Ex diet soda drinkers...

Anybody that used to drink diet soda at the begining of their weight loss journey, and then stopped completely at some point during their journey, did you notice any difference in the amount of weight you would lose at any given time?

I keep hearing all the reasons diet soda is bad, it tricks your body, it make you want to make up those calories in other ways, artificial sweeteners cause cancer....etc.

I'm just wondering, since I still drink my 1-2 cans of diet soda (diet pepsi, diet a&w root beer, diet rite, etc) per day.......and am almost always under my calorie goal, do you think that it would really change my weight loss it I were to cut out those 1-2 cans a day and still keep with my calorie counting...? I can do it......but it's one of my 'addictions' and I've given up so many others, I don't know if I'm ready yet...... I guess I'm looking for somebody to give me the benefits of cutting it out all together.


Sorry for all of the rambling....be glad you aren't standing here in person and me asking you the same thing.....I have a strange way of confusing people with the simplest of questions LOL

The only benefit fir me is fewer digestive issues; considerably less gas & bloating.

Soda, diet or not, has a lot of sodium, which retains water as well.

No, it doesn't. This 20 oz bottle I am drinking has 70 mg.

if you throw back several a day and pair it with a salty meal, it adds up. Sodium also exacerbates thirst

Not to be rude, but what's your point? I don't throw back several a day and the salty meal would still be salty regardless of the small amount of sodium in the soda I drank with it.

I love how when people are being rude, they say "not to be rude"
My point is do what you want, just most people are not aware of what they are doing to themselves. Not necessarily people on here, I am just saying education is a good idea about foods and beverages. I am not trying to diss anyone's choices, I am just saying sodium in diet soda can add up especially when people are not paying attention. Also, I never said that this makes diet soda a "high sodium" food. Sheesh.

Gave up diet soda "cold turkey" about 10 years ago due to severe migraines. The aspartame in the soda was the trigger for them. I really do not miss it. I drink water (at least 10 cups a day) and unsweetened iced tea. Also, once I started reading about what the aspartame can do, I was glad I had stopped. It appears that aspartame is converted to methanol (wood alcohol) produced by the metabolism of the aspartame which is absorbed and quickly converted into formaldehyde. Now your body does get rid of it, but just the thought of it make be glad I no longer ingest it.

Regarding the retention of water, it is the caffeine which causes this (of course the level of sodium might not help either). Once you drink the caffeine your body expels the water in your body but then it thinks you are becoming dehydrated and will start to hold on to the liquids you put into it. Thus, the retention of water (fluid).

change your weight loss maybe/ maybe not, make you healthier yes. I quit all sodas months ago. They do nothing but harm to the body and give nothing to it. from my experience, its not worth the taste people are addicted to. I feel better since I stopped drinking sodas and have seen steady weight loss after giving up all other sugary drinks and stuff . You can loose weight while drinking sodas if that is your main concern.

I quit diet sodas completely mostly because of the ingredients. Aspartame being the ugliest. All kinds of potential health related issues. There's a reason why it's original form (NutraSweet) was pulled from the market.

I'm also a diabetic, so I have other incentives to cut out the artificial sweeteners as well.

could you provide links for evidence on what makes aspertame ugly?

I used to drink 4-5 Diet Cokes a day. I quit the day I decided to get healthy. Not lose weight, get healthy. There is nothing healthy about pop. I never looked back. People drink it around me from time to time and I have not probelm with it. I never thought that I could do it. I sleep better (more deeply) and the pain in my muscles is now from hard cardio and strength training not form Aspertame in my system. I will never drink it again and I won't miss it. My daughters both quit drinking it 6 and 7 years ago and are much happier that they stopped.

This has been an interesting thread to read. I switched to diet soda thinking it was a better choice ...I love cola. Just the sound of the bottle opening makes my mouth water. but then I found that my asthma was out of control. I already watch what additives my kids eat, esp msg and preservatives. what I didnt know was that preservatives set off my asthma and combined with artificial sweetners ( any) and I could hardly breathe!

I also notoced a significant mood swing after drinking cola, any - very irritable and grumpy.

I figure through my own experience I was reacting to sugar overload.

I rarely have any soda now. If i do it would be full sugar variety, but only Schweppes lemonade is preservative free.

In NZ and aussie there is an interesting book
- fed up with food additives- which shows what effect additives and preservatives can have. Not everyone reacts, but it sure is interesting reading. There is a website too, I think it is Fedup.com

I few years ago I found myself dring 2 or 3 32 ounce cups of diet pop each and every day. Like you I had heard random theroies about diet pop causing weight gain, fooling your body into releasing insulin, bloat, and people dixolving nails in diet cola, and what it might be doing to me. I decided to give up diet pop for lent (6 or 7 weeks). I'm not particularly religious, but used the opportunity for my own well being and as a test. I substituted milk, water, lemonade (real sugar), iced tea (straight - no sweetener or sugar).

I did NOT lose OR gain weight as a result of eliminating diet pop from my diet.

I did notice other changes. I no longer needed 3 refills on my drink in restaurants. I didn't have to make as many trips to the restroom. I wasn't thirsty all the time, in other words, I was better hydrated even though I drank less fluid.

I do drink diet pop now, but I have never returned to the huge amount I drank before. One is enough. Tea, water, milk, juice and even coffee have been shown to have beneficial effects, when taken moderately. I have never seen an article about the healthy benefits of diet pop. The only thing diet pop has going for it is no calories.

Soda, diet or not, has a lot of sodium, which retains water as well.

No, it doesn't. This 20 oz bottle I am drinking has 70 mg.

if you throw back several a day and pair it with a salty meal, it adds up. Sodium also exacerbates thirst

Not to be rude, but what's your point? I don't throw back several a day and the salty meal would still be salty regardless of the small amount of sodium in the soda I drank with it.

I love how when people are being rude, they say "not to be rude"
My point is do what you want, just most people are not aware of what they are doing to themselves. Not necessarily people on here, I am just saying education is a good idea about foods and beverages. I am not trying to diss anyone's choices, I am just saying sodium in diet soda can add up especially when people are not paying attention. Also, I never said that this makes diet soda a "high sodium" food. Sheesh.

I wasn't being rude. I genuinely wanted to figure out what you were trying to say. But since YOU were rude, allow me to spell it out for you. You made no sense.

I went from 3 or 4 cans a day to 0... and I've actually gained weight... I drink water...like 100oz per day... and am still gaining... very annoyed by this... because I would understand if I went from drinking a 0 cal drink to like juice or milk that has like 100 cals per serving...but I went to water... Maybe my body is protesting because it wants the DC back... not sure, but since I am already past the headache stage, I'm not going to ever go back to diet coke! It was totally a one-sided relationship!