Pop addiction and struggling to hit water goal

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hollyntuttle95
hollyntuttle95 Posts: 42 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all! While I stay within my calorie goal, I am always over in sugars because I usually drink a coke or two a day. While I drink a lot less pop than I used to, I have a history of diabetes in my family so I would really like to cut it out completely. I hate regular coffee and green tea so it is usually where I get my caffeine.

I did buy a soda stream and use energy mios to flavor it. This helps me hit my water goal, but I also know the fake sugars are HORRIBLE for me.

Any advice?
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Replies

  • Darla77Darla
    Darla77Darla Posts: 262 Member
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    I am the same way cant kick diet coke
  • GemstoneofHeart
    GemstoneofHeart Posts: 865 Member
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    Do you like fruit water? Like water that you let berries or melon or pineapple infuse? It’s a good way to flavor your waters naturally without any additives and you can customize the blend to your liking. I use the leftover fruits in smoothies.
  • KaltieEm
    KaltieEm Posts: 73 Member
    edited June 2018
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    GemstoneofHeart wrote: »
    Do you like fruit water? Like water that you let berries or melon or pineapple infuse? It’s a good way to flavor your waters naturally without any additives and you can customize the blend to your liking. I use the leftover fruits in smoothies.

    I agree, fruit water is great. Also, I love mint and lemon infused water in summer, it's so refreshing. I just take a pitcher of water, add 2 slices of lemon and some fresh mint leaves (I grow it in a pot on my balcony, very easy to maintain) and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. I add more water to the pitcher throughout the day as needed.

    Another nice drink that's fizzy and fruity but better for you than pop is kombucha. It can get pricey when you drink a lot of it but if you like it, it's easy to make at home. I started making kombucha a couple of months ago and I love having plenty of it around for pretty much the cost of sweet black tea :)
  • skelterhelter
    skelterhelter Posts: 803 Member
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    I second Diet Coke. Once you make the change you won't be able to drink regular Coke --it'll taste TOO sweet. If you really don't want to go that route, I have been enjoying the new Bubbly sparkling water (I've only tried strawberry and it's delicious) and think it may be a good one for you to try. I don't care for the salty aftertaste of seltzer, so sweeter sparkling waters like Bubbly or Trader Joe's brands are the way to go.
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
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    I take caffeine pills if I want caffeine without taking in extra calories.


    Please tell us what in the artificial sweeteners is awful and site your sources please.
  • jsminer827
    jsminer827 Posts: 62 Member
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    My $0.02... I was a diet soda drinker. I drank A LOT of it... 2 liters plus a day. Almost to the exclusion of any other beverage. What I found was that the sweetness of the diet soda made me crave other sweet things which derailed any possibility of dieting. Going by the BMI chart, I was 92 pounds overweight and desperate to make a change.

    First I started tracking calories... but I still felt bloated a lot and blah... so I started learning about nutrition and along the way read up on inflammatory responses and it turns out that sugar is one cause of inflammation in our bodies. So, I decided to eliminate added sugars and see what happened. I hated life... for a solid week at least, I craved all things carb and the sweeter the better. But I stuck with it and my body eventually got over it. It helped me to understand the importance of nutrition and I think set me on the path to success. Reasonable to think so or not, I would say that giving up diet soda is the "one thing" that really did it for me. I've lost 64 pounds in about 8 months, I took a 4 month diet break, and now I'm back at a deficit and I'm ready to drop the rest of the weight.

    I'm not an expert by any means, and I admit that I often read about things and search for supporting and dissenting opinions and then apply some common sense to whether or not I can internalize it and make use of the information I've obtained. I would encourage you to do the same. Maybe start by cutting out one of those drinks a day... there's nothing saying that you can't have soda - diet or regular. As long as you're being reasonable and doing what works for you, you can make a lasting change and avoid the diabetes that runs in your family. Even if you can't, one soda a day isn't going to be what causes you to become diabetic.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    No, fake sugar isn't "horrible".
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
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    juliamfu161 wrote: »
    I'd have to disagree. Fake sugar isn't horrible when it's paired with other starches, but it's really not good by itself. The fake sugars are not digested, but they will fool your body into thinking there is sugar coming on the way. And then your body starts making insulin when there isn't anything for it to do. Eventually your body will realize this and stop producing insulin, this is where the diabetes kicks in.

    I will say that if you're pairing your pops with your meals then it'll not be as bad as if you only drink it by itself. There have also been studies that prove that fake sugars like aspartame actually increases appetite. This has been proven since the 1990s. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/003193849090126O

    Try to move on to seltzers. I find that they are very good substitute. There's lots of flavors to try as well, and if you really need a sweet kick to it, you can always add some sweetened or juice to it, and work your way down.

    For the 20 people that were included in the study, I am sure the results were correct, but it is laughable to try and extrapolate and apply the results from 20 people to the other 8 billion people that live on the planet.

    Hunger responses are a very individual thing and for some, eating something that tastes sweet will drive their hunger, while others can eat sweet things and it doesn't cause any hunger or cravings (I personally fall into the latter category).
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    ccrdragon wrote: »
    juliamfu161 wrote: »
    I'd have to disagree. Fake sugar isn't horrible when it's paired with other starches, but it's really not good by itself. The fake sugars are not digested, but they will fool your body into thinking there is sugar coming on the way. And then your body starts making insulin when there isn't anything for it to do. Eventually your body will realize this and stop producing insulin, this is where the diabetes kicks in.

    I will say that if you're pairing your pops with your meals then it'll not be as bad as if you only drink it by itself. There have also been studies that prove that fake sugars like aspartame actually increases appetite. This has been proven since the 1990s. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/003193849090126O

    Try to move on to seltzers. I find that they are very good substitute. There's lots of flavors to try as well, and if you really need a sweet kick to it, you can always add some sweetened or juice to it, and work your way down.

    For the 20 people that were included in the study, I am sure the results were correct, but it is laughable to try and extrapolate and apply the results from 20 people to the other 8 billion people that live on the planet.

    Hunger responses are a very individual thing and for some, eating something that tastes sweet will drive their hunger, while others can eat sweet things and it doesn't cause any hunger or cravings (I personally fall into the latter category).

    It would be simple enough to test experimentally.

    compare reported hunger response after

    beverage
    Beverage+200 calories bread/saltine cracker
    +200 calories high fat protein(bacon)
    +200 calories low fat protein(grilled chicken breast)
    +200 calories cake/cookie
    +200 calories potato

    Over a period of several months, some sort of data should be forthcoming.

    That being said. I think it's most likely an emotional/psychological response and not physiological
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I switched to diet Dr Pepper and now I don’t even like regular soda at all. It’s way too sweet and “syrupy” or something. Also you could get flavored water.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Diet Dr Pepper and Coke Zero are my go-to's when I am craving something sweet. I never drink regular soda.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    juliamfu161 wrote: »
    I'd have to disagree. Fake sugar isn't horrible when it's paired with other starches, but it's really not good by itself. The fake sugars are not digested, but they will fool your body into thinking there is sugar coming on the way. And then your body starts making insulin when there isn't anything for it to do. Eventually your body will realize this and stop producing insulin, this is where the diabetes kicks in.

    I will say that if you're pairing your pops with your meals then it'll not be as bad as if you only drink it by itself. There have also been studies that prove that fake sugars like aspartame actually increases appetite. This has been proven since the 1990s. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/003193849090126O

    Try to move on to seltzers. I find that they are very good substitute. There's lots of flavors to try as well, and if you really need a sweet kick to it, you can always add some sweetened or juice to it, and work your way down.

    The bolded is verifiably false. Insulin is not produced based on how your food tastes. It is produced based on the level of glucose in your system. It would be silly for your body to work that way, there are in fact natural substances (like mint) which taste sweet but do not provide sugar that would have the same effect if that were true.

    And Type 2 diabetes does not involve your body no longer producing insulin. And the ADA suggests switching from regular to diet soda if you are diabetic.

    Some people seem to find artificial sweeteners increase appetite. I have never found that to be true, and in fact I find diet soda is very effective at taking care of times I am craving sweet or I'm just "snacky" but not hungry. It is not "proven" that fake sugars increase appetite, but yes there are some studies that suggest correlation. None prove a direct chemical causation, it is quite possible it's psychological or there is some other variable not being controlled.

    But yes, if you find artificial sweeteners make you hungry, you might want to avoid them.

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