Diet Soda and Obesity: Is There a Link?

If htere were people who really worry that they're obese, then they should work out and really try to get their bodies healthy. They should because it's the only body the've got.

Think of it this way: artificial sweeteners did not occure naturally, and are not proccessed by the body in a natural way. The body expects that what enters it is a digestable item. When the incomming chemicals (and artificial sweeteners are just chemicals) are proccessed by the body, they break down into potentially dangerous compounds. (fomic acid, etc.) So aspertame may be dangerous because it breaks down into formaldahyde when it is kept at temperatures above about 80 degrees, but look at what Splenda(c) does: it affects the thyroid gland, making this vital gland smaller (in young rat studies). The thyroid gland is responcible for the function of the metabolism! Bottom Line: Do not fool around with chemicals in your food. There are to many varriables to test before something is PROVEN to be safe. The best we can do in any reasonalbe amount of time is to come up with a 95% confidence interval in which we reasonably sure no significant side effects will occure.
(lets not discuss sodium benzonate and potasium benzonate--they each have their own problems)
As for kicking the habit of diet soda (and any artific ial sweetener/preservitive for that matter) just ask yourself this question: Do you want your life to be filled with excuses or accomplishments?* This question helped me stop drinking anything artificial. You have to really want to stop drinking this stuff; you have to BELIEVE in the benifits of not drinking diet soda (not saying the regular soda is good--because it is not); you have to constantly remind yourself of why it is you are loosing weight (that is why you are reading a diet blog is it not?); finally, you have to reolize that you are the one that opens the can/bottle; you can stop if you really want to.

SO DO YOU WANT TO STOP DRINKING DIET SODA?
Honest with yourself--thats all that counts...

*http://www.global-fitness.com/news/NewsletterVol395.html

Lots of interesting reading here. Today I stopped drinking my usual 2 or 3 diet pepsi's a day. I'm drinking water, which is fine, I like it with a squeeze of lime in it. But the reason I stopped is because I have been getting headaches for years and I decided to stop drinking the diet sodas and see if that helped. Has anyone else had bad, bad headaches that went away after quitting the sodas?

Kim,

Headaches are just one of the many side effects of diet soda reported on a regular basis. That doesn't mean giving up diet soda will get rid of your headaches but my opinion is it certainly may help (and even if it doesn't help in that area, it is still GREAT to get off of the diet soda for many other reasons).

I have several clients who have given up diet soda (as well as other foods containing artificial sweetners) and they normally feel much better after about 60 -90 days. They have told me about headaches clearing up, energy increasing, skin clearing up, a general feeling of well being, easier weight loss and a general stabilization of mood.

Please keep in mind that when you first give up the artificial sweetner you could (probably will) go through a period of withdrawl (flu like symptoms), followed by a period of detoxification (worse headaches, acne, stomach problems, etc.)... this is part of the process.

There are some supplments out there that can help with the detoxification (as well as help the body to better cleanse itself), but you should be careful with what you choose to take (making sure to only buy high quality supplements) and you should consult a physician if you have medical problems or take medications before starting any cleansing (supplement) program.

Best of luck to you and GREAT choice on giving up this "poison".

www.jasonbarter.unfranchise.com

Diet soda has no calories. Therefore, diet soda alone does not make you gain weight. It has no sugar. People who drink diet soda frequently sike themselves out... saying, "oh, I gave up the real soda... I'll have a couple more fries with this pizza." The soda alone does nothing to contribute to weight gain. Similarly, if one experiences "cravings" after consuming a diet soda, (which there is no official linkage to), the body does not do anything different with the calories from the craved food than it would without having consumed the diet soda. As a certified nutritionist, I can vouche for the validity of these statements.

i used to drink all types of soda and i was around 240 pounds in the summer of 04, then my friend suggested i drink diet soday saying that cutting 150 calories a day is about 3500 calories in a month and i would be losing a pound a month if i stop drinking sugared soda, i tried it,

i ended up GAINING weight, because i remember right after drinking a can of diet soda i would have this EXTREME sugar craving in which i would do anything to get sugar in my body, i would turn to 100 calories oreos (1), and eat about half a bag of them..

now that i stopped drinking soda altogether, i have lost about 40 pounds along with good exercise and playing football everynow and then

what helps to quit drinking is to stare at the soda and ask is the extra 2 minutes of enjoyment worth the 150 calories?

I have found these comments very interesting. I too, have become addicted to Diet Soda. I did not drink pop until I had a baby:) Then I switched to Diet. Interestingly, I was at a normal weight until then. It's been a couple of years and I have fought depression, fatigue, intense sugar cravings and weight gain. I usually drink 20 oz a day but sometimes a lot more and then I experience headaches and hyperactivity which is probably the caffeine. Lately I have been experiencing eye twitching and shooting pains once in a while in my legs. I am always bloated. I did not drink any yesterday or today so we will see. I am convinced it's bad for you whether it's aspartame or not. How could all those chemicals not affect us somehow?

This board is really interesting. I have been beating myself up over why I have been gaining weight even though I increased my cardio and my weight training. Almost freaked out when I tried to put on a pair of fav pants, could barely close them. Started to evaluate my eating habits which are fine, lots of fiber, fruit, and veggies, nothing crazy. However, I have been drinking loads of diet drinks for the past 4 or 5 few months, and the consumption of the diet drinks has steadily increased, the other day I finished an entire large bottle of Diet Pepsi within an hour. I also have been lethargic, and could sleep all day. Now, after reading all the comments it is starting to make sense. Like I said I do lead a healthy life: exercise, eat right, hardly ever any fast food (may be every 4 or 5 months or so). So if it isn't my diet that has caused the weight gain, may be it is the diet soda. I haven't had any diet soda today though, and it's hard. However, I am very curious to see if I am going to lose the weight now.

The statement "The soda alone does nothing to contribute to weight gain" is not true. While diet soda does indeed have zero calories and the sweetness can satisfy your tongue, the zero caloris do not satisfy the brain.. which now, having taken in this sweet substance begins to crave calories.

As for the comment that ""cravings" after consuming a diet soda, (which there is no official linkage to)" According to an article in Technology Review, "aspartame may actually stimulate appetite and bring on a craving for carbohydrates" (Farber 52). 2. An article in Utne Reader claims, "researchers believe that any kind of sweet taste signals body cells to store carbohydrates and fats, which in turn causes the body to crave more food" (Lamb 16)"

Don't believe me, give it up for three months and see how much better you feel.

Jason P Barter
www.jasonbarter.unfranchise.com

I used to drink 1 diet Pepsi a day thinking that I would loose weight (I'm only 12). Then my science teacher told me that artificial sweeteners (the chemicals in diet Pepsi) would stay in my body FOREVER!! Now I'm trying to tell my Mom not to drink it but she wont stop until she sees it in writing I don't want my Mom to die! Please help me give me a website to show it to her!

this is all interesting...but I drink diet coke simply because I like it and just don't get the same feeling from water. I do not drink coffee. so that is how I get my caffiene and how I wake up in the morning. However, I am trying to cut out the diet cokes in favor of water. "trying" being the operative word! LOL incidentally, I weight 130# only.

People who drink Diet Pepsi/Coke are nothing but deniers to themselves they think that if they drink this junk that they will lose weight quicker because of the word "Diet on the label" all that is doing is making profit to the companies because of fools buying something that only lands up causing tooth decay, weight gain and kidney problems. Trust me, if you truly want to lose weight just minimize your plate size of food try not to eat lots of sodium in your meals and too many sweet things, don't eat a lot at fast food places because if you do just one hamburger is 760 calories at McDonalds think of fries included? Anyways, if you want to live longer and feel more better mentally and physically then excersise eat right and healthier and you'll live longer and your body physically will change and your immune system will get stronger to fight off any type of bacteria that causes you to get sick and etc. I hope what I wrote can help others out there.

Don't drink soda at all. These frankin black drinks should be put into the abyss. Don't even drink diet drinks. They are laden with aspartame, which is toxic to anyone. The so-called study recently saying that aspartame is safe is a big fat lie to the public.

Try instead water or organic juice drinks without any added sugar and are flavinal-rich, like pamagranet juice, blueberry juice, or açaí juice. Also, try dandelion tea, green tea, or white tea, hot or iced. If you want to sweeten your tea, use Stevia.

Hi My Name Is Neil I'm from London England! am 27 and was a big lad back in in 2001 weighing in at 17 stone 224lbs. I went on the atkins plan and lost 85lbs and in 2003 my body was perfect. However over the last year or so the weight has come back about 2 stones worth. 30lbs to be fair. I try to eat sensible and even today avoid big carb foods and eat lots of protein as i did on the atkins plan but I can't loose the weight cos am guzzinling DIET COKE and too much of it at least 6-7 cans a day not forgetting the bottles at home. When am out to get gas for my BMW i'll grab one then too I'll grab one can getting off the bus when I hit the town and then will grab 2-3 whilst at work. Its bad I know it screws all your insuling levels up good and proper. I see DIET COKE as a sweet FIX i stay away from sweets cakes and use the coke as a substitute. LOL . Av lost the french fries from me diet infact all potatoe but having no joy loosing the weight I gotta loose the bread and the pastry stuff as its loaded with carbs. I do try to stop drinking the DC but it only lasts a day then am back on it and i drink twice as much. AV promised to give me self 4 weeks and not drink DIETCOKE wot so ever and see wot happens. AM gonna get me self back on the atkins to loose the 30lbs av gained and loose the DIET COKE and av started the GYM again so will see wot happens hey.. but my conclusion is its BAD loose it guys! and you will see a difference in your weight.

OK, let me throw this into the melting pot... several years ago, at a normal weight for my age, gender etc, I started drinking diet cola simply because I found the sickly sweet aftertaste of normal cola unpleasant.
Not because I was overweight or had fears of becoming overweight. Since then I have become steadily hooked on the stuff and although my lifestyle and diet (other than the cola) have remained the same I had gained nearly 90lbs.
I eventually gave up the diet cola after realising that all other beverages, including water, had given way to this stuff, and I am now slowly losing the weight again. There are three bonuses to giving up this stuff, I am losing weight, I am saving money (corporation pop (water) is soo much cheaper) and I have escaped the addiction which these companies use so willingly to take your money.
Everyone can have their doubts, but I am 100% convinced that diet cola caused my weight gain and and prevented me losing it during my many attempts.

My husband is seriously addicted to diet de-caff Coke. He drinks nothing else. He is 6 foot and weighs 280 lbs. and is right now laying in a hospital bed with acute pancreatitis. I totally believe that diet cola is addictive and causes weight gain and cravings. Only one doctor has been bold enough to make the comment: "all sweeteners, honey, sugar, splenda, aspartame, etc., are perceived by the body as SUGAR. Therefore, the body reacts to it just like it does to sugar. Excessive use of any sweetener is bad for you and can cause weight gain, diabetes, pancreatitis, and many other problems." I have fibromyalgia, and I am not supposed to have any sugar or sweeteners. It causes the pain to be much worse, and it aggrevates my arthritis. SO WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET SMART!

I have been on and off the Atkins plan on several occassions, three to be exact. Each time I have lost about 10% of my total body weight within the first 6 weeks. Without exception I gain back the weight and then some. One thing I have never really done is give up my addiction to Diet Pepsi, because it is refreshing, bubbly and sweet. I drink in the order of hundreds of ounces a day. Today I am starting my 4th Atkins diet, with one modification - no more diet drinks. It is difficult to imagine, but I am going to pour all my remaining diet Pepsi's down the drain. Is there anything beside's water which can replace diet soda's?

I have been a Diet Coke drinker for almost ten years from when I was young. I quickly found out that over time the ACID contained in the diet soda is why I got hungry after drinking it. I slowly reduced my intake of all sodas and high acid drinks and the hunger and bowel problems went away. Dark sodas is worse than yellow or clear soad because it contains phosphoric acid and caramel color. These two chemicals are what makes people hungry. Citric acid in clear pops is actually turned into a basic chemical in the stomach, but it is generaly better to just drink plenty of water and limit your intake of soda.

I switched from regular Coke, to diet Coke in November of 2005, and ate the same as I normally do. I did lose 20 pounds in 3 months. BUT I am slowly gaining it back, and I am not eating any differently. I believe I am slowly gaining the weight back because of the diet drinks, because now I am addicted to the diet drinks, and drink WAY more of the diet than I did the regular drinks.
I did that little test just to see if I could lose weight, and I did, but it's coming back and I believe I will gain all the weight back if I keep drinking diet sodas.
So now my mission is to switch to only water from here on out. I'll be back if this is still here to let you all know the outcome.

I recently read an article about carbonation in regular and diet drinks.
It said "Carbonation gets in between the fatty tissues and holds the fat refusing to release it."
I would post the link, but not sure if it's allowed.
It also said this about diet sodas,
"DIET SOFT DRINKS contain lots of Sodium. Sodium retains fluids. Fat breaks down into toxic fluids and has to be released by going to the bathroom. The sodium retains the fluid and your body is not able to release it."
The carbonation info. was very interesting news to me.
I am addicted to diet sodas, but I am giving those up. As I said above, I am switching to water. I just dread the caffiene headaches, but I have lots of ibuprophen to help take care of that :)

I'm a believer. I drank diet Coke for years, and even though I ate healthy and excercised, I never lost weight.

Recently gave it up - - cold turkey. After a week of cravings and headaches, I stopped missing it. More importantly, I started to lose WEIGHT! 14 pounds and counting.

Don't think the diet Coke caused the weight gain, but it did impact my appetite, and made me feel more hungry.

If you're a diet Coke addict like I was - - and want to lose weight - - give it up for a couple weeks and watch the results.

Worked for me!

I think coca cola has something in it which makes addiction.

I read that caffeine is an appetite enhancer. Combine this with most people justifying larger calorie meals that offset the 0 cal soda and then some and these results are explained. I use these sweeteners as I am following the GI diet.

Diet pop doesnt make you fat. Geez, what makes you fat is ordering the whopper JR. with large fries and a diet pop. That meal alone is 910 calories. that would only leave me 400 cals left for the entire day on my diet,
The person would have been better having
two slices of toast 110 calories
two slices of cheese 140 calores
1 can of coke 140 calories
1 apple 47 calories
that meal is 437 calories thats just a little more than half of the other meal. Diet pop doenst make you fat.. I have been on a diet losing 2 pounds roughly a week I am now down 20 pounds over compensating for not

KathyD, what about eating every few hours to speed up the metabolizum? I am 120 pds, 5'5 and I eat every couple of hours to keep my metab up, also I work out 5 days a week. I have always heard to eat 5 small meals a day.

I had dropped 108lbs on a heavy running program for 2 years. Was running 40-50 miles a week. After I got 211lbs I slowed the running down to 10-20 miles weekly but continued to drink alot of diet soda daily and only regular soda on the weekends. Even though I am exercising still and watching my food intake during the week I drink alot of diet soda during the week and have gone back up to 236lbs the last 2 years. I stopped drinking diet soda yesterday and switched to water and tea and hopefully will see something positive. I feel better today even after one day physically and mentally. I am convinced there is a link between weight gain and diet sodas.

I am on day one of quitting soda. I like both diet and regular sodas,any flavor. I am 22 years old, and I look and feel like crap, and I think soda probably has a lot to do with it. I NEVER drink water,I have been drinking soda, and only soda ever since I was about 7 yrs old. And the place I work at, doesn't help at all, we have a free pepsi machine that I visit probably 5 or 6 times a day. Sometimes,maybe I'll have one glass of water A WEEK, and that is if I am sick or feel really thirsty. So this quitting soda gig should be interesting for me. I've read so many interesting comments on other ppls experience with weight loss and quitting soda, so I figured I'd post my comment too. I'll post again in a couple weeks to see if I look,feel any better at all. Wish me luck! :)

I drink one diet soda on most days. I am very lean thanks to the paleo diet (only eating meat, fish, fruits, veggies, and nuts and seeds--no sugar, grains, or processed foods), and diet coke (with lime!) is my one cheat. I never find that drinking a diet soda makes me crave sweets or anything else bad. Eating sweets is what makes you crave sweets. I also don't get headaches or anything else from the little bit of caffeine in a soda. (I used to get headaches and have a lot of other health issues before starting this diet, but that's another post. :P)

I think the only real problem with drinking coffee, sodas, etc. is that it displaces drinking water, which is of course what your body really needs. This is why I keep myself to one soda a day. Maybe I'd be better off without it, but we all need a little bit of cheating in our diets. It's when cheating becomes the norm that you're doing yourself more harm than good.

I don't really get this. I drank Dr. Pepper for years before finally switching to Diet Dr. Pepper. I've lost around 40 lbs. since I switched 8 months ago. I eat normally, but the regular soda consumption is what made me overweight. You just have to know portion control. Diet soda is okay for you as long as you also keep drinking water and milk, which I do.

I used to drink TONs of diet soda. I switched to water and I've lost over 30 lbs. And I have not changed my eating habits

diet sodas have sodium in it which retains water and someone said something about carbination staying in the skin, i believe that

Fascinating thread. My situation is I love triathlon, so I work out and sweat two hours a day. Water gets old when you drink a lot and I watch my diet closely, so I treat myself to diet sodas -- and somehow the number has crept up this year to 4-5/day...

I have a weight I like to race at and it isn't easy to get/stay there. The last ten pounds are rough for almost everyone.

This year I had a tougher time than I've ever had. I'd wake up in the middle of the night *starving* and would crack and down some food. I drifted up 6 pounds and couldn't get them back off.

Long story short, I nuked the diet sodas and the 60-calorie flavored by nutrasweet yogurt I like. I just down a big glass of water when the hunger pains start and deal with it. It still takes work to lose the last six and I get hungry at night, but not desperate like I seem to get when I drink diet soda in the evenings.

"The last ten pounds are rough for almost everyone."

Not with 1 high day, 3 low day zig-zagging.

Ryan, but women want to lose the last 10lb to weigh the same they did in High School or to lose all that unattractive muscle that forces them to buy size 2 pants instead of 0... So if they did your method and dropped 10 pounds of FAT, they'd still wanna drop 10 pounds of muscle.

Just yesterday I read poster here saying she can't do any weight work at all or "she'll risk looking like those Miss Olympia women".

Alex, I agree with you. I'm not sure how these people have gained weight.

The only time I've ever had a problem with my weight was last year when I was on an antidepressant that made me gain 30 pounds in 6 months. I've changed meds and been on a strict diet, and part of that was changing from regular soda to diet since the regular is just extra calories- over 300 in a 20 oz. which I usually drink!

Well since I switched to diet, I have lost 18 pounds. The same week I started drinking diet I lost 2 pounds immediately. I agree with you- it is portion control, and making sure you get enough exercise plain and simple. If you drink nothing but soda you ARE going to retain water and feel like crap. Drink flavored water if you don't like plain water. It's still fizzy and it tastes great. Drink powerade option or something. There's a lot of choices out there!

My husband kept telling me that the amount of diet pepsi/coke I drank was not good for me, drinking usually 2 litres per day/every day at least.

It was only by actually making me read the site,and seeing the comments in black and white, that I realise it must be true.

I am a serious carbonated drink addict and have been for years. 11 years ago I switched from drinking regular drinks to the diet variety and was successful in losing weight.

Over the years, as my diet drink intake rose, so did the weight and now at my heaviest something has to give.

I am seriously going to give up these drinks, replacing them with water, and I will keep the site updated.
Having been a member of every slimming club you can imagine, and been unsuccesful in most, which incidently all state you can drink unlimited amounts of diet drinks, reiterates that there must be something in this.

Will keep you posted. Wish the biggest addict luck please!

"People who drink Diet Pepsi/Coke are nothing but deniers to themselves they think that if they drink this junk that they will lose weight quicker because of the word "Diet on the label" all that is doing is making profit to the companies because of fools buying something that only lands up causing tooth decay, weight gain and kidney problems. Trust me, if you truly want to lose weight just minimize your plate size of food try not to eat lots of sodium in your meals and too many sweet things, don't eat a lot at fast food places because if you do just one hamburger is 760 calories at McDonalds think of fries included? Anyways, if you want to live longer and feel more better mentally and physically then excersise eat right and healthier and you'll live longer and your body physically will change and your immune system will get stronger to fight off any type of bacteria that causes you to get sick and etc. I hope what I wrote can help others out there."

I am an avid diet coke drinker (at least 2 or 3 a day) and I never use that as an excuse to eat more.

I am not saying that diet coke is good for you, I am merely saying that I really hate all sodas (even diet pepsi) and just prefer the taste of diet coke to basically any beverage out there. If someone asks what I want to drink, I say diet coke because I like the taste, not because I think I'm saving calories for chocolate cake.

Anyway, on to my point
I started a serious diet 2 or 3 weekds ago. I started eating reasonably, cutting my calories and not snacking or eating all the "bad stuff" (chips, sugar, ect). I excersize for at least 30 minutes a day/6 days a week, usually more like 45mins-an hour. I have only lost a few pounds. My friend started a diet the same day I started mine. I don't know how much she has lost, but yesterday I asked her if she felt like she was losing weight and she said "Yes. These pants used to be tight."

My pants don't fit any better. I cannot fit into the majority of my wardrobe anymore. I am doing everything right. Why am I not losing weight?

Maybe it's the diet coke. I guess I was in denial because people would always say "Don't drink diet soda...its bad for you!" and I would just respond with "No it's not. It has no calories, no carbs, no nothin'! How can it be bad for me?"

I am going to try to cut the soda. Frankly, I dont want to, but if it is what is keeping me from dropping the pounds, then I can make the effot.

Katie! Perhaps you need to be a little more patient with your dieting efforts, but it is also possible that you are underestimating your calorie intake and overestimating you exercise program. Everybody responds a little differently to the same diet and exercise program. Don't compare your results to others.

Also, if Katie only has like 5lb to lose for starters, then 1lb is a very good result.

BS...ally said:
Sally, sorry but if you are 150lbs overweight your skin is not looking good...[...]

Kat said:
This is a hypothesis here but there seems to be a correlation with weight gain and diet soda. I was a skeptic at first because I am a heavy diet soda drinker since childhood (primarily diet coke and diet mountain dew) and didn't want to believe that I was directly ingesting something to contribute to my weight related issues, outside of portion con[...]

Alright, so I cut out diet coke for 2 weeks and no change.

Are the results supposed to be long term? as in need to cut out diet coke for months in order to see results?