How to Lose Weight by Giving Up Diet Soda

Several years ago, at a family gathering I saw one of the most dramatic transformations that I've ever witnessed. It was a summer party, and many of the family members at the party were people I don't see often. There was a woman I didn't recognize, and I assumed it must be someone's new girlfriend or new acquaintance. She came up to me and greeted me as if she knew me, and it wasn't until she got close, and I heard her voice, that I recognized her. We were related, she was my cousin.

She had lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw her. She was slim, healthy, radiant. I assumed she must have been seriously dieting, but she said no. I asked if she was working out a lot. Again, no; she was still working the night shift and between that and raising children, she had no time. How did she lose so much weight without dieting?

She had replaced her diet soda with water.

I don't remember her reason for switching to water. It could have been that she needed to save money, and buying soda from a vending machine was something she had to give up. It could be that she got a new position that had her working in an area that didn't have a vending machine. Whatever the reason, it was logistical, not for diet.

She had been drinking the diet soda to lose weight, and because she was working night shift, she wanted the caffeine to help her stay awake.

What she discovered, fairly quickly, was that her energy actually INCREASED after switching to water. She was not only losing weight, she wasn't constantly craving snacks, and she had more energy.

When she was trying to diet before, she was not only tired, but feeling hungry all the time, craving junk food, getting headaches, which I think is typical for someone trying to diet. It's hard to get past that hungry feeling in your stomach, and your mind telling you it needs a snack... Somehow, switching to water removed a lot of the frustrating side effects of dieting.

More energy meant she was more active. Even if she couldn't get to the gym, she could put more into her daily tasks, accomplish more, stay on top of things - without counting the calories, it goes without saying that doing more every day is definitely burning more calories every day.

I decided to investigate why she would lose so much weight after making one simple change - not even in her diet, just in her choice of beverage.

What I discovered is that in spite of the fact that diet soda has zero calories, there are a few mechanisms that increase your appetite. In fact, the risk of weight gain is HIGHER when you drink diet soda, than if you drink regular soda.

One reason for this is that the sweet taste is telling your brain something sweet is coming, but the body didn't consume any calories, so the brain tells the body to eat something. The reason you don't get this response with regular soda, is that the body is consuming the sugar that the brain expects it to have. This may explain why you have a greater risk of obesity when drinking diet soda. It is better to consume the 150 calories in a can of regular Coke, then to have difficult-to-manage cravings after a Diet Coke - sweet cravings that urge you to grab that packet of cookies later... cookies you justify because you just drank a Diet Coke.

Better yet, drink water. If you drink water, your brain understands this, expects nothing more and is satisfied.

Animal studies suggest that artificial sweeteners cause weight gain, in theory, because of a faulty insulin response. For example, rats given artificial sweeteners increased their caloric intake, and body weight.

Consuming a product that stimulates your appetite is going to make any diet program extremely frustrating. The biggest struggle when you are on a diet is fighting the feelings of hunger, and the cravings for foods you can't eat.

Simply eliminating diet soda will make any diet program easier to follow, easier to stick with, easier to reach goals. When you begin to see progress, you are motivated to keep going. When you lose weight, you feel better, more energetic. It all feels great.

Diet soda, by increasing your appetite, makes the road to weight-loss and better health an UPHILL battle.

Not only does water have zero calories, it provides the body with what it needs: water.

People's individual needs for water may vary depending on the weather, and your levels of activity etc., but everyone needs plenty of water every day.

Your body uses water in all of its cells, organs, and tissues to maintain healthy bodily functions and temperature. Water also flushes out toxins. This is critically important, especially for people who are dieting, because as you burn fat, any toxins stored in the fat cells are now circulating in the body. You need a constant intake of water to flush out these toxins before they are stored somewhere else.

There is plenty of research that shows that diet soda increases your risk of obesity, and I have seen myself how simply switching from diet soda to water can make you lose weight.

Why not try it?

If you drink diet soda, try switching to water - lots of water - for one month. I would love to hear about your experience!!