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Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

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Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#41

Post by alok-g »

wavesounds wrote: post #40
alok-g wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Newbie question: I find zero-fat food that is very high in protein and reasonable in sugar. Such food also is high on calories. Is food with 230 calories (zero from fat) the same as 230 calories (120 from fat, zero grams protein) in terms of weight loss? I am avoiding the latter, do I need to avoid the former too?

Your body does not digest fat and turn you into fat, just like it does not digest broccoli and turn you into broccoli. Whats actually important is carbs vs protein. You wan't to eat things that are high in protein and low in carbs, theres many schools of thought that say fat doesn't matter at all anymore. You can learn more by searching for Paleo and Ketosis on Google or Reddit. Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or dietit…

Oh! My understanding so far was that fat gets stored in the body as long-term energy reserve while sugars form short-term energy reserve. Proteins on the other hand make up the muscle mass. So what I have been trying for the last two months is to force my body to eliminate excess fat deposits by practically eliminating fat intake, reducing sugar intake to make the body low on energy and start digesting the fat reserves, and finally also augmenting proteins (with exercise) to build muscle mass.

Are you suggesting that I can continue to consume fat, as far as I do not increase my calorie intake (say by cutting down on carbs correspondingly)?

I'll read the reference as time permits. Thanks for the same.

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#42

Post by coldtea »

DanBC wrote: post #36
v1tyaz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very misleading. In fact, the author of this study is a behavioral neurologist, hence studying human behavior relating to diet drinks rather than diet drinks themselves. Drink as much diet soda as you like, if the rest of your diet is healthy then you're fine. This article is just typical fear-mongering against artificial sweeteners, I'm surprised it got up voted here.

> I'm surprised it got up voted here A disturbing number of HN readers have batshit insane viewpoints on food.

Yes, because being sceptical of substances that get approved after some hasty testing, with big push from a few large multinationals is "batshit insane".

The sceptic thing is to thing scientists are above human and infallible. And to ignore tons of precedents of BS substances and drugs being brough to the market, only to be recalled a few years or even a few decades later.

Because "science" is a magic word, that somehow overcomes systemic problems in how burecreacies work, how people (including whole teams) react to money, and how judgements can be wrong. To suggest otherwise is "batshit insane".

After all, those doing the safety testing can take their sweet time to study long term results, aren't ever lured by money, and understand all possible effects of the substances they approve equally well as the collective scientific community understands non artificial substances used for centuries or millenia, right?

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#44

Post by coldtea »

v1tyaz wrote: post #7
eric970 wrote: post #6

Er, this whole topic can be a little misleading. I haven't found a single reputable study that claims diet soda itself causes weight gain. Rather, just as the reasoning in this article suggests, the only scientific fact they present is that the consumption of diet soda itself does not encourage weight loss. Side note: Do any brands really advertise drinking their diet soda as a method of (actual) weight loss? I can't…

Very misleading. In fact, the author of this study is a behavioral neurologist, hence studying human behavior relating to diet drinks rather than diet drinks themselves. Drink as much diet soda as you like, if the rest of your diet is healthy then you're fine. This article is just typical fear-mongering against artificial sweeteners, I'm surprised it got up voted here.

>Very misleading. In fact, the author of this study is a behavioral neurologist, hence studying human behavior relating to diet drinks rather than diet drinks themselves. Drink as much diet soda as you like, if the rest of your diet is healthy then you're fine.

Only people are not Vulcans -- to seperate such things as easy as you put it. For example, who told you that, from a behavioral standpoint, drinking diet soda and having a healthy diet are compatible?

If anything, the "behavioral neurologist" suggests otherwise.

Your idea that diet soda is totally OK (which btw, needs a citation), is based on the premise that people can easily do the healthy diet and still consume diet soda. Which might be true for some, but clearly does not work for most -- not because it is physically impossible, but because other factors (e.g behavioral, psychological, etc) are also into play. Dismissing those as irrelevant does a huge disservice to studying the matter.

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#45

Post by coldtea »

speeder wrote: post #30
eric970 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Diet" and "weight loss" are often used interchangeably, sure, but can you think of any instances in which diet Pepsi or diet Coke has been advertised as actually causing weight loss (ie; the product itself is a weight loss supplement)? I think the name "diet soda" needs to go, as it really is misleading, but (and I could be wrong about this) I don't think these companies have ever claimed their products make you she…

People KNOW the meaning of diet? Diet definition 3 from Merriam Webster: "the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason" (by the way: who the hell thought it was good idea to put on your dictionary site a ad for wallmart with sound, and REALLY LOUD sound, that plays automatically?) Diet products were intended, and advertised, as sugar-free stuff, for people that need sugar-free di…

>Diet products were intended, and advertised, as sugar-free stuff, for people that need sugar-free dietary needs (ie: diabetics mostly)

Nope, they were advertised as the "healthy" choices for people that care about their sillouette. This is obvious from their advertising (not to mention that they also say it explicitly in ads).

Oh, and diet coke in Europe is code "coca cola LIGHT".

So much for the dietary connotation.

(And, yes, people do NOT know the meaning of diet. The majority understands it only in the sense of "weight loss diet").

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#46

Post by mzarate06 »

jere wrote: post #28
mzarate06 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Research has shown metabolism doesn't have the affect on weight loss as many believe it to have. Case in point, weight loss can be achieved eating 1 big meal a day vs. 6 smaller meals a day (where the latter is often hyped b/c it "revs" your metabolism). Your body adjusts. The true formula for weight loss is simple and well understood: consume less calories than your body requires. When you create a caloric deficit,…

I don't doubt it's a great book, but the first sentence defies your claim that metabolism is a red herring unless you're saying this guy is selling red herrings: >Clinical Research Proves that Eat Stop Eat will Help You Lose Weight Fast, Get Rid of Ugly Body Fat and Increase Growth Hormone in as Little as 24 Hours - all while Improving Your Metabolism and Even Building Lean Muscle

Having read his book, I can say that he's not selling red herrings.

He does make a clear, recurring, point in his book: the fitness and diet industry focuses too much on things that don't matter that much. E.g. low carb diets, avoiding "bad foods", cardio being the key to fat loss, and yes, metabolism.

My belief is that he mentions metabolism on his site to arouse curiosity, or calm worries, on one myth that fasting skeptics have: not eating frequently slows your metabolism, and to the point that it affects weight loss.

In fact, fasting doesn't affect your metabolism that much, if at all. Research shows it stays pretty steady during periods of fasting.

And through that fact, he's able to push your focus away from worrying about metabolism and on to what really matters: calorie consumption.

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#47

Post by corresation »

jdminhbg wrote: post #21
corresation wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's called diet here in Canada as well. In any case, diet does not and has never meant "lose weight". If you pay any attention to what you consume, you are "on a diet".

> In any case, diet does not and has never meant "lose weight". It plainly does, whether that usage makes you happy or not: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diet?s=t

One of five possible definitions includes losing weight in no universe means that diet means "lose weight" -- you don't get to choose what Diet means on a can of soda.

Diet is nothing more than the things you eat, and a "diet" can be to lose, gain, maintain weight, or simply to pay attention to what you eat for the purposes of healthy eating. A diet soda is a soda modified to reduce/eliminate sugar, which again is in no way manifestly correlated with losing weight.

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#48

Post by sharkbrainguy »

loginalready wrote: post #11

As far as I know, the US is the only country where sugar-free soda is referred to as "diet". The notion that it would help lose weight is totally new to me, I'm presuming that is because most countries outside the US would never allow it to be marketed that way.

It seems like for reduced calorie Coke specifically, it is marketed as "Diet Coke" or "Diet Coca Cola", in at least Australia[1], New Zealand[2], The United Kingdom[3], India, Israel and The US[4].

[1] https://www.coca-cola.com.au/ourdrinks [2] http://coke.co.nz/ [3] http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/brands/diet-coke.html [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_coke

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#49

Post by mzarate06 »

alok-g wrote: post #25
mzarate06 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Research has shown metabolism doesn't have the affect on weight loss as many believe it to have. Case in point, weight loss can be achieved eating 1 big meal a day vs. 6 smaller meals a day (where the latter is often hyped b/c it "revs" your metabolism). Your body adjusts. The true formula for weight loss is simple and well understood: consume less calories than your body requires. When you create a caloric deficit,…

Newbie question: I find zero-fat food that is very high in protein and reasonable in sugar. Such food also is high on calories. Is food with 230 calories (zero from fat) the same as 230 calories (120 from fat, zero grams protein) in terms of weight loss? I am avoiding the latter, do I need to avoid the former too?

If you want to lose weight, the type of calories don't matter as much as quantity. So in regard to the 2 230 calorie amounts you've cited, they'll both contribute to weight loss, or weight gain, equally, depending on what side of a daily or weekly caloric budget they land on.

Consider this:

A popular belief is that 1 lb. of fat contains about 3500 calories. [1] By that measure, and assuming you regularly eat at maintenance calorie level each week, eating 3500 calories below what will result in about a 1 lb. reduction in body weight that week. (which realistically turns out to be mostly fat, but can also include small amounts of lean muscle, too).

Whether you create that deficit from removing sugar, fat, carbs, or protien doesn't matter.

But that's solely for weight loss. When you simultaneously want to increase lean muscle, exercise and protein become more important. Also consider medical conditions that require adhering to certain diet regimen.

So I'm not saying that, globally, what you eat doesn't matter, only that weight loss primarily comes down to maintaining a caloric deficit. To supplement, of all the diet programs out there ... Atkins, South Beach, and even intermittent fasting ... the one thing they all have in common is that they promote a caloric deficit, somehow. And they have to, other wise they wouldn't work!

[1] Some argue the 3500 calories = 1 lb. of fat is bs. All I can say is that I've based my caloric deficit on it and it seems to hold true. I dropped my weekly caloric budget by 7k calories, and have been losing about 2 lbs. a week.

Re: Study: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight

#50

Post by alok-g »

mzarate06 wrote: post #49
alok-g wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Newbie question: I find zero-fat food that is very high in protein and reasonable in sugar. Such food also is high on calories. Is food with 230 calories (zero from fat) the same as 230 calories (120 from fat, zero grams protein) in terms of weight loss? I am avoiding the latter, do I need to avoid the former too?

If you want to lose weight, the type of calories don't matter as much as quantity. So in regard to the 2 230 calorie amounts you've cited, they'll both contribute to weight loss, or weight gain, equally, depending on what side of a daily or weekly caloric budget they land on. Consider this: A popular belief is that 1 lb. of fat contains about 3500 calories. [1] By that measure, and assuming you regularly eat at maint…

This helps. This understanding is what I was looking for. Thanks!

Seems to fit my case too. I am cutting down by about 400-600 calories per day and have been loosing at about 4-5 lb per month. I am intending to loose another 10 lb while building some muscle, and got confused by some articles I came across online which talked about increasing protein intake significantly.

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