diet soda drinkers?

babybelle92
babybelle92 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hello! i know diet soda is not the best for your health, but i was wondering exactly how bad it is for weight loss. i have read so many conflicting things about it online, so id love to get opinions from another diet soda drinkers experience! did any of you find that it helped you lose weight when you gave up diet soda?
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Replies

  • easjer
    easjer Posts: 219 Member
    My general health and well-being improved when I stopped consuming artificial sweeteners. I was much less irritable as well. I can't say whether or not it helped my weight loss, as I stopped artificial sweeteners at the same time I stopped numerous other behaviours, but after quitting them, I would strongly encourage everyone to do so.

    To some extent, it depends on the artificial sweetener and the person involved, but they can trigger similar hormone responses as sugar without likewise triggering a satiety hormone to let you know you are full. If you are occasionally drinking a diet when no other/better option is available, meh. If you are drinking several a day, it's simply unhealthy, in the same way that eating the same number of calories' worth of roasted vegetables vs. potato chips.

    Generally speaking, dropping 500 calories by consuming diet soda instead of full-sugar soda is better for you. But best of all is dropping the soda (diet or no) entirely in favor of water or teas or more healthful, low cal options. If you need to do that in steps to make it sustainable, that's ok. But health should be the bigger focus than weight loss, kwim? I stopped cold turkey and replaced with sparkling water. It was gross at first, tbh, but now I love it and look forward to it every day.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Nothing wrong with diet soda in my opinion. I don't think it impeded my weight loss at all.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    hello! i know diet soda is not the best for your health, but i was wondering exactly how bad it is for weight loss. i have read so many conflicting things about it online, so id love to get opinions from another diet soda drinkers experience! did any of you find that it helped you lose weight when you gave up diet soda?

    diet soda has no affect on weight loss
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    I'm a diet soda drinker, and about all it does to me is bloat me and make me less hungry. Sometimes I'm ok with that, sometimes I'm not. I'd love to kick it, but I just don't care enough to.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    I drink it on occasion, and have for years. it's never caused me any issues with weight loss.
  • babybelle92
    babybelle92 Posts: 10 Member
    thanks for the advice :) ill have to give sparkling water a try. i havent quit drinking diet yet, but i have cut back a lot!
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I drink 2 or 3 Diet Pepsi's a day and have lost a couple pounds...... I won't be giving it up anytime soon but don't feel that it added or took away anything from my weight loss.... I just like it.... Best of Luck
  • buzhik
    buzhik Posts: 5
    I drink 1-2 cans of Diet Pepsi a day and it didn't affect my weight loss. I do try to drink a lot of water as well though.
  • jodibelle
    jodibelle Posts: 79 Member
    I was drinking ALOT of diet coke everyday. I have recently cut it back to 1 or 2 max a day. Hopefully I will get down to only having it occasionally. For me, I feel less bloated and have more energy since cutting back. I'm also less hungry. I think the artifical sugar thing of tricking your body to eat more is true. Atleast for me it seems to be true.
  • babybelle92
    babybelle92 Posts: 10 Member
    thanks guys! glad to hear it didnt affect weight loss for you :)
  • meeulk
    meeulk Posts: 246 Member
    I was drinking a LOT of diet soda. I was drinking that instead of water, which is what I should have been drinking. It also made me crave sweet things. The artificial sweeteners trick your brain into thinking you're getting something sweet and the sugar never shows up, which makes your body crave more food to meet that need. Apparently, some people don't have this reaction, but I did. I thought I was doing a good thing to change to diet soda and it just made me fat. My caffeine headaches are gone, too. My mornings aren't fuzzy-brained anymore.
  • easjer
    easjer Posts: 219 Member
    Just FYI - I flavor my sparkling water with a bit of cranberry or lime or lemon juice. I can drink it straight now, but couldn't when I first started.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    Here are my thoughts.

    Long ago, when I was at my heaviest, I did not drink water. I drank Diet Coke 2-3 cans per day and coffee 1 cup per day. Obviously that was a bad move, and not nearly enough water for my then-300 lb self. So terrible all around.

    When I joined MFP (1 yr ago) I was drinking 1 can per day of diet cola. Did not really pose any issues, and was in addition to my 8-10 servings of water daily (and 1 cup of coffee as always, which I still drink to this day).

    After several months on here and reading about diet soda = evil, I decided to give it up. I went to 1-2 cans per week and finally no diet soda for about 2 months. It made absolutely zero difference in the way I felt, and I continued losing weight at exactly the same rate as previously.

    So I started missing my diet soda and incorporated it back into my diet. I now drink anywhere from 1-5 cans per week and enjoy it. I may be nuts but I also think it plays a role in helping me to stay regular...not sure if it is the carbonation (I doubt it) or artificial sweeteners (most likely) but I'm a fan.

    JMHO
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
    Lost almost 60 lbs, never altered the amount of diet soda that I drink (about 3-4 cans of diet coke per week).
  • Spirittina
    Spirittina Posts: 13
    I too was drinking diet soda till i found out that it contained aspartame which is basically a chemical and well google to see what it can do to your body :( it may be less sugar u intake but it does more damage then sugar in the long run.
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    hello! i know diet soda is not the best for your health,

    oh boy....
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    I too was drinking diet soda till i found out that it contained aspartame which is basically a chemical and well google to see what it can do to your body :( it may be less sugar u intake but it does more damage then sugar in the long run.

    lolz....using teh google for resurch.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    I drink a couple of Diet Cokes every day. It hasn't impeded my weight loss at all.
  • LittleMissFit83
    LittleMissFit83 Posts: 38
    I will never give up my Fresca! :devil:
  • David_AUS
    David_AUS Posts: 298 Member
    Currently I do not drink them. There was a time I did and I would have to say it supported me with my weight loss at that time. Because of their sweetness I still had insatiable cravings for sweetness in my diet since ceasing drinking them these cravings have lessened significantly.

    As for health impacts -my opinion still stands: if you keep as a general rule anything in moderation / correct proportions and you don't have an allergy or sensitivity towards is "fair game".

    So yes they helped me but I liken them to nicotine gum for cigarettes they were a staged off approach until I found other ways to substitute them out. Ditto above for sugar free gum - the fact that aspartame tends to have a laxative effect on me helped my decision to remove these from my diet.
  • capi99
    capi99 Posts: 21
    I stopped drinking diet pops a long time ago, prefer to drink mineral water (adding real fruit or lemon to it)... after reading all the stuff about how diet pops contribute to nerve damage, I decided best not to take that chance. I still can have a diet pepsi or ginger ale when I crave those fizzy drinks - usually maybe once or twice a month.
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    Too much bloats you without you realizing it. Cut your consumption in half. You won't miss it, and you will see a difference.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    I love Coke Zero.

    Diet soda has zero calories. Zero calories = no negative impact on weight loss.
  • Amelia7779
    Amelia7779 Posts: 53 Member
    If you love it and it helps keep you on track, drink it.

    My experience: up until a couple months ago, I was drinking 5-6 cans/day. For me, it was a genuine addiction. I decided to stop drinking it for that reason...because I didn't like that I was beholden to anything. And I was...I'd have a borderline panic attack if I ran out at home. I'd read studies about aspartame spiking insulin and that affecting weight loss...but tbh I didn't believe them, and still don't. It may spike insulin, but I don't think it affects weight loss.

    Anyway, I quit cold turkey January 1 as a New Years resolution. After a couple weeks, I started allowing myself one if I was out at a restaurant (1-2x/wk). I missed it like crazy the first six weeks. But recently, I've been fine. I have it once or twice a week and that's it. I was worried the cravings wouldn't stop, but they have. Cutting it way down has done nothing to speed up weight loss.

    My bottom line: If you feel like it's an addiction and want to stop...do. It can be done and I do drink way more water. But if you love it and don't care, I really doubt it'll mess up weight loss. And aspartame is not the devil.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I love Coke Zero.

    Diet soda has zero calories. Zero calories = no negative impact on weight loss.

    yea, but how does it affect weight loss?
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    If you love it and it helps keep you on track, drink it.

    My bottom line: If you feel like it's an addiction and want to stop...do. It can be done and I do drink way more water. But if you love it and don't care, I really doubt it'll mess up weight loss. And aspartame is not the devil.

    +1
  • Maleficent0241
    Maleficent0241 Posts: 386 Member
    I too was drinking diet soda till i found out that it contained aspartame which is basically a chemical and well google to see what it can do to your body :( it may be less sugar u intake but it does more damage then sugar in the long run.

    Water is a chemical too...

    Seriously though, some people are sensitive to artificial sweeteners (aspartame triggers neurological weirdness for me) and should avoid them, but for most people they aren't a problem. The diet soda itself should not affect weight loss.
  • EpicMedic
    EpicMedic Posts: 24 Member
    Be very careful with diet soda. There are MANY stories out there about aspartame and it's health risks, just Google them, it's a toxin that WILL cause harm eventually. I know a lot of people love it and will swear by it (most because they don't want to admit that it COULD be bad for them, don't take away my diet coke!) but the truth is out there.

    Oh, and don't forget that aspartame, when exposed to high heats, becomes even more toxic. High heats found in warehouses and the trailers that they are hauled around the country in... well, exposing aspartame to those high heats can make it even worse. My mother in law was an avid diet coke drinker and couldn't lose weight, she was tired all the time, and had frequent headaches. She quit drinking diet coke, cut all other forms of aspartame out of her diet, and she is now seeing weight loss results and her headaches have all but ceased.

    If you want to drink soda, and this is my opinion based on the research I have read, then it is far healthier to just buck up and pay for the real deal with actual sugar in it.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    I love Coke Zero.

    Diet soda has zero calories. Zero calories = no negative impact on weight loss.

    yea, but how does it affect weight loss?


    uhhh it doesn't!!
  • Spirittina
    Spirittina Posts: 13
    Be very careful with diet soda. There are MANY stories out there about aspartame and it's health risks, just Google them, it's a toxin that WILL cause harm eventually. I know a lot of people love it and will swear by it (most because they don't want to admit that it COULD be bad for them, don't take away my diet coke!) but the truth is out there.

    Oh, and don't forget that aspartame, when exposed to high heats, becomes even more toxic. High heats found in warehouses and the trailers that they are hauled around the country in... well, exposing aspartame to those high heats can make it even worse. My mother in law was an avid diet coke drinker and couldn't lose weight, she was tired all the time, and had frequent headaches. She quit drinking diet coke, cut all other forms of aspartame out of her diet, and she is now seeing weight loss results and her headaches have all but ceased.

    If you want to drink soda, and this is my opinion based on the research I have read, then it is far healthier to just buck up and pay for the real deal with actual sugar in it.


    Very very well said, i agree totaly.


    @maleficent not the kind of chemical like what aspartame is i have done alot of research on it and it affected me greatly.

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