I have to throw in with JohnP here. I drink Diet Coke every day. Probably around four cans' worth. I haven't had trouble losing weight, and I haven't felt as though drinking it made me hungrier. I tried cutting down/cutting it out early on, and I just didn't want to do it. I like it too much, and losing it felt too much like deprivation.
Is it probably less good for my teeth. Yeah, because it's acidic. But it hasn't done a thing to threaten my weight loss. I suppose that the extra 160mg of sodium could make me retain a smidge more water, but it's not as though it's a staggering amount (at least, not compared to the ramen I rarely have). I've also had diet soda exclusively since I was about eight years old, so the regular stuff just tastes off.
I don't care what other people do, but everyone seems to care that I drink Diet Coke. They'll warn me about the evils of artificial sweeteners and claim that I'm gonna get tumors and die like that rat in my AP bio class that got tumors and died. Her name was Nicodemus, and she was really sweet. Also, when I named her, I didn't know she was a girl.
Anyway. I'm not gonna get tumors and die. I have yet to see convincing evidence that I'm gonna get tumors and die. And I have 140 pounds that says Diet Coke works just fine for me. So, I raise my bottle in victory. And to Nicodemus. And her sister, Jennor. And to all of you.
I avoid diet soda because of the odd aftertase, but I do have reason to think it causes harm. It may still be giving you a feeling of having a taste for sweet things, which may make you more likely to want to eat something bad/sugary later. There are no studies to support this, its just something I've wondered about.
I drink diet Dr. Pepper and occasionally diet generic lemon/lime soda or ginger ale. I do so because if I wasn't drinking the diet version I would be drinking the regular version. I also put generic Splenda in my coffee because it has fewer calories than sugar.
I don't claim that the pop or the fake sugared coffee are good for me, but they are better than my alternative. And possibly a better choice than being fatter and fatter.
They don't seem to have caused a problem with losing weight. Fewer calories, more exercise == loss of poundage. Diet pop and fake-sugar coffee == less calories.
I'm one of those people that can control it, and the sweet soda can save me when I'm craving sweets. I can't imagine an occasional artificially sweetened soda killing your weight loss efforts. We put so much fake stuff into our bodies, I think diet drinks are just one unhealthy culprit and probably not that big of a deal
I cut out the sugar free creamer in my coffee yesterday as an experiment, and I was not plagued by that constant hunger I was dealing with all last week. Everyone is wired differently, and for all I know it was psychological, but for whatever reason, stopping the fake sugar stopped my unusual hunger levels.
It just seemed interesting that as soon as I started using the fake sugar, my hunger spiked noticeably, and when I stopped, I returned to normal. Not everyone is the same, and I am not trying to say that this would be true for anyone else, but thank you for starting this thread Amy23, because at least for me, fake sugar makes me hungrier. I am glad to have found the source for my problem, because I was close to falling off the wagon.
Her name was Nicodemus, and she was really sweet. Also, when I named her, I didn't know she was a girl.
I had a rat named Nicodemus in college. He was a boy, but he was also really sweet.
I drank too much Diet Coke yesterday, which, as I said upthread, is not something I usually do. As a result I'm hungrier today and craving sweet, but I knew what I was in for when I ordered a soda with my salad.
I have given up diet sodas and brought them back in and I feel no difference in my appetite. What it does do for me is that it fills that craving for something sweet mid morning. I have a diet soda EVERY DAY for lunch - with or without caffeine. I think I would be lost without it.
Now COFFEE makes me feel hungrier = caffeinated coffee, but not diet soda. So, I stay away from coffee with caffeine.
And this whole thread has gotten me to thinking about the all or nothing mentality. So many people who go on diets go from eating tons of crap to eating no crap - like there's no middle ground. I sometimes wonder how maintainable that is.
It's funny I like soda as other than that I am a complete whole foods kind of gal, but since college, I just 'need' a soda at lunch time. But I've always preferred diet soda because regular soda is just too syrupy tasting to me. Blah.
Working in Dentistry for more than a decade I can tell you it's best to put the soda down.
LOL. I get lectured on this at the dentist's office. He even has a sign up talking about the sugar and acid in pop and their effects on teeth. I swear I'm tempted to walk in with a fresh 52-oz diet fountain pop from Holiday, tell them it's regular, and suck it down over the course of my checkup just to see their response.
I drink 2wo coffees w/2 Equal packets at breakfast.
Then around 9:30am I have one, sometimes two Diet Mtn Dews per day.
Then water for pretty much the rest of the day; occasionally sweet tea (real sugar) with my dinner.
It makes no difference on my hunger levels. But holy goddess Aphrodite, do I love the caffeine kick!
And yeah, too much sugar/acid can be bad for your teeth. A good dentist will even tell you that too many oranges, lemons, limes, etc (acid) can be really bad for your teeth. Which is why I ALWAYS brush/floss after each meal, no matter what the meal (or snack).
When I told my dentist that I knew that my diet soda habit probably was contributing to some of my enamel loss, he said,
"You don't have to give up the soda, just use a straw and don't let the soda "sit" in your mouth.
He said that it wasn't the total amount of soda that was as much of a problem as the length of time the soda was sitting in the mouth, bathing the teeth - so a "sipping all day" habit was worse than drinking soda with a meal (especially if a straw is used).
So now I try to use water for my "sipping" liquid, and diet sodas and drinks with meals and snacks (and I try to remember to use a straw).
Great advice, kaplods. It also applies to plain carbonated water! The effect is much less, but even seltzer water contributes very slightly to enamel erosion... sadly.
Yes, there have been a lot of studies that say that drinking diet sodas contribute to weight gain. Furthermore, some studies even have revealed that the artificial sweeteners in them could potentially contribute Type 2 diabetes.
The data didn’t say why diet sodas might play a role in weight gain, but previous research suggests it has to do with the disconnect between the taste of artificial sugars and their lack of calories. The brain is wired to expect a big load of calories when foods taste sweet or fatty. But because diet foods fail to deliver, it throws the brain out of whack. Studies in animals suggest that artificial sweetener consumption may lead to even more eating and weight gain, perhaps in part because it triggers the body to start storing more calories as fat.
Healthier choices abound. Start your day with a small glass of 100 percent fruit juice. Drink skim milk with meals. Sip water throughout the day. For variety, try sparkling water or add a squirt of lemon or cranberry juice to your water.
I'm a Diet Coke/Coke Zero addict, and it has never had a negative impact on my weight loss. I'm trying to cut back just because I'm trying to be healthier in general, but I've successfully lost large amounts of weight while drinking quite a bit of it.
I think it's one of those things that probably differ from person to person.
