Diet Soda: Friend OR Foe??

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candi82
candi82 Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
So Ive hit a plateau... wondering now could it be the Diet Pepsi Ive switched too? Done some researching online and cant come up with a definative answer. So please tell me if you have or havent experienced weight loss issues drinking diet sodas.
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  • Cletc
    Cletc Posts: 352
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    I'm quitting Diet Squirt today in fact.

    I think "there is something" to diet soda that doesn't help.

    Not to mention there is nothing good about them.

    I think the Research is all over the place still on them, but....

    My intuition and anecdotal evidence says Foe

    :noway:
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    I lost over 125 lbs at which time i was drinking diet soda. I am sure you will hear lots of feedback regarding the health benefits (or lack there of) of drinking it, but it did not hinder my weight loss at all!!
  • LarryPGH
    LarryPGH Posts: 349 Member
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    A lot of folks around here will tell you that diet pop makes you crave food, so it can be detrimental to your weight loss goals. You mention that you've "switched" to DP, so that wouldn't seem to apply. Others will mention that all those chemicals can't be good for you, and they may have a point... but then again, we're biochemical machines, so *everything* we put into ourselves is chemicals... so take that one with a grain of salt, too, I think.

    I drink diet pop -- not excessively, i don't think, but maybe one a day... and I haven't found it to hinder my weight loss. (Not that one data point proves the assertion, though, of course...!) My WAG is that it's not what's at the source of your current plateau...
  • ShaeDetermined
    ShaeDetermined Posts: 1,525 Member
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    carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

    so, foe. definitely foe.
    drop the diet soda and replace it with water.
    when u need a sweet fix pour some crystal light in your water.
  • Sasha_Bear
    Sasha_Bear Posts: 625 Member
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    I would drink it only in moderation, I don't think it will hinder your weight lost but I doubt if it's benefiting either.
  • Sasha_Bear
    Sasha_Bear Posts: 625 Member
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    carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

    so, foe. definitely foe.
    drop the diet soda and replace it with water.
    when u need a sweet fix pour some crystal light in your water.


    Yep what she said!! LOL
  • basschick38
    basschick38 Posts: 12
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    I used to think diet sodas were a gift from God (zero calories) but later discovered the added sodium and chemicals actually worked in reverse and made me feel bloated. I would lose the diet drinks if I were you. They just don't have healthy stuff in them even though they are no calorie drinks. Okay, you can have one occasionally but don't make it part of your daily/weekly diet. That's my advise (from experience).
  • lizzybethclaire
    lizzybethclaire Posts: 849 Member
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    I would say ditch it if you tend to retain a lot of water. I have been a lot less bloated (lovely word, isn't it) since I started drinking only water.
  • jmruef
    jmruef Posts: 824 Member
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    I'm quitting Diet Mountain Dew just because I drink WAY too much of it. I've set a quit date for Monday. [There are logistical reasons for not quitting this weekend...just trust me. :wink: ] It's to the point where my eye twitches once in a while because of the caffeine...SO don't need that. I've never noticed that it has slowed my weight loss or made me crave sugary stuff, but I will concede that it's full of chemicals and other things that are probably not good for me anyway.

    And if there's weight loss involved as a bonus for giving it up, why not?:laugh:
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    I personally think diet soda is discusting, the aspertame taste is horrid.

    With that said, I have never had a soda addiction like a lot of people, but I have heard that your body treats the fake sugar just like regular sugar. so it plays with your insulin levels, and causing you to be more tired. tired leads to making poor food choices and choices as to whether or not your going to work out etc.

    I have also heard that soda in any form diet or regular, and a leading cause to belly fat in particular.

    Believe what you will, but NOONE has EVER come out and said that water has bad side effects, noone has ever come out and said that all natural fruit juice is BAD for you (except the sugar)

    Noone has said the fresh fruits and veggies and lean proteins, healthy things like that are BAD for you. So when I see something that is soooo controversial as diet pop, it leads me to believe that there is SOMETHING that is bad for you, and that in about 10 years we really will find out there there are some horrible side effects to it.

    So better safe then sorry I say, Stick to water.
  • olo567
    olo567 Posts: 50 Member
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    carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

    Where have you heard this? Almost everything you hear about carbonation being bad for you is untrue, it's just carbon dioxide in the water.

    Doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with diet sodas, but it you need a fizzy fix there's nothing wrong with seltzer.
  • pilotdrew
    pilotdrew Posts: 14
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    I used to be hooked on soda bad! A couple years ago I would have at least 3 Mountain Dew's a day most days. Last year I started only drinking Pepsi Max, Coke Zero, etc. which is no calories, but no significant difference in weight.

    Since starting MFP on 4/19, I have not had a single soda of any kind. What I did to replace it was start buying MiO water enhancer. I can't drink plain water, especially the city water here that is like drinking pool water (chlorine) so I love this stuff. It's like Crystal Light, etc. but liquid and 0 calories, 0 sugar, 0 everything pretty much. The other great thing is that you can squirt as much or as little as you want in there, so it can either taste like KoolAid or just barely have enough flavor to notice. Great stuff!

    I'm down 8 pounds so far with another 10 or so left to goal. Most of it is watching calories and giving up giant heaping bowls of ice cream....but the water probably helps too I suppose.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I see a lot of people mention the sodium, but Diet Pepsi is fairly low in sodium. 25mg per serving... 1% of your daily allowance. :wink:

    I'm not saying diet soda is GOOD for you, but unless you're sensitive to aspartame, I have no issues with it.
  • strongwoman84
    strongwoman84 Posts: 71 Member
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    One a day shouldn't make a huge difference. I generally have that just for the caffeine... But if you are drinking 3-4 a day or more it could be that you are getting a lot of sodium and retaining water. So, as I tell my friend that drinks 3-4 red bulls a day, you may need to "Lay off the smack" and just cut down. :laugh:
  • strongwoman84
    strongwoman84 Posts: 71 Member
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    I see a lot of people mention the sodium, but Diet Pepsi is fairly low in sodium. 25mg per serving... 1% of your daily allowance. :wink:

    This is true, unless one is drinking several servings... At one point I was drinking about 3 12 oz bottles (diet mtn dew) a day or more. I counted up the sodium and I was consuming around 160mg just from soda. That made me stop rather quickly. :smile:
  • ShaeDetermined
    ShaeDetermined Posts: 1,525 Member
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    carbonated beverages (diet, reg and even perrier/seltzer) have been known to slow weight loss.

    Where have you heard this? Almost everything you hear about carbonation being bad for you is untrue, it's just carbon dioxide in the water.

    Doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with diet sodas, but it you need a fizzy fix there's nothing wrong with seltzer.

    Carbonated beverages are not the devil!
    I think the caffeine content and the fact that diet pop is loaded with chemicals are more significant factors to me.

    But, any carbonated beverage increases bloating because the carbon dioxide trapped in the bubbles creates gas, which can create discomfort, slows down stomach emptying....etc
  • lauristewart
    lauristewart Posts: 379 Member
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    I LOVE diet soda and will refuse to give it up. I drink 96 oz of water a day so if I want a soda I drink it! My highest weight has been 268 and it hasn't hurt my weight loss or the ability to keep it off! Now my love for Little Debbies is another conversation! LOL!
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    So Ive hit a plateau... wondering now could it be the Diet Pepsi Ive switched too? Done some researching online and cant come up with a definative answer. So please tell me if you have or havent experienced weight loss issues drinking diet sodas.

    Last year, on WW, I lost 20 pounds while drinking diet soda. Then I stalled. So, I cut out the soda. It didn't make any difference. After 3 weeks with no soda, I went back to it and started losing weight again.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
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    I drink diet everyday and have had no problems with my weight loss
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    If you are thinking that diet soda somehow changes your metabolism to stop you from losing weight. That is false. It's the other things that you may or may not need to be worried about. Sodium. Caffeine. Chemicals. Increased appetite, if that's an issue for you. If you are replacing water intake with a caffeinated soda, that's probably not a good thing either.

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