Diet Soda Addiction and Weight Loss.

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Yes, diet soda does make it harder to loose weight. You are better off to drink regular soda if you are simply trying to loose weight. Better yet, drink water.

I feel like diet sodas are the same as Fat Free Candy! I think soda is basically carbonated syrup which if you think about it can't be good for you. I stopped drinking soda altogether (except for the occational cup or two) because I noticed that after I cut it out, my stomach was flatter and I had lost a little weight. I always think of the carbonation in soda and think that it is making little fizzy bubbles in my stomach and making me look bloated! (I know it sounds crazy and completely stupid, but I see a big change when I cut it out).

yes it can. My hubby loves soda. He will drink a 12pack a day if I let him. He thought switching to diet would help...nope he gained 5more lbs in a month. He quit drinking soda alltogether and in a month lost 10lbs with no other changes. I think an occsional one is fine but if you drink more than 1 a week your not doing yourself any favors

There was an article about Illinois or maybe it was Chicago only that wants to put a special tax on any drinks with added sugar like regular soda and other similar drinks and calling it an obesity tax. In the article "experts" mentioned that the problem with this is that people that are obese tend to drink more diet drinks instead so this tax really would not effect them. They also said that when you drink diet, you tend to have a mindset that you are eating fewer calories than the true amount. It reminded me of the joke of a guy going into a fast food restaurant and ordering a huge burger, the largest size fries and a diet coke.

studies show that diet sodas increase your weight gain. There are chemicals involved that are way over my head. It's not the calories, sugar, or fat, it's the way these particular chemicals affect your body. It has also been shown that people overindulge when they think of something as diet. You may drnk moreof it because you think it's no big deal and you may eat more food because you think you are saving calories by drinking diet.

from what i've seen in studies and been told by dr's, diet soda makes you gain as much weight as regular soda. the stuff they use to sweeten it makes you crave sugar more. and also the sodium.

Hey Molly-

The thing about diet soda is the artificial sugars and sweeteners in it. It can cause all sorts of health problems, including vision loss and weight gain. I won't do into a lecture, but if you are having like a dozen a day, it is super bad for you. Aspartame and Phenylalanine are horrible and are nothing but artificial, and usually lead to sweet cravings afterwards.

Hope that kinda helps! =)

Molly,

As part of my wildlife degree I had to take micro biology and cell biology classes. The debate over real sugar vs fake sugar was discussed in depth. Here's what I learned:

Though the soda itself does not contain any obvious calories, the artificial sugars in diet sodas are metabolized differently than pure cane or beet sugar in your body. Your body is tricked into thinking it hasn't eaten anything in hours and many people find themselves snacking 20 minutes to an hour after drinking a diet soda. Many people (myself included) find themselves reaching for junk food to relieve their intense hunger rather than taking the time to prepare a healthy snack.

But, something to consider, your body cannot work properly if you don't eat good calories. For example, let's say a candy bar contains 210 calories, but almost all of the bar is sugar (turned into glucose in the body), salt, and a small bit of protein. The sugar is bound to insulin which is then transported and stored in your fat reserves to prepare for a possible food shortage (cave man times), the salt causes water retention (both good and bad for your blood cells), and the small bit of protein helps to regenerate your red blood cells. The fats in the candy bar raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol.

But, if you were to eat a small handful of walnuts that contain about 183 calories, you are ingesting good protein for your blood cells, good fats that lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good cholesterol, as well as complex carbohydrates that fuel your body for the next couple of hours.

By eating the walnuts your body will work more efficiently, raise your metabolism slightly, and help you to loose weight over time (in addition to daily exercise).

I second the other mom who suggested replacing one soda a day for water for a week or so then replacing another with water until you are just drinking water.

Good luck with your weight loss.

C. J.

Yes, it could be a major reason why you're not loosing the weight. I'm not sure about Dr.P, but most diet sodas have a lot of sodium, which makes you retain water. You're also probably not drinking the amount of water you should each day.

I was a diet pepsi addict myself. Ok maybe not quite an addict but I did have 3 cans a day. I stopped. I felt a lot better. I started drinking more water, which is much better for me.

I caught part of the Dr. Oz show today. They had on 2 people who gave up soda (the lady was drinking over 4 litters of diet soda day) for a month. She said she lost 10 lbs.

Diet soda does a number on your kidneys.
Can you cut down to once or twice a week?
It may have nothing to do with the diet soda (it's still good to cut down, though).
Losing weight tends to get harder as we get older and late 20's is a typical time for this to begin.
I could eat anything at 22 and it never phased me.
By the time I was 26, I could tell it was beginning to change.
By 30, there was NO WAY I could eat like I did when I was 22.
There are a lot of factors that can affect our metabolism.
You might have to make some broader changes to diet in order to get the results you use to get.

Phenylalanine ...sp? is basically an amino acid blocker, it is itself and amino acid, but it blocks our amino acids from working the way they should. When you mess with your amino acids you mess with your whole system. Theres no evidence of "why' people dont lose weight,or worse, gain while drinking diet soda , but tampering with your natural chemistry is never good....weight loss or no weight loss. Statistics have proven without a shred of doubt that diet soda does not help with weight loss. maybe you should try carbonated water with a little "stevia" to sweeten it. Stevia is all natural (for real) and calorie free. They come in different flavors, though i really like the one without flavor.

I LOVE DDP!!! I limit myself to , 2 a week. Sorry, don't have any input, just wanted to let you know, you're not alone.

My understanding is that it makes you crave sugary foods. Also, the caffeine could play a role of some kind. You are putting more chemicals in your body than is good for you. You could wean down to a smaller amount & see if that helps. Would be good for your body to do that anyway. Good luck!

Diet soda is poison, there is no getting away from this, it is fact.

My dear, dear friend who has insulin resistant diabetes nearly died from drinking diet soft drinks. It killed her stomach off and she had to have major surgery to have a lot of her stomach removed. The specialist for her diabetes put in an insulin pump with E-5000 in it. She stopped all diet foods, drinks, candies, everything that had any artificial sweeteners at all. She is down to 105 lbs., she has not had pneumonia in over 2 years, she is no longer carrying oxygen with her everywhere, she eats real sugar, real butter, real meat, real bread, real pop. She is healthier than she ever has been in her life, she has nearly normal blood sugar every time and rarely uses any insulin. Her doc says her body was being poisoned by the artificial sweeteners and now that she only uses real sugar they can take the insulin pump out.

I don't know the chemistry of it all but I believe it does hinder weight loss. If there is caffiene in the Dr Pepper, THAT will hinder weight loss. No lectures...just facts..the carbonation bubbles are not good for your heart and the artificial sweetener turns into formaldehyde (sp) once it is in your system....you know, that terrible stuff they use to preserve frogs for biology class dissections...YUK! Hope you can break the habit. Just drink a little less Dr Pepper each day and more water. Good luck!

Your brain doesn't know the difference between sugar-free and sugar. The taste of sweetness will set off cravings for more. I lead weight management classes at my doctor's office. We'd love to show you how to reach your goal!

Aspartame in the diet soda actually stimulates the pancrease to produce more insulin, when a person drinks the diet pop they think they are saving on calories and then can eat more, and it has been linked to neurological problems as well.

This is why it is not good to drink diet pop.

I use to drink one can at lunch with my salad. When I learned all of this I cut aspartame and all other aritificial sweetners out of my diet as well as my familys.

When you give the body good nutrition, it won't crave the the things that aren't good for us.

Ideally it would be good for you to go "cold turkey". If you really feel you can't, then cut out one of the Dr. Peppers for a glass of water. After a week, replace the next Dr. Pepper with water and do this until you are drinking water instead of Dr. Pepper.

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Hope this information helps.