Just a quick question - I drink a few diet cokes a day, is this hurting my diet? I eat VERY clean all week, so I was wondering if I should take this out.

Why drink coke when you can drink water?.

Why drink coke when you can drink water?.
Lol - I wish it were that simple, I love caffeine and hate coffee - so I drink diet cokes. :D

Why not just drink water and Diet colas too? As long as your getting in your water intake, a diet Cola or 2 wont hurt during the day at all. But I only drink Diet RC cola cause its made with splenda, and not that Aspartame garbage.

Before I started my transformation, Diet Coke was like another food group. I probably went through a case per week. I had the same question, and got the same answers - "just drink water". I'd heard rumors in the past that Diet sodas in some way inhibited weight loss. Not that anyone had any proof. I did quit drinking it though - only for the reassurance that it wasn't keeping me from losing weight.

for some people diet coke keeps them from pigging out on candy/carbs/etc might as well have a diet coke before messing up your diet

Bump on what Pico said, if it helps stop you from indulging in normal coke and other junk then its ok. As long as you dont go overboard a bit of Diet Coke isnt going to make or break your program.

Marcus :cool:

I was drinking diet coke when I started my fat loss diet. After about 3weeks a stopped drinking it and drank water instead. All I can say is it was the best decision I ever made. As soon as I stopped drink it (2 tins a day) the weight started dropping off. I know you like drinking it but after a week of not drinking it you will forget about it.

i had my first diet coke today(hot day, went down to a cafe with brother and a friend), personally i like the other sugar-free stuff better, but for 2.4cals per 600ml whos complaining!

today i got sugar-free rasberry jam and some sugar-free jelly
also i have some sugar free choco topping, only thing im missing is sugar-free cordial :p

i dont really eat this stuff everyday, maybe 2-3times a week, its good to keep some carb/sugar cravings at bay, the other day i had a really bad pasta + meat sauce craving (family was eating it!) pity they dont make calorie free pasta, beef and tomato's :rolleyes:

I drink a few diet cokes and eat a several chocolate bars during the week, and I'm losing weight just fine. I would still say about 98% of the food I eat is clean and healthy.

I find it helps me to have some snacks every so often, since by doing that I avoid the mindset that I can NEVER eat what I want, which to me is frustrating and makes me want to pig out immediately.

I always stick to my calorie budget though, so when I eat that chocolate bar I've got 161 calories less to eat for the day... No big deal.

On the other hand, I used to drink almost two gallons of diet coke every day... I wouldn't recommend that... All the caffeine made me really nervous and I would get headaches and feel uncomfortable if I didn't get my coke every so often. Also, it didn't feel very healthy to have a coke first thing in the morning, immediately after waking up.

Nowadays most of my liquid comes from water and a few cups of decaf coffee during the day.

for some people diet coke keeps them from pigging out on candy/carbs/etc might as well have a diet coke before messing up your diet
that's why i drink it. i drink a lot of water too, but sometimes i just need something that has a taste to it. i only drink the caffeine free diet coke. only thing it has in it is basically sodium which retains water.

i drink a lot of water too, but sometimes i just need something that has a taste to it.

I drink Crystal Light for the same reason. It's caffeine and sugar free.

:tu: Thanks for all of your input. I drink about 100 ounces or so of water plus a few diet cokes. So I will stop worrying :D

I just thought I'd add: caffeine free diet coke can kill slight hunger pangs. You get flavor and bubbles. helps me in the evening.

Here is how I got off the soda bandwagon....

I switched to Iced Tea sweetened with regular ol' sugar. I made it as sweet as it needed to be so I could drink it and enjoy it as much as cola. (Was almost like syrup and there was always sludge in the bottom of my glass)

There were cravings for cola... I'm convinced the stuff is addictive. My mind was made up that it was something I wanted to quit and I stuck with the Tea.

After I had made a successful conversion to Iced Tea I started to ween off the sugar. Little bit less every day. Not enough to notice any taste difference but less by measured amount.

After a few months I was down to a tiny amount of sugar and then none at all. I brew my iced tea with one bag of regular tea and one bag of herbal tea for flavoring.

If you are concerned that you need more caffeine you could always suppliment with Vivrin or No-Doz. ;-)

One more thing... When you are at the grocery store take note of who is buying diet cola. Most of the time it is butter-trolls the size of whales. That stuff is evil

If you could find someone who grew up in a cola-free land and you offered them a glass of diet coke they would probably gag and spit it out. You drink it because you've been conditioned your entire life to drink it. You can stop if you decide you want to.

I used to have two or three cokes (20 oz bottles or some fast food biggie drink) per day.

However, since day I started eating clean and exercising (Jan. 18, 2002), I have not had a single soda of any kind. (I had one the night before.) I had no caffeine withdrawal. And I don't miss soda a damn bit! :)

So it can be very easy to get off of.

Like one said, diet coke is not going to hurt your diet. It actually helps some of us on our diets, us with the sweet tooth (me). If it helps then drink it, but get your water too. The reason why some of you like diet better is cause Aspartame is 10X sweeter than regular sugar, but just know what your drinking.

PS.........To the guy who eats chocolate bars during the day. I understand that your eating the chocolate bars is still in a calorie deficit, but doesent that still spike the insulin, thus causing your body to store fat?

PS.........To the guy who eats chocolate bars during the day. I understand that your eating the chocolate bars is still in a calorie deficit, but doesent that still spike the insulin, thus causing your body to store fat?

Maybe, but I'm not too concerned about that as long as I'm still losing weight according to my plan :) Besides, it's only a small 35g chocolate bar filled with Müesli, not the worst kind by far...

One more thing... When you are at the grocery store take note of who is buying diet cola. Most of the time it is butter-trolls the size of whales. That stuff is evil




"Butter-trolls" :) are more likely to be the people joining gyms, too, when they first get started. So what's evil about sugar-free soda?

So what's evil about sugar-free soda?

Honestly I don't get what the fuss is about diet soda. No calories and it satisfies a sweet tooth. The first ingredient in it is WATER. Even with the mild diuretic effect of caffeine, you still take in way more water than you're peeing out. Plus, if you take any of those diet pills they all have caffeine in them.

I drink water all day...besides 1 cup of coffee.....just cutting the excess sugars does wonders to your diet. 1 diet soda won't kill ya if you need it to stay strict to your plan....but for me, it was one of the easiest eliminations to make.

Its not the caffine bro, its the aspartame. Its a unique chemical, and has been debated and overlooked by the FDA. Do some research on the dangers of aspartame and you will be shocked at what you find.

"Butter-trolls" :) are more likely to be the people joining gyms, too, when they first get started. So what's evil about sugar-free soda?

My reason for not liking diet soda is the awful chemical taste followed by another awful aftertaste. They coat the inside of your mouth and teeth with a sticky film.

Experiment One:
Conduct an experiment to demonstrate the immidate effects of carbonated soft drinks. (regular or diet... doesn't matter)

Brush your teeth good and then run your tongue across them. Should be nice and smooth. Now drink your favorite cola and then check again. Yep... NASTY sticky film on your teeth.

Now go brush your teeth and conduct a control experiment using water or unsweetened iced tea.

How about that? No nasty film! Water also does a much better job of quenching your thirst. (cola is loaded with sodium)

Also this:
Critics of diet sodas point out that artificial sweeteners cause the brain to react to sweet taste (cephalic phase response) by preparing the liver to receive a new supply of sugar. And if no sugar appears, the liver signals an urge to eat, or possibly over-eat.

My brother has been eating smart and working out and he has lost quite a bit of weight but he still consumes two to four liters of diet pepsi every day. He says "I've got to have it!" and he won't even consider giving it up.

I just think that it is sad that their marketing has programmed him to the point that he thinks he has to drink that crap.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not an alarmist or anything and I have seen all the associated urban legends about diet cola. I just don't like the taste and I don't like being told what I'm supposed to drink.

Also this:

Quote:
Critics of diet sodas point out that artificial sweeteners cause the brain to react to sweet taste (cephalic phase response) by preparing the liver to receive a new supply of sugar. And if no sugar appears, the liver signals an urge to eat, or possibly over-eat.




Other than the Sodium issue, that is the most interesting and logical argument against diet soda I think I've ever heard. To add to that, what if the body senses the sweet taste and prepares to (and possibly releases) some insulin to make way for the sweetness? Eh, it's just a theory.

Yeah, there's a lot of talk about how artificial sweeteners could trigger insulin response like real sugar does, merely because it tastes sweet, but that's just not backed up by any science. (Plenty of people who hate artificial sweeteners are willing to post myths on their "scientific-sounding websites", but they have no proof to back it up.)

Diabetics and insulin-resistant people are not cautioned against artificial sweeteners (as long as they don't have trouble with PKU and don't consume huge quantities and aren't the rare person who gets headaches from sweeteners). In fact, artificial sweeteners are a big help to people with insulin problems. I know someone who's quite insulin resistant, and her doctor allows her to take artificial sweeteners within reasonable amounts. The body releases insulin based on the real content of the food, not the perception. Otherwise, if you dreamed about eating something sweet, you'd throw your insulin out of whack! (That would be evolution at its dumbest.)

Other than the Sodium issue, that is the most interesting and logical argument against diet soda I think I've ever heard. To add to that, what if the body senses the sweet taste and prepares to (and possibly releases) some insulin to make way for the sweetness? Eh, it's just a theory.

Most replacement sweeteners do raise you GI.

[edit]
nm someone already asked this before me :)