I've just been told Diet Coke makes you fat

mskimee
mskimee Posts: 228 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've just been told Diet Coke makes you fat (I love Diet Coke)...by a friend who is currently choking down salmon (she detests salmon, but its "good for you" and she does this every January for the whole month. There is also a lot of kale, which she also hates but is "good for you"). She is easily 3st overweight, but apparently my calorie and sugar free drink is going to make me fat because the "chemicals in it make you fat so you drink more and can't lose weight". I'm not sure if this is a rant or a smh moment, but dear god, I just had to tell someone!!
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Replies

  • malgamin
    malgamin Posts: 17 Member
    I have heard this also but not for that reason. I have heard somewhere that the sweet taste of diet coke tricks your brain into producing certain chemicals within your stomach/ intestines to help process the sugar that is about to receive, however, when no sugar comes into your stomach the chemicals released act negatively in some way.

    Personally I think it's all twaddle as I have a can at lunch and still manage to lose weight but even if it detrimental to you at least it's not full fat coke which would be far worse.

    Others may know more than I
  • unsuspectingfish
    unsuspectingfish Posts: 1,176 Member
    mskimee wrote: »
    My reply to her was "yeah, I'm sure its my diet coke that made me gain weight and not the extra 1000 odd calories a day". her reply was "Calorie counting is BS, you should just eat super-foods".

    I am at my desk with visions of grapes in capes.....

    :D
  • rnelson88
    rnelson88 Posts: 122 Member
    The theory behind the fat gain from diet drinks in general, is that the artificial sweeteners make you hungrier and therefore eat more. I've never had an issue with pepsi max/ coke zero/ zero sugar monsters. It's a diet food industry scam.
  • mskimee
    mskimee Posts: 228 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    I always love the people who make claims like this. They are usually the ones with weight issues and somehow gained knowledge when they started dieting on "clean" foods.

    I use to work in a gym and this was all I heard in January. people who had suddenly seen the light and their body was their temple (for a few weeks) and I'd hear people scoffing at the protein bars we sold ( "I couldn't eat that muck!! There's more protein in a chicken breast and some broccoli than a protein bar...." etc etc). We would just grit our teeth until it was over..... I'm all for bettering yourself, but scoffing at people who did fitness for a living cos some TV doc said something and everyone fell at his feet to hand him cash.....
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 224 Member
    I went from a 42 waist to a 35 and lost 50 pounds and counting and I drink a LOT of Diet Coke.

    It might have that impact on certain people, but not all?
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    Nysportsred wrote: »
    It might have that impact on certain people, but not all?

    ....................more self control issues re: "bad foods"..................gotta blame something, or someone else

  • humpbackgirl
    humpbackgirl Posts: 63 Member
    maybe because i've grown up with diet soda but diet soda never made me fat. i lost 6.2 kgs and i drank alot of diet soda
  • LogR4Life
    LogR4Life Posts: 62 Member
    Anything in moderation . . . .
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    mskimee wrote: »
    I've just been told Diet Coke makes you fat (I love Diet Coke)...by a friend who is currently choking down salmon (she detests salmon, but its "good for you" and she does this every January for the whole month. There is also a lot of kale, which she also hates but is "good for you"). She is easily 3st overweight, but apparently my calorie and sugar free drink is going to make me fat because the "chemicals in it make you fat so you drink more and can't lose weight". I'm not sure if this is a rant or a smh moment, but dear god, I just had to tell someone!!

    Hopefully you know enough to pay no attention to such nonsense. Right?
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,316 Member
    mskimee wrote: »
    Bookworm1860 wrote: »
    Unfortunately there is some research showing this to be true, beyond the whole tricking the brain and causing cravings thing. It seems one of the aspartame metabolites may actually change/interfere with metabolic pathways causing fat gain. The study was done with mice but unlike most rodent studies they exposed them to an amount equivalent to what many people consume instead of something equivalent to us drinking 20 gallons in a day. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161122193100.htm
    Typed as I slug down my morning diet Coke, which I'm trying to wean myself off of :'(

    I read that as the mice gained weight as they ate more as they craved more due to drinking the Diet Coke. So if I stay within my calorie goals, it seems logical to me that it won't make me gain weight, but possibly make me crave food that will make me gain weight. As long as I don't eat over my target, I should be all good. What I get from the study (I could be totally wrong though!!) is that the drink won't make you gain weight, but the possible cravings resulting from the drink might do.

    Anyway I'd prefer that to choking down food I detest for a month every year! :p

    Good thing you are not a mouse.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    This is an opinion piece but it discusses a lot of studies, etc.

    https://theoutline.com/post/842/diet-coke-is-not-killing-you
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    TheLongshot wrote: »
    Honestly from experience I have a hard time dieting when drinking diet coke/pepsi. It makes me want to eat things to go with it like chocolate or cakes. I'm doing a lot better since I knocked it on the head.

    Just my personal experience.

    I'm just over here wondering how cake and soda are being grouped together.
    Cake and chocolate need milk, not pop.

    I thought exactly the same thing when I read it! I never liked soda together with sweet stuff. By itself or with something savory.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
    mskimee wrote: »
    I've just been told Diet Coke makes you fat (I love Diet Coke)...by a friend who is currently choking down salmon (she detests salmon, but its "good for you" and she does this every January for the whole month. There is also a lot of kale, which she also hates but is "good for you"). She is easily 3st overweight, but apparently my calorie and sugar free drink is going to make me fat because the "chemicals in it make you fat so you drink more and can't lose weight". I'm not sure if this is a rant or a smh moment, but dear god, I just had to tell someone!!

    So.. there are a few different studies out there on this.
    1 -- thought process is this, they can order more food because they are having a coke.
    2 -- Thought process is that artificial sweeteners triggers something in the brain to eat something.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    malgamin wrote: »
    I have heard this also but not for that reason. I have heard somewhere that the sweet taste of diet coke tricks your brain into producing certain chemicals within your stomach/ intestines to help process the sugar that is about to receive, however, when no sugar comes into your stomach the chemicals released act negatively in some way.

    Personally I think it's all twaddle as I have a can at lunch and still manage to lose weight but even if it detrimental to you at least it's not full fat coke which would be far worse.

    Others may know more than I

    Here's a study about it, talking about the concerns with artificial sweeteners and food reward pathways. I don't believe it happens to everyone, much like some people feel full eating more fat while that does nothing for others. But since we accept that not everyone gets the same "food reward signals" from the same types of food, there could be something to this.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/

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