If I drink a diet soda once or twice a week, is that bad if I'm trying to lose weight? OR should i start buying those flavored waters....because drinking water all day everyday gets very old

The only thing about soda, even diet soda, is that it makes your body crave more foods. The carbination gives a false sence of hunger when you are dieting. Also, being a woman, it will make you retain water. Water weight is my only concern my fingers puffed up when I first started dieting and was drinking diet sodas. Eveyone is different though, some do not crave food and say that soda makes them feel like they are getting away with something. I personally love soda, it is my only weakness, but since my body gets dehydrated easier than most and I do a lot of physical activity I have had to cut it out. I have actually lost twelve lbs. this month not by changing my diet or excersize, just not dinking soda. I sweat a lot more when I work out. I think it was water weight. Hope that helps.

Interesting, ive never heard of carbonation doing that...i will have to investigate. I would say 1 or 2 diet sodas a day is fine, so thats 14 in a week. Your primary concern with any soda is the sodium content, but being 0 calories will almost eliminate any weight gain due to consumption. Flavored water? Is it calorie free? If its not, stick with the diet soda

I'd avoid regular soda for the sugar. But also the diet soda because of the fake ingreadents in it. I just viewed a special on TV about soft drinks and all should be avoided.

It might be old, but water is the best thing for your body and nonfat milk.
You might also try a small glass of natural juice once in awhile without added sugars.

Soda is BAD! flat out. I love Soda too and I'm not saying I don't drink it on occasion, but It makes me, anyone for that matter bloated. I might have a soda, once a month, til I can cut it out all together.
Soda is a hard habit to kick, but I do know how I feel when I don't drink it(good!) verses when I do drink it (yuk!)
If you are going to drink soda, try Coke Zero.
But ultimately try not to drink soda at all.
I even hate water, but well, water and I now are best friends...lol...6-8 glasses a day

Diet or not, the stuff just makes me feel awful. I LOVE SODA, but afterwards I feel bloated, and crave sweets too. Then, it causes me acne! I have to quit drinking them because I get really dehydrated easily.

Stinks too, cause I got a case of diet IBC root beer and diet Canada Dry in the fridge... I'd drink one with breakfast, lunch, and dinner n in between if I could. However, I'm off the soda until I lose 30 lbs.

Best overall is plain water - it will help boost the metabolism which in turn can facilitate weight removal. No flavors, no additives, just plain tap water.

An occasional diet soda will not hurt you - now if you start guzzling the stuff that is another issue.

quote:

Originally posted by Boats22151:
Best overall is plain water - it will help boost the metabolism which in turn can facilitate weight removal. No flavors, no additives, just plain tap water.

An occasional diet soda will not hurt you - now if you start guzzling the stuff that is another issue.

Posting as a regular poster here......

I totally agree with this post. If you want to vary the plain water regime, switch to unsweatened Iced Tea or brew hot tea and convert it to iced tea.

The problem with sweatened water and diet soda is that yes it advertises 0 calories but the unnatural additives are what get you (especially the high frutose corn syrup, caffine, and aspartime). Once in a while like stated is not going to hurt you.

Water! Water! Water! If results are what you are looking for then suck it up and drink the water. If you absolutely have to have something different then, I agree with ErichG2 - unsweetened Iced Tea. Oh drop a lemon slice in your water. I'm big on sucking it up and doing what is right for your body. Don't focus on immediate and short-lived gratification, think about long-term results! If drinking diet soda will increase your cravings for sweets then just don't drink it! If you’re okay with drinking a diet soda without grabbing a Snickers of whatever then fine have the once-in-a-while diet soda. Know your body and what’s best for you.

Oh boy this is the same old problem. Why do people have to starve them selves to death when they dont have to. Metabolism has to be working to eat stored body fat. Anaerobic exercise is needed to tear the body down so it needs repair, wich takes two days to recover. Remember there is 3000 calories to 1 pound of body weight that you will be working against to create weight loss or gain. Both anaerobic and diet are key to this goal, diet by grazeing your diet, small portions through out the day.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevinnwalls:
Oh boy this is the same old problem. Why do people have to starve them selves to death when they dont have to. Metabolism has to be working to eat stored body fat. Anaerobic exercise is needed to tear the body down so it needs repair, wich takes two days to recover. Remember there is 3000 calories to 1 pound of body weight that you will be working against to create weight loss or gain. Both anaerobic and diet are key to this goal, diet by grazeing your diet, small portions through out the day.

Kevin –
Sounds like you know your stuff. I’m sure you hear the same ol cr@p that I do, “I only eat one meal a day and I still can’t seem to lose the weight.”

Here are my rules for living healthy:

Diet: Eat 5-6 times per day, small healthy meals. Lots of fiber, protein, good fats from fish and nuts, lots of veggies and fruit, lots of water.

Exercise: Cardio in the morning, weights in the afternoon. It’s important to have a well-balanced exercise system. Many people, especially women, don’t understand the importance of building lean muscle. It greatly increases your metabolism. It’s also important to actually build muscle, not just doing high reps with low weights.

Supplements: L-Carnitine, L-Glutamine, Pure Whey Protein, Fish Oil w/Omegas, and a multi-vitamin. In fact one of my snacks is a mix of skim milk, glutamine and pure whey powders. I also have one of the shake with my breakfast, which is an organic cereal.

My current routine consists of:
Monday – Chest, Delts, Abs, Cardio
Tuesday – Back, Abs, Cardio
Wednesday – Off
Thursday – Legs, light Abs
Friday – Arms, Abs, Cardio
Saturday or Sunday – Cardio

I say current cuz I'll change it up in a few weeks.

personally i found diet soda to mess up my system more. Its because of the sweeteners added. Because its not real sugar my body gets pissed off when i drink and i pretty much wasted my time.

i found an alternative to drinking carbonated fruit drinks like izze or jones soda, sure its SODA but some of the products out their have less calories and sugar then say coca cola.

Also try ginger ale, it almost taste like sprite!

ArkNatGuard,
I will continue to say this until someone starts listening - all carbonated beverages, diet or not are acidic! You need to know that all carbonated soda pop has a ACID pH between 2.0 to 3.5 on a pH scale. Your blood, however is a pH between 7.30 - 7.45, and you put your body in a very unhealthy acidosis condition every time you drink carbonated soda pop! There are 8 buffering systems the body uses to nutralize acids and balance pH, but when they become overwhelmed, it severely compromises cellular integrity and causes an "acidosis" condition. Believe it or not, all "Vitamin Water" and most brands of bottled water are acidic, and tap water in the US is close to neutral because they buffer it (but it has other bad stuff unfortunately). Non-carbonated, soft drinks sweetened by "Stevia" are better than diet - Sobe just put some on the market. Now I will have to go test their pH.
The best is to try hexagonal alkaline water, it tastes better than any water you have ever tried, and you can flavor it if you must. I am on a campaign to teach folks to make better choices for their Health's sake. [EMAIL]<< Mod Note - Link removed per Terms of Service >>

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave_M,

quote:

Originally posted by HealthMom:
ArkNatGuard,
I will continue to say this until someone starts listening - all carbonated beverages, diet or not are acidic! You need to know that all carbonated soda pop has a ACID pH between 2.0 to 3.5 on a pH scale. Your blood, however is a pH between 7.30 - 7.45, and you put your body in a very unhealthy acidosis condition every time you drink carbonated soda pop! There are 8 buffering systems the body uses to nutralize acids and balance pH, but when they become overwhelmed, it severely compromises cellular integrity and causes an "acidosis" condition. Believe it or not, all "Vitamin Water" and most brands of bottled water are acidic, and tap water in the US is close to neutral because they buffer it (but it has other bad stuff unfortunately). Non-carbonated, soft drinks sweetened by "Stevia" are better than diet - Sobe just put some on the market. Now I will have to go test their pH.
The best is to try hexagonal alkaline water, it tastes better than any water you have ever tried, and you can flavor it if you must. I am on a campaign to teach folks to make better choices for their Health's sake. [EMAIL]<< Mod Note - Link removed per Terms of Service >>

Thanks. That's nothing new - I heard about it from my dentist 40 years ago when he used a cup of Coke and a penny to show how it removed the tarnish.

Look at your tongue, which is hooked up to the top end of your alimentary canal. What color---to what does it look like?

I have been brushing my tongue for years. Not too long ago, i started brushing it with alkaline baking soda. Now it's even better ..a nice healthy looking pink.

Given "bad" habits, what condition are your conditions in? Given my "bads", the good i do for my body is, by far, the voting majority.

The Art Of Life Is Balance

quote:

Originally posted by livearmylife:
Soda is BAD! flat out. I love Soda too and I'm not saying I don't drink it on occasion, but It makes me, anyone for that matter bloated. I might have a soda, once a month, til I can cut it out all together.
Soda is a hard habit to kick, but I do know how I feel when I don't drink it(good!) verses when I do drink it (yuk!)
If you are going to drink soda, try Coke Zero.
But ultimately try not to drink soda at all.
I even hate water, but well, water and I now are best friends...lol...6-8 glasses a day

I drink no soda and haven't for a number of years because of the caffiene. Caffiene makes me and millions of others sick. In my case it gives me horrible migraine headaches. Diet sodas may contain aspartame which is very bad for you. Also, I am diabetic so I drink decaf iced tea and water. Once in awhile I drink a glass of water with some lemons squeezed into it. I sweeten that with saccharin sweetner. It makes a pretty good lemon ade without all of the citric acid. But, any doctor will tell you water is best. And bottled water lacks the nutrients of tap water. I get my water from a well with no chlorine which is also beneficial. Try it, you may find out your health improves.

Nasty stuff to get hooked on.

Anything 'diet' (aspartame) is not good for you. Aspartame, when stored at 83 degrees or higher turns toxic. You might as well be drinking formaldehyde.

Grazing for losing weight, as mentioned here before, is the best way to lose weight. Really, you can eat whatever you want (don't scream people I went from 220 to 125 this way) as long as it's in small portions. NEVER deprive yourself of anything since that brings on binge cycles. Two oreo's are not going to kill you or your diet as long as you only eat TWO! not two bags LOL.. and move. Walk, jog, run, whatever you like, just move. I personally walked 2 miles at a pace of a 15 minute mile, daily.

Get the metabolism up. and learn to eat to live not live to eat.

Oh.. definitely water if it has a sweetener in it, just make sure it's not aspartame. Other sweeteners are 'okay' i.e. sucralose "Splenda" by brand (which is the only other they put in to prepackaged food and drink. Stevia is good if you want to sweeten it yourself.

Good luck!

Please provide scientific proof. This is not hot topics. If you are going to make a claim, please provide a major medical report or US government report on the effect of hot storage.