Diet Drinks

I am a mother of 4 and with my last 2 I was addicted to Pepsi. My doctor told me that diet soda, crystal light, green tea, and water were fine substitutes. I have learned from experience that the easiest way to start losing the weight is to cut out the soda no matter if it is diet or not and drink water. When I made water my main drink and only had the occasional soda, I lost over 35 pounds. My sister also changed to water and had significant help in her weight loss because of it.

There have not been any confirmed studies on the link between diet drinks and child development, however, when in doubt don't do it. Not to mention in several studies diet drinks also lead to weight gain as the pancreas feels it still needs sugar and will look for it causing you to eat more foods high in this product. Stick with flavored spritzers and water is the best weight loss tool.

Remember everything you eat or drink can be passed on to your baby. Why risk him drink artificial sugar substitutes when you feed him. Just cut soda out of your diet. If you want a lemonade make it using fresh squeezed lemons.

Good Luck,
S.

www.tricocijuiceplus.com
Complete Shakes are only 150 calories...it is an FDA approved meal replacment. It's packed with vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegtables. They are delicious. I got turned on to them during my pregnancy.....I am a breakfast lunch dinner and 3 snacks when I am pregnant...I would eat dinner at 6 and be starving at 9. It's quick and easy one scoop shake a one cup liquid (water, juice, rice milk, skim milk) then I add a handfull of frozen fruit berries and a 1/2 of frozen bannana.....IT is so yummy.....It keeps me filled up for hours...it's satisfies the sweet tooth in a healthy way. This would be great for you and your baby! Packed with Nutrician -the calories. by the way I agree with the one of the posts about the artifical sweetners!!!!! They are also liked with causing cancer...so be care full with that! Good luck let me know if I can help!
D.

M.,
Just because it is called "diet" soda. Nutrasweet, Aspertame,Equal. ( all the same) are are very toxic, they cause hundreds of illness and ACTUALLY cause people to GAIN Weight! Do some research and then decide if you "ever" want to ever drink it again.

20 % of all those on anit deprssive drugs could get off if they quit drinking diet drinks. It stops you metabolism, causes headache in some. The list is page long. Bottom line, it's a chemical

Want to lose weight, you can do it now!
Both you and your son will benefit. Eat "real" food.
A program that works extrememly well is found at:
www.get-rid-of-bellyfat.com Check it out.

I wrote an article on my family health column about artificial sweeteners in general: http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam... I state in there that studies show eating artificial sweeteners actually makes you crave and eat more sugar...

You received some pretty good advice so far. You can also track and log your caloric intake at www.fitday.com it is completely free and user friendly.

Losing weight is about calories in and out. Studies show we are not expending enough calories and taking too many in. Aim to drink half of your body weight in ounces in water. So if you weigh 160, you would drink 80oz and it will help with your milk supply (good for you to continue nursing!!!) Eat at least 2 servings of fruit per day, I eat one first thing in the morning and this is a great time of year for salads and homemade dressings.

Good Luck.
J. W. MPH
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert

I am still nursing my son who is a year old and I have lost over 20 lbs since January. I don't drink soda very much because of the negative health issues with soda. There are a whole host of reason to just not drink it. (I will indulge on occasion at a restaurant or something but not often.

You can lose weight by drinking small glasses off your beverage of choice and then the rest of the time drinking water. I typically have two cups of coffee in the morning (about 100 calories) and then I drink a small glass of tea at lunch, a small glass of juice in the evening and water the rest of the day.

I figured out how many calories I should eat to lose weight and I stay within that range. I keep my fat grams down below 45, I watch my portions (1 meat serving a day the size of a deck of cards, 1/2 my plate are veggies, 1/2 cup of starch, more fish and chicken, no snack foods like chips, cookies...)

I research all the time on sites like realage.com and nationalbodychallenge.com

I have several books the my MIL got me from thrift stores and I gleen information from those...like Prevention Magazines book called Your Perfect WEight. Another book called The Portion Plan, a Weight Watchers book, another called the Maker's Diet... I don't take any of them word for word but gleen what is good for me.

I also pay very close attention to healthy lifestyle habits for my heart.

You can lose weight without drinking diet drinks.

I don't believe it will harm your little one in any very apparent way, but who knows what hidden effects it might have...just avoid diet drinks as much as possible. A treat once in awhile shouldn't hurt him, but I wouldn't drink them daily.

Hi M., I have some excellent advice for you! Instead of trying to lose weight by drinking diet soda, etc. Take 3 tablespoons of flax oil (easiest to do in a protein shake fot breakfast) not only will you burn fat, but you'll help your babies brain development and you'll boost your milk production and be able to continue breast feeding as long as you'd like, which is another way to lose weight. You burn a lot of calories producing milk. I started the 3 T's a day 10 years ago when my oldest was 8 months old after reading an article about the benefits of omega 3's. Of course it' all over the place now, but then know one was talking about omega 3's. Anyway, the article said take 3 tablespoons a day until you've lost all the weight you want, then cut back to 1 T a day. Well, I decided to just keep taking 3 and I weigh less and look better now (at 48) than I did before I had my 2 kids!

Personally I found that drinking diet soda made me feel bloated and I don't like the chemical aspect of crystal light. I've also read how bad it is to drink soda out of cans. Drink water!

Oh, you can buy flax oil at most health food stores, trader joes or whole foods. Don't get the pills, buy liquid. Its usually in the refrigerated section (except at TJ's)

Good luck! I know it will work.

Hi M.,

I just want to tell you that I occasionally had a Diet Coke when I was breastfeeding my twins for a little over a year. The doctor said moderation is okay. My sister in law had a Diet Coke or two everyday while pregnant and her children who are now 12 and 15 are in advanced/ accelerated classes... and no health issues either for them.

My twins are now 7 yrs. old and they are very healthy and bright children. (Their teachers tell me and report cards are evidence of that...not just me saying so.) So with that said, it didn't bother my kids. However... I am not saying go ahead and have a diet drink in moderation... you decide, but I just want to tell you that for my family, it all seems to have turned out well in this department.

In regards to losing weight, my fried just recommended that I check out this website since I want to lose 15 to 20 lbs. She said it's totally free and it's suppose to be great! I haven't had time to read a lot about it yet... but my friend only recommeds the best sites... she rec. mamasource to me a few years ago and here I am still going to this site:) Here's the link to the site for losing weight:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/register.asp

Take care,

J.

i wouldnt that stuff is toxic. BUt you could start working on weight without using diet drinks! Just water down juice or drink more water and the most important thing just take your kid out and MOVE!

I wouldn't use any artificial sweeteners while nursing. They don't recommend doing while you are pregnant, so I wouldn't do it while nursing. Keep nursing! That will help you lose weight.

I don't agree with the previous posters. A little bit of artificial sweetener will not harm anyone. I wouldn't recommend 10 diet sodas in a day, but one won't hurt. Even when I was pregnant my doc said one or two was fine.

For those who say it's a chemical and it's artificial, just look at everything we eat. The ingredient labeles are full of chemicals and additives. Walk over to your pantry and look. Relax and think of it as "everything in moderation".

There are a lots of things to worry about in this world, a little bit of diet lemonade shouldn't be at the top of the list. Good luck in getting fit.

Hi M.,

Im not sure about drinking diet drinks but Im actually responding to your desire to lose weight.

My husband and I started an excellent online activity that helps you to lose weight (and keep it off!) It focuses on being disciplined in your eating. It is daily accountability and encouragement. If you are really serious about wanting to slim down, I strongly suggest that you check it out. Its FREE!! :) Its a 60 day committment. We are almost finished. My husband has lost 50 lbs and I have lost about 25lbs. It has totally transformed the way we see food and how we dine. I highly reccommend it.

The website is www.settingcaptivesfree.com. They have a lot of activities, but this one is called "The Lord's Table".

Hope that you will find it to be extremely beneficial too! :)

By God's Grace,
~A.

ps if you have any questions, you can email me at ____@____.com.

M., you are a great mom to first stop and consider your baby's needs. Everything you put into you finds its way into your milk and therefore your baby. Diet drinks are everything artificial and chemical. I would encourage you to lose your weight with exercise and more healthful eating (If you're making food for your son, you could be eating that same food unsmashed!) rather than choosing diet drinks...while you're nursing and forevermore! I would also encourage you to find a yoga teacher: yoga can help you be more accepting of yourself, help you make healthy choices AND help you relax. A working mom is a mom that has 2 full-time jobs. It sounds as though your husband is great and that's great! But a bit of relaxation would help all of you. Good luck. Keep enjoying.

I'd try to avoid all artificial sweeteners while nursing. The saying that my doctor always had was that whatever goes into your system goes to your baby just like during pregnancy. Later, if you can stick with only Stevia products if you absolutely need sweeteners. Aspartame and the others are really scary man-made time bombs, in my opinion. I do like the True Lemon/Lime/Orange products. A little in water is really great and all natural.

I would try to avoid all artificial sweeteners, as well as high fructose corn syrup found in soda. There is really nothing beneficial for your body in them. Try drinking water with a slice of lemon, lime, strawberries, cucumber slices, etc. You can make all sorts of delicious and refreshing fruit infused waters. Very yummy and much better for you. Sounds like you are in tune with healthy homemade food for your son. Drinking water will help you feel healthier and lose weight. Water is the way to go. Enjoy!

If you want to lose weight you should stay away from diet drinks (and regular) for that matter all together. Artificial sweetner is horrible for you for many health reasons (both yours and the baby you are nursing) but if we are talking strictly diet here, artifical sweetners seem good because the have 0 calories but they actually make your body crave more sweets which will make your diet near impossible. Also, your boby processes artifical sweetners differently because, well, they are foreign to our bodies since they are artificial and your body stores the sugar differently and can't process/breakdown the sugar which means you are putting undue stress on your body and you won't lose weight as effectively. There have been many studies on why we should avoid artifical sweetners and I'm not just talking the whole cancer in labratory rats. If you want to lose weight, you just stick to water or juice (small amounts and without high frutcose corn sryup).
Good luck!

Whoa!!!! Diet drinks are a huge no-no! Try some selter water (they have several different flavors available) or just tough it out! I know it's tough, but it's so worth it! Good luck to you!

I know how it feels to want to lose weight, I've got a lot to go myself, but diet drinks are not good for you. The sweetener are chemicals that are bad for you and can be passed through breast milk. Try drinking water with a little lemon or orange. I do like soda also, but I limit myself because all that sugar isn't good, and that gets passed through too. Good Luck in your efforts and congrats on breast feeding for so long! Way to go!