BUT, the biggest thing to remember about soft drinks is they are LOADED with sodium so you need to watch that as it will definitely make you retain water and may make it hard to lose.
I just checked out my can of Pepsi Max - Sodium, trace. I think it's the diuretic (sp?) effect of the caffeine that gives that dehydrated effect. Which reminds me, I must go get me some more water!
i am addicted to diet soda but i believe it has slowed my weight loss down so i am going to try to cut back and drink more tea and water
This is probably similar to my situation.
Does anyone here like the Crystal Geyser flavored sparkling mineral water line? It's cheaper then Pierre and Pellegrino and has several flavors. Has anyone heard anything bad about drinking these?
And just to add - I'm not bashing splenda, nor am I saying aspartame is better. I'm just saying that it hasn't been around long enough for us to know everything. Although I DO eat products that contain splenda, I try to keep from eating too much of it. I just have this sinking feeling we don't know enough about it yet.
You stole my thoughts right from my head! When I heard about spledna was made (about a year ago) I figured it couldn't be that good for me either. Doesn't mean I don't drink it...
I wouldn't say I am ADDICTED to diet soda but I do enjoy it. The cold, bubbly taste. I have tried mineral water, and carbanted jucies and they just dont do it for me. I used to drink SO much diet pop, probably 3-6 cans a day! My favourtie is Diet Pepsi. Just lately I find myself drinking a lot less. I limit myself to one can a day and don't let myself have it if I dont feel I have had enough water for the day (4-6 liters). Some nights I don't even feel like one anymore and when I do have one I usually don't even finish it. I drink more of it on weekends when I find it harder to get in my water (have a water cooler at work). I really don't believe it is hurting me any and I just make sure to get in my water.
However; if I want something like a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, I use real sugar and just a little bit.
I had to give up soda a month and a half ago when I found out I had acid reflux disease. It was really, really hard on me for a couple of days, but my Dr. insisted I pretty much had to go cold turkey. If you can make it past 2 days not drinking it, I think you'll pretty much lose your cravings for them. The last time I had a sip of my sister's diet coke (maybe 4 weeks ago), the carbonation felt like it burned and it didn't taste at all like I remembered. It was easy for me to stick with water after that. Now all I drink is water and tea, and I feel a lot better!
BUT, the biggest thing to remember about soft drinks is they are LOADED with sodium so you need to watch that as it will definitely make you retain water and may make it hard to lose. There is also the caffeine, and believe me, like one of the other posters said, the caffeine headaches are UNBELIEVABLE if you quit drinks with it in them!
Umm...no My can of Coke Zero has 40mg of sodium. Recommended amount of sodium for a day is up to 2400mg. I certainly wouldn't consider that to be LOADED (and that's in a can, which is actually more than a typical serving size of 8oz). So even at 10 servings of soda a day, that's only 400mg, about 1/6 of what you're "allowed" in a day.
As for the caffeine, there is typically less than half the amount of caffeine in a serving of soda as is found in a cup of coffee. Studies have shown that the amount of caffeine in a soda is not enough to even remove from your body the amount of water that was in that same soda. If you worry about becoming addicted to caffeine, then, umm, try decaffeinated sodas I know both Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi come in caffeine-free varieties.
As for the sweeteners, I don't worry about them. I would like to point out, though, that Splenda DOES have calories if you're using more than just a single serving at a time (packet and granular Splenda have 2 calories per teaspoon). Maybe not a lot, but it can probably add up if you use it in everything.
The only reason I would recommend "quitting" diet soda is if it causes you to crave additional sweets, like the original poster mentioned. In this case, I would maybe try weening yourself off it, though, instead of going cold turkey. Cut back by a serving or two a day each week until you're off the junk
And just to add - I'm not bashing splenda, nor am I saying aspartame is better. I'm just saying that it hasn't been around long enough for us to know everything. Although I DO eat products that contain splenda, I try to keep from eating too much of it. I just have this sinking feeling we don't know enough about it yet.
Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
I completely second this. Read my post on the "Foods that may promote weight loss" thread in the nutrition/ food forum.
I don;t have that much sweetner, but I do occasionally and it doesnt hurt. There is NO link between aspartame and cancer, I dont know where the hill-billys online get that sort of information. Understanding the actual mechanism of biochemical degradation of synthetic sweeteners, I see absolutely no harm in synthetic sugars.
If you like sugar, have sugar. If you like sweetener, have sweetener. I hear too much aspartame bashing on 3FC and I can tell you it seems ridicuous where people get their information.
Umm...no My can of Coke Zero has 40mg of sodium. Recommended amount of sodium for a day is up to 2400mg. I certainly wouldn't consider that to be LOADED
I wondered about that comment too. Now, if one can of soda had 300 mg's of sodium each, then yeah, I'd say that's a little too much. But 40 mg is nothing. For that to add up to 300 mg's, you'd have to drink 7 or 8 sodas a day.
If you like sugar, have sugar. If you like sweetener, have sweetener. I hear too much aspartame bashing on 3FC and I can tell you it seems ridicuous where people get their information.
Right. That's why I normally read these studies and shrug them off. Sure, if you slam a rat with gallons of a certain substance every day, of course they're going to develop problems. And some people DO have particular 'allergies' to sweeteners. I simply don't ingest too much of one thing, regardless of what it is. Many of the products I buy are sugar-free. And some aren't.
But get this, my husband doesn't want me giving my son diet soda. He heard that study that aspartame causes brain damage in children or something crazy like that. My son is only allowed one soda a day. Some days he doesn't have any at all. I don't see how one diet soda per day is going to hurt. My husband says he's better off with the regular sugar because it doesn't contain any chemicals.
But get this, my husband doesn't want me giving my son diet soda. He heard that study that aspartame causes brain damage in children or something crazy like that. My son is only allowed one soda a day. Some days he doesn't have any at all. I don't see how one diet soda per day is going to hurt. My husband says he's better off with the regular sugar because it doesn't contain any chemicals.
Whatever.
Man- does he ever look at labels or ingredients? EVERYTHING IS A CHEMICAL. WE ARE CHEMICALS. Sorry, but he really needs to do his hw before he makes such a statement. Even regular soda has chemicals, I mean how does he think its made? Like its plucked off a tree? My god...
Man- does he ever look at labels or ingredients? EVERYTHING IS A CHEMICAL. WE ARE CHEMICALS. Sorry, but he really needs to do his hw before he makes such a statement. Even regular soda has chemicals, I mean how does he think its made? Like its plucked off a tree? My god...
I know, I roll my eyes at him when he starts in on that. He doesn't want our son drinking diet soda, but as we speak he's sitting in the living room eating a footlong chili dog from Dairy Queen.
lmao
*SMACK*
(pssst - when my husband isn't around, I let my son drink the diet stuff)
Well I am a firm believer in getting rid of the aspertame and stuff like it ... AND sodas... from our diets! And I used to be the worst ever... had one with me all the time. I just stopped drinking all pop almost completely several years ago and have never regretted it!! Smart smart move... AND I save $$$ LOL
I dropped all soda including diet soda when I started my life style change. I'll still have a sip here and there...but you know what? I dont even want or need it anymore. But if you have to have something have you tried Diet Rite? I heard it has splenda in it.
Well I am a firm believer in getting rid of the aspertame and stuff like it ... AND sodas... from our diets! And I used to be the worst ever... had one with me all the time. I just stopped drinking all pop almost completely several years ago and have never regretted it!! Smart smart move... AND I save $$$ LOL
Thanks for the support Misti! I'll let you all know how it goes.
I think it's the diuretic (sp?) effect of the caffeine that gives that dehydrated effect. Which reminds me, I must go get me some more water! 
My can of Coke Zero has 40mg of sodium. Recommended amount of sodium for a day is up to 2400mg. I certainly wouldn't consider that to be LOADED (and that's in a can, which is actually more than a typical serving size of 8oz). So even at 10 servings of soda a day, that's only 400mg, about 1/6 of what you're "allowed" in a day.
I know both Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi come in caffeine-free varieties.
