Question regarding diet drinks

[Hot Lunch]

I am trying to drop a few pounds like many others here.

I love Diet Coke.... Love it. My wife continues to tell me that if I stop drinking so much I would lose more weight. I have started to only drink it on the weekends. I need my fix and it also keeps me from eating other things that are very unhealthy that contain a lot more calories. I have started adding the little Crystal Light packets to my water during the day. She told me the same things about the diet coke. I have a hard time just drinking water all the time. I need some kind of flavor.

What is it that is so bad about Diet Drinks? Will I really lose more weight if I totally give up Diet Coke or Crystal Light?

[ERCougar]

I am trying to drop a few pounds like many others here.

I love Diet Coke.... Love it. My wife continues to tell me that if I stop drinking so much I would lose more weight. I have started to only drink it on the weekends. I need my fix and it also keeps me from eating other things that are very unhealthy that contain a lot more calories. I have started adding the little Crystal Light packets to my water during the day. She told me the same things about the diet coke. I have a hard time just drinking water all the time. I need some kind of flavor.

What is it that is so bad about Diet Drinks? Will I really lose more weight if I totally give up Diet Coke or Crystal Light?

I have a sneaking suspicion that diet drinks are counterproductive to weight loss. No one's been able to prove this, but if you look at our country over the last 30 years, the prevalence of "diet" products, including soft drinks, has exploded. So have our waistlines. Obviously, this could be a reverse causation, i.e. Americans are fatter due to other reasons, their demand for diet products has increased, and thus the higher prevalence of these products. But you'd think that with so many people drinking and eating diet products, there would at least be some effect.

Here's my theory--Americans are addicted to sweet tastes. They simply don't go for anything that's not intensely sweet. Some have managed to break this addiction and we call these people "thin". Some haven't and simply go the diet route. However, they haven't addressed the root cause of their fatness--addiction to sweet tastes and lots of them. Diet drinks support this until their next binge.

In the end, to lose weight and keep it off, you have to develop a taste for good, healthy food. Diet drinks hinder this.

[Pheidippides]

I am trying to drop a few pounds like many others here.

I love Diet Coke.... Love it. My wife continues to tell me that if I stop drinking so much I would lose more weight. I have started to only drink it on the weekends. I need my fix and it also keeps me from eating other things that are very unhealthy that contain a lot more calories. I have started adding the little Crystal Light packets to my water during the day. She told me the same things about the diet coke. I have a hard time just drinking water all the time. I need some kind of flavor.

What is it that is so bad about Diet Drinks? Will I really lose more weight if I totally give up Diet Coke or Crystal Light?

With the express disclaimer that I'm not a doctor or nutritionalist (although my wife has a background in dietetics), the answer is no on diet coke (no idea on Crystal Light). Weight loss/gain is a function of calories in and calories out. Diet Coke has no calories at all, so unless something is really hokey any weight gain would be water (and not real weight gain). Caffeine is a diuretic, and it supposedly temporarily boosts metabolism as well. But consult one of the fine medical professionals here before you take my advice.

That's not to say that diet coke is good for you. I've heard rumblings (!) about aspartame as a carcinogen. Also, carbonated water is supposed to be a big deal in terms of wind when running, etc. I don't know if that is true or not.

[Pheidippides]

I have a sneaking suspicion that diet drinks are counterproductive to weight loss. No one's been able to prove this, but if you look at our country over the last 30 years, the prevalence of "diet" products, including soft drinks, has exploded. So have our waistlines. Obviously, this could be a reverse causation, i.e. Americans are fatter due to other reasons, their demand for diet products has increased, and thus the higher prevalence of these products. But you'd think that with so many people drinking and eating diet products, there would at least be some effect.

Here's my theory--Americans are addicted to sweet tastes. They simply don't go for anything that's not intensely sweet. Some have managed to break this addiction and we call these people "thin". Some haven't and simply go the diet route. However, they haven't addressed the root cause of their fatness--addiction to sweet tastes and lots of them. Diet drinks support this until their next binge.

In the end, to lose weight and keep it off, you have to develop a taste for good, healthy food. Diet drinks hinder this.

Caveat to what I say above: behaviorally, I can't disagree with this.

[Donuthole]

With the express disclaimer that I'm not a doctor or nutritionalist (although my wife has a background in dietetics), the answer is no on diet coke (no idea on Crystal Light). Weight loss/gain is a function of calories in and calories out. Diet Coke has no calories at all, so unless something is really hokey any weight gain would be water (and not real weight gain). Caffeine is a diuretic, and it supposedly temporarily boosts metabolism as well. But consult one of the fine medical professionals here before you take my advice.

That's not to say that diet coke is good for you. I've heard rumblings (!) about aspartame as a carcinogen. Also, carbonated water is supposed to be a big deal in terms of wind when running, etc. I don't know if that is true or not.

I am a firm believer in the "calories consumed minus calories burned" theory of weight maintenance. In light of that, diet drinks are ok in my book (though I don't personally consume them because I think they taste awful). However, I think ER's point is also correct, in that many people who drink diet drinks have other caloric vices, which are the real crux of their weight problems.

[UteStar]

I have a sneaking suspicion that diet drinks are counterproductive to weight loss. No one's been able to prove this, but if you look at our country over the last 30 years, the prevalence of "diet" products, including soft drinks, has exploded. So have our waistlines. Obviously, this could be a reverse causation, i.e. Americans are fatter due to other reasons, their demand for diet products has increased, and thus the higher prevalence of these products. But you'd think that with so many people drinking and eating diet products, there would at least be some effect.

Here's my theory--Americans are addicted to sweet tastes. They simply don't go for anything that's not intensely sweet. Some have managed to break this addiction and we call these people "thin". Some haven't and simply go the diet route. However, they haven't addressed the root cause of their fatness--addiction to sweet tastes and lots of them. Diet drinks support this until their next binge.

In the end, to lose weight and keep it off, you have to develop a taste for good, healthy food. Diet drinks hinder this.

You actually make some good points (I didn't mean that sentence to say that I am surprised...you make lots of good points in your posts).

I think the bigger issue is (and I think you allude to it as well) that people use Diet drinks, etc. as a way to say that they are watching what they eat. For example, and we all know this example, a guy goes into McDonalds and orders 2 Big Macs and a Large Fry and then gets a Diet Coke. He feels good about himself because he saved all of those calories from not getting a regular drink so he feels that he is watching what he is eating. Mentally, Diet drinks make the person feel they are 'watching' their calories...when in reality, they continue to eat poorly.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

[Pheidippides]

I am a firm believer in the "calories consumed minus calories burned" theory of weight maintenance. In light of that, diet drinks are ok in my book (though I don't personally consume them because I think they taste awful). However, I think ER's point is also correct, in that many people who drink diet drinks have other caloric vices, which are the real crux of their weight problems.

Double Angry Whopper w/large fries and a Diet Coke, anybody?

I actually don't even think the theory is a theory, btw. I had always thought it was a fact, and diets were just ways of trying to get people to live that fact. At least that's what CDC says.

[Hot Lunch]

Some haven't and simply go the diet route. However, they haven't addressed the root cause of their fatness--addiction to sweet tastes and lots of them. Diet drinks support this until their next binge.

In the end, to lose weight and keep it off, you have to develop a taste for good, healthy food. Diet drinks hinder this.

I do binge every once in awhile. I really do have a sweet tooth. I love them. Maybe it is all in my head but I feel like diet coke helps me retrain from eating a Snickers or something else that is loaded with calories.

[Solon]

I have a sneaking suspicion that diet drinks are counterproductive to weight loss. No one's been able to prove this, but if you look at our country over the last 30 years, the prevalence of "diet" products, including soft drinks, has exploded. So have our waistlines. Obviously, this could be a reverse causation, i.e. Americans are fatter due to other reasons, their demand for diet products has increased, and thus the higher prevalence of these products. But you'd think that with so many people drinking and eating diet products, there would at least be some effect.

Here's my theory--Americans are addicted to sweet tastes. They simply don't go for anything that's not intensely sweet. Some have managed to break this addiction and we call these people "thin". Some haven't and simply go the diet route. However, they haven't addressed the root cause of their fatness--addiction to sweet tastes and lots of them. Diet drinks support this until their next binge.

In the end, to lose weight and keep it off, you have to develop a taste for good, healthy food. Diet drinks hinder this.

I recently read about a study that suggested that diet drinks provoke more calorie consumption by adjusting the body's normal tolerance for sweets. Even though Diet Coke isn't all that 'sweet' per se, the sugar substitutes in it still somehow up the body's craving and desire for sweet foods, so that when the person does indulge in sweet, high-calorie foods, he/she eats more than the control-group (who drank no artificial sweeteners) did.

[YOhio]

Hot Lunch, the bottom line is that you need to stand up to your wife and quit letting her tell you what to do. She's not the boss of you!

[Hot Lunch]

I will say this, I am not the one that is going to McDonald's and getting the double quarter pounder large fries and diet coke.

I have really focused on changing my eating habits. I am also exercising ton. This week I will have ran a total of 30 miles and I lift 4 times a week as well. I have been losing weight, I just want to know if I would lose more if what my wife is saying is true.

[Donuthole]

I actually don't even think the theory is a theory, btw. I had always thought it was a fact, and diets were just ways of trying to get people to live that fact. At least that's what CDC says.

I agree. However the "low fat" and "Atkins" crazes of the last couple decades have completely skewed America's understanding and acceptance of calorie-driven weight maintenance.

[creekster]

I recently read about a study that suggested that diet drinks provoke more calorie consumption by adjusting the body's normal tolerance for sweets. Even though Diet Coke isn't all that 'sweet' per se, the sugar substitutes in it still somehow up the body's craving and desire for sweet foods, so that when the person does indulge in sweet, high-calorie foods, he/she eats more than the control-group (who drank no artificial sweeteners) did.

There are also some correlative studies of school children suggesting that both diet and sugared soft drinks cuase an increase in obesity.

[Mrs. Funk]

Regardless, if you MUST have your Coke, it's probably better to be going with Diet than the fully-leaded kind. I tell you, Diet Dr. Pepper and I have a spiritual connection.

[Pheidippides]

I agree. However the "low fat" and "Atkins" crazes of the last couple decades have completely skewed America's understanding and acceptance of calorie-driven weight maintenance.

Amen and agreed. Although my diet is low fat, it is that way by more-or-less coincidence since fattier foods are often high-calorie foods. And Atkins - well, I like steak as much as the next man, but that always struck me as an insane idea.