Everyday Systems

Has anyone experienced weight loss when you remove diet soda or artificial sweeteners from your diet?

I read somewhere that sweeteners will only make you crave for more sweet food. Any truth to that?

I used to drink a lot of diet soda and use sweetener for my coffee/tea. But zero calorie drinks did not help me lose weight.

If weight loss was my only issue, I might try being a purist about it. I use stevia at home, but don't tote it. Others have gone more cold turkey on the sweet taste than I. Some of them are still here, as I am. I don't know what happened to the others.

Annie wrote:Has anyone experienced weight loss when you remove diet soda or artificial sweeteners from your diet?

I read somewhere that sweeteners will only make you crave for more sweet food. Any truth to that?

I used to drink a lot of diet soda and use sweetener for my coffee/tea. But zero calorie drinks did not help me lose weight.

According to the experts, although artificial sweeteners have zero calories, they reinforce your cravings for sweets.

Thus, it's like a ticking bomb within you. Unless you have the discipline of a Prussian general (I don't), at any given time your cravings will make you binge on sweets.

You could save the diet drinks for S days. Try it and tell us about it.

Annie wrote:Has anyone experienced weight loss when you remove diet soda or artificial sweeteners from your diet?

I choose to use Splenda and Diet Coke frequently.
I've run experiments on this and have found that ...for me...
reducing or eliminating them has absolutely ZERO effect on weight-loss.

I'll have a diet drink on my fasting days as a treat sometimes, but it doesn't seem to make a difference in my weight. Sometimes, my belly looks bloated the days I indulge. Maybe just a coincidence. I'll have to pay more attention.

No difference for me. I use Equal in my morning coffees and I drink Diet Pepsi with dinner.

I don't know if it makes a difference but I don't have a sweet tooth (never did) so the artificial sweeteners I do use don't make me crave sugary foods. Maybe people with a sweet tooth struggle more if they use artificial sweeteners? I don't know.

For me, artificial sweeteners are a great way to reduce overall caloric intake. They certainly don't cause me to gain weight. I gain when I eat too many calories. I lose when I don't. For me, it's as simple as that. Well, not simple ... or at least not that kind of simple. If only!

Andrea, I agree that it IS simple. Just not easy. But easier than anything else I've done!

Annie wrote:Has anyone experienced weight loss when you remove diet soda or artificial sweeteners from your diet?

I read somewhere that sweeteners will only make you crave for more sweet food. Any truth to that?

I used to drink a lot of diet soda and use sweetener for my coffee/tea. But zero calorie drinks did not help me lose weight.

Sweeteners do not make me crave sweets anymore than full blown sugar. I crave sugar regardless. Replacing sugar with Stevia doesn't help my sugar cravings either. The Stevia product was marketed as another miracle binge-stopper. Just make your baked goods with Stevia and you will only want one tiny piece. After giving Stevia a try (which ended up tasting pretty gross), it turns out that sugar is not the problem; it's the habit of snacking and eating sweets, which No S takes care of. IMO sweets cravings have nothing to do with the *type* of sweetener used. The sweetener is just a bogeyman.

leafy_greens wrote: Sweeteners do not make me crave sweets anymore than full blown sugar. I crave sugar regardless. Replacing sugar with Stevia doesn't help my sugar cravings either. The Stevia product was marketed as another miracle binge-stopper. Just make your baked goods with Stevia and you will only want one tiny piece. After giving Stevia a try (which ended up tasting pretty gross), it turns out that sugar is not the problem; it's the habit of snacking and eating sweets, which No S takes care of. IMO sweets cravings have nothing to do with the *type* of sweetener used. The sweetener is just a bogeyman.

Interesting observation.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/1 ... your-favor

This link is about diet soda, and not artificial sweeteners in general, but it's implications are a little bit different than the old "drinking diet soda makes you fat" myth.

I drink one diet soda every day. Not the most saint-like health behavior, but it hasn't ever made me crave sweets and will often get me through a craving for food in between meals.

I despise the taste of artificial sweeteners in almost any other product or food though. Don't know why diet soda is different for me.

"I despise the taste of artificial sweeteners in almost any other product or food though. Don't know why diet soda is different for me."

I think the bubbles might be a deterrent

After reading this study, I had second thoughts about using artificial sweetener (AS).

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 4/abstract

From personal experience, I did not drop any pounds after using AS or drinking diet sodas. Therefore, I stopped buying AS since it doesn't help with weight loss and there may be some risk to using AS too.

noni wrote:"I despise the taste of artificial sweeteners in almost any other product or food though. Don't know why diet soda is different for me."

I think the bubbles might be a deterrent

They aren't for me. I won't buy a product with AS.

I'm giving up AS (mostly Diet Cokes), but not for weight-loss reasons. Part of adopting this way of eating is re-framing how I think of myself vis-a-vis food. I am not a snacker, I eat moderately, I really enjoy my food and I am never going on a diet again. Diet Coke just doesn't fit in with the new way I view myself. Fizzy water with a squeeze of lemon or a nice cup of tea seem more appropriate for the new me.

I know a lot of people with no weight or food issues guzzle diet soda, but in my mind it is linked to fat-free salad dressing and other dieting madness, so it's out. Now, a real Coke, served ice cold on a 103 degree S day? That's in.

Self-concept has a lot to do with it. Some people (not necessarily here) adopt a view of themselves as cave man/woman, athlete/warrior, gentle one treading lightly, righteous health advocate, lithe goddess, chic urbanite, etc. Moderate eater surely takes less of a toll than them all.

I think regardless of weight loss, just get rid of soda. I use to drink soda all the time, and now I may have a coke once a year. They just aren't good for you, full of sugar and chemicals. and I think the diet stuff is even worse, from everything I have read. I thought I would never kick the habit, then I stopped for a year. When I went back, it tasted rather gross. I believe you can retrain your taste buds to a great extent. I try to stick to water, real juice, milk, tea, and coffee.

joasia wrote:I think regardless of weight loss, just get rid of soda. I use to drink soda all the time, and now I may have a coke once a year. They just aren't good for you, full of sugar and chemicals. and I think the diet stuff is even worse, from everything I have read. I thought I would never kick the habit, then I stopped for a year. When I went back, it tasted rather gross. I believe you can retrain your taste buds to a great extent. I try to stick to water, real juice, milk, tea, and coffee.

I'll have a soda now and then, but I've pretty much eliminated juice. I use it like I use milk -- it's an ingredient in some dishes.

I like to have a diet coke when I'm at a restaurant or in a situation when I would otherwise drink too much alcohol. It works for me.

I have noticed it helps eliminate my craving for a sugary dessert, although I know that is contrary to what some of the studies have reported.

I used to drink at least 1 diet coke a day. Now I have maybe 1 a week.

I stopped because I was sick of consuming all the chemicals. Now I drink naturally flavored seltzer water when I want something fizzy.

I didn't notice any weight loss due to the change (I mean diet coke has zero calories, I wasn't really expecting to see a difference). I didn't notice a change in cravings sweets. I feel better though (fewer migraines and not as much stomach problems), so that's the benefit I was looking for.