Should I give up diet coke to lose weight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, give all soda if you want to avoid osteoporosis and kidney stones. Soda is truly horrible. Save it for a treat once or twice a year. I personally believe that Coca Cola is the nectar of the Gods, but I only drink it at Christmas and it makes it taste even better.

Coca Cola - Nectar of the Gods!!!!! Hilarious!! I had to give up or I was going to become an addict. I too only buy it as Christmas and it has to be the one with Santa too. Only 6 months to go...

That's right PP - the one with the Santa. Counting down the months...

[Anonymous]

I maybe drink a small glass (8 oz) of soda every other day. Everything in moderation. Like other posters, diet soda is hard on your bones and teeth. I drink coffee, which there have been many studies lately pointing to the benefits of coffee. You could get some caffeine from coffee instead of soda. Other great alternatives to soda: water, sparkling water, ice tea.

[Anonymous]

I lost 10 lbs when I quit DC and started drinking water instead. It works for some people because the artificial sweeter fools your body into thinking you've just consumed real sugar. Because you haven't, your body craves sweets and you overeat. I obviously can't explain the science very well, but my results speak for themselves.

[Anonymous]

I have read that using artificial sweetners contributes to insulin resistence both because you will crave carbs but also because it affects your blood sugar/insulin release mechanisms. What sucks for me is that to adopt a lifestyle that is not the poster session for IR I would need to change basically everything about how I live.

1. Lack of sleep (less than 6 hours a day increases weight gain and IR)
2. Eating carbs like pototoes, pasta, bread
3. Eating late at night
4. Not exercising daily or at least 4 times a week (lighter exercise 30 minutes more frequently is better to balance your blood sugar than 60 minutes of intense exercise only 2 or 3 times a week)
5. Not eating sugar or artificial sweetners ( or eating only a small amount and always eating it with protein or a certain type of fat that counters the blood sugar affect)
6. Keeping the belly fat off (the belly fat is supposedly active, triggers hormones that affect blood sugar and leads to more weight gain)

[Anonymous]

I gave up artificial sweeteners in January and easily shed 3 pounds. (I was already very lean. ) My sweet tooth diminished notably. I still treat my self to a diet coke a couple of times a week, but was drinking 2-3 a day before I cut out the artificial crap. I truly believe it makes a difference in weight loss.

[Anonymous]

Try Weight Watchers first and make sure it isn't the other crap or portions you are eating that is making you fat... not the Diet Coke. Another thing, learn about the importance of protein and why you should eat protein with every meal. Diet Coke is not good for you but it alone is not your problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have read that using artificial sweetners contributes to insulin resistence both because you will crave carbs but also because it affects your blood sugar/insulin release mechanisms. What sucks for me is that to adopt a lifestyle that is not the poster session for IR I would need to change basically everything about how I live.

1. Lack of sleep (less than 6 hours a day increases weight gain and IR)
2. Eating carbs like pototoes, pasta, bread
3. Eating late at night
4. Not exercising daily or at least 4 times a week (lighter exercise 30 minutes more frequently is better to balance your blood sugar than 60 minutes of intense exercise only 2 or 3 times a week)
5. Not eating sugar or artificial sweetners ( or eating only a small amount and always eating it with protein or a certain type of fat that counters the blood sugar affect)
6. Keeping the belly fat off (the belly fat is supposedly active, triggers hormones that affect blood sugar and leads to more weight gain)

Care to explain? Or post a link? I am interested

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have read that using artificial sweetners contributes to insulin resistence both because you will crave carbs but also because it affects your blood sugar/insulin release mechanisms. What sucks for me is that to adopt a lifestyle that is not the poster session for IR I would need to change basically everything about how I live.

1. Lack of sleep (less than 6 hours a day increases weight gain and IR)
2. Eating carbs like pototoes, pasta, bread
3. Eating late at night
4. Not exercising daily or at least 4 times a week (lighter exercise 30 minutes more frequently is better to balance your blood sugar than 60 minutes of intense exercise only 2 or 3 times a week)
5. Not eating sugar or artificial sweetners ( or eating only a small amount and always eating it with protein or a certain type of fat that counters the blood sugar affect)
6. Keeping the belly fat off (the belly fat is supposedly active, triggers hormones that affect blood sugar and leads to more weight gain)

Care to explain? Or post a link? I am interested

Look up glycemic index. When you consume carbs with fat and protein, your insulin does not spike the way it does if you consume straight carbs,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should give up diet coke because the ingredients label reads like a science experiment, not food.

But, I don't think it will have too much impact on weight loss.

I agree.

[Anonymous]

Diet coke is bad for you because of the ingredients and because fake sugar causes greater cravings for real sugar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Diet coke is bad for you because of the ingredients and because fake sugar causes greater cravings for real sugar.

But if you don't give into those cravings, problem solved. Personally though, I would drop to one soda a day (everything in moderation!) and drink water the rest of the time. Keep a refillable bottle around and just keep drinking. Once you start, it gets easy.

[Anonymous]

Artificial sweetners cause me to have seizures. I was diagnosed as a child when real coke was taken off the market and I would have my mom's diet coke as a treat. Stupidly, I believed the hype about Splenda and had a seizure as an adult after conusming a bit here and there. While I realize different foods can be dangerous to only certain people (peanuts, strawberries, mushrooms, etc.), it makes me quite wary of what is in these chemicals that are prevelant in so many foods. It is impossible to find chewing gum that does not have it (even brands that used to use actual sugar).

[Anonymous]

5. Not eating sugar or artificial sweetners ( or eating only a small amount and always eating it with protein or a certain type of fat that counters the blood sugar affect)
6. Keeping the belly fat off (the belly fat is supposedly active, triggers hormones that affect blood sugar and leads to more weight gain)

Care to explain? Or post a link? I am interested

Look up glycemic index. When you consume carbs with fat and protein, your insulin does not spike the way it does if you consume straight carbs,

You can also google insulin resistence diet or prevention. I found a few sites that all recommended not completely cutting out carbs but minimizing them and combining them with some fat or protein. If your IR is out of whack you are better off getting it back in balance rather than swinging in the opposite extreme with no carbs at all.

Some foods like avocados and fish can counter the blood sugar/insulin reaction even better. So if you love pasta, try having a smaller portion of whole wheat pasta with grilled salmon and a few avocado slices.

[Anonymous]

Any word on if Truvia made from the Stevia plant is safer/better than Splenda?

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of reasons to give up or at least really restrict consumption of diet soda. Do it for your bones, your brain and yes, for weight loss. Being realistic, though, remember that there are ages where the metabolism just slows, so you can't get away with what you ate before without gaining weight.