I drink my 8 glasses of water ( sometimes up to 11 or 12 ) ... but I'm curious, if I want to have a can of soda once in a while ... it is better to drink a regular can of soda and count the calories or drink a can of diet soda with no calories.
I heard lots of bad things about diet soda so I'm curious to hear everyone's take on this.
I suppose that would mostly matter about what your feelings on artificial sweeteners are and how they affect your body. I don't have a problem with artificial sweeteners, and I only occasionally have soda, so when I do I opt for the diet and save the calories for the food.
I personally rarely drink soda- but when I do- it's real soda- I can't stand the taste of diet soda's and try to stay away from artificial sweeteners.
I think a lot of people see soda as a daily drink instead of a treat. Even growing up the only time my parents had soda in the house was when we ordered pizza. And it was one 2 liter for the whole family! (5 of us)
It all really depends on you- if you don't like the diet taste and will rarely drink soda- go for the regular soda- if it's a once week deal then get diet.
If I did it only as a treat I'd do regular. I'm still working slowly at kicking the soda habit, so I have to do diet.
That being said, I personally think that if you're doing it only that once in a great while, you should pick what you like more. Artificial sweeteners are a concern for people who use them a lot, as are sugars.
I personally rarely drink soda- but when I do- it's real soda- I can't stand the taste of diet soda's and try to stay away from artificial sweeteners.
I think a lot of people see soda as a daily drink instead of a treat. Even growing up the only time my parents had soda in the house was when we ordered pizza. And it was one 2 liter for the whole family! (5 of us)
It all really depends on you- if you don't like the diet taste and will rarely drink soda- go for the regular soda- if it's a once week deal then get diet.
Oh my goodness. We were the same way growing up. Every other Friday night ( payday for my folks ) was pizza night. We'd order pizza and a 2 liter of soda. That is the ONLY time we had soda in the house unless it was a special occasion like a birthday or something. Thinking back now, I recall when my addiction to soda started and it was in middle school when I'd take my lunch money and go buy a soda and a bag of chips from the vending machine in the cafeteria instead of getting a regular lunch. That is probably why I'm SO against that kind of thing in the schools now.
It took a while to kick the habit but I had to because I was diagnosed with severe mastalgia ( chronic breast pain ) and a big trigger of it was caffeine. I still enjoy an occasional soda but its about once a month lol ...
Last edited by Smilette31; 09-22-2009 at 11:02 PM.
Artificial sweetners are bad for you, period. I'm saying this because I use to use them everyday. 2 packets of equal in my coffee everyday, and 5-6 cans of diet pepsi everyday. I kicked the habit (I switched to seltzer and bitter coffee) about a year ago.
That being said I do have a diet soda here and there, maybe 2-3 times a month. I'm not proud of it but at least I don't drink it daily and I do not waste any calories on beverages.
I drink diet soda pretty much everyday. I have tried to kick the habit. However I have discussed with my doctor and have every blood test imaginable every 6 months because of my hypothyroidism and having a very thorough doctor. I drink a diet soda made with splenda, and I use splenda as my sweetener of choice. My husband gets horrible headaches from other sweeteners and we much prefer splenda anyways.
Its all about personal preference. There have been studies that show both ways on the matter of its bad for you or not. Just like with everything else. There's proof for both ways of pretty much every matter ever studied.
I drink soda maybe once a month, if that often. The last one I had was a Red Rock Ginger Ale, not a diet. If I know of a treat type soda I want, like the red rock, I plan it into my calories for the day. If I get a wild hair for an unplanned soda one day out of the blue I might grab a diet if we have it in the house. I resent wasting calories on soda for some reason. I'll do some other beverages and count them in, but soda annoys me.
Thanks for the advice, input and tips everyone. I appreciate it.
We are having a childrens pizza party on Friday out at a restaurant ... so I will set aside calories for one regular soda. Next time we are staying home to have a pizza night, I will try a diet soda and see how it affects me.
I forgot to say in my earlier post, I have a pretty noticeable reaction to Splenda. Didn't know what it was at first, took months of treating other things to connect the trigger. I got headaches constantly, had a light rash and was nauseated every day. I can tolerate a small amount of it occasionally, but very little. The other sweeteners don't really bother me. So, keep an eye out for non-traditional symptoms, too.
I am trying to kick the soda habit. I never drank that much just one in the morning and once in a while one before working out. I don't drink coffee at all, I don't like the taste. I haven't had soda since last weekend. Then I only had one in the morning for some reason I woke up more tired.
I have been drinking tea during the week, however, I always put sugar in it, so I've told myself now I'm going to alternate I will have one sugared cup then one non-sugared cup. So far, it's not too hard.
I don't ever drink diet soda, I am not too keen on artificial sweetners, with the exception of sugarless gum. I also heard that diet soda actually slows your metabolism. I think of diet soda and regular soda the same way. I don't drink diet soda because I don't like the taste or artificial sweetners. Seltzer water is one of my favorites, but I don't buy it too often because my husband is a soda junkie.
We spend so much on soda. He drinks like 4 cans or more a day for the caffeine because he has sleeping problems. I wish there was a way to get him to stop too. We'd save so much money and stop consuming all those extra calories. I am definitely doing better though, however if I have a can I count the calories as part of my meal.
I am trying to kick the soda habit. ...
I have been drinking tea during the week, however, I always put sugar in it, so I've told myself now I'm going to alternate I will have one sugared cup then one non-sugared cup. So far, it's not too hard.
I kicked it cold turkey and went straight to bitter coffee and it was really really hard (I was cringing at the bitter flavor every morning for 4 months!). But that was a year ago and I'm used to it so that even one drop of sugar tastes unbearably sweet to me.
A better way to go about that if you're not looking for hardcore bitterness is to gradually decrease the amount of sugar you put in your tea so that your taste buds can adjust to the less sweet flavors. I've known lots of people who have gradually decreased their sugar intake with good results. It is totally possible to retrain your taste buds. I see sugar as an addiction and "they" keep putting it in everything we buy because it's cheap and it makes us run back to their products with a vengeance.
Diet Soda vs. Regular Soda
