Diet soda to fill you up?

sportybrewerschick
sportybrewerschick Posts: 170 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all! Do any of you drink diet soda just to keep you filled up? (Or any other carbonated drinks?) I usually do if I get hungry quite a bit before dinner or any other meals. I need to know if it is bad that I do that? Help?!

Replies

  • sarrylove
    sarrylove Posts: 88
    Not a good thing to choose for filling up mainly because there is no nutritional value to the soda so it is doing nothing for your body. Try instead eating small snacks between your meals.
  • stephyj528
    stephyj528 Posts: 93 Member
    its not bad however there are healthier things especially water..drink water before your meals and you will be fuller. also most grocery stores have club soda that you can put a few lemon/lime drops in like sprite except healthier.
  • ohmymyindia
    ohmymyindia Posts: 12
    I don't drink soda. I hate the taste of diet, plus it can have A LOT more sugar that the regular kinds. I drink water or unsweetend ice tea since it's about the same with just a little flavoring. You could try hibiscus tea, it's nice, and if you like it sweet all you need is about a half of a spelnda packet.
  • Freyja2023
    Freyja2023 Posts: 158 Member
    I don't think that is too bad, there is worst out there. I used to be totally hooked on pop, I gave all forms up for over 2 years, then fell off the wagon and started again. I decided that since I had restricted so many other things that I would keep my pop only I made the switch to diet. And now it feels like I am normal when everyone around me grabs a pop I can have one too :) I drink coke zero or sprite zero now days :)
  • GnochhiGnomes
    GnochhiGnomes Posts: 348 Member
    Diet sodas normally have no sugar at all....
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
    Blech. That will make you go all over the place. Caffiene as a filler means you are in the bathroom a lot. I'd rather have something healthier like flavored water, healthier soda (Blue Sky for example), or just some simple fruits & veggies for snack.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    It wouldn't be my first choice. If u want a carbonated drink to fill you up try carbonated mineral water. If you live in a larger city you can find it in eastern European delis.
  • lsegatti
    lsegatti Posts: 77 Member
    I reach for Flavored seltzer water when I want the texture of bubbles or to quench my thirst after a hot workout. It has no salt, no sugar and best of all zero calories!

    I consume very little to no food products with artificial sweeteners of any kind. There are some studies that prove they help you gain weight! ? But that is another whole discussion stream.
  • rwwerner
    rwwerner Posts: 42 Member
    From what I've read, Apartame that is in diet soda tricks your body into thinking it is getting real sugar in your blood stream and when it realizes that it doesn't have the glucose your body begins to crave sugar therefore causing you to eat everything in your cupboard. So yes it has no calories and will not have an affect on your weight gain, it does cause you to crave carbohydrates.
  • asaunders1981
    asaunders1981 Posts: 22
    I lost about 30 pounds a few years ago and diet pop was a big part of that, but the more I read about aspartame them more I avoid it like the plague. I have also read about the chemicals in other sweeteners, and also their tendency to actually increase the appetite and the desire for more sweets and sugar; I don't remember experiencing that but it's the chemicals I'm worried about now.
  • peachyxoxoxo
    peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
    The caffeine makes me have to go to the bathroom and the carbonation makes me feel bloated... not the good kind of full. I don't drink diet soda ever. Or regular soda. Good old water works for me. Or tea, if I want something flavored.
  • maroonmango211
    maroonmango211 Posts: 908 Member
    This really isn't the way to go to feel full. Sure it doesn't have sugar in it but it is a very processed drink to be putting in your body on a regular basis. As well pop of all kinds can really cause a great deal of bloating because of those little bubbles filling you up. Its great not to feel hungry all the time, but no one wants to be bloated all the time either. Like people say try drinking water more often as well as things like skim milk or reduced sugar juices. They may have more calories but they actually have stuff your body needs in them as well as are more substantial than water and can help give you that 'full' feeling.
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
    Hi all! Do any of you drink diet soda just to keep you filled up? (Or any other carbonated drinks?) I usually do if I get hungry quite a bit before dinner or any other meals. I need to know if it is bad that I do that? Help?!

    yes, i drink a lot of diet soda and decaf coffee.

    as for "bad," the risk involved is mainly reflux. it's popular to claim that soda is poison and that artificial sweeteners are only slightly preferable to arsenic, but peer-reviewed studies simply don't back the claim. pubmed is a great research tool, and there are many papers on this topic.

    the caveat about artificial sweeteners is that they are new enough that it is conceivable that there hasn't been enough chronic exposure to them to produce adverse health effects. however, we do know that obesity does have chronic adverse effects, so if you're trading obesity for diet soda, i'd consider that a decent trade.

    not to mention that if one was to have a vice, i can think of many vices far worse than diet soda. my advice is do what works for you, and keep an eye on pubmed for genuine, peer-reviewed studies on the subject. i would also encourage you to put little weight on the opinions expressed by non-scientists on "natural" blogs, or even on comments on a message board, including my own. there's an amazing scientific community out there, and this issue will be studied endlessly. if there's a danger, it will become readily apparent.
  • Nav976
    Nav976 Posts: 7 Member
    @GnochhiGnomes

    dude, where is your avatar from? thats sick :) I like it
  • estitom
    estitom Posts: 205 Member
    It fills me up, usually to the point of making me feel sick. I stick to water nowadays :P
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    I do! McDonald's 69 cent large sodas are my friends
  • smc1277
    smc1277 Posts: 239 Member
    I only drink diet soda if it has a few shots of Captain Morgan's in it. Other than that it is water and coffee
  • Leiki
    Leiki Posts: 526 Member
    I recommend drinking a cup of water, instead. If it doesn't help, try unsweetened, calorie free, herbal tea. I'm trying to get a flat tummy, and carbonation promotes bloat. I do indulge occasionally, though.
  • dzvinka82
    dzvinka82 Posts: 33
    I drink diet pepsi to keep me full/occupied between meals. Works for me.
  • Nav976
    Nav976 Posts: 7 Member
    Even artificial sugars are osmotically active.

    In other words they help you retain water.

    Also artificial sugars can desensitize your palette over time making you need/want more sugar in a meal to get the same sweet taste from it.


    So you would be better off drinking flavored water, or ideally teas.

    Now, in all honestly... I dont always follow that rule myself, but I know I should and I have managed to cut down a lot
  • Amryfal
    Amryfal Posts: 225
    i drink diet soda and don't crave everything in my cupboard. it helps with the sweet tooth. it has also helped me with portion control - if i snack, i have too much, or if i have just a little snack, it seems to kick-start my metabolism and make me think i need a whole meal.

    is it the healthiest thing in the world? no.

    is it better than grazing my way through the day until i don't have enough calories left at dinner to actually fill me up? yeah.

    *shrug* YMMV. to everyone who refuses to drink diet soda because it's bad for you - kudos.
  • bwelches
    bwelches Posts: 14 Member
    I found a better version of Soda Pop. It's called Rw Knudsen Strawberry Spritzer. It does have calories, but it's mainly filtered water and fruit juice. It satisfies my craving for Pop. It comes in different flavors. The chemicals in soda or diet soda are very bad for you. As a general rule, stay away from any food man made or altered by man. How can it be better for you than something unaltered from nature?
  • thebrianmo
    thebrianmo Posts: 108
    Hi all! Do any of you drink diet soda just to keep you filled up? (Or any other carbonated drinks?) I usually do if I get hungry quite a bit before dinner or any other meals. I need to know if it is bad that I do that? Help?!

    I haven't had any soda in quite sometime and I feel amazing for it. As a diabetic I would always have to drink the diet soda and the chemicals they put in that stuff can and will make you very ill. I had a long talk with my cardiologist about it and he recommended that I give it up completely because of the effects the chemicals have on my body and I have.

    Healthy snacks work, drink more water, or even try Crystal Light or Powerade Zero, Unsweet Iced tea, lots of better options for you if you're willing.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    To me, diet sodas are a rip off. You're paying for something that has no nutritional value. Not even a calorie to provide energy. Drink a regular soda and enjoy the calories.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    I don't think that sounds good..... I drink diet pop, but with my meals, not to replace some of them.....

Categories