In fact, brain scans show that diet soda alters sweet receptors in the brain and prolongs sugar cravings rather than satisfies them. Research has shown that artificial sweeteners may cause you to eat more. While you may have started drinking diet soda to facilitate weight loss, quitting it may actually do the trick. After all, by cutting soda, I was removing roughly 800 calories and 220 grams of sugar from my diet on a daily basis! If you’re a soda addict like I had been you may have fallen into the trap of diet soda. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thefitlady-20"; This site contains affiliate links. How to Get Through the Holiday Season Healthy (and Sane), Shopping in a Pandemic: Merry Christmas and Happy HTTPS, The Joint Chiropractic Honors Veterans Day, Convenient Chiropractic Franchise Opens 1st clinic in Springfield, Relieve Holiday Stress with The Joint Chiropractic’s Black Friday Offer. My diet-soda addiction was basically out of control until I quit cold turkey years ago. Working Out Based On Your Menstrual Cycle Is Legit, 7 Pro Athletes’ Top Hair Hacks For Summer, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Drinking more water should be obvious but what about foods? Everyone knows that drinking regular soda is bad for you – it's full of sugar! A study from Purdue University’s Ingestive Behavior Research Center showed that rats given “no calorie” sweetener ate more, thereby gaining more weight and body fat than rats that ate regular table sugar. Why trust us? amzn_assoc_region = "US"; If it’s the caffeine fix you desire, then there are plenty of other beverages to enjoy. If you are going to cut one bad habit try not to replace it with another. For "low-calorie" sodas, by the way, the FDA standard is greater than 30 calories but no more than 40 calories per labeled serving. Since I have quit I have lost weight BUT I think it is because soda made me crave more and more, I also associated Soda with food. amzn_assoc_linkid = "1c8a5ed431d6a486cf0e0caf8bec1fda"; In fact, I ate more—and washed it all down with soda—because I was always so hungry after practice. It’s a reminder of how I felt when I was stuck in the vicious cycle, and it’s enough to help me remember I don’t ever want to get sucked back in. Coffee. And I’d struggled for years to reduce my sugar consumption. I went from drinking it every day to zip, zero... nada! You Handle Booze Better I once knew a girl who drank a case a day. When you mix it with alcohol, your stomach empties out faster than if you used regular soda, causing a drastic increase in blood-alcohol concentrations, according to an Australian study in the American Journal of Medicine. Read all about how to make intermittent fast to work for you here. However, don’t switch to sugar sodas if you are drinking diet at the moment. Well, not so much. ', I Lost 140 Lbs. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, Rebel Wilson Reveals ‘Year Of Health’ Goals. It turns out the headaches you expected from a diet-soda withdrawal didn't materialize. “Diet” doesn’t mean calorie-free. To break her sugar habit, she switched to a paleo diet. By quitting you may see your weight go down. Brain scans have shown that these sweeteners confuse the sweet receptors in the brain actually prolonging your sugar cravings. I also learned to love water. First of all, women started looking at me funny as I stared longingly at their Diet Cokes. While quitting soda may contribute to lower calorie intake, it's what you eat throughout the day that matters most. No matter how much water I drank (yuck), they wouldn't go away. So I stayed the course. Weight loss; Nutrition, Weight loss. Here’s what you DON’T know about diet soda and why it’s actually not helping you lose weight. Welcome! It's more enjoyable. So what happened when I cut it out cold turkey? So I wasn’t dieting at the time, but I surely felt like I had a few more pounds to lose. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thefitlady-20"; Iced tea mixed with some soda water. Yes, I was that specific. By Dr. Molly Casey It’s that time of year again -- and what a year it has been. Maybe the following reasons will help you to decide it's time to cut it out of your diet and daily routine. Maybe you weren't hitting your weight-loss goals or couldn't stomach that long list of ingredients anymore. Growing up, I only drank water when one of my parents suggested I have a glass. Next time you reach for a diet soda imagine you are about to drink a bottle of poison. I do know, however that the chemicals in diet soda can cause more detriment to our bodies with lots of use over time and cause faster aging. That's because the chemicals that make up the artificial sweetener aspartame may have altered brain chemicals, nerve signals, and the brain's reward system, which leads to headaches, anxiety, and insomnia, according to a review in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The easiest way I’ve found to make changes to my eating habits is through intermittent fasting. "We often see patients change snack choices when they give up diet soda," says Heather Bainbridge, R.D., from Columbia University Medical Center Weight Control Center. I had self-confidence like I’d never had before and felt on top of the world. This article was written by Jordan Davidson and provided by our partners at Prevention. Artificial sweeteners raise insulin levels which causes the body to store fat. 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A supporting study in Japan concluded that middle-aged men who had at least one daily diet soda were at a much higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes over a 7-year period. amzn_assoc_title = "My Picks For Anxiety Relief"; Since diet sodas have no calories, people drinking them often feel it's okay to indulge elsewhere, finds Bainbridge. I've lost another 10 pounds, bringing my weight to a pretty steady 150 pounds these days. The Scale Finally Goes the Right Way Even though i haven’t changed what I eat. Studies suggest that using artificial sweeteners, tricks our bodies so that our internal ability to count calories is thrown way off. Diet soda is loaded with artificial sweeteners and chemicals that can be harmful to your body. When quitting soda led to weight loss she looked for other changes she could make. The chemical reaction in your body from aspartame is far more damaging than I had realized when I was just trying to cut calories. I put on the T-shirt without a struggle, so I decided to turn around and face the mirror. I reuse to believe that losing my mind is inevitable because of age or genetics. Your body will benefit in several ways. With Kayla Itsines' Workouts', ‘I Lost 63 Lbs. Working Out Based On Your Menstrual Cycle Is Legit, 7 Pro Athletes’ Top Hair Hacks For Summer, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You keep hearing that diet soda isn't good for you, but nothing has convinced you to stop drinking it. Totally crazy! So I wasn’t just a Diet Coke addict. When the pancreas is overworked from creating insulin to control blood-sugar levels, diabetes rears its ugly head. I don’t remember when my soda habit started—that’s how young I was when I took my first sip. 3.16 inches among participants who drank 1 or more diet sodas a day So average waist circumference increased almost four times more in the daily diet-soda … amzn_assoc_asins = "B07HDZMW2Y,B07GPYJQJX,B073429DV2,B079TD92GS"; Hello! Recent health articles on chiropractic, lower back pain, neck pain, migraines, preventative care, healthy living and more. The calories in regular soda are empty. As a teen and through college, there were plenty of late-night meals that consisted of chicken fingers and loaded cheese fries. But these pounds didn’t come back... ever. And when they try diet soda again, they find it intolerably sweet. Part of HuffPost Wellness. But without Diet Coke, my skin was calm. Because sometimes I wanted bubbles with some extra flavor. FL: THE PATIENT AND ANY OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT HAS THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO PAY, CANCEL PAYMENT OR BE REIMBURSED FOR ANY OTHER SERVICE, EXAMINATION OR TREATMENT WHICH IS PERFORMED AS A RESULT OF AND WITHIN 72 HOURS OF RESPONDING TO THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE FREE, DISCOUNTED OR REDUCED FEE SERVICES, EXAMINATION OR TREATMENT. I had no idea how harmful the artificial sweeteners and chemicals in my soda could be to my body until I did the research. Balance the state of your digestive system by eating your fiber. 90-154.1). Valid for new patients only. Although aspartame and other sweeteners including acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and neotame, are still considered safe for humans to consume, is it really worth the risk to your health? I know I’m not alone in my addiction. I actually gain weight drinking diet soda! I started losing steam more quickly at basketball and volleyball practice and was short of breath a lot. The yummy possibilities seemed endless. Yes, I was that specific. Subject to additional state statutes and regulations. And while my skin had calmed considerably, I still would get breakouts on my chin. Your kidneys have been working extra hard trying to make sense of the ingredients in diet soda. Your Fat Storage and Diabetes Risks Decrease This led the FDA to ban cyclamate in the United States in 1969. 456.02). And another found that older women who drank cola had lower bone mineral density in their hips. Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Tony Webster. It motivated me to keep going and make healthy choices about what I was putting into my body. Clinics managed and/or owned by franchisee or Prof. Our hormones may explain the great paradox of why people gain weight when they switch to diet soda. Your Attitude Toward Food Changes A nine-year study found that older adults who drank diet soda kept packing on belly fat. But once I stopped drinking it, I realized my vice wasn’t so innocent. Quitting soda isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. ... or not-so-sweet, changes to his diet. We should never be putting the chemical substances in diet soda into our bodies ever! I've always loved the sweetness and the fizziness. By quitting you may see your weight go down. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; The slightest glimpse of my reflection saddened and outraged me.