Alternatives to Pepsi Max?

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AshleyWallace3
AshleyWallace3 Posts: 9 Member
edited October 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
I've managed to lose three stone this year, getting from 15st to 12st on the mark; I exercised, joined Slimmingworld, and I didn't think anything of my slow weight loss. I was just happy to see progress, regardless of how long it took!

I'm 5'7"/5'8" female, and I feel that 11 stone would be the ideal weight for me - never, ever, ever did it occur to me that Pepsi Max (which I drink 2-3 cans a day ) could be the culprit for this slow loss... Especially because I was still enjoying chocolate and other guilty pleasures!

However, to get rid of this last stone, I think the answer is stopping drinking Pepsi max (maybe once a week?)... as well as severely limiting my junk in-take. But dang it, sweet drinks are my favorite things, they make me feel really delighted and relaxed, like I'm treating myself!

Is there anything else I can get that won't impede my weight loss for this last stone? I'm tempted by lovely iced tea/coffee... >.>

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Replies

  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    Coke Zero? I mean they are both calorie free drinks. Pepsi Max isn't what's slowing your weight loss down and you'll be better of once you realize that. We don't always have to find things to blame our weight loss on, sometimes it's just us.
  • Rooskie73
    Rooskie73 Posts: 30 Member
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    JustRobby1 wrote: »
    Pepsi Max contains a whopping 2 calories a can. Unless you drink a ridiculous amount of it per day, it's impact is negligible.

    Uh oh. 2 calories. I guess I better start logging it. LOL Kidding! I do log everything else though.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    As you get closer to goal, weight loss slows down. A smaller you is using fewer calories so the deficit is not as big as it used to be.

    I drink diet rootbeer everyday.....never stopped weight loss for me.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
    edited October 2017
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    AshleyWallace3 wrote: »
    I've managed to lose three stone this year, getting from 15st to 12st on the mark; I exercised, joined Slimmingworld, and I didn't think anything of my slow weight loss. I was just happy to see progress, regardless of how long it took!

    I'm 5'7"/5'8" female, and I feel that 11 stone would be the ideal weight for me - never, ever, ever did it occur to me that Pepsi Max (which I drink 2-3 cans a day ) could be the culprit for this slow loss... Especially because I was still enjoying chocolate and other guilty pleasures!

    However, to get rid of this last stone, I think the answer is stopping drinking Pepsi max (maybe once a week?)... as well as severely limiting my junk in-take. But dang it, sweet drinks are my favorite things, they make me feel really delighted and relaxed, like I'm treating myself!

    Is there anything else I can get that won't impede my weight loss for this last stone? I'm tempted by lovely iced tea/coffee... >.>

    Diet drinks don't cause weight gain or cause weight loss to stagnate (I continue to lose whilst drinking Diet Coke most days for the last year). Chances are you're either expecting too much (as you're closer to goal your weight loss will slow down and you should only be aiming for around 0.5lb loss per week) or you're not logging accurately.

    The flowchart should help you pinpoint the problem.

    itgbq23dxbmt.jpg
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
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    I too am baffled as to how a zero-calorie drink causes weight gain/slow loss. Unless it is somehow mentally triggering you to eat compulsively (which some people report), in which case, yeah, ditch it.

    I wouldn't worry about the 0 calorie soda, and would instead focus on, as you note, really cutting down on the "junk", and make sure that you are accurately weighing food (in grams, preferably) and logging everything. The closer you get to your ideal weight (which is in the normal BMI zone), the more difficult it is to pare off those last few pounds, so you have to be very diligent with your tracking.

    It sounds like you have done a great job thus far--congratulations! Slow is not necessarily bad--personally, I think a slow but steady loss is more sustainable in the long term.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    It's the other treats not the diet soda that's slowing weight loss. Once you get closer to your goals it gets harder to lose weight. You have to pay closer attention to your calories, macros, and routines to achieve your goals. Or.. you can simply be more patient.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
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    Weigh all your food and log it accurately. With the pepsi max or without.
  • cs2thecox
    cs2thecox Posts: 533 Member
    edited October 2017
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    AshleyWallace3 wrote: »
    I'm quite shocked at the responses - simply because there's more to food than just counting calories, right? Or is there?

    Massive subject of debate on these forums ;)

    Basically, for most people with reasonable amounts of weight to lose, no, not really.
    You'll improve your weight just by counting calories, whatever you eat.

    A generally healthy diet that provides all your basic nutrients, vitamins and minerals without substantial amounts of saturated fat, buckets of sugar etc is arguably preferable from a long term *health* point of view, but is not necessary for weight loss. That's just calories.

    Once you're well into a healthy weight range for your height, if you have specific aesthetic goals, maybe if you have highly specific sporting goals, or similar along those lines, then those people may find that other factors start to come in to play.
    But for most straightforward weight loss for most people? No, basically just calories...
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
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    AshleyWallace3 wrote: »
    I've managed to lose three stone this year, getting from 15st to 12st on the mark; I exercised, joined Slimmingworld, and I didn't think anything of my slow weight loss. I was just happy to see progress, regardless of how long it took!

    I'm 5'7"/5'8" female, and I feel that 11 stone would be the ideal weight for me - never, ever, ever did it occur to me that Pepsi Max (which I drink 2-3 cans a day ) could be the culprit for this slow loss... Especially because I was still enjoying chocolate and other guilty pleasures!

    However, to get rid of this last stone, I think the answer is stopping drinking Pepsi max (maybe once a week?)... as well as severely limiting my junk in-take. But dang it, sweet drinks are my favorite things, they make me feel really delighted and relaxed, like I'm treating myself!

    Is there anything else I can get that won't impede my weight loss for this last stone? I'm tempted by lovely iced tea/coffee... >.>

    so you are still enjoying "chocolate and other pleasures" but think the 0 calorie drink is what has stopped your weight loss?? are you weighing all your food (including guilty pleasures) to ensure you are eating at a deficit?
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    Sweet, zero-calorie drinks don't make you fat directly. They have no calories. They can't.

    It's possible that what they do is prompt poeple to eat more than they think they are eating. Human beings are notoriously bad at judging how much they're eating and reporting it afterwards. Everyone SWEARS that they're only eating 1200 calories, but we're all fighting against this truth - we suck at measuring and reporting.

    So: some people probably associate sweet fizzy drinks with eating certain foods, and they eat those foods and measure badly. The sweetness may give other people an urge for "more sweet!" and they overeat something - just a little bit here, a little bit there, nothing that seems *worth* reporting, but it adds up.

    For those people, removing the thing that they associate with overeating *other* foods may well help them make progress by letting them log more accurately.

    But its not the two calories per can doing it. It's the human tendency to "just keep eating" once we start.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited October 2017
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    TriPaulCantRun wrote: »
    First of all, I'd say that your weight loss achievement has been awesome, well done! And i wouldn't have said that it has been slow either.

    I'm partly with you on the diet soda though, it might be very low in calories, but it is full of crap. I think it can slow weight loss as all the sweeteners can trigger the body to create insulin and go in to fat storage mode.

    It can also make us more likely to eat something bad (apart from the sweetness trigger) because psychologically we're not drinking any calories e.g. a Big mac & a diet Coke please...

    I used to drink quite a lot, but maybe have one can each week or so these days.

    Although I think your second paragraph is nonesense, I do wonder how much this particular mindset leads to the kind of effect you sometimes see with diet supplements - the person forces themselves to quit something they enjoy (diet soda) and since they don't want to sabotage that effort (or in the case of supplements, money), they also snack less or put a little more effort into their exercise, thus losing additional weight.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited October 2017
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    TriPaulCantRun wrote: »
    I'm partly with you on the diet soda though, it might be very low in calories, but it is full of crap. I think it can slow weight loss as all the sweeteners can trigger the body to create insulin and go in to fat storage mode.
    .

    Citations please. How do you 'think' up highly scientific sentences?
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    edited October 2017
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    TriPaulCantRun wrote: »
    First of all, I'd say that your weight loss achievement has been awesome, well done! And i wouldn't have said that it has been slow either.

    I'm partly with you on the diet soda though, it might be very low in calories, but it is full of crap. I think it can slow weight loss as all the sweeteners can trigger the body to create insulin and go in to fat storage mode.

    It can also make us more likely to eat something bad (apart from the sweetness trigger) because psychologically we're not drinking any calories e.g. a Big mac & a diet Coke please...

    I used to drink quite a lot, but maybe have one can each week or so these days.

    What crap is it full of? if it can trigger the body to create insulin and go into fat storage mode (which is just the biggest nonsense in the world, just think about that statement please) why is it ok for diabetics to have? Wouldn't they have some serious problems? Also with that logic you have there, wouldn't having an apple, or some carrots cause us to go into fat storage mode since they cause the body to create insulin?

    Can somebody on here create some sort of logical thinking process people should try to go through before posting "advice" for other people. There should be a flow chart people can follow to help think things through.

  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    AshleyWallace3 wrote: »
    I'm quite shocked at the responses - simply because there's more to food than just counting calories, right? Or is there? The artificial sweeteners are known to slow your metabolism, I think I read... I'd get the source for you but I'm getting ready to go out on a driving lesson, lol!

    I've also read a lot of testimonies about people cutting diet soda out of their diets and seeing results. One woman from Mumsnet:

    My consultant ran a trial in her groups asking people who drank at least 2 cans a day to give it up. The losses the next week were fabulous.

    ^HOWEVER, I've also read people that did the same and saw no difference.

    I respect a lot of the points made; and I realize how silly it is to blame a diet drink when I'm still snacking on sugary things!

    And that flow-chart is fabulous, Tinkerbellang83, tyvm! :)

    I believe what you guys are saying, given your own personal experiences with losing weight while drinking soda - especially a whopping 108 pounds, well done you!!!! <3<3<3

    Just to experience it for myself, I'm going to go a week without pepsi max, focus mainly on drinking more water and see the results personally. :)

    Thanks for the feedback guys!

    You can do this, but don't change anything else about your day. It seems a lot of people, will cut out diet soda and lots of other things at the same time, and for some reason correlate it with the 0 calorie piece they cut out, not everything else.

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