This is a good read folk...this is from my Eating coach.

Diet Coke and other calorie free foods

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Diet Coke and other calorie free foods Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:50 AM PST About a week ago I watched a very interesting lecture by a physician from UCSF called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth."  It's long but totally worth the watch.  (or you could wait a couple weeks and I will be doing a presentation at the FC based on some of that program called Dying for Sweets). The presentation went in depth on the differences and similarities of glucose (fuel of life), fructose (sugar found in fruit or industrially created as crystalline fructose or high fructose corn syrup ... or ironically renamed: corn sugar), and sucrose (table sugar made up of one glucose hooked to one fructose). Basically, the take home from this 90+ minute program was: We eat too much sugar.  Period. Doesn't matter where it comes from  -- we're making ourselves ill because historically we haven't ever had to deal with as much sugar as we are now exposed to.  The presenter in the video called it "toxic" and "a poison".  And I agree. Now, like alcohol, some sugar isn't going to kill us.  But the massive amounts we are exposed to actually is killing us (diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease -- sugar contributes to all of these!) To add on top of this -- I got an email from one of our fellow reader.  She asked me to remind all of you that "Diet" soda isn't any better for us than regular soda -- people are still gaining weight from the non-calorie options!  My question to you is:  why are you drinking the soda (diet or not) in the first place??? "Because it tastes soooo good", you say? Well...couple things: First -- soda/fizzy drinks/crystal light/etc have no nutritional value....at all.  Milk has calcium and Vitamin D needed for strong bones.  Red wine has components thought to reduces the risk of heart disease.  Fruit juices (the real ones -- that actually are comprised of juice from fruit -- no****er, sugar, red dye number 6 and 5% "Real Juice") provide vitamins, minerals, and sometimes even some fiber. Sodas?  Nada.  They provide sugar (or some fake substitute) -- which none of us need, salt (again -- very few of us should have more salt in our diet), caffeine, and colorants.  Hmmmm..... But it tastes so good......or does it? It's kind of a long story -- but since the beginning of the year, I have worked really hard to limit my intake of sugars.  Yesterday, I thought I would treat myself to a fountain Coke (y'all know how I LOVE fountain Cokes!) I haven't had Coke in better than a month.  And you know what?  It tasted syrupy, sickly sweet, and so nasty I had to throw it away! I'm really disappointed that it didn't taste good!  I really thought it would.  But -- cutting down on the sugar must have made me more sensitive to the sweetness in the drink.  --so it didn't taste good -- which means taste is in the mouth of the beholder.  You could reduce your taste for sweet drinks....if you wanted to. And yes, I'm sure if I persisted, all I would have to do was get back into the habit of drinking fountain cokes and they would start tasting good -- but why would I do that?  They have no redeeming value. And yes, I could switch to diet coke -- that would probably take care of the too-sweet taste of the soda.  But, again....why would I do that? And, just one more thing:  We can't outsmart Mother Nature.  Studies show that if you give kids a regular soda sweetened with high fructose corn syrup before the head into the fast food restaurant, they will eat more calories than if they didn't have the soda.  Fructose doesn't simulate insulin -- which is one of the signals that allow the brain to recognize the calories we are consuming.  Without the insulin response those calories fly under the brain's radar and it won't account for them as it's calculating when to turn off our hunger -- so we eat more. You know what else doesn't cause insulin to be released?  The fake sugars in sodas (and everything else).  We have been lead to believe these are no-calorie foods but research is showing us that even though the mechanism is not clearly understood, fake-sugar foods are causing us to gain weight too. They're not "free" foods.  All foods come with a price. Are your choices in foods the ones that are serving you best?  Or are you just running on autopilot because you assume you like your choices?

Debbie...I drink Crystal Light Peach Tea every day...all day..... and have for over 4 years.....hmmmmm....what do you think??? I drink it because I would prefer flavored water. However if it is causing me weight gain I will stop drinking it and go back to just plain water.

HUGS....connie d

Hugs right back at ya Connie!

Yep, with all these studies out on diet pop and flavored low cal drinks it seems like the conclusion is...it's making us fat! Ugh
Some say those drinks gets our hunger going and if we would only drink plain water we would do better.

So I'm guilty of drinking Crystal light, diet Snapple which I just love and I've have fallen back into the trap of drinking Coke Zero once in awhile for a treat.

After reading what my Eating Coach has said in the above article...I'm going back to plain water. We can do this together.

I remember when I took Kristi's class ( my eating coach) and told her I drink diet pop once in awhile and she said she was uncommitted on making any comments about diet pop and to just concentrate on Mindful Eating. So it's back to water for me...think of the money I will save! LOL
I would buy 4 6 packs of Peach Diet Snapple, now it's just gonna be water. I'll keep ya posted on how I'm doing just drinking plain old water again.

Thanks for the reply Debbie. I think I am going to try to get back to plain water. If I crave CL too bad I will limit myself to one a day.....I CAN DO IT!!!

HUGS....connie d

Ugh! Does this mean i have to give up sugar-free jello. It is all I have left. Geeze.

Nope just keep in mind that sugar is sugar, at first you need something so I'm not trying to take anything away from you at all. Hugs Debbie

I have to admit that soda was never one of my vices. Don't care for it much except for root beer, and then only occasionally and if we were in one of those breweries with the really good stuff. I love water, what can I say. Now chocolate,... that's another story.

Hugs.
Jan

Your lucky Jan not being addicted to diet drinks. I love water too but I fight my addiction with Diet Coke Zero and I do count my blessings that I don't like to drink alcohol or beer.
Yep...now chocolate is a whole nuther story! Ugh!

 Luckily I've never been big on alcohol or beer either and haven't had a drink since surgery.  But my chocolate addiction is getting worse lately and I don't know if it's pms, fatigue, depression, having some just makes me want more, hormones, stress, ...  My period is still very regular yet is late and i'm starting to have occasional hot flashes and not sleeping well.  Very intense dreams.  Then work was really stressful for the last few weeks, working longer hours trying to get a build released.  All I want is chocolate.  And I've indulged way to much.  Now I have to get these extra 10-1 pounds off.  Oy Vey!