DID DIET SODA CAUSE MY RECENT PLATEAU?

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PalmettoparkGuy
PalmettoparkGuy Posts: 212 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I recently came off a 3 week plateau. I eat very healthy, so there isn't a whole lot I could change when I hit a plateau. I rarely go over my calories, I exercise regularly. After the second week, I was analyzing my diet and realized I was drinking a LOT of diet coke. So after the second week, I stopped drinking soda to see if it changed anything and within a few days, I broke my plateau and lost 4 pounds. Now maybe this is just a coincidence, but after researching it online, there are a lot of studies that suggest artificial sweeteners may make your body believe you're still eating sugar. It stood out because that was the only change I made. I just found it interesting and thought I'd share.
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  • Mommawarrior
    Mommawarrior Posts: 897 Member
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    It could totally be the reason. Great job for looking into your diary and figuring that out!
  • spyro88
    spyro88 Posts: 472 Member
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    That's really interesting, did you find it hard to give up? I drink 1-2 cans a day of Pepsi Max (no sugar) but I never really thought it would do anything to my weight as there are no calories in it. How much were you drinking before?
  • changeisgood55
    changeisgood55 Posts: 274
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    I haven't read anything good about drinking diet pop. So I think you found the cause of your plateau and solved the issue. Good job!
  • MrBrown72
    MrBrown72 Posts: 407 Member
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    Yes. Diet doesn't mean good for you.
  • SemperAnticus1643
    SemperAnticus1643 Posts: 703 Member
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    FAT HABIT #5: Drinking soda—even diet!
    The average American guzzles nearly a full gallon of soda every week. Why is that so bad? Because a 2005 study found that drinking one to two sodas per day increases your chances of being overweight or obese by nearly 33 percent. And diet soda is no better. When researchers in San Antonio tracked a group of elderly subjects for nearly a decade, they found that compared to nondrinkers, those who drank two or more diet sodas a day watched their waistlines increase five times faster. The researchers theorize that the artificial sweeteners trigger appetite cues, causing you to unconsciously eat more at subsequent meals.


    I just read that on 20 Habits that Make You Fat on Yahoo! News.
  • LoveMy3Boys
    LoveMy3Boys Posts: 562 Member
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    Hmmm... I wonder. I never thought it would.

    How much do you drink?
  • juleseybaby
    juleseybaby Posts: 712 Member
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    May also have to do with the sodium in soda.
  • ladybug11
    ladybug11 Posts: 87 Member
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    I don't know, but it sounds like you did some research and tweaked your diet with success. You've inspired me to drop my Coke Zero habit for a week and see if I have similar results173313.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • Dtrmnd86
    Dtrmnd86 Posts: 406 Member
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    I have heard a lot of bad stuff about artificial sweeteners. If I want a soda, I go for that all natural seirra mist. Of course, that is rarely. Glad to hear you broke through that plateau!!!
  • PalmettoparkGuy
    PalmettoparkGuy Posts: 212 Member
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    I was drinking at least 4 cans a day, sometimes more. I'm getting myself used to drinking water, or bottled water with mio or crystal light. I like the mio because I could make it real light.
  • CaptainMFP
    CaptainMFP Posts: 440 Member
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    The researchers theorize that the artificial sweeteners trigger appetite cues, causing you to unconsciously eat more at subsequent meals.

    Am not saying that diet soda is good for you. But as someone on the inside of the scientific community, I'm very skeptical about these claims. These researchers typically do not control for diet and then they speculate about how these "trigger appetite cues" without getting into specific mechanisms. Chemicals do not affect our bodies by magic; without a mechanism this is speculation. Especially when there is a simpler explanation: drinking diet sodas -- which do not contain calories -- lead to the belief that you can eat more calories from other sources. People over compensate more because of the psychological effect of the word "diet." Or as Gabriel Iglesias said, "I drink diet soda so I can eat regular cake." I've seen no persuasive evidence that the sodas or the sweeteners themselves directly cause weight gain.

    Maybe you hit on the cause of your plateau. Maybe not. (Could it be the SODIUM in the soda?) Either way, good deal on breaking through!
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
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    Here's a couple sites I found just googling "diet soda weight":

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-gain-more-weight (from 2005)
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/diet-soda-weight-gain_n_886409.html (from Jun 2011)
  • MissMom3
    MissMom3 Posts: 101 Member
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    I am a diet soda freak!! I have been having a problem losing these last 25 lbs....what did u do to help with the cravings? I also quit smoking 3 weeks ago so I know it would be very hard for me to quit drinking soda right now but I think that's what I need to do. Good luck to you all on staying soda free!!
  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
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    I think you've got a point, but personally, think diet sodas do two things: 1) they dehydrate you and 2) they cause water retention from the huge amounts of sodium in them. When it doubt, drink water :) I used to be addicted to those crystal light sugar free water enhancers, but even those aren't good for you if you drink them all the time. In my opinion, there's nothing more satisfying than an ice cold glass of filtered tap water with a few drops of lemon juice... ahhhhhhh
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
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    I really need to try this and see if it could be why I have not budged in more than a month or so. I drink a TON of diet soda, at least 6-8 cans a day. I'm happy you found something that worked for you!
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
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    I am a diet soda freak!! I have been having a problem losing these last 25 lbs....what did u do to help with the cravings? I also quit smoking 3 weeks ago so I know it would be very hard for me to quit drinking soda right now but I think that's what I need to do. Good luck to you all on staying soda free!!
    When I stopped drinking all soda cold turkey I found water w/lemon or lime or any other natural fruit flavors (anything to curb the sweet craving from sodas) helpful. I'm not to the point where I very rarely need the flavoring as I prefer plain water :)
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
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    I have heard a lot of bad stuff about artificial sweeteners. If I want a soda, I go for that all natural seirra mist. Of course, that is rarely. Glad to hear you broke through that plateau!!!
    That or Hansen's sodas - they're all natural, less than 5 ingredients and taste great!
  • AlliBart
    AlliBart Posts: 4
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    Actually ALL soda is bad for you. You're right though. Artificial sweetener DOES trick your brain into thinking its getting a sweet treat so it act accordingly! Congrats on figuring that out and good luck to you! Thanks for sharing!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    I think you've got a point, but personally, think diet sodas do two things: 1) they dehydrate you and 2) they cause water retention from the huge amounts of sodium in them. When it doubt, drink water :) I used to be addicted to those crystal light sugar free water enhancers, but even those aren't good for you if you drink them all the time. In my opinion, there's nothing more satisfying than an ice cold glass of filtered tap water with a few drops of lemon juice... ahhhhhhh
    How exactly do diet sodas dehydrate you? They are mostly water. Every liquid you drink is hydrating, with the possible exception of heavy liquors. Even beer is hydrating as it's typically 80-90% water. And contrary to popular myths, caffeine doesn't dehydrate either. Also, what large amounts of sodium? An average can of diet soda has 50mg or less of sodium in it. You'd need to drink 50 cans of soda a day to get to the max sodium limit recommended by the FDA. Milk has more sodium in it than soda.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Actually ALL soda is bad for you. You're right though. Artificial sweetener DOES trick your brain into thinking its getting a sweet treat so it act accordingly! Congrats on figuring that out and good luck to you! Thanks for sharing!

    That's only been speculated on, never actually proven.

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