Is diet soda OK?

[cindilou]

hello everyone i am very very new at this so just wanted to say hi. I was wondering if diet soda is okay or not I think that is the hardest thing for me and also i need some tips for making it quick because i am a very busy person and the prep time is very important.. My boys/work/and husband have me very busy lol

[Ginasfuntime]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

well guess what i have learned after doing this wrong.

that you can drink diet sodas so long as they are caffeine free
because the caffeine causes spikes in your glucose
stick it out this diet has worked wonders for me i have lost so far 64 pounds 20 during my first 2 weeks

[Richt]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

Hi Cindilou.

Diet Soda is only permitted on this way of eating (drinking), if it is sweetened by splenda. Diet Rite Soda is the only one allowed. And even when drinking that, you must count it towards your daily sweetener allowance and also make sure that you drink your correct quantity of water ON TOP of that. Not instead of.

Most diet soda's are sweetened with Aspartame. and that is a really common staller in a number of people. Splenda is ok.

Btw, I am moving this thread to the Atkins Main Forum, as you will get more responses that way.

Best Wishes

Rich

[shrinkdieter]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

Howdy Cindy-

I can't really add anything to what Rich said (he covered it pretty comprehensively there), but essentially, yes, diet sodas are OK, drink up!

Just between you and me, I've never understood why Atkins insisted people avoid aspartame. I personally think his reasoning (clinical or otherwise) on this point was a little weak. Just my opinion: if you want to drink aspartame-laden soda that's probably not going to stall you (it never did me).

Dr. Atkins' stated logic regarding avoiding caffeine makes more sense to me, however - one of caffeine's properties is to affect (generally increase) glucose metabolism, therefore potentially interfering with weight loss. Again, from personal experience, although I strictly avoided caffeine during Induction, I do consume caffeine fairly regularly on my customized low-carb plan, and my weight loss has not been impeded at all.

Anyways, nice to be back lounging around here.

-Shrinky

[Richt]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

Howdy Cindy-

I can't really add anything to what Rich said (he covered it pretty comprehensively there), but essentially, yes, diet sodas are OK, drink up!



-Shrinky

Strictly speaking, just those that are sweetened with Splenda are allowed.

[not2late]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

RE: cooking prep since you had a question about that too....

Set aside at least an hour on a weekend and do your weekly prep. We have alot of time-pressed Atkineers around here and they have lots of tips. Here are a few that I remember from other threads..

Grab and go food: keep in refrigerator
1. Boiled eggs- boil a dozen at a time
2. Vegetable sticks, vegetable slices-portion them into 1 cup portions and pack them in plastic bags
3. Cheese-cut into 1 ounce cubes and pack into plastic bags or in containers.
4. Meat
--Bacon: cook a pound of bacon at time and keep in the frig; reheat or use as is
--Grilled meat: cook extra meat, and store for quick salad or omelette additions
5. Breakfast squares: make a crustless quiche, divide into squares or wedges.
6. Leftovers: These are a godsend! You can eat leftovers for breakfast, instead of eggs, and lunch, instead of a boring salad with some meat sprinkled on top. I particularly like chicken wings and porkchops for breakfast.

Family dinners:
Prepare a meat and veg dish everyone can eat (like a pot roast and steamed green beans or a chicken vegetable stew). Cook carby side dishes for the people that want it.

I recently purchased a slow cooker and I love it. I don't like cooking appliances left on when I'm not around to monitor them, so I do the slow cooking in the evening or overnight. It's easy: toss the ingredients into the slow cooker, cover, flip the switch. After it's cooked, I cool the food, and reheat it when I get home. In fact, I'm cooking tomorrow's brunch as I'm typing this post. And tomorrow night, I'll be cooking my contribution for Sunday Easter dinner at my mom's house.

[slimndown]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

Diet Rite Soda is the only one allowed.
Rich

Richt is a great inspiration to this WOE and knows his stuff, but I have to beg to differ on this one. There are other sodas out there that are sweetened with splenda. Most Diet Shasta sodas are. The bottom line is: it must be sweetened with splenda and each serving counts as 1 carb (regardless of what the can says) and it also counts toward your allowance of 3 servings of sweetener per day.

BTW - Last night I found an AWESOME drink called Cascadia. It is a "soda" that is carbonated water, real fruit juices and splenda. It also is just 1 carb per serving and comes in all sort of wonderful flavors. I found it at my nearest grocery store but if you don't find it in yours and want to try it, I'm sure it can be ordered online.

[Richt]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

Can I just hold my hands up and say that I live in England, and Diet rite is the only US soft drink that I was aware of.

Many apologies for leading people up the wrong path. Obviously there are others now.

Rich

[Heidi3]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

one word on diet soda..ok a few words..
why bother if you are trying to improve your health? ..it is a huge waste of money and why drink it when you have all this good free water around you?

[sunflowergrl]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

If you want to 'do Atkins', than I think staying away from aspertame is very important. Diet Soda sweetened with Splenda must count towards your 3 sweetener a day limit, not your water intake. This IS an Atkins diet board, so we follow what Dr. Atkins said to do.

[changing]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

I was the world's biggest diet soda drinker before I went to this way of eating... I used to polish off two 2-liter bottles of diet pepsi a day. In the past, I've done Atkins and failed, so when I went into the plan this time, I decided that I'd stick to the rules whatever it took. At first, I tried the diet rite soda but I'll admit, I didn't like it. Splenda, unlike aspartame, tastes just like sugar (a godsend when baking and cooking and whatnot) so diet rite tastes like regular coke to me, i.e. really, really sweet! So I did what I never thought I could do...

I gave up soda. I drink nothing but water and the occasional cup of tea now. And you know what? I love it. I feel great. I almost never get headaches anymore. I was a big coffee drinker before this change too, but I feel so much better this way. No mood swings, steady energy, and I feel... clean? all the time... I guess that would be a good word for it. Water just tastes so fresh and good. It is the best drink in the world.

[fawn]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

Howdy Cindy-

I can't really add anything to what Rich said (he covered it pretty comprehensively there), but essentially, yes, diet sodas are OK, drink up!

Just between you and me, I've never understood why Atkins insisted people avoid aspartame. I personally think his reasoning (clinical or otherwise) on this point was a little weak. Just my opinion: if you want to drink aspartame-laden soda that's probably not going to stall you (it never did me).

Dr. Atkins' stated logic regarding avoiding caffeine makes more sense to me, however - one of caffeine's properties is to affect (generally increase) glucose metabolism, therefore potentially interfering with weight loss. Again, from personal experience, although I strictly avoided caffeine during Induction, I do consume caffeine fairly regularly on my customized low-carb plan, and my weight loss has not been impeded at all.

Anyways, nice to be back lounging around here.

-Shrinky

Aspartame is poison. While on this woe, I recommend focusing on foods that provide the body with nutrition. There are several studies out about the risks of aspartame and if you're trusting your federal government to protect you on this one......just take a look at the record profits of the pharmaceutical companies........don't roll over and let anyone tell you that a foreign matter is not potentially toxic to the human body. I rate soda right up there with
cigarettes
alcohol

Also do a search on cancer causing benzene in soda pop. It's naturally formed......this is in petroleum, cigarettes, etc....
Another recent study in which I truly believe......diet soda gives you that "sweet taste" without the calories therefore "tricking" your body that you are giving it some form of energy ie cals. which also results in over eating/cravings.
That food that does not provide any nutrition is surely not intended for the human body.

[sunflowergrl]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

great post, Fawn!! Thank you so much!

[Elizellen]

Re: Is diet soda OK?

[QUOTE=slimndown]BTW - Last night I found an AWESOME drink called Cascadia. It is a "soda" that is carbonated water, real fruit juices and splenda. It also is just 1 carb per serving and comes in all sort of wonderful flavors. /QUOTE]
Sounds great, slimndown
BUT make sure that you have reached the correct OWL rung for the fruit whose juice it is! So berry/melon juice drinks would only be 'legal' once you have reached the 4th OWL rung, with all other fruit juices allowed in the later 'other fruits' rung.