Calling former Diet Coke Addicts

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  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    I am trying to cut back on Diet Coke in particular and artificial sweetners in general. Is there anyone out there who did this and saw more success in their weight loss because of it? Anyone who did it and saw no changes? I've read about effects of sweetners but am looking for real life stories.

    Sue

    My office is stocked with free soda, so I used to go through about 6-8 cans a day, mostly for the energy kick. Now that I've cut back tremendously (maybe one can a week), I actually feel like I have more energy AND I'm more likely to drink enough water throughout the day. Direct effects on weight loss? I don't know, but I know that the energy and the water intake make it easier for me to work out harder and longer, which is helping me with losing weight.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    Hubby is a Diet Pepsi lover and as a result it keeps him thin b/c then he doesn't eat wasteful snacking cals so I am all for it!

    You need to have some vice in your life, he eats a ton of veggies, almost never has a beer (max 1x a month at a restaurant), only eats lean meet so he drink's 3 DP’s a day and it's no big deal since they are .25 cents a can on sale and loves his life b/c DP is in it - oh yea, and me! :)
  • _Rainbow_
    _Rainbow_ Posts: 9
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    Cokeaholic here. I found that by cutting back, my belly was not bloated so that it was flatter. Can't give it up entirely though. Just love the stuff.
    :drinker:
  • mrdalton
    mrdalton Posts: 97
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    I used to drink 7-12 diet cokes a day. No ****. My friends would make fun of how fast I would down them and the poor waitresses that couldnt keep up on my refills. I always figured no harm because there really isnt anything in it and no calories. I have since cut it back down to one a day. Now it is like a special treat. I still freakin love the taste.

    I have not seen any difference in my weight loss journey by cutting back. I also dont feel any different. Maybe more tierd because of the lack of caffine I am getting. My focus now is more on drinking eight glasses of water a day. Which I can do pretty successfully.

    You know the biggest difference may be the snacks that came with the diet cokes. I would stop at Speedway to get a diet coke in the morning on my way to work and grab 3 donuts with it. Go through McDonalds to get a diet coke and grab a large fry. Now all that has stopped. Havnt had a donut in 6 months.

    Do I miss it? YES. Can I tell any difference in weight or mood? NO. But overall I know it is a healthy decision.

    Do what works for you. :) Best of luck.
  • diane423
    diane423 Posts: 48
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    i love diet coke its my absolute favorite, and splenda is the best i find as long as its in moderation its not unhealthy for me...but i did want to cut it out and have a little less of it all i have now is crystal light maybe once a day and other than that just water. you can do it just see if it works for you. maybe cut out 1 or half of what your having to start and see if that helps
    [/quo


    I love splenda and we only drink crystal light at home... I am also a Diet Coke jun kie but since i cut down im not as bloated as before...
  • jendra11339
    jendra11339 Posts: 32
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    I used to drink at least a can a day. I would always grab one every time I left the house, so I would have somthing cold to drink in the car. Now, I only have it when I go to movies.
    I have a reusable platic cup with a lid and straw that I fill up with ice water all the time. Drinking more water has really helped with weight lose, not sure about the less soda part. Plus, no guilt about using a plastic bottle.
  • Blueberry09
    Blueberry09 Posts: 821 Member
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    I don't drink a lot of it at home anymore but it is my drink of choice when at a restaurant. I was never one of those that had to get their sugar elsewhere or got my caffeine hit from it but I really do enjoy the taste.

    I wonder how much of a difference there is drinking it straight from the can or bottle than fountain pop you'd get at a restaurant, watered down with ice.
  • waylonthornton
    waylonthornton Posts: 40 Member
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    I quit totally cold turkey probably 2 months ago and have been drinking only water (fat free milk when I have cereal) and I can totally tell a difference in the way I feel. Cutting back on that added sodium is I think what made the biggest change.

    It hasn't necessarily made it any easier or harder to lose, but I honestly feel like I have more energy!

    Edit: Also cutting the caffeine out of my diet probably has something to do with it. I would get caffeine headaches if I didn't have some sort of soda once a day.
  • IndyDi
    IndyDi Posts: 1
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    I ,too, was a Diet Coke addict. I was easily downing 4-6 a day. Switched to Diet Rite to get rid of the aspartame. Now I stopped drinking sodas completely. Water, occasional lemonade, coffee in the am and a glass of sweet tea in the evening. Going off DC was HARD! I had headaches, cravings, ugh! No such problems when I stopped the DR. I believe sodas are bad for you because they are replacing you drinking water that you NEED with a junk food that you WANT. . My husband and son still have soda, but not nearly as often, and now the money to pay for it comes out of the entertainment budget, not the food budget.
    BTW, when my husband went through diabetic classes, they said the three most addictive things in our culture are cigarettes, Pepsi, and Diet Coke. Weird, huh?
  • louise_608
    louise_608 Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm trying to cut back on drinking fizzy drinks and every time I feel the urge to drink one at the moment I watch this advert

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4t8zL6F0c

    it definitely makes me think twice before going to buy a fizzy drink or pouring myself one. I often just end up having a glass of water. I've only been doing it for a few days so not sure if it will help me lose weight or not but time will tell.
  • Paddy31
    Paddy31 Posts: 115 Member
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    I was also in a free nutrition seminar at my gym and they told us about a study - long story short, our bodies don't know what to do with aspartame, and it therefore just stays in your body - NOTHING comes out when you sweat, go to the bathroom etc...

    This is not correct. Aspartame is metabolised into a variety of compounds including methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. These are dealt with by the body as they are amino-acids or alcohols which for part of a natural diet.

    I think this story came from an internet/email hoax in the mid nineties and loads of fitness professionals say this. I've been to a seminar where the speaker said the same thing.
  • feydruss
    feydruss Posts: 349 Member
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    I love the stuff, but find that it works as a kind of trigger for me to eat badly (don't know if this reaction is physiological or psychological). If I have it, I want junk food or salty stuff as well, which I then would rationalize by telling myself my beverage had no calories, so it was okay to have that Big Mac. LOL.

    Now it's an occasional treat, and only if I'm in a situation where I can't get anything else (like a small bottle in the car with me where there's nothing else to eat). And certainly weight is coming off faster...
  • mikeyml
    mikeyml Posts: 568 Member
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    Before I started, I used to drink 2-3 24 oz diet cokes while at work and then maybe 1-2 cans when I got home from work. I've never had a problem with diet sodas giving me cravings to eat more or sweet things. But, I don't feel as hydrated when I drink only soda. For the last 8 months I've limited my diet soda intake to no more than 1 a day and the rest of the time I drink water, tea or milk. I can't say it's helped me with weight loss, but I do feel better after drinking water. I couldn't imagine chugging diet soda after a hard workout at the gym or first thing in the morning. I will say this though, I did cut it out completely for about 3 weeks and I felt zero change. At this point, I'm drinking about 2-3 sodas a week and my body seems fine with that.
  • Vegan_Chick
    Vegan_Chick Posts: 474 Member
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    I was also in a free nutrition seminar at my gym and they told us about a study - long story short, our bodies don't know what to do with aspartame, and it therefore just stays in your body - NOTHING comes out when you sweat, go to the bathroom etc...

    This is not correct. Aspartame is metabolised into a variety of compounds including methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. These are dealt with by the body as they are amino-acids or alcohols which for part of a natural diet.

    I think this story came from an internet/email hoax in the mid nineties and loads of fitness professionals say this. I've been to a seminar where the speaker said the same thing.
    Don't forget formaldehyde, well the methanol can be converted into formaldehyde somehow. I'm no expert but that does not sound like something that will go into my body. Never again, hopefully!
  • avimoo
    avimoo Posts: 67 Member
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    i drink about 8 glasses of diet coke every day and i have lost 33 pounds.
  • kwinty37
    kwinty37 Posts: 66
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    I haven't had any soda since April! I have at least one black coffee in the morning, sometimes a latte. The caffeine gets me going. I do mainly water( plain water or propel zero).... sometimes juice or unsweet tea. The main difference I can tell with my body is that i am not as bloated from drinking so much soda.... At one point in time I was drinking at least a 2liter a day!!! I just started my diet hard core this Monday. I am hoping since I cut soda... that a healthy diet will now allow me to drop a few pounds quicker!
  • Paddy31
    Paddy31 Posts: 115 Member
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    Don't forget formaldehyde, well the methanol can be converted into formaldehyde somehow. I'm no expert but that does not sound like something that will go into my body. Never again, hopefully!

    Formaldehyde is a normal metabolite of many foods. It lasts about 2 minutes in a healthy body.
  • AScarbrough19
    AScarbrough19 Posts: 125 Member
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    I was a total diet coke addict. Drank it morning, noon and night. I gave it up cold turkey over 2 years ago. I was at a weight loss plateu at the time and I attribute a 10 lb loss to giving it up! Know I try it on occassion and do not like the taste of it. It's hard to imagine that I drank close to 12 cans a day.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I probably have 6/day. I really need to kick it.
  • Vegan_Chick
    Vegan_Chick Posts: 474 Member
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    Don't forget formaldehyde, well the methanol can be converted into formaldehyde somehow. I'm no expert but that does not sound like something that will go into my body. Never again, hopefully!

    Formaldehyde is a normal metabolite of many foods. It lasts about 2 minutes in a healthy body.
    I would never have thought that is a normal process in the body. What other foods? I am curious if you know.

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