I went to my WW Meeting on Monday and in two weeks I'd lost two pounds! Yay! I'm now only about 2 lbs from my goal-weight. Those stubborn last few!
At the WW meeting we got in a discussion about beverages and the WW points in various beverages. Eventually we ended up debating diet soda.
Diet soda has zero points, but according to our leader there are several studies that say that the fake sugar in diet soda that sets you up to crave real sugar and you end up eating more sugary things and gaining weight. Some ladies in the meeting strongly disagreed with these studies and some had anecdotes of losing weight just from cutting diet soda.
I'm not a big soda drinker, but I have a personal anecdote about fake sugars... about a year ago I quit putting artificial sweetener in my daily coffee (I put non-fat milk in only) and quit eating my daily non-fat yogurt with aspartame in it (now I eat the more natural low-calorie yogurt). My sweets cravings were noticeably reduced and I lost about 5 lbs around that time.
So what do you guys think about fake sugars? Diet Soda - friend or foe?
20 comments:
I agree I have read a lot of things that say the artificial sw cling to the fat in your body keeping you from being able to loose it. also I read alot of medical journals at work that show that aspertame is linked to brain tumors. I went off and stopped having migrains
My problem with drinking soda is that it replaces water in my diet. Its dehydrating qualities make it MUCH harder for me to get to the gym, as I won't go work out unless I feel adequately hydrated.
I try to follow my morning Diet Dr. Pepper with two big glasses of water, and it seems to help me.
Ditto to Mrs. Hibit. I do use Splenda in my hot tea and oatmeal, but otherwise, i try not to eat it because it is dehydrating.
I hate the taste of Diet Soda drinks and sweets so it's not that hard for me to stay away from. I think water is the best thing to drink for losing weight.
I don't know about it scientifically or pertaining to weight, but I personally just don't use artificial sugar. I cut out drinking soda almost entirely (I will have it when I go out to eat, but that is infrequently), but when I drink I just drink regular. If it is a treat, I want it to be yummy. I just drink it very little.
i love the way it tastes, but i've been trying not to drink it (even before i was pregnant).
congrats on the two pounds!!!!
I usually have one diet soda every day, and hardly ever finish it. I've heard all about these studies and have always just assumed they're not all that reliable.
However, I do crave sweets, especially around holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day (sugar cookies are just too cute) so I wonder if the artificial sweetener really IS triggering my sweet cravings. I'm not sure I'm willing to find out - I like my diet pepsi at lunch a little too much. :)
I love diet coke...I know it's bad but I have to have something right...a lil caffeine!
Congrats on almost being to your goal!
I can't help it! I don't drink coffee so I need some caffeine in the morning. I try to stick to my 8-10 glasses of water too. So I'll have a soda in the morning and will "reward" myself with another around 3 pm if I've drank 5 glasses of water in between. Way to go on your 2 lbs too!
While I did lose a lot of weight in high school eating 100 calorie yogurts sweetened with artificial stuff, I would say that avoiding the fake stuff is a much better way to go.
Every now and then I do need some delicious coke zero.. And about this weekend, it would work for me sometime, what about lunch or something?
My only opinion is that I love diet coke. With Lemon :0)
I have read alot of articles about fake sugars lately too.. I do not drink soda or coffee tho... I do love sour patch kids! ha! sugar overload!
WOW I am so glad I read this! You are totally reaffirming what I always thought about fake anything. Either don't use it, or enjoy the real thing!
I used to drink Coke Zero several times a week...until I read the book Skinny Bitch. All of my friends seemed to be reading it, and even though I don't want to become a vegan, I learned a lot in the book. There is a whole chapter devoted to artificial sweeteners and I must say...I am sufficiently scared. I now try to eat only real sugar if I must eat it, and I sweeten things like tea - and even my occasional latte - with honey. I started WW a few weeks ago and found it's so hard to stay away from artificial sweeteners if you need a low-point treat! Instead, I like to eat one square of organic dark chocolate. My fave is Newman's! :)
A nutritionist once told my friend if she was going to drink soda she might as well drink the real kind, because diet had so much bad stuff in it. Just my two cents though!
Foe!!!
I am addicted to diet soda, it's bad... But I am really trying to cut down, and once my husband and I decide to start trying for a baby I will cut it out completely. It's going to be tough! Right now I drink about two 12 oz. cans a day, plus at least 8-10 8 oz. glasses of water.
My WW meeting yesterday also talked about fluids and most of the members agreed that there is no substitute for water.
I've been reading a lot of those articles too, and I'm not sure what to believe yet. I definitely have a sweet tooth, but I've always had that.
I know I need to cut down on my Diet Coke addiction - seriously, some of these girls are like "Oh, I have 2 a day...", yeah, I have like FOUR or FIVE a day! Easily. Anyways, I know I need to cut down on it, but it's hard. I do drink a lot of water and tea too, but I love Diet Coke. Real Coke is too syrupy for me.
I have a diet dew addiction but I try to replace it with tea instead of water all the time. Water gets so boring!
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