Originally Posted by SusanB:
My vote is for Diet Coke. As for the too much part. That may be in the eye of the beholder. It is a whole bottle of chemicals. As in all things, moderation is key. A couple of servings a day is probably not going to hurt you or your weight loss efforts.

Hi my name is Heather and Im addicted to diet coke!

There is ALOT. and I mean ALOT of sodium in diet sodas....

But I think drinking lost of water with it would help, Than again, what do I know?
~Heather~

She beat me to it :) ^

Also, there's a lot of sodium in diet sodas. That's what most of it consists of. That makes you retain water and look larger. I cut diet soda almost out of my diet (one or two a week) and it has helped a lot. Nothing wrong in moderation, but water is better for you. :)

Thanks everyone for your replies back. I had to ask because I tend to drink about4-5 cans a day PLUS atleast 8 glasses of water or more. I wasnt sure if I should cut out the diet pepsi or if it would even make a difference. But yes, I didnt think about all of the sodium in it. I am going to try to cut back to atleast 1-2 cans a day plus my water after reading all of your replies. Thanks I hope everyone is doing well. Have a Great New Year!!

Just an FYI, I just looked at a can of diet cherry Coke and it says it has 40mg of sodium. If you're following the guidelines recommended by the AHA, their sodium limit is 2,400 mg. Just so you know.

I've wrestled with this question for a while because I would like to be free of my addiction to diet sodas. However, I can say with anecdotal evidence that diet soda will not at all delay weight loss and may in fact promote weight loss. I have started to drink a lot more diet soda since becoming a medical student and have lost 10+ pounds in the process. My BMI started in the normal range and went to the more middle section of the normal range, so I don't think that it only applies if you have a lot to lose.

As far as the chemical additives, nothing have read convinces me that the additives will cause me any long term harm. The reasons for my wanting to quit diet soda intake are related to cost.

I guess one other thing to add is that every other medical student and physician I know drinks diet over regular soda. I guess I trust their judgment since they read all the relevant primary literature on the subject.

Originally Posted by mousie:
Just an FYI, I just looked at a can of diet cherry Coke and it says it has 40mg of sodium. If you're following the guidelines recommended by the AHA, their sodium limit is 2,400 mg. Just so you know.

Yeah, I was gonna say...I"m pretty sure most diet sodas have way less than 100mg or sodium (most actually less than 50, if I remember my Coke Zero label correctly), which really isn't a lot of sodium, or at least not enough to cause water retention (unless, of course, you're drinking like 20 servings of the stuff a day :p).

I disagree with whoever it was that said you're doing more harm than good by switching from regular to diet soda. If soda is a must-have, then why not have a soda with no calories? Plain common sense, if you ask me.

As for the claims against aspartame and whatnot, all products have people who will react badly. Splenda has plenty of cases of people who have had adverse reactions, and yet, it's in thousands of products now. If it bothers you, don't drink it. If you're not feeling any side effects, then I say hey, drink up!

As for tooth enamel and/or gum health: if it's really something you're worried about, then drink with a straw--less of the soda touches your teeth this way.

As for bones, I have read that it's the caffeine that is typically blamed for prohibiting calcium absorption in bones. If you don't drink TOO MUCH (again, moderation is always key), then I don't think it would ever cause a problem.

There are even studies coming out recently that say that you can count diet soda as part of your water consumption for the day since that's what it mostly is anyway (check the label--#1 ingredient is water). If you're honestly worried about any of the chemicals or additives found in diet soda, then I hope you're also only eating fruits and veggies (wholely organic, of course, to reduce chemical risks from pesticides), fresh meat (as in from animals that have not been injected with hormones or fed processed or alterred foods), and milk from a cow you raised and milked yourself.

Honestly, I think that if diet soda is a major dieting concern of yours, then maybe you should look at the ingredients of some of the things we eat every day! In this day and age, you're ingesting chemicals (likely including carcinogens) no matter what, but so long as you balance your diet appropriately with enough "good" stuff, it shouldn't be a problem.

Short and sweet--if you think diet soda is hindering your weight loss, maybe you should cut it out completely for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference. Otherwise, bottoms up!

Diet soda is not BAD - but as I always say to my son "Too much of a good thing is still Too much". Look - the bottom line is that you could be drinking something better - like water (don't make those faces, LOL you know it is good for you!)... I think a little moderation might be just what the doctor ordered here. Let's imagine you normally drink 6 cans of diet soada a day... why not make a deal with yourself to drink three instead and replace the other three with water - or even a nice herbal tea. A compromise f you will...

I think the biggest problem I have with artificial sweeteners is that when I over indulge (and believe me - there is nothing I like better than diet, caffeine free dr pepper! LOL) I get a UTI. This is usually enough to make me cut back for a while...

I now try to drink all 10 glasses of water ( I drink 2 extra to counteract the dehydrating effect of my morning coffee) and THEN I allow myself one can of my precious dr pepper, LOL... Gives me something to look forward to.

Good luck to you.