Does diet pop make you fat?

[dmclone]

Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds - CNN.com

 

[Farnsworth]

Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds - CNN.com

I was about to post that in responses to the post above about thinking calories arent calories.

 

[Bobber]

What!? 3-5 HOURS? I certainly hope you meant a week.

Yes, 3 to 5 1 hour workouts/week.

 

[tigershoops31]

Did you quit drinking pop entirely or just diet pop? That is, are you still drinking 5-6 cans of regular pop?

I just switched from diet to regular...and in the summer I still drink 5-6 cans of regular pop worth a day for many stretches.

 

[Bobber]

Such a gross oversimplification, and I'd guarantee the dietetic scientists would say as much. Essentially, yes - you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight, and vice versa. But are you really trying to suggest that a person that gets his 2000 daily calories from Snickers bars and pops are going to be in the same kind of health than a person that gets his 2000 daily calories from a balanced diet? More than likely not - junk food is "quick burn" energy, which means your body burns it quickly, causing a sugar crash, and then ultimately you can't do the other component to losing weight - exercising - because you've burned that energy already. Not to mention the deprivation of essential nutrients that your body needs.

It's all in theory at the moment. According to my sports trainer/dietitian/chiro, when you consume artificial sweeteners, your pancreas releases insulin anticipating metabolizing those sugars. When your body doesn't get those sugars, your blood stream is then filled with unnecessary insulin, and your body begins seeking something to metabolize - i.e., you get hungrier than you normally would be. In other words, your body wants to consume extra calories it ordinarily wouldn't consume (which can lead to consuming more calories than you burn). If you don't consume those extra calories, eventually your pancreas stops releasing that insulin necessary to metabolize sugars. If that happens, at best you throw your metabolism out of whack (making it harder for your body to burn calories), at worst your pancreas stops functioning properly and you develop type 2 diabetes.

And this is the major key component that far too often gets overlooked. Contrary to what I said above, you could be a vegan, but if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. However, how often do you see an obese vegan (unless that person is trying to lose weight)? A person who intentionally lives that kind of lifestyle is usually a person that is taking care of their body in the first place and working out regularly. Not that I'm necessarily promoting the vegan lifestyle - I tried doing vegetarian when I was in college, and I didn't even last a week.

I found the Snicker to Balanced diet comparison amusing....Well duh...

Losing weight isn't rocket science. It's mostly about balance, smaller portion size, and regular exercise. You limit your calories, fat level, and carbohydrates and increase fiber intake. Diet pop has zero calories, so big plus relative to the sugared types. If you still think it hurt you, than eliminate it entirely and drink water.

In my case my blood sugar level was getting to the point it was border line Type 2 diabetes. I attacked all those areas and walla, my body fat dropped about 15% and my blood work came back "perfect" accoring to my Doc. And I did it drinking a few diet pops here and there.

 

[Cyrocks]

Sorry if this has already been posted (I haven't read the entire thread), but in answer to the OP's question, diet pop may (or may not) make you fat, but it will rot your teeth.

 

[Cyrocks]

I found the Snicker to Balanced diet comparison amusing....Well duh...

Losing weight isn't rocket science. It's mostly about balance, smaller portion size, and regular exercise. You limit your calories, fat level, and carbohydrates and increase fiber intake. Diet pop has zero calories, so big plus relative to the sugared types. If you still think it hurt you, than eliminate it entirely and drink water.

In my case my blood sugar level was getting to the point it was border line Type 2 diabetes. I attacked all those areas and walla, my body fat dropped about 15% and my blood work came back "perfect" accoring to my Doc. And I did it drinking a few diet pops here and there.

You hit the nail on the head, Bobber. I have lost nearly 50 pounds over the last two years and have kept it off by doing exactly what you have said. Sure I could have lost the weight faster by popping carb blocker pills and such, but the thing is, weight loss has to be a lifestyle change. Who wants to keep taking carb blocker pills the rest of their lives?

 

[CycloneErik]

Sitting on your *** and doing nothing is what makes you fat. Period.

That isn't reality, either.

I've done plenty of sitting this past semester while I read a book every day, and I did not gain weight because I ate properly.

And drank diet pop :wink:

 

[clonechemist]

. You did not account for the fat/lipids and sugar alcohols in HFCS.

Are you just spouting jargon?

Actually I did account for both of them, because they do not exist in high fructose corn syrup. Your original point that I was trying to refute, namely that HFCS has more calories per gram than aspartame, is still false.

(Go back to the wiki article I linked, there is a table, originally sourced from the USDA database, stating HFCS contains 76 g of carbohydrates and 24 g of water per 100 g, and 0 grams of fats aka lipids.)

 

[tigershoops31]

Are you just spouting jargon?

Actually I did account for both of them, because they do not exist in high fructose corn syrup. Your original point that I was trying to refute, namely that HFCS has more calories per gram than aspartame, is still false.

(Go back to the wiki article I linked, there is a table, originally sourced from the USDA database, stating HFCS contains 76 g of carbohydrates and 24 g of water per 100 g, and 0 grams of fats aka lipids.)

Give him a break...he's still reveling in the Chiz's big victory last night :v_SPIN:

 

[clonechemist]

I firmly believe that there are...last summer I was 28 and had been switched to diet pop for a few months and was drinking a lot of it (5-6 cans worth a day at least). I woke up one morning with my left arm tingling and slightly numb. I didn't think much of it until it continued all day and the next day I couldn't feel much at all with it and then it started in my other extremities until I couldn't hardly pick up my toddler or tie my shoes.

I did a lot of online research (with lots of mistakes in typing due to my numb fingers :sad and saw studies from other countries that have banned aspartame where people had similar symptoms. After 3-4 days I finally went to the doctor and they ran a few tests and ended up just saying that they thought the aspartame thing could be it. I quit drinking diet pop and slowly got rid of all the numbness/tingling. Since then I haven't touched any diet pop and have had none of the symptoms again either.

I have to say I was skeptical when I read this but a little Googling has convinced me that aspartame could give some people trouble.

If you ever DO care to experiment, apparently Diet Rite does not use aspartame, and other companies are developing diet sodas without aspartame too.

 

[tigershoops31]

I have to say I was skeptical when I read this but a little Googling has convinced me that aspartame could give some people trouble.

If you ever DO care to experiment, apparently Diet Rite does not use aspartame, and other companies are developing diet sodas without aspartame too.

If they ever develop a No-aspartame Diet Dew 32 oz for 59 cents, sign me up for testing :yes:

 

[aeroclone]

Such a gross oversimplification, and I'd guarantee the dietetic scientists would say as much. Essentially, yes - you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight, and vice versa. But are you really trying to suggest that a person that gets his 2000 daily calories from Snickers bars and pops are going to be in the same kind of health than a person that gets his 2000 daily calories from a balanced diet? More than likely not - junk food is "quick burn" energy, which means your body burns it quickly, causing a sugar crash, and then ultimately you can't do the other component to losing weight - exercising - because you've burned that energy already. Not to mention the deprivation of essential nutrients that your body needs.



It's all in theory at the moment. According to my sports trainer/dietitian/chiro, when you consume artificial sweeteners, your pancreas releases insulin anticipating metabolizing those sugars. When your body doesn't get those sugars, your blood stream is then filled with unnecessary insulin, and your body begins seeking something to metabolize - i.e., you get hungrier than you normally would be. In other words, your body wants to consume extra calories it ordinarily wouldn't consume (which can lead to consuming more calories than you burn). If you don't consume those extra calories, eventually your pancreas stops releasing that insulin necessary to metabolize sugars. If that happens, at best you throw your metabolism out of whack (making it harder for your body to burn calories), at worst your pancreas stops functioning properly and you develop type 2 diabetes.



And this is the major key component that far too often gets overlooked. Contrary to what I said above, you could be a vegan, but if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. However, how often do you see an obese vegan (unless that person is trying to lose weight)? A person who intentionally lives that kind of lifestyle is usually a person that is taking care of their body in the first place and working out regularly. Not that I'm necessarily promoting the vegan lifestyle - I tried doing vegetarian when I was in college, and I didn't even last a week.

This is the thing that I don't get. I too have heard the claims that the artificial sweetener triggers the release of insulin which then will make you crave the sugar the diet soda didn't give you, and you will either get those calories elsewhere or throw your body out of whack. My problem with this theory, is where is the hard, scientific data to back it up? This seems like an urban legend that has just been repeated to the point where it becomes fact.

How hard could it be to test? Measuring blood sugar levels, insulin levels, and weight takes a quick blood test and a scale. Get a baseline for a group of people, then have a baseline and a group that hits the diet soda. Take blood and weight for a period of time. This isn't something that should require decades of testing and data to figure out. For as long as this theory has existed and as long as diet soda has been around, I would have to think if this had any legs to it, somebody would have proven it already. The fact that there isn't any hard data behind it seems to say all that needs to be said. See again the example of vaccines and autism that just finally blew up this last month or so.

 

[clonehenge]

I have to say I was skeptical when I read this but a little Googling has convinced me that aspartame could give some people trouble.

If you ever DO care to experiment, apparently Diet Rite does not use aspartame, and other companies are developing diet sodas without aspartame too.

I can't eat or drink anything with aspartame or sucralose in it...they both tear up my gut...it's like overdosing on a laxative...