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Replacements for soda?

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    ScalfinScalfin __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Gihgehls wrote: »
    In Japan they have canned coffee that is the bomb. It is also quite bad for you if I remember correctly. I'd look at tea as previously mentioned (not ice tea. Loads of sugar in that)

    Iced tea has as much sugar in it as coffee-- as much as you add yourself.

    Unless you buy it premade, which, if we're talking about canned or bottled beverages is entirely likely.


    lesson being: read the label.

    Also, chicken only has as much chicken as you add yourself. Any recipe for sweet tea that can be said to produce sweet tea will be liquid sugar.

    Scalfin on
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    The rest of you, I fucking hate you for the fact that I now have a blue dot on this god awful thread.
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    ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    I can't imagine ginger ale being as bad as mountain dew. Granted, I can't imagine rat poison being as bad, either, but that's beside the point.
    Unless you're buying, like, hippy, organic ginger ale, they're both basically the same: mostly HFCS, with some artificial flavors and colors, along with some caffeine in Mountain Dew's case.
    Ginger ale may be equivalent to other sodas, but you never hear about Coca Cola mouth, do you? Mountain Dew is probably the most unhealthy soda out there.

    I've heard the higher end root beers aren't bad, but again, soda range.

    Of course, I also recommended mud coffee, and that's just pouring Turkish grounds into a cup and adding hot water (and a good bit of sugar to taste). I'm not kidding. Your heart will fly out of your chest and kick your ass.
    Coca-cola = ginger ale = Mountain Dew = Root Beer

    They're all pretty much the same: HFCS with various artificial colors and flavors. The only real differences are the amount of caffeine in them.

    To say one is "more healthy" than another is like saying Mandarin oranges are "more healthy" than Florida oranges: while maybe technically true, the differences are so subtle as to be essentially nonexistent.

    Thanatos on
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    ScalfinScalfin __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    I can't imagine ginger ale being as bad as mountain dew. Granted, I can't imagine rat poison being as bad, either, but that's beside the point.
    Unless you're buying, like, hippy, organic ginger ale, they're both basically the same: mostly HFCS, with some artificial flavors and colors, along with some caffeine in Mountain Dew's case.
    Ginger ale may be equivalent to other sodas, but you never hear about Coca Cola mouth, do you? Mountain Dew is probably the most unhealthy soda out there.

    I've heard the higher end root beers aren't bad, but again, soda range.

    Of course, I also recommended mud coffee, and that's just pouring Turkish grounds into a cup and adding hot water (and a good bit of sugar to taste). I'm not kidding. Your heart will fly out of your chest and kick your ass.
    Coca-cola = ginger ale = Mountain Dew = Root Beer

    They're all pretty much the same: HFCS with various artificial colors and flavors. The only real differences are the amount of caffeine in them.

    To say one is "more healthy" than another is like saying Mandarin oranges are "more healthy" than Florida oranges: while maybe technically true, the differences are so subtle as to be essentially nonexistent.

    Yes, the all have the same ingredients, but that's like saying all organic life is the same because it has the same top five elements through all species. The proportions is mountain dew are much worse than other sodas.

    Scalfin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    The rest of you, I fucking hate you for the fact that I now have a blue dot on this god awful thread.
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    Zen VulgarityZen Vulgarity What a lovely day for tea Secret British ThreadRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    What is that "Pure Via" stuff in Sobe LifeWater

    Zen Vulgarity on
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    DocDoc Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2010
    Crystal Light is good.

    Try keeping a cold gallon of water on hand as often as possible - you'll get used to not having ridiculous amounts of sweetener in your drinks pretty fast.

    Doc on
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    JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    What is that "Pure Via" stuff in Sobe LifeWater

    I think it is a new form of sweetener made out of.... some kind of leaf. I forget what right now. Just became available in packets at the grocer. Has kind of a funky taste though.

    JebusUD on
    and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
    but they're listening to every word I say
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    ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Coca-cola = ginger ale = Mountain Dew = Root Beer

    They're all pretty much the same: HFCS with various artificial colors and flavors. The only real differences are the amount of caffeine in them.

    To say one is "more healthy" than another is like saying Mandarin oranges are "more healthy" than Florida oranges: while maybe technically true, the differences are so subtle as to be essentially nonexistent.
    Yes, the all have the same ingredients, but that's like saying all organic life is the same because it has the same top five elements through all species. The proportions is mountain dew are much worse than other sodas.
    Citation...?

    Thanatos on
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    Zen VulgarityZen Vulgarity What a lovely day for tea Secret British ThreadRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    JebusUD wrote: »
    What is that "Pure Via" stuff in Sobe LifeWater

    I think it is a new form of sweetener made out of.... some kind of leaf. I forget what right now. Just became available in packets at the grocer. Has kind of a funky taste though.

    Is it bad for you?

    Zen Vulgarity on
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    SightTDWSightTDW Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I second mineral water. Just having something carbonated around helps keep me away from soda.

    SightTDW on
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    TrillianTrillian Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    JebusUD wrote: »
    What is that "Pure Via" stuff in Sobe LifeWater

    I think it is a new form of sweetener made out of.... some kind of leaf. I forget what right now. Just became available in packets at the grocer. Has kind of a funky taste though.

    Is it bad for you?

    It's not been adequately tested

    Trillian on

    They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
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    MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Trillian wrote: »
    JebusUD wrote: »
    What is that "Pure Via" stuff in Sobe LifeWater

    I think it is a new form of sweetener made out of.... some kind of leaf. I forget what right now. Just became available in packets at the grocer. Has kind of a funky taste though.

    Is it bad for you?

    It's not been adequately tested

    The two big ones right now are agave and Stevia - both "natural". Purely based on the type of people who buy them, I'd avoid both.

    Going off what Thanatos has said about soda, they really are all the same - all equally bad for your teeth too.

    MichaelLC on
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    streeverstreever Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Kamar wrote: »
    It's not an ideal fix, but you really do get used to the taste of diet soda quickly. I hated it at first, but now it tastes the same are regular to me. I actually can't stand regular soda in large amounts anymore because it tastes too sweet, actually.

    Just know that if you suddenly jump to large amounts of diet soda, your probably going to have cramps and shit for a day or two.

    People who drink diet soda do not weigh less then people who drink regular soda, so don't bother with that.

    I don't like sugar anyway, so I am happy drinking coffee in the morning, seltzer during the day, and wine at night.

    Use of sugar substitutes will make you crave sugar which you'll probably consume in the form of bread/carbs. So don't bother with diet anything.

    Juice has as much sugar per serving as soda, so don't drink that.

    Tea is the way to go. (I hate tea personally ).

    I think you should try to drink less liquids--they are largely empty calories and not helpful. Fruit in it's natural form: healthy. Dried or juiced it's not really healthy, because you've removed the nutrients and have only sugar.

    streever on
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    streeverstreever Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Hooves wrote: »
    I'd suggest naked juice or odwalla but they can get kind of expensive. they're wicked healthy and delicious though!

    They are not "healthy". They are better then you for soda but worse then drinking nothing.

    Look, unless you are an athlete, you simply don't have the need for instant sugar that 99% of people think they have. (If you are an athlete you probably have less need then you think you do).

    Odwalla is delicious as is Naked Juice but they are basically just sugar. That's what any fruit is when you turn it to juice.

    streever on
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    CpgnitionCpgnition Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I'm commonly described as a "fitness freak", here's what I do:
    -Diet sodas! I really hate to drink my calories, but I love soda. Up until about 3 years ago, I loathed diet sodas. To fix this, I drank two diet colas for ten days in a row, and at the end, I couldn't even tell it was diet any more. When you switch over to diet, you will cut down on about 500 useless calories per day -- plus there are a lot of interesting diet varieties to try out.
    -I've experimented with seltzer water with a splash of lemon juice. Pretty tasty.
    -Coffee with artificial sweetener and no milk. (Artificial sweetener may take getting used to. It didn't for me, but others have said it tasted different to them at first.)
    -1 part 100% cranberry juice, 4 parts water. As this has calories, I limit the amount that I drink each day.
    -Plain old tap water. A lot of times, I like to drink habitually while playing games. In between rounds or during a loading screen, I unknowingly trained my mind to reach for a drink. I determined that I needed to drink more water in proportion with all the other non-calorie crap I was drinking, so I put a cup of water on the desk while gaming. At first, it definitely felt weird (especially since it wasn't carbonated), but I grew used to it before too long. Also, I will randomly chug 8-16 ounces of water when I go to the fridge to get a new diet soda.

    tl:dr: My advice is to not drink your calories. Drinking plain old water is the best, but if you can't (like me), drink diet soda. This isn't just for people trying to lose weight. After you get used to water and diet soda, you'll wonder why anyone drinks anything with calories in it.

    Note: Some people will tell you that artificial sweeteners give you cancer, make you fat, etc. Based on my exposure, a lot of this strikes me as sensationalist and generally untrue.

    Cpgnition on
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    ErandusErandus Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Target's house brand, Market Pantry, makes a cranberry pomegranate 'crystal light' style drink mix that has like 5 calories and is fucking delicious.

    Shit, I'm gonna go have some right now.

    Erandus on
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    CpgnitionCpgnition Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    streever wrote: »
    Use of sugar substitutes will make you crave sugar which you'll probably consume in the form of bread/carbs. So don't bother with diet anything.

    Juice has as much sugar per serving as soda, so don't drink that.

    Tea is the way to go. (I hate tea personally ).

    With regards to sugar substitutes, I must disagree. I think it varies per person (how much they have trained themselves to crave sugar), but I personally did not have cravings for sugar after I made the switch to calorie-free sweeteners. My wife and I eat sweets very rarely, but we drink a lot of diet soda and tea/coffee with Splenda -- neither of us crave sweets. (Although she did just say that she "craves pizza after eating shitty Lean Cuisine.")

    I think it's really a matter of training yourself though. If someone is used to having high amounts of sugar, and then they switch over, I could see them having sugar cravings. After a while, I would expect those cravings to fade away. As evidenced by my wife and I, however, I know that artificial sweeteners do not necessarily cause sugar cravings.

    I fully agree with you on the juice and tea, though.

    Cpgnition on
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    ErandusErandus Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Streever is correct actually.
    A review of 26 years of patient data found that people who drink diet soft drinks were more likely to become overweight.

    Not only that, but the more diet sodas they drank, the higher their risk of later becoming overweight or obese -- 65 percent more likely for each diet drink per day.

    You may not crave "sweets" but there are other ways your body can get sugar. Just because you don't eat candy doesn't mean you're not taking in a lot of sugar. A lot of research suggests exactly what Streever said, that diet sodas lead to increased cravings for sugars.

    Also, drinking a lot of diet soda can displace healthier choices - water and tea - because you're quenching your thirst on diet soda. Thats not to say if you have a diet coke every day that you're punching your own ticket to obesity, but if you drop 4 or 5 by lunch, you're not doing yourself any favors for sure.

    Erandus on
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    CpgnitionCpgnition Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Erandus wrote: »
    Streever is correct actually.

    Hmm, interesting. However, the study shows correlation, not causation.
    The researchers are quick to point out that their findings are not proof that drinking diet soft drinks causes people to become heavy. It could be that as they began gaining weight, they switched from regular to diet drinks.

    Could it just be that larger people are more likely to purchase weight loss products? I wonder if a similar study were done, in which they compared all of the people with gym memberships against people without gym memberships -- would people with gym memberships tend to be heavier?

    Anecdotally, I can confirm this study with my personal experience in the office environment. My heavier coworkers tend to be the ones that drink diet, and the lower weight ones drink regular soda. The heavier ones also eat more and work out less, so I would be crazy to think that the diet soda is making them fat.

    Cpgnition on
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    ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    After a long enough time no drinking soda, every time I try it (maybe once a year), it just doesn't taste right.
    Tastes adjust which is why I wouldn't say do diet, because you'll still be stuck on soda.

    Improvolone on
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    KamarKamar Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    The only two diet changes I made to lose weight was going to diet soda and getting more protein, and I've dropped from 230 to 175. So yeah. I'm going with "fat people are more likely to drink diet soda" being the case, rather than diet soda magically not being any better.

    Edit: Course, I drink like 5+ liters of fluid in a day...a 2liter of diet soda, a 2 litre of water, and at least a litre of tea+coffee sweetened with artificial sweetener. I'd go crazy drinking just water.

    Kamar on
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    GihgehlsGihgehls Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Coca-cola = ginger ale = Mountain Dew = Root Beer

    They're all pretty much the same: HFCS with various artificial colors and flavors. The only real differences are the amount of caffeine in them.

    To say one is "more healthy" than another is like saying Mandarin oranges are "more healthy" than Florida oranges: while maybe technically true, the differences are so subtle as to be essentially nonexistent.
    Yes, the all have the same ingredients, but that's like saying all organic life is the same because it has the same top five elements through all species. The proportions is mountain dew are much worse than other sodas.
    Citation...?

    Citation would be the side of the can, where you can see that Mt. Dew has nearly 50 mg of sodium and 31 g of sugar vs. say, 7 up which has 25 mg of sodium (half as bad!) and 26g of sugar. They are all still terrible, nobody is doubting that, but yeah, some are worse than you for others, and for people who drink way to much soda anyway, the differences will be magnified over time.

    My advice for the OP would be to keep a look out for sodium levels in whatever drink he/she chooses.

    Gihgehls on
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    ZombiemamboZombiemambo Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    clsCorwin wrote: »
    Try Hansen's Natural Sodas. Theres a few different flavors, though the only one I like is Cherry Vanilla Creme.

    From their website:
    Cherry Vanilla Creme Natural Cane Soda

    Hansen's Cherry Vanilla Creme Natural Cane Soda is made from Madagascan vanilla and delicious Washington cherries. Our sodas are 100% natural and do not contain any preservatives, caffeine, sodium, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or colors.

    Contains:
    Pure triple filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, citric acid, natural flavors with extracts of madagascan vanilla and Washington cherry

    Nutritional Facts:
    Serving Size 1 can Amount Per Serving:Calories 160, Total Fat 0g 0%, Sodium 0mg 0%, Total Carb 43g 14%, Sugars 43g, Protein 0g 0%

    Yea, so its still soda, but its a little better for you than other Sodas. Might be a good stepping stone down?

    I drink these on occasion. 43 grams of sugar in that can. That's a ton of sugar.

    Zombiemambo on
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    JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    Trillian wrote: »
    JebusUD wrote: »
    What is that "Pure Via" stuff in Sobe LifeWater

    I think it is a new form of sweetener made out of.... some kind of leaf. I forget what right now. Just became available in packets at the grocer. Has kind of a funky taste though.

    Is it bad for you?

    It's not been adequately tested

    The two big ones right now are agave and Stevia - both "natural". Purely based on the type of people who buy them, I'd avoid both.

    Going off what Thanatos has said about soda, they really are all the same - all equally bad for your teeth too.

    Stevia, that is the one. Hence via, the last part of the word. I'm sure it is fine for you. One of my friends grew one of the stevia plants and we chewed on the leaves a bit. I have also had the refined stuff in the packets and the stuff in "life water" It is a pretty poor substitute for cane sugar, but it does add some sweetness.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

    edit: if you treat it as just another herb instead of a cane sugar replacement it is not bad.

    JebusUD on
    and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
    but they're listening to every word I say
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    ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Gihgehls wrote: »
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Coca-cola = ginger ale = Mountain Dew = Root Beer

    They're all pretty much the same: HFCS with various artificial colors and flavors. The only real differences are the amount of caffeine in them.

    To say one is "more healthy" than another is like saying Mandarin oranges are "more healthy" than Florida oranges: while maybe technically true, the differences are so subtle as to be essentially nonexistent.
    Yes, the all have the same ingredients, but that's like saying all organic life is the same because it has the same top five elements through all species. The proportions is mountain dew are much worse than other sodas.
    Citation...?

    Citation would be the side of the can, where you can see that Mt. Dew has nearly 50 mg of sodium and 31 g of sugar vs. say, 7 up which has 25 mg of sodium (half as bad!) and 26g of sugar. They are all still terrible, nobody is doubting that, but yeah, some are worse than you for others, and for people who drink way to much soda anyway, the differences will be magnified over time.

    My advice for the OP would be to keep a look out for sodium levels in whatever drink he/she chooses.
    Daily Plate says Mountain Dew actually has slightly more sugar, and sodium:

    http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/pepsi/12-oz-can

    http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/coca-cola/coca-cola-classic-12oz-can

    http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/generic/mountain-dew/

    I mean, like I said, they're all liquid death. Calling one "more healthy" is really just equivocating, trying to make yourself feel better. If you're going to smoke eighteen cigarettes a day, smoking a pack really isn't going to make an appreciable difference. If you're going to drink it, you may as well drink the one you enjoy most, rather than pretending to be "healthy" by sucking down ever-so-slightly less sugar, then justifying to yourself.

    Thanatos on
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    ErandusErandus Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Cpgnition wrote: »
    Erandus wrote: »
    Streever is correct actually.

    Hmm, interesting. However, the study shows correlation, not causation.

    Anecdotally, I can confirm this study with my personal experience in the office environment. My heavier coworkers tend to be the ones that drink diet, and the lower weight ones drink regular soda. The heavier ones also eat more and work out less, so I would be crazy to think that the diet soda is making them fat.

    Its not hard evidence, that's correct. The correlation is concerning, though. And when it comes to your co workers, their tendency to eat out or eat less healthy could be a result of diet soda inducing cravings for sugars and the like.

    Its all highly debatable, but I think it's also fairly safe to say that no matter what science you point to on diet sodas, there are more healthy alternatives to them anyway. They are doing you no good and may possibly be doing you harm, so why bother with them? Have some water or tea or maybe a little fruit juice.

    Erandus on
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    CpgnitionCpgnition Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Erandus wrote: »
    Its not hard evidence, that's correct. The correlation is concerning, though. And when it comes to your co workers, their tendency to eat out or eat less healthy could be a result of diet soda inducing cravings for sugars and the like.

    Its all highly debatable, but I think it's also fairly safe to say that no matter what science you point to on diet sodas, there are more healthy alternatives to them anyway. They are doing you no good and may possibly be doing you harm, so why bother with them? Have some water or tea or maybe a little fruit juice.

    No major disagreements here. My personal experience tells me to be skeptical of the "calorie-free sweeteners cause sugar cravings" argument, but I accept the possibility that I may just be an anomaly. I would be interested to see further studies on the matter.

    Cpgnition on
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    GrisloGrislo Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Kamar wrote: »
    The only two diet changes I made to lose weight was going to diet soda and getting more protein, and I've dropped from 230 to 175. So yeah. I'm going with "fat people are more likely to drink diet soda" being the case, rather than diet soda magically not being any better.

    Edit: Course, I drink like 5+ liters of fluid in a day...a 2liter of diet soda, a 2 litre of water, and at least a litre of tea+coffee sweetened with artificial sweetener. I'd go crazy drinking just water.

    2 litres of soda a day can be a really bad idea even if it's diet. While it doesn't contain sugar, a lot of soft drinks are acidic enough to potentially do serious harm to your teeth in the long term if you're drinking amounts like that on a daily basis. Or even if you're drinking less than that.

    You'll basically eat away at your enamel. 2 litres a day for, say, 5 years is guaranteed to leave significant traces.

    /unsolicited [strike]advice[/strike] scare mongering.

    Grislo on
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    TrillianTrillian Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Cpgnition wrote: »
    Erandus wrote: »
    Streever is correct actually.

    Hmm, interesting. However, the study shows correlation, not causation.
    The researchers are quick to point out that their findings are not proof that drinking diet soft drinks causes people to become heavy. It could be that as they began gaining weight, they switched from regular to diet drinks.

    Could it just be that larger people are more likely to purchase weight loss products? I wonder if a similar study were done, in which they compared all of the people with gym memberships against people without gym memberships -- would people with gym memberships tend to be heavier?

    Anecdotally, I can confirm this study with my personal experience in the office environment. My heavier coworkers tend to be the ones that drink diet, and the lower weight ones drink regular soda. The heavier ones also eat more and work out less, so I would be crazy to think that the diet soda is making them fat.

    Nope, sugar substitutes create an insulin response and cause the blood sugar to drop. It is this drop in blood sugar that makes you crave sweets, until your blood sugar rises to normal again.
    If you eat because you're feeling the pinch from low blood sugar, then of course you're going to gain weight. If you stay away from food during that time, and wait out the cravings, then you're not.

    Trillian on

    They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
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