Diet soda is addictive
 

I have known for some time that the diet Pepsi (DP) had become an unhealthy habit :devil: with me. I was making sure I had it in the house at all times and buying extra bottles :o when I filled up for gas or went to the dollar store, just in case I didn't get home to my stash.

It seems so innocent :angel:. And so much better for you than regular soda with all it's sugar.

Apsartame and other artificial sweeteners have changed the brains of rats in many studies done on their effects. The rats have literally become addicted to the sweetener and go into a type of withdrawal when they don't get it:eek:.

And caffeine is another addictive substance. I have had my share of problems with coffee over the years and don't drink it any more. I thought the amount of caffeine in the DP would be pretty insignificant.

Wrong :(. I've had the caffeine withdrawal headache for the two days now that I've cut back to one DP per day. And I feel really tired on the last walk. And I've got all sorts of weird muscle cramps and further sleep disturbances over my normal :dizzy: insomnia.

And my appetite has increased. I have been starving for the last two days, all the time :drool:.

I had an easy day today, another tomorrow, and not much work booked for the weekend. I hope to be over the physical DP withdrawal stuff (that sounds sooo ridiculous :p) by next week and then to resume my diet plan with just water to drink and one DP per day. Period.

Dagmar (almost DP free) :p

The wrong number?
 

Diet pop with caffeine is a diuretic. I've been drinking litres of the stuff every day for over a year now :o. I thought the water in it would keep me hydrated enough. And I've been posting my weights thinking they were hydrated weights :).

Maybe I was wrong about that - EEEKK!!! I haven't been consciously lying about my numbers but, after giving up the diet pop guzzling for two days and drinking 1.5 litres of plain water each day instead, I've gained 5 lbs.

I'm going to replace the battery in my scale, just to make sure it's ok. If the 5 lbs. are still there then I've got quite the job ahead of me this summer :p.

At least this time I will know the weight lost is real weight. Pin the big L on my shirt :o

Dagmar :dizzy:

chickennugget - i am also fighting those winter love handles. man do they frustrate me!

dagmar - alcohol is also a diuretic. this is why if i weigh myself after a night out drinking i am usually down a little bit in spite of the long term consequences of all the calories! don't worry too much about the 5lbs though - remember the relative amount of weight that you lost - if your starting point was also "dehydrated" weight you've still lost the same amount of lbs!

Originally Posted by iriswhispers:
dagmar - alcohol is also a diuretic. this is why if i weigh myself after a night out drinking i am usually down a little bit in spite of the long term consequences of all the calories! don't worry too much about the 5lbs though - remember the relative amount of weight that you lost - if your starting point was also "dehydrated" weight you've still lost the same amount of lbs!

Tell your boyfriend's mom, from me, that not only are you pretty and fit but you're really smart too! I never looked it the way you've presented it and it's a whole lot less depressing - thanks!

Dagmar :D

Morning! I'm off to see my Mom! Be good everyone!

I used to be like you, dagmar, but with Diet Coke. We'd always keep one, even two litre bottles of it in the fridge and we'd drink it with meals like water. It was just so refreshing and "guilt-free." Somewhere along the line I switched over to plain water because I was worried I was drinking way too much... and only occasionally have one as a treat.

But I'm no angel... I have my medium latte from Peet's every morning with Splenda... which is basically the same thing! Caffeine + artificial sweetener.

I wonder if it's better just to use real sugar? Artificial sweeteners are scary because we don't know enough about them and their long-term consequences... and I don't trust the FDA or any food brands because it's all about money with them. I sometimes use Stevia, which people in Japan have been using for a long time, which is a natural sweetener.. but it's having problems being approved here in the USA (or they may have approved it already). I think it's because big companies like Splenda and Equal are gonna be screwed and they don't want that. That is scary to me.

Is Splenda sugar?
 

Splenda claims to be made from sugar. I also read about it in a women's magazine and some doctor's study claimed it was the best alternative to sugar.

I bought it, assumed it was made from sugar, without looking at the ingredients on the box.

There are three chemicals listed on the box. So is it made from sugar or not? Beats me.

Stevia is available here but I found my taste buds didn't think it was at all sweet, unless I used about 4 packets of it. I think the Splenda has intensified my "sweet" taste, making me want sweeter items - does that make any sense to anyone?

Dagmar (one DP today - honest :p !)

splenda is made from sugar. i took organic chemistry and the best way i can explain it is that a sugar molecule is normally kind of like a right hand. but then if they mess around with the molecule they can switch the positions of some of the functional groups on it around so that it's like a left hand, in which case it still has the taste of the "right hand" sugar but our bodies don't recognize it and hence won't break it down and digest it - it just gets filtered and excreted. i think the other chemicals might be stuff they have to treat the normal sugar with to get "left hand" sugar. don't know if that all makes any sense.

Morning!

I still had two cokes yesterday. Driving ya know. My water got warm and when I stopped for gas ... diet coke.

Have the warriors all been killed in battle?
 

No weekend warriors this weekend?

I put a brand new battery in my scale. The weight gain wasn't because of the battery - SIGH :(.

I'm still the same size (in inches) but I feel so fat all of a sudden :sumo:. Know what I mean?

And DH :devil: is starting his diet today so last night brought home all the pre-diet party stuff - chocolate, beer, etc.
I avoided the chocolate but had one of the beers. And then another. And then popcorn. And, and, and :o.

There are many reasons I don't drink alcohol anymore.
Now there are 1.5 lbs of additional reasons. I can't face changing the ticker right now. Will try to get the motivation going again this weekend and weigh in on Monday.

Dagmar (I'm really sulking now)

not losing any either
 

I haven't budged a bit this week either - no gain but no loss either- I do feel stronger though in my legs -

exercise comes easy to me - eating right and portions are workable but I must not have the combo's for it right OR

it would be wonderful if my "trusty" scale wasn't so trusty! :devil:

soda is not my trigger - but the time of 4:00 is - watch out for me - I am a whirlwind of eating right then and IF I don't have good choices nearby - it's oh my later on in the day.:?:

Hi all! I look forward to getting to know you all better :wave:

In case you missed my other thread asking to join you all, my name is Leigh. I am a SAHM to my four-year-old son, Liam. DH and I have been married for 6 years. This is my second week on WW and my first goal is 25lbs. I am not sure what my ultimate goal will be - possibly 50lbs.

Dagmar: I can relate to your feelings of hunger as the past few days have been sooooo hard for me due to PMS :devil: What yu posted about diet Pepsi is so interesting! I have never been into diet cola - just regular coke and also sweet tea. I gave up Coke and sweet tea for Lent this year and have no more desire for Coke. However, I still love sweet tea and crave it.

Susan: I hope your gym visits have been going well.

kitegirl - I hope your exams go well - what are you studying?

batmomm: hope you find your time to work out.

chickennugget: I think Dagmar might be on to something with the possible cause of your Sunday stress ;)

thebeautywithin- I take it all your travel is for work? That is a lot!

claire- your cinco celebration sounds awesome! And gardening is definitely hard work :)

trailgroomer: I hope you are out of your holding pattern ASAP. But I must say that you and I must be twins when it comes to the 4pm binge time. I am so totally starving that time of day!

Lekhika- oh my you are so close to your goal! That is awesome.

sznn: sorry you are having a rough patch

Marathom Mom : oh we have been having stunning weather here too! I;ve taken full advantage of it and gone power-walking.

Iris- you have to keep us updated on how your meeting with the bf mother goes. Thank you for the explanation of how they make Splenda- I have wondered about that!

Okay, I need to get some sleep if I am truly going to church in the morning LOL.

hello lovelies!!

My computer/router somehow decided that 3FC needed to be banned and I could not access the site for days. I assumed the site was down b/c I couldn't access it from my desktop or laptop but apparently it was something in my "network". I haven't had time to read and now I need to sleep. I miss you guys and the accountability that comes with being here.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll still be allowed on. The other site my PC banned was the daily plate where I log all my food...wtf?! It's a weight loss conspiracy!

Dagmar, I have some petsitting ?'s for you. Would you mind if I PMed you tomorrow?

see y'all in the am :hug: Happy Mothers Day to those that are!!

There's that newbie! Hi Leigh!

I have trouble with later in the afternoon too. I have to make sure I'm snacking. If I have nothing after lunch ... I could eat a whole box of cereal and still be hunting.

PMing???
 

batmomm I'' be glad to answer your questions if you tell me how to access them. I have no idea how PMing works or what it is.

I'm pretty good at following instructions though so if you can guide me to it I can probably figure it out.

Dagmar :dizzy: