Diet Coke = Water

It's "possible" but it's cheating yourself out of real water. I only count plain/clear water as my water intake.

Using MFP as a calorie counter is the core of the diet/app/lifestyle. I never record liquids/water whatever. I just drink them. As long as you are staying reasonably hydrated, calorie counting will work. When I've ridden my bike a 90 minutes and haven't drank any water along the way, my body will get what it needs when I do drink after the ride - from any liquid, water, diet coke, snapple, beer, whatever.

And water weight is just that, water weight. That is the amount your body is hydrated at a given time and that amount naturally fluctuates because of a myriad of factors.

If you ingest more fuel (calories) than you expend, you will over time gain weight. Ingest less fuel than you expend, lose weight.

Hydration is a different issue. The body does not normally over-hydrate. Dehydration (under-hydration) happens from not taking in enough fluids over time, especially during times of increased perspiration.

Drinking Diet Coke when dehydrated will re-hydrate your body. Take that to the bank.

I think as long as it is caffiene free ( Caffiene dehydrates you) then its ok but ultimatley water is way better for you, but you know this

I don't count anything but water as water :bigsmile:

Diet Coke or diet anything with Aspartame does not pass my lips anymore, I hate even selling the stuff in our shop.

Do you have 90 minutes to spare?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6551291488524526735#

I suggest that you watch this with an open mind

*face palm*

Nope! Nothing with caffiene, that is. You see, caffiene is a dieuretic, which means it makes you pee. So for every cup of coffee, soda (diet or otherwise), tea, ect, you will probably end up peeing out about 2 cups. So it's actually working against you. If you drink only caffeinated beverages, you will eventually dehydrate yourself. Sorry.

Definitely True!!!! I'm a coke-a-holic and I have to drink extra water because I get dehydrated easily from all the coke I drink!

Sorry if this sounds harsh to anyone but it really surprises me that anyone can think they can include Diet fizzy drinks as water. They have no water content in them so why would you include them?!

Er... is this serious?! You're a bit mistaken. The 1st ingredient in diet soda is carbonated water (at least in all the ones I've checked). Ingredients are listed in order of highest quantity to lowest quantity, therefore water is the main ingredient.

You can debate what affect the carbonation and artificial sweetener and caffeine has on you, but to say there is no water content in diet sodas is a blatantly false statement. I'm all for health and don't think people should be drinking sodas all day, but false statements don't do anyone any good.

Here are the ingredients in a few popular diet soda brands, from their official websites:

Ingredients in Diet coke: Carbonated Water,Caramel Color,Aspartame,Phosphoric Acid,Potassium Benzoate (to protect taste), Natural Flavors,Citric Acid,Caffeine

Ingredients in Diet Dr. Pepper: CARBONATED WATER, CARAMEL COLOR, ASPARTAME, PHOSPHORIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), CAFFEINE. PHENYLKETONURICS CONTAINS: PHENYLALANINE

Using MFP as a calorie counter is the core of the diet/app/lifestyle. I never record liquids/water whatever. I just drink them. As long as you are staying reasonably hydrated, calorie counting will work. When I've ridden my bike a 90 minutes and haven't drank any water along the way, my body will get what it needs when I do drink after the ride - from any liquid, water, diet coke, snapple, beer, whatever.

And water weight is just that, water weight. That is the amount your body is hydrated at a given time and that amount naturally fluctuates because of a myriad of factors.

If you ingest more fuel (calories) than you expend, you will over time gain weight. Ingest less fuel than you expend, lose weight.

Hydration is a different issue. The body does not normally over-hydrate. Dehydration (under-hydration) happens from not taking in enough fluids over time, especially during times of increased perspiration.

Drinking Diet Coke when dehydrated will re-hydrate your body. Take that to the bank.

Diet Coke WILL NOT, PROPERLY hydrate your body. Yes, it has water in it, yes your body can use that water, no it can not get the same benefit as it would from tap water. Not only that, but the added carbonation fills you up and will make you drink less than you need. Also.... Beer?? Gotta be joking if you use that as a source of water. If you truly value your health, DRINK STANDARD WATER.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just gave up soda (Diet Mt Dew) and have noticed a huge difference in my body. You don't need all those chemical in soda, stick with water. Add a slice of lemon or lime for flavor. In the summer I make a pitcher of ice water that has cucumber, orange, and lemon slices in it. I got this recipe from the Ritz Hotel lady. Yummy!

*face palm*

I second that.

Okay, for all of you people that want to count beverages that AREN'T water toward your daily water intake, be my guest.

And if you think you can stay hydrated through eating apples and drinking diet chemical-ridden sodas, you're drunk.

I'll go on drinking my 120oz per day of water and providing my body what it needs to perform at maximum efficacy.

speaking of drunk......oh nevermind

This may be a little gross, but I go by urine color. if your urine is dark, it most likely means you're not getting enough water. If you drink lots of water, your urine is a healthy light color. It's related to how hydrated you are and is an easy way to judge. If you're drinking a ton of diet coke and it's light, then it's diet coke is probably doing the trick. But if it's dark, maybe think about switching.

I agree with several other posters. I do not count my coffee as water bc -

- the diuretic factor [it takes water out of the body].

- I try to get in 8-12oz of water in BEFORE my morning coffee, to counter act this.

I would think herbal teas would count. Also unsweetened lemonade.. home made. Also.. some "diet" drinks [ie those with artificial sweeteners can actually cause carb cravings in some of us.. ME! I tried Crystal Light's new appletini.. and found it make me want popcorn.. bread, etc, things I eat only in moderation and not usually at night.

well poo! I've been counting the morning cup as at least one cup of water - I'm going to have to go back now and adjust my diary... I probably shouldn't have cheated in the first place!!!

In reality, counting one morning cup of coffee as a cup of water is perfectly reasonable.

*sigh*

The "dehydrating" effect of caffeine is WAY overblown. I'm not advocating replacing all our water with caffeinated beverages, but counting a reasonable number of caffeinated drinks as water (or heck - 1/2 a cup of water each, if you want to be conservative) is FINE. See this post from earlier int he thread:

^^ THIS. People totally blow the "caffeine dehydrates you" thing out of proportion. In reality, drinking a cup of soda or a cup of coffee a few times a day is not going to dehydrate you. Per this post from the mayo clinic (which is a reputable source), caffeine is really only dehydrating if you drink more than a reasonable amount a day. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

I love drinking plain water and drink lots of it, but I also think that a cup of coffee or soda certainly counts. You should count the calories, if it has any, but your body can still use some of the water from that drink.

*face palm*

I second that.

Okay, for all of you people that want to count beverages that AREN'T water toward your daily water intake, be my guest.

And if you think you can stay hydrated through eating apples and drinking diet chemical-ridden sodas, you're drunk.

I'll go on drinking my 120oz per day of water and providing my body what it needs to perform at maximum efficacy.

Don't fall off that high horse, it will probably hurt.

*face palm*

I second that.

Okay, for all of you people that want to count beverages that AREN'T water toward your daily water intake, be my guest.

And if you think you can stay hydrated through eating apples and drinking diet chemical-ridden sodas, you're drunk.

I'll go on drinking my 120oz per day of water and providing my body what it needs to perform at maximum efficacy.

Don't fall off that high horse, it will probably hurt.

LOL

I make fresh decaffinated iced tea - unsweetened. I count half of the tea I drink as water (I mean - it's 99% water, but for counting sake ... half seems fair). So, if I drink 2 cups of iced tea I put down 1 cup of water. Anything carbonated can't count ... although you could probably count seltzer water. It's hard to say, but I'm gonna guess any diet soft drink doesn't count.