Foods

I was/am a big soda drinker.  I used to not be able to get up in the morning without a 20 oz mountain dew.  In the last few months I've switched to diet soda, and it hasn't made much of a difference.  I'm now trying to quit altogether.  My question is this:  Is diet soda (even though it has no calories) still detrimental to weight loss?  Will cutting it out of my diet help me to lose weight?

indeed - it has mucho sugar. try coffee, perhaps?

There's a school of thought that says sweetners trigger the same responses in the body as sugar.  So swapping to diet sodas reduces calorie intake but doesn't resolve some of the other problems... e.g. bloating, cravings for sugar, water-retention, hunger-pangs.  However, what ultimately determines whether or not you lose weight is how many calories you're consuming in total.

Try switching to water and other non-carbonated, unsweetened drinks for a few weeks, monitor your calorie intake really accurately and see if that makes a difference.  And well done ditching the sugary sodas.

Thanks for the input.   I have started today substituting a cup of coffee in the morning instead of soda.  I'm going to try to stick to water and tea and see if it helps.

that depends.

just don't give into the cravings that the artificial sweeteners (may) produce and you're fine.

the diet soda doesn't cause weight gain because it has no calories. excess calories cause weight gain.

Diet sugar has zero calories and zero sugar (someone above mentioned it had sugar - it doesn't, it just has tons of artificial sweeteners).

So let's do the math. If you have the equivalent of 24 oz of coke per day, but then all of a sudden switch to diet coke leaving everything else constant, then you're eliminating 300 calories from your daily intake already.

The very first "diet" thing I ever did was switch from soda to diet, and without changing my actual eating habits or exercising I lost a lot of weight. It will definitely help you.

I was in your shoes exactly until I went online and learned about all the chemicals in diet soda.  It is rather frightening.  I switched to hot tea and iced tea w/o sweetners or sugar.  I noticed a big drop in my bloating and nausea.  That has been completely eliminated and I feel so much better!  Go online and learn - Best of luck to you!

I heard, though, somewhere, that both regular and diet soda make you retain more fat in the belly?  I'm not too sure about the verity of this statement, but it's just something I read or heard somewhere.

well if diet soda is bad for you then i am in trouble.. i am addicted to the stuff! I drink it w/ breakfast, lunch and dinner and in between if i am home

@johnsow: even if that's true, you only gain fat if you eat over your maintenance.

Here's my thoughts on the whole soda issues

Diet is the better choice of Diet vs. Regular, but Water is the best choice of Soda(in any form) vs. Water.  Drink water, and have an occasional diet soda as a treat on occasion.

I dont think it retains fat in the belly, but you will have belly bloat which can feel like fat!

Original Post by thejabronisayz:

Diet sugar has zero calories and zero sugar (someone above mentioned it had sugar - it doesn't, it just has tons of artificial sweeteners).

oops - that would be me -i've been lucky enough to never like soda my entire life - even as a wee little child - so i was speaking as an ignorant non-soda drinker :X

There's an ongoing debate about this (as you can tell!) My suggestion, if you're craving something carbonated is unsweetened flavored seltzer water. Some brands put artificial sweetener in, but they taste gross to me. Also, another reason to switch away from cola-type sodas, diet or not, is that they may decrease bone density, especially in women.