diet soda or no diet soda

I gave up drinking diet (only, never liked sugar pop) sodas in April.... I was hooked on Diet Mt Dew, and the sodium was giving me high blood pressure (along with other things)....

I drink one for a treat now and again, but I am a bottled water girl now..

The difference in mood for me is notable.. (a better one)

So I want to hear your thoughts on diet drinks. I hear they are horrible for you and actually can cause you to gain weight. Yet, I don't smoke or anything and feel that I should be allowed a vice. I don't go overboard with them, maybe 3 or 4 a week, but if they are really sabotaging my efforts then I need to cut them out.

Everything in moderation. They are zero calories so it would be impossible for them, ALONE, to cause weight gain.

your "scientific" source, dr. harriet hall is nothing more than an old retired air force surgeon (the 1st woman to be that incidentally, but still a government employee her entire career) who received her medical education back in the dark ages and now spends her time being an internet media *kitten* blogging against everything that alternative medicine or clean eating has to offer. she is NOT a scientist, she has NEVER published one peer reviewed scientific paper herself and she is adored by those who love the fact that she can dazzle them with a few turns of terminology over their head, as the letters MD after her name and throws in a few links to support her view (not hard in this day and age- we can all find hundreds of links to back WHATEVER our view is on anything- simple logic works better sometimes) in her blogs attempting to pick apart anything outside of her extremely dated knowledge base. she is a favorite among certain groups of people because she writes blank checks to co-sign their bullsh*t and they get to quote her so nicely.

If you read the article, studies weren't only done by Hall. I also quoted EFSA and Ramazzini Foundation. Are they unreliable too?

can you honestly sit there and look at your McRib (from another thread) and diet coke lunch and think it is good for you?

Yes. I make a smiley face when I eat them and drink them. Feel good place.

there IS a difference between looking healthy and actually being healthy.

Only if you're not healthy.

i like my foods and drinks to have one or two ingredients not a long list of highly questionable man-made artificial ones with controversial backgrounds. a truly healthy eater does not have to defend what they are consuming.there is no Great Hummus Debate that gives you tons of google hits with titles like "hummus kills" "hummus -so very bad for you", lol. folks look at what you eat and drink- if it doesn't feel right then google it. if there are too many negative links associated w/ that product or ingredient then perhaps you do not want to be eating/drinking that product. what i'm saying is do your own research, use your own brain and don't take anyone's word that backs up simply what you want them to back up. like if i told you that just one little line of cocaine a day will produce great weight loss and threw in a few links about how it is plant based and how it has been used for centuries blah blah- would you believe me or would your logic step in and dismiss that? my logic tells me that diet soda is not a product that anyone in search of true healthy living should be consuming.

I've done my research. I've also lived my research. 40+ years of eating Mcdonald's and no issues. Not one. Same with diet soda. If your choice is to live as "healthy" as possible and eat nothing but natural foods, then have at it. I eat what I want in moderation (especially the high saturated fatty foods of my culture) and enjoy it. Health to me is about living a life with fun and happiness, not eating natural whole foods for the rest of my life. Unhappiness isn't being healthy.

how can you claim to have studied nutrition for 20 years like your sig line claims and support these products here? diet sodas? McDonald's?
isn't this site called MyFitnessPal- doesn't the word 'fitness' imply health? doesn't the word health imply consuming foods that are actually good for your body not harming it? you are very active on this site and i have no doubt that you are a great trainer in the gym w/ plenty of knowledge..... but nutritional expert? whoa! i have to seriously challenge that in your sig line if (and i'm fairly new to this site) i keep finding you supporting products that are the absolute antithesis of good nutritional eating. sorry.

I've made no claims to being a nutritional expert. In fact I've even stated that most trainers aren't qualified to teach it. You seem to think that I'm an expert when no such claims have been made. I just post scientific information to back claims I make.

sure you've heard the medical saying "do no harm" and i'm sure you have a following of people here. take a minute to think about that before firing off an angry reply. i'm sorry if it seems like i'm attacking you but you stepped into the line of fire with your fervent support of products that anyone's simple logic tells them are not healthy.
nobody eats perfectly, everyone has at least one guilty pleasure, but it is crucial for everyone to at least admit to yourselves that what you are consuming isn't healthy. i far more respect someone that says "yeah i drink a diet soda a day- i know it isn't good, but i really really like it. maybe when i hit my goal weight i'll give it up" than someone that says they drink it and there ain't a damn thing wrong w/ that and i have links to "prove" it. . see the difference?

Where in this thread, or any thread about Mcdonald's and diet soda have I claimed they are healthy? NONE. You are implying that's what I've said when it's not true. I've stated over and over and over and over again, get in your essentials (protein, carbs, fats) vitamins and minerals, water, etc. and anything else you eat should be fine as long as you stay in calorie limits.
Don't need the "health police" to tell people they know what's bad for them. They know.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

If you are posting this because you are worried about it because you are feeling some side effects from the diet soda, then try to go without it. If you are posting because you personally believe that artificial sweeteners are unhealthy, then stop drinking it. I don't like the way it tastes and I don't like the way I feel when I drink it. I don't think everyone has the same reaction I do to it. There are much worse things you could be drinking and if it is something that makes you happy, keep doing it.

Everything in moderation. They are zero calories so it would be impossible for them, ALONE, to cause weight gain.

Yes, everything in moderation. Except child porn. None of that, thanks.

Everything in moderation. They are zero calories so it would be impossible for them, ALONE, to cause weight gain.

Yes, everything in moderation. Except child porn. None of that, thanks.

^ agreed, lol

I used to drink a lot of diet soda. I actually now prefer crystal light, the pomegranate is super delicious.

Diet soda is just as bad for you as full flavor. All your body really wants is water. I drink water allll day long. I also drink unsweetened soy milk at breakfast, black coffee, and sometimes... green tea, and an occasional beer. That's it for me!

Diet soda is just as bad for you as full flavor.

There's a huge difference in calorie consumption. 0 vs 120 calories a can is significant. I can drink 2 cans of Diet Pepsi or 2 cans of Regular Pepsi.............240 calories has to come somewhere from my intake which means I give something up or go work out another half hour.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I don't care what anyone else says when it comes to this... I lost 42 lbs (granted, I'm only half way to my GW) while drinking diet soda fairly religiously. Of course, water is better for you. And soda can dehydrate. So use common sense. If you drink soda, up your water intake a bit.

If you like it, drink it.

I drink them, but I don't let it interfere with drinking water.

Diet soda may not have the calories, but you have to ask yourself "Why?". It has been chemically altered to be diet.

I would encourage you to research splenda, aspartame, and other artificial sweeteners. They can do corrosive damage to your body over years and in general are not good for you. Hence the artificial part. If you are wanting to lose weight by having healthy eating habits then I would say absolutely "no" to diet drinks or anything with artificial sweeteners. But in the end it comes down to personal preference.

Agree

I use to drink 3 cans a day of diet coke. I cut back per dentist request and now I have 1 only if we go out to dinner. Try to stick with water myself since I struggle to get enough daily.

Diet soda may not have the calories, but you have to ask yourself "Why?". It has been chemically altered to be diet.

I would encourage you to research splenda, aspartame, and other artificial sweeteners. They can do corrosive damage to your body over years and in general are not good for you. Hence the artificial part. If you are wanting to lose weight by having healthy eating habits then I would say absolutely "no" to diet drinks or anything with artificial sweeteners. But in the end it comes down to personal preference.

Why? Because it tastes good and it's a break from water. There isn't evidence to show that the current use of artificial sweetners are the cause of people's health demises. People are more likely to get sick from eating bad fish, then from drinking diet soda.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

No argument there, but to correlate getting gas as being "bad" from soda should apply to anything that makes you get gas "bad" was the point.

But I always hate that strategy in an argument. It's a poor comparison. We don't examine things in a "good" or "bad" vacuum. We weigh or choices in a risk versus benefit analysis.

Diet soda has more bad effects on the body than it has benefits. That's reality.

If you can't avoid regular soda without going diet, then maybe you should substitute. If you just LOVE the taste of it, then have it as a treat.

Will it kill you? Probably not. Will it make you gain a hundred pounds? Doubtful. But what good will come of it? Probably very little...

Thats my opinion anyhow. I'm biased though, because I hate the taste