Water - How essential? Diet soda bad?

Options
pinksugarchef
pinksugarchef Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
:smokin: How important do you think water is for weight loss?
And do you think diet sodas or coffee slow weight loss?
«13

Replies

  • cliffpape
    cliffpape Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    Water is very important! Diet sodas and/or coffee do not slow weight loss; however, people love to debate the topic. LOL
  • sherim71
    sherim71 Posts: 130 Member
    Options
    I once read that if you drink cold water, your body has to heat it up to use it, thus using calories to heat it up. Also drinking water helps your body to shed any water it is retaining from water retention due to salt intake. Personally for me, too much diet cola causes my hands to swell. I have to assume it probably causes the rest of my body to swell as well.
  • Briaboo4
    Briaboo4 Posts: 1,080 Member
    Options
    I'll let someone with more knowledge fully answer your questions, but I do know that diet sodas have artificial sweeteners (among other artificial ingredients) which are bad for you.
  • Teko03
    Teko03 Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    Diet sodas are alternatives to regular sodas, not water replacements. The only thing to to use for water is water.
  • pinksugarchef
    pinksugarchef Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    Oh thanks for the comments. Yeah, I still never get that when people say to drink water to shed water from water retention.
    Why would drinking water help shed water? Wouldnt it just replace the water that is there? Or even add more water?
    Is it because more water will help shed the salt that retains the water?
  • afewextra
    afewextra Posts: 10
    Options
    as a used to be 200 lb girl I lost 50 pounds cutting out soda entirely from my life... I am now a50lbs and maintaining and have been soda free for 6 years... VERY important!!!!
  • afewextra
    afewextra Posts: 10
    Options
    as a used to be 200 lb girl I lost 50 pounds cutting out soda entirely from my life... I am now a50lbs and maintaining and have been soda free for 6 years... VERY important!!!!
    [/quote I meant to type 150lbs instead of a50 lol :D
  • madamepsychosis
    madamepsychosis Posts: 472 Member
    Options
    There are huge debates on this, but I've personally found water to be very beneficial to my weight loss for a number of reasons:
    1) It's calorie free! I can drink as much as I want without having to log it.
    2) When I'm properly hydrated, I can exercise for much longer. More exercise = more calories burned.
    3) A lot of the time when you think you're hungry, you're actually dehydrated. Since I've started carrying a bottle of water with me all the time, I find myself wanting to snack so much less. Likewise, if I get cravings for foods I know I don't need, a cold drink of water usually does the trick.
    4) If I've gone over on sodium or I'm carrying water weight from my period, I know my good old water bottle will get rid of the water retention in no time.

    Also, as an unrelated to weight loss bonus, I have very nice skin. It's seriously never looked clearer since I started paying attention to how much water I drink.

    There are lots of people who don't track their water, or who will count coffee and diet sodas in their intake who can give you their reasons why. This is just what I've found works for me :)
  • madamepsychosis
    madamepsychosis Posts: 472 Member
    Options
    Oh thanks for the comments. Yeah, I still never get that when people say to drink water to shed water from water retention.
    Why would drinking water help shed water? Wouldnt it just replace the water that is there? Or even add more water?
    Is it because more water will help shed the salt that retains the water?

    Think of it this way: if you're dehydrated, you're not putting enough water into your body. If you're not getting enough water, your body will retain the water that's already there. When you start hydrating your body again, it will get rid of the unnecessary water. It's basically for the same reason people tell you not to eat too few calories, because that makes your body go into starvation mode and hold onto everything it can.
  • grimm1974
    grimm1974 Posts: 337 Member
    Options
    Water helps get rid of water because it gets rid of the sodium that retains water. There are a lot of reasons to drink a lot of water. Most have already been discussed.
  • TheChocolatePrincess
    TheChocolatePrincess Posts: 137 Member
    Options
    I read somewhere that the artificial sweetner in Diet Soda actually makes you hungry. I haven't really drank soda since I was 11 years old so I can't say I know that to be true or false based on experience, but I have heard things about it contributing to weight gain.
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,139 Member
    Options
    I once read that if you drink cold water, your body has to heat it up to use it, thus using calories to heat it up. Also drinking water helps your body to shed any water it is retaining from water retention due to salt intake. Personally for me, too much diet cola causes my hands to swell. I have to assume it probably causes the rest of my body to swell as well.

    The dr here at work told me that exact same thing about cold water
  • dg09
    dg09 Posts: 754
    Options
    Water is very important! Diet sodas and/or coffee do not slow weight loss; however, people love to debate the topic. LOL

    Exactly right on everything, end of thread.
  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
    Options
    You retain water when you are dehydrated because your water is storing it for when it really really needs it. If you drink enough water, it will flush the water out more often because it recognises that it's being hydrated and doesn't need to store it up.

    Drinking water is important for a number of reasons. When you're losing fat, you need to get rid of the toxins stored in the fat, and water helps.
  • sevesmith
    sevesmith Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    I would have to agree with you, it's the salt that the extra water is helping flush out.
  • DeanneLea
    DeanneLea Posts: 261
    Options
    I think water is very important. Diet soda has never effected my weight loss and I still love it. I just make sure I'm getting the right amount of water in too though.
  • JennaM222
    JennaM222 Posts: 1,996 Member
    Options
    yes yes TONS of water! Ice cold water aldo is great in the AM to get your blood flowing or before a work out.

    I love my diet pepsi, and it hasnt mutated, casued cancer, or attacked my embrios yet.
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    Options
    water=life. your body is made up of a lot of it, you lose it when you sweat among other things and it helps keep your organs functionally properly

    coffee (black) is good

    diet soda is not good for health but won't impede your weight loss progress.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    Options
    Water = GOOD!

    I have no knowledge regarding how good or bad diet sodas are. But, when I kicked the Coke habit I kicked the soda habit entirely!

    With the small exception of plain old soda water with a piece of lemon.

    Too each their own but as my Dad used to say "In for a penny, in for a pound".
  • thebuz
    thebuz Posts: 221 Member
    Options
    Diet soda is extremely high in sodium. High salt intake = water retention. Water retention = added weight.

Categories