Someone told me that drinking diet carbonated drinks can stop you losing weight and also can cause you to put weight on. I can probably accept the former, but how can the latter be true? It has virtually no calories.

Can anyone explain if any of the above are true and clarify why or why not? Its been bugging me.

Someone told me that drinking diet carbonated drinks can stop you losing weight and also can cause you to put weight on. I can probably accept the former, but how can the latter be true? It has virtually no calories.

Can anyone explain if any of the above are true and clarify why or why not? Its been bugging me.

Well... for one, diet pop has a lot of sugar in it. I think it's got a high amount of carbs, too. I can't say for sure without seeing a nutrition label, though. Diet pop is better than regular and I doubt it will cause you to put weight on, but it's best to drink water and tea.

Most carbonated drinks have around 47g of Carbs, the majority of that coming from sugar. That's a 12oz can. I want to say the diet versions are less calories, but I'm not sure. I think the diet drinks taste like crap anyway. If I'm drinking something like Coke, I might as well have the worst of it, but best tasting. Coke is a pleasure drink and a kickstarter. That's about it.

Well... for one, diet pop has a lot of sugar in it. I think it's got a high amount of carbs, too. I can't say for sure without seeing a nutrition label, though. Diet pop is better than regular and I doubt it will cause you to put weight on, but it's best to drink water and tea.

Diet sodas do not have sugar in them. They have a high dosage of aspartame though. The accepted rule is try to cut out the diet sodas because:

1. They are acidic with diet Pepsi being the leader with a low 2 ph thanks to the phosporic and citric acids. This will play hell with the enamel on your teeth and the acid level in your bowels. Your kidneys have to work harder as well.

2. They throw your water table out of balance and you should drink equal amounts of water as you do diet sodas. One 12 oz can should be accompanied by 12 oz of water at the very least. I've read on BB.com that potassium benzoate promotes water retention as well.

Look for diet drinks that use splenda instead of nutrisweet, stay away from drinking several per day and you will be ok.

Diet coke has 0 cals. It does have sum sodium in it as well as caffine. It is said to have a slight diuretic(sp) effect. I would still think it is better then most other sweet things to get you over a craving but 2 much might be counter productive to drinking the ammount of water you should.

why not just avoid it all together?

i use to be a serious coca cola junkie

now i am a water and green tea junkie

diet colas are full of bad stuff, bad empty calories isn't one of them. Drink them only if you have a serious need for soda, otherwise avoid the chemicals.

Someone told me that drinking diet carbonated drinks can stop you losing weight and also can cause you to put weight on. I can probably accept the former, but how can the latter be true? It has virtually no calories.
People who drink diet sodas become accustomed to that incredible intense sweetness. It will actually make you crave carbs, so that is one way it can lead to weight gain.

diet colas are full of bad stuff, bad empty calories isn't one of them. Drink them only if you have a serious need for soda, otherwise avoid the chemicals.
This guy knows what Im talking about. :tu:

soda with a passion. Much better to cut it out entirely rather then feed your body with an alternative that's filled with other crap that may potentially have worse side effects then the soda itself.

The coolest thing ever:

This product has been known to cause cancer in laboratory animals(Written in small red on pink background letters on the back of artificial sweeteners)

I was drinking diet pop about 5 months ago and I noticed that if i drank 2 or more cans a day I would get either a headache and/or a stomach ache... I mainly just drink water now, and feel much better.

Berran, were you drinking diet sodas?

I drink a diet pepsi about once a week just because I like them so much, but I definitely notice that afterwards I'm thirsty for water and I down a liter afterwards within an hour or so.
I used to drink soda daily, but that seems like ages ago now.

I was mainly drinking Diet Dr Pepper, Diet Sprite, Diet Mt Dew Code Red, and Diet Pepsi Twist at the time.

I too quit soda altogether (beginning of December). I've had it once in the 10 weeks since, and after the first few weeks I hardly craved it. Be prepared for a serious crash when you suddenly get less caffeine... but after a few days, you'll feel better than ever.
:gl:

I used to drink anywhere from 6 to 8 (sometimes even more) non-diet sodas every single day - and I never drank water. Of course I stopped drinking sodas completely when I started my fitness program and now all I drink is water. At first soda was hard to give up, but now I never think about it. Soda doesn't even sound good to me anymore. I'm glad I gave them up, there's nothing in a soda worth drinking.

This thread made me realize that it's been 407 days since I've had a soda - diet or otherwise. :tu:

I was mainly drinking Diet Dr Pepper, Diet Sprite, Diet Mt Dew Code Red, and Diet Pepsi Twist at the time
Im telling you man, people get some horrible reactions to to artificial sweeteners. I dont eat candy unless I am absolutely positive that there is no artificial sweeteners in it. And I have completely given up gum as there is ALOT of gums with sugar replacements that dont claim to be "sugar free".

Some of you have probably seen this before, but it bears repeating if even half of it is true. I still have a soda on the weekends, but I'm guessing that will change over time as I get used to my new lifestyle.

Water vs. Coke
_______________________

WATER

* 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
* In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
* Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
* One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
* Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
* Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
* A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
* Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%,and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

COKE:

* In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
* You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.
* To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China.
* To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminium foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
* To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca- Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
* To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
* To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminium foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for sumptuous brown gravy.
* To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

For Your Info

* The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.
* To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.
* The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water or coke?

Well.... it does have no calories and sugar. Sugar is just so evil you know.
.... Im just kidding.

i pretty much stopped drinkiing pop also. sometimes i have a diet pepsi, but almost never, i drink a ton of water

[QUOTE=andi]
COKE:

* In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
* You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.
* To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China.
* To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminium foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
* To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca- Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
* To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
* To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminium foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for sumptuous brown gravy.
* To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.
QUOTE]

Not that I'm advocating drinking pop (soda for you non-pennsylvanians) but most of this is urban legend. See this link: http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp

I was a 10-15 can a day (non-diet)pop drinker before I started my program. I find now, that not only do I not crave it, but the one time I've had one I didn't even enjoy it. Stick with water.

Geez, those facts about coke are insane. Thanks for the info.

"Geez, those facts about coke are insane."

Because they aren't true. I see a lot of scaremongering with certain things that are believed very easily, mostly propogated through email. An example of this is fake virus warnings. Another is aspartame, some claims of it's ill effects border on tin foil hat conspiricy theory (it can cause anything that makes you feel bad, so if you're ingesting asapartame and you get a headache or anything else, it's the aspartame, proof don't you see!) Is aspartame healthy? No, but I also don't think it is necessarily 'unhealthy' in moderate amounts. Sure, it's been shown to cause cancer in lab rats when injected insanely high dosages, that doesn't prove a lot. Even so, if you need a soda fix, I would reccomend Diet Rite, it uses Splenda and tastes better.

If you like diet soda, drink it in moderation. If you can cut it all out, by all means do so, water is certainly more healthy.

Edit:
As a side note, soda doesn't count for water intake! Drink water no matter what.

Interesting, but not true.

okay, okay. Sorry.

The info about water is still good.

Isn't it?!

Hmm what about diet-rite? That's a diet soda that it made using Splenda instead of asparitane. The main difference being that (from what i've read) splenda doesnt raise your blood sugar levels the way equal/asparitane/sugar does. The soda itself is still 0cal/0carb. This is the only soda that I know of that is allowed for people on Atkins who aren't allowed asparitane. What's the general take on this one?

okay, okay. Sorry.

The info about water is still good.

Isn't it?!

Err, don't think so :rolleyes:

Check this out: http://www.snopes.com/toxins/water.htm

Next time someone forwards you an urgent email about your underwire bra causing cancer or the like, think twice before sending it to all your friends/posting it on the forums ;)

One thing coke isn't good for is teeth. The sugar will rot it terribly.

Besides, water is good to drink while you're working. It's certainly better than a soda, and water can sometimes tide you over till your next meal. I hate the feeling of hunger myself.

Didn't mean to burst your bubble. Doesn't change the fact though that whenever you chug a soda your putting 12 oz's of highly acidic sugary syrup. Way gross.

Ten years ago, I drank about 4 regular colas a day. When I tried to cut them out, I found that I started to eat brownies instead. I needed the sugar and the caffeine. So I was able to cut back to about two a day. Then about six months ago, I switched those regular cola to diet cola. Eventually, I'd like to swap those for water, but now is not the right time. It's still a lot healthier than how I used to be, and I'm satisfied with that for now.

If I could cut it out, I would, but I can't so I won't. Better to keep those no calorie treats than to become a brownie monster again.

We're talking about DIET drinks here. We're not talking about sugar pop!!!

Still, the best rule of thumb is, they're not helping you, they're highly acidic, and they don't replace drinking water. I think we're ready for this thread to die now.

Just for the record;

I'm about to follow what Jono posted early on, something about a green tea and water junky.

I currently drink about 2 cups of green tea a day, and about 2 diet sodas.
I've decided to get rid of the diet sodas now, to the great joy of my wife who is tired of buying them at the store !! (and spending money on them $$) ;) Green tea is cheap, as well as water.

For official purposes, I'm done with sodas. (pop to others out there) diet or otherwise.



Jerry
:tu:

Remember people, those articles disputing the 8 glasses of water a day are targetted at the average American. Many of us are on high-protein diets; I personally consume over 300g of protein a day. You need to drink plenty of water, 1 gallon or more, to safely dillute this content and lessen the strain on your kidneys.

I've been drinking a green/white tea combo twice daily- has anyone heard anything about white tea? It's supposed to have even more benefits that green tea according to the label on the Stash tea container.


I found this

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/new/whitetea.html

I've been drinking a green/white tea combo twice daily- has anyone heard anything about white tea? It's supposed to have even more benefits that green tea according to the label on the Stash tea container.


I found this

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/new/whitetea.html

I'm a big tea freak! But I have never had white tea? I'll have to give that a shot...green is great - do you sweeten the white/green combo w/ splenda or just drink it as is?

Great thread, I've been wondering about Diet Soda :confused: I think I'll just stay away from all soda from now on :nod:

I'm a big tea freak! But I have never had white tea? I'll have to give that a shot...green is great - do you sweeten the white/green combo w/ splenda or just drink it as is?


Stash brand makes a green and white tea blend that is very mellow. I like it very much and Yes, I always sweeten it with Splenda.
I don't know if you have an Albertson's grocery near you, but that is where I found it. :)

Bunk:

*In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
* You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.


In two days you will have a smelly puddle of bacteria with a greasy steak floating in it encrusted with Coke.

But a Ham cooked in Coke I have heard of hehe. :D

regular soda or diet soda is bad for you....
but i drink diet soda sometimes....

Ah, ain't that a bitch. I'm on day five of my new workout/nutrition regimin, and I thought since it's Friday night I might "treat myself" to a can of diet coke and watch Terminator 3 (its been hell seeing my girlfriend Rachael eat freely all day), so I did a google search for diet sodas and where does it bring me? Back to my favourite site! After reading this thread I think I'll skip the diet coke. :)