“Can I have diet please?”
The typical phrase you here by most people when ordering a drink at any type of restaurant. In reality, soda isn’t that great for you, but when we choose to drink it, most will ask for diet in hopes that they are doing something a little better for their bodies. About “20 percent of the U.S. population” drinks diet beverages and it is certain that these drinks are not helping people lose weight or diet. It’s doing the opposite…
Without even realizing it, if you drink a diet soda, you are more likely to consume more calories from eating something to replace the calories that you’re missing from that soda. Not all might believe that this is true and think that “they are making a healthy choice, but then they end up consuming more calories later“. Whether it is junk food or snacking, those calories are being consumed in some way.
This compensation for soda has been tested before, and it has been found that people “eat an 69 calories, on average, of sugary, fatty, salty or cholesterol-raising foods” when they have a diet soda. And this extra calorie intake doesn’t just come from soda, other drinks will do the same amount of damage…
The same study found different averages for different beverages. These beverages included alcohol, regular soda (which had a higher average extra calorie intake than diet soda), coffee, and even tea. This information made me nervous. I have never been a big soda drinker which has made me believe to be a healthier person. But, I am an avid tea and coffee drinker, and neither of these drinks are helping my calorie intake. The study showed that tea had an extra 64 calorie intake and coffee at an extra 108 calorie intake, which is worse than diet soda. So if you’re like me and don’t even drink soda, you might want to watch what else you’re drinking. Looks like water might be your best bet!
What’s important from this is that no matter what you drink, you have to watch and record your calorie intake. Diet soda is not going to help you lose weight. It is all about the quantity and quality of your intake. Moral of the story is to drink and eat healthy, and hit the gym every now and then if you want to lose weight… and not gain it!
That’s the biggest issue about diet soda; the idea that since its “diet” it is healthier for you, making you think that it is okay to eat other junk food along with or after drinking it. NO!!! That’s how the diet soda tricks you. I definitely have reconsidered my drink options, and also how many times a day I have these drinks. For tea and coffee, sometimes I have two to three cups a day. I can only imagine how many extra calories I could be consuming from this intake of these drinks!!
I would have never guessed this either, which is why I decided to right about it. Thank you for bringing up this article about the chemicals that diet soda contains, this just adds to the point that it is just not good for you. I am definitely going to try to stick to drinking water as much as I can!
You should have believed your sister! I also found this to be an interesting topic, even though I never really drink soda. My problem is that I am a huge tea and coffee drinker, and these numbers are not much better or worse than drinking diet and even regular soda. Especially since I’ve been at school, I’ve been drinking more and more of it, which is a little nerve wracking now since I am aware of the lingering freshman fifteen! I definitely need to watch my extra calorie intake if I don’t want to be gaining all that weight!
This is so surprising! I myself am a huge soda fan and drink soda at least once a day. It’s funny because I also thought that if I drank diet soda at least I was making a healthier choice. Who would’ve thought! My sister had mentioned this earlier to me, but I didn’t believe her or think to look into it. Now that I’ve come across this blog, I will definitely be rethinking drinking diet soda, if not any! This was really interesting, but what really surprised me was the fact that coffee and tea are not as good for you as it seems. I don’t drink coffee or tea, but I was shocked to find out that those who do are taking in extra calories as well. I agree with you, it looks like water is our best bet!
I never would have guessed that drinking diet soda would lead you to eating more calories. I do believe that diet sodas are worse for our health than regular sodas. Diet soda contains so many chemicals and fake sweeteners to make the soda taste as close to the original as possible but without any calories. Heres an article about the harmful chemicals in diet sodas http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20739512_2,00.html
This article is really interesting! I knew that diet sodas weren’t the best choice and most likely only makes you hungrier but I had no idea that coffee and tea could do the same. This made me rethink all my beverage options and also if I really do try to find a way to substitute the calories I didnt drink. I defiantly do eat more when I drink tea or diet soda because I think since there are barley any calories, if any, I can eat something else as a replacement.