as it is used by the pre-frontal cortex whenever we make decisions using willpower and is one of the functions of the brain that requires most blood sugar, so kinda makes sense that it can cause cravings and bad decisions later on.

    Regardless of the scientific basis, there is a whole body of research pointing to a correlation between weight gain (not just inhibition) and consumption of diet fizzy drinks and I have definitely gotten cravings and energy levels under control since I stopped drinking the stuff. After trying to lose weight for three years it started working when I gave up diet coke... I know it's not just the diet coke but maybe as others have suggested it's stopped me craving sugar so much. Really they are full of crap and I now feel ill if I have one but I used to enjoy them a lot so I understand your dilemna!

    I would try to find an alternative but if not just limit your amount and maybe follow it with some dark chocolate so you are getting some of the sugar your body expects to have. Just reducing the amount you have a bit at a time rather than depriving yourself would probably be the best bet. Like someone said we all have our little vices that we get enjoyment from so if you still drink them then just enjoy it, but it's good to have an informed choice and I know things have changed for me after giving them up :smile:
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    Aspartame does not cause brain tumors. There is a lot of information out there about artificial sweeteners and the harm they can cause.
    You do mention that you like diet coke products I believe? If you must drink soda, look for the diet coke products that are sweetened with Splenda, that way you can avoid aspartame.

    Here's a link to cancer.org's information page about aspartame and any potential links to cancer.

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

    In the UK we don't have diet coke available that uses splenda instead of aspartame :(

    Splenda is just sucralose, and there are some sucralose based fizzy diet drinks available in the UK. I can't really remember off the top of my head, but I think the Marks & Spencer one might be. It's easy enough to check the label any time you are in a shop though, but I don't think there is really much difference between sucralose and aspartame to be honest so I stopped checking a while back.
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
    Whether you should consume diet drinks is purely subjective. Some people consume then and get cravings, so it doesn't work for them. Some people consume them and get headaches, also, not for them. For the rest of the people, in moderation they are fine.
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member


    Regardless of the scientific basis, there is a whole body of research pointing to a correlation between weight gain (not just inhibition) and consumption of diet fizzy drinks and I have definitely gotten cravings and energy levels under control since I stopped drinking the stuff. After trying to lose weight for three years it started working when I gave up diet coke... I know it's not just the diet coke but maybe as others have suggested it's stopped me craving sugar so much. Really they are full of crap and I now feel ill if I have one but I used to enjoy them a lot so I understand your dilemma!

    Would just like to note correlation doesn't really give you information that is useful. Just helps inform further research that would be useful. I'd like to note the Nocebo effect also. You see and hear in the media how diet drinks do X,Y, and Z. You then develop X,Y, or Z and believe it to be the diet drinks.
  • piratesaregrand
    piratesaregrand Posts: 356 Member
    I'm diabetic. I drink 2+ litres of diet coke or pepsi max every single day, and have done so for the last 12 years.

    I get thorough medicals all the time, so far nothing.

    And I've lost 32kg.
  • Sapphire3002
    Sapphire3002 Posts: 112 Member
    I'm still struggling with giving up diet soda completely but more so than not I drink flavored Seltzer water and squeeze lime juice into it. It gives me the fizz I like without the guilt. Also I recommend you try "Skinny Girl Sparklers" I'm not sure if you have"Quick Check" around you but they sell them there. They are really delicious sparkling water beverages plus vitamin infused.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I don't miss them so in the end they weren't that important. I can taste a diet soda now and yuk, but I can taste a reg soda and I get the same yuk. Give them up or don't. For me giving up carbs is what helped me to quit craving sugar.
  • hiddenorchestra
    hiddenorchestra Posts: 14 Member
    If sugar-free drinks give you the craving for sugar, you might as well have the full fat version!

    :noway:
  • hannahpistolas
    hannahpistolas Posts: 290 Member
    Pretty much everything will give you cancer. Or harm your health in one way or another. I love a nice, cold Coke Zero for breakfast, and sometimes more throughout the day, and I've still lost 50 pounds since the end of April. I do plan on switching to diet tea, but only because I drink my caffeine in the morning and usually skip breakfast, and the Coke Zero messes with an empty tummy.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Pretty much everything will give you cancer. Or harm your health in one way or another. I love a nice, cold Coke Zero for breakfast, and sometimes more throughout the day, and I've still lost 50 pounds since the end of April. I do plan on switching to diet tea, but only because I drink my caffeine in the morning and usually skip breakfast, and the Coke Zero messes with an empty tummy.

    Carcinogens cause the genetic changes that lead to cancer. There are other things that may be harmful to your health, but not everything will give you cancer. Moderation in most things leads to health.

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