Diet Soda; Weight Loss

schmi110
schmi110 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I just found out I'm pregnant *yayy!!*
But I weigh 274 lbs and feel very unhealthy...I know in my soul I AM!
I drink about 5-7 diet cokes caffeine free per day and am planning my goal to quit tonight!
I don't eat very unhealthy...just drink alot of calories via the pop (I know it says 0 calories but that's bs and we all know it!) So posing the question. If I drop all of the diet coke and replace it with water how much weight do you guys think I'll lose?
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Replies

  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    1. You should definitely speak with your OB-GYN before attempting to lose weight while pregnant. At your weight, it may be something that they advise is possible, but I don't want to make that assumption for them, as I am not a doctor.
    2. Diet soda does not contain any calories. Cutting it out in and of itself will not lose you any weight. You will only do that by eating less food. Now, there has been a fair bit of research correlating diet soda intake to obesity (I know that won't be popular here). Why is a subject of debate, but it is possible that for some, diet soda intake can increase food cravings. So if you stop drinking diet soda, and find that doing so makes it easier to eat less calories, then that change will benefit weight loss. But you can't just cut diet soda, eat the same amount of calories you have been eating, and hope that it will affect your weight. It won't.

    This is what I have always thought. I know for myself, personally, when I have something sweet it turns on my appetite.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    People believe diet soda causes weight gain because there was a study that people who drank diet soda where heavier. Of course, the media jumped all over it. Why were they heavier? Well, we know correlation is NOT causation. Where they drinking diet soda to help lose weight and were just heavier? Too much left up to questions. There is SOME question if the sweet taste drives sweet seeking food behavior, but that's really murky too...
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    schmi110 wrote: »
    So I just found out I'm pregnant *yayy!!*
    But I weigh 274 lbs and feel very unhealthy...I know in my soul I AM!
    I drink about 5-7 diet cokes caffeine free per day and am planning my goal to quit tonight!
    I don't eat very unhealthy...just drink alot of calories via the pop (I know it says 0 calories but that's bs and we all know it!) So posing the question. If I drop all of the diet coke and replace it with water how much weight do you guys think I'll lose?

    Dropping diet soda isn't going to result in dropping weight. Diet soda is zero calories or near zero calories. If it's less than 5 calories they can put 0 on the label. Even at 5 calories, you're looking at a mere 35 calories per day with 7 diet sodas...that's nowhere close to the 500 calorie deficit per day that you would need to lose roughly 1 Lb per week.

    Also, if you're pregnant you need to talk to your doctor about weight loss during pregnancy...it may or may not be appropriate. Either way, cutting diet soda isn't going to do it unless drinking diet soda makes you crave more food and with dropping diet soda, you also eat less food. But the diet soda in and of itself makes zero difference.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    edited October 2019
    Congratulations on your pregnancy!
    And hurray for you trying to eat healthier while you are pregnant!
    Your hormones are going to be on a roller coaster for the next year or so. Put on your seat belt and get ready!
    You may be starving for a week or a month, then the thought of food may make you sick for a week or a month.
    Your weight may reflect it.
    Enjoy the ride!
    And the reward!
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    schmi110 wrote: »
    So I just found out I'm pregnant *yayy!!*
    But I weigh 274 lbs and feel very unhealthy...I know in my soul I AM!
    I drink about 5-7 diet cokes caffeine free per day and am planning my goal to quit tonight!
    I don't eat very unhealthy...just drink alot of calories via the pop (I know it says 0 calories but that's bs and we all know it!) So posing the question. If I drop all of the diet coke and replace it with water how much weight do you guys think I'll lose?

    Education is your best friend, and it sounds like you would benefit with the information available in the sticky posts at the top of each forum here. Getting started is a great place to start. That is where I got my start in eating smarter.

    Here at MFP is a wealth of information that is being used successfully by a lot of people. It helps to leave current thinking at the door and taking a fresh eye to the info presented.

    Calories in Calories out - that is the common thread you are going to hear and read. Believe it, It's true.

    cutting out 6 calories a day by switching from diet coke to water is NOT going to be enough calorie deficit to make a difference.

    Weighing and logging the food you eat for a few weeks WILL give you the data you need about your habits that will allow you to see where you can change eating habits in a way that will make a difference.

    there are no shortcuts. it's a lifetime committment that starts right now, not tonight, not tomorrow, not after that bag of cookies is gone.

    I have to recommit to myself every single day, and i've been logging food here for over a year now. If I stop logging, I start gaining.

    good luck.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    edited October 2019
    psychod787 wrote: »
    People believe diet soda causes weight gain because there was a study that people who drank diet soda where heavier. Of course, the media jumped all over it. Why were they heavier? Well, we know correlation is NOT causation. Where they drinking diet soda to help lose weight and were just heavier? Too much left up to questions. There is SOME question if the sweet taste drives sweet seeking food behavior, but that's really murky too...

    My personal reason for drinking diet pop, was because I like the taste better than regular pop. Regular pop tastes really sweet to me. Besides, if I drank regular pop (especially with the amount I used to drink), I would have weighed even more. It certainly didn’t make me crave sweets any more than any other food. I ate too much of all the foods I love.

    No one gains weight because they consume diet beverages. We gain weight from eating more calories than our bodies burn. Even if you drank 24/12-oz cans per day, it doesn’t add up to enough calories to gain excessive amounts of weight.
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 849 Member
    Sorry what everyone has written is true. Diet Coke did not make you gain weight. Now if you were eating something along with the Diet Cokes that could be the culprit.

    A couple of suggestions.
    Talk to your OB/GYNE ask now for a refferal to a Dietician. So that you can learn about a healthy good plan to follow while you are carrying that baby. And follow it. DO NOT listen to what other people tell you to do.
    The plan most likely will be for you to gain very little weight while carrying the baby.
    I was obese, when I was carrying my daughter and gained a total of 6 lbs. And she was normal weight and length.
    Being obese, you run a higher risk of getting gestional diabetes, so expect to potentially get tested for that. I know for me, they tested two different times. And I did have it.
    Good Luck during this exciting time of your life!!
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    Did you get dietary recommendations from your doctor?

    My baby is 30, so I don't know what current thinking is, but back then, the NO list during pregnancy and breastfeeding included both caffeine and artificial sweeteners.

    So, while it won't change your caloric intake, giving up diet Coke for the next 9 or more months is probably a good plan. Ask your doc!
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,129 Member
    I drank Diet Coke all the time during pregnancy. Baby is fine
  • AmyG1982
    AmyG1982 Posts: 1,040 Member
    Congrats! I just had my second baby, my starting weight was 234 and my ending weight was 231... I ended up being diagnosed with gestational diabetes which was luckily controlled by diet. My doctors were very happy with my weight loss and I truly believe following the GD diet saved me gaining 40lbs like I did with my first (and my recovery was way easier this time!) definitely talk to your dr but I’d recommend following a GD diet if you can stomach it (the first trimester I totally believe anything goes lol just do what you can to get through it).

    As for the coke, I’d suggest cutting down just cuz of the caffeine but it won’t affect your weight.

    Good luck!
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Diet coke has zero calories. It is not bs. You may have reasons to stop drinking it, but losing weight shouldn't be one of them.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    Going to play devils advocate here. Diet Soda does have more sodium then water. Sodium can make you retain water weight, so technically, if you reduce your sodium intake by cutting out diet soda and switch to water, you will lose weight........water weight.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    nytrifisoul wrote: »
    Going to play devils advocate here. Diet Soda does have more sodium then water. Sodium can make you retain water weight, so technically, if you reduce your sodium intake by cutting out diet soda and switch to water, you will lose weight........water weight.

    Except that when people say "weight loss," they nearly always mean fat loss. Your post implies that you know OP doesn't mean water weight loss. We see a lot of people here who get very anxious about normal water weight fluctuations, sometimes to an unhealthy extent, so I would discourage putting the focus on water weight when that's not what is being discussed.

    The devil has plenty of advocates already and does not need any more.

    Ok serious sally, my bad.I'll duck out now.

  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    boldknee wrote: »
    Did you get dietary recommendations from your doctor?

    My baby is 30, so I don't know what current thinking is, but back then, the NO list during pregnancy and breastfeeding included both caffeine and artificial sweeteners.

    So, while it won't change your caloric intake, giving up diet Coke for the next 9 or more months is probably a good plan. Ask your doc!

    Well, after all the disagrees, I had to go look! Seems like caffeine is still a no (or should at least be very limited), but nobody says to avoid artificial sweeteners any more. Interesting! I wonder when it changed.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,279 Member


    I highly doubt that drinking a small amount of coffee or caffeine containing drinks is a problem in pregnancy

    However OP did specify that she drinks caffeine free version so that wouldnt be an issue here - if it even is an issue.
  • JPyles1980
    JPyles1980 Posts: 1 Member
    Soda actually leads to dehydration as well so swapping from soda to water only quite possibly will lead to weight gain as tour body absorbs the water it's not use to recieving on a regular basis.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    JPyles1980 wrote: »
    Soda actually leads to dehydration as well so swapping from soda to water only quite possibly will lead to weight gain as tour body absorbs the water it's not use to recieving on a regular basis.
    JPyles1980 wrote: »
    Soda actually leads to dehydration as well so swapping from soda to water only quite possibly will lead to weight gain as tour body absorbs the water it's not use to recieving on a regular basis.

    nooo... not enough sodium or caffeine in diet soda to get the diuretic effects.

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