I would like to welcome you to the blog post, today’s topic is Diet Sodas vs Full Sugar Soda which one is worse for you.
There is two sides of this good old debate, you’re completely against all sodas or completely for diet soda drinks…but for this I am going to briefly explain both under certain topics and then give my OWN OPINION. So sit back, relax and enjoy.
 
Firstly, let’s distinguish the main difference between both.
Regular Sodas – Drinks that are carbonated, high in sugars, high in calories & flavourings.
Diet Sodas – Drinks that are carbonated, low in sugars, low in calories, high in artificial sweeteners & flavourings.
 
The effect on body weight-
Regular Sodas – On average a can of Coca Cola contains 140 calories & 36g of Carbohydrate; all of which comes from sugar.  Drinking an average of one can a day has the potential to add an extra 14.6lbs to your bodyweight per year…while consuming just over 13kg of sugar from that single can of Coca Cola a day! [1].
 
Diet Sodas – A can of Diet Coca Cola contains 1 calorie, even though it is believed to be calorie free…companies can market any product as ‘calorie free’ once the product falls below 5 calories per serving.  That is why most ‘calorie free’ products on the market actually do have a very small amount of calories.  So in conclusion drinking one can a day will have an effect on your body a 100g effect on your weight to precise…but is that worth thinking about?  Nope absolutely not because that is such a minute change in weight it’s not worth being concerned over!
 
The effects on your health-
Regular Sodas – When a regular soda that is high in sugar is ingested our body…

• Within 20 minutes your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst…this tricks your liver into converting all sugars into fat.
• 40 minutes pass and the caffeine kicks in, your pupils become dilated, blood pressure rises and the liver begins to dump even more sugar into your bloodstream.
• In one single can of regular soda you can find 9+ teaspoons of sugar. Remember that can of Coca Cola from earlier well that has 36g or 9 teaspoons of sugar in it and according to the American Heart Association [2] that a recommended daily limit for both male and females is:
  • MALES:                        36 grams / 9 teaspoons
  • FEMALES:                    25 grams / 6 teaspoons.

So even a female having one can of Coca Cola you are getting 144% of your Recommended Daily Limit. That’s only if you consume one soda a day, not two or three….
 
Diet Sodas – When you consume a diet soda you don’t get the same response as consuming a regular soda. However you are indeed getting the following response:

• Sugar Cravings are met by non-caloric sweetener.
• There is no Insulin response due to Aspartame or other controversial artificial sweeteners not being able to cause said insulin spike [3].
• The Caramel Colouring that is present in most cola based products can cause discolour of the teeth (same response as Regular Soda).
• Only negative health effect of diet soda would be the poor dental health if consumed [4].

 
My Own Opinion-
In closing I am going to say that neither diet soda or regular soda is beneficial to your health, it’s a matter of which one is worse for you.  In my opinion one can of diet soda a day will not negatively effect your health but it will aid to reduce sugar cravings.  In my opinion choosing diet soda over regular soda will in itself have a knock on effect; if you drank one can of regular soda a day and switched it to one diet soda a day that the potential 14.6lbs weight gain that can come from that one can of regular soda a day will become non-existent and you will not have that potential of weight gain from liquid calories.
 
Refencees-
[1]        140cals(per can of Coca Cola) x 365 days of the year = 51100cals.
            51100 / 3500cals(1lbs of fat) = 14.6lbs or 6.63kg per year.
[2]  http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Sugar-101_UCM_306024_Article.jsp#.WXJL4YjyvIUA43
[3]        https://examine.com/nutrition/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin/
[4]        https://examine.com/topics/diet-soda/

​You’re probably looking at this post hoping to find some magical supplement that can get you ‘Beach Ready’…I am sorry that is not the case.  There is no magical pill or diet that will ‘shed body fat’. 
However there is a way to lose body fat and get beach ready; and that is called being in a CALORIE DEFICT.  Now what does that mean…well basically when it comes to calories you can be in three different states at any time of your fitness journey.

• Maintenance Calories:  having an equal balance of calories in versus calories out, taking in (eating) the same amount of calories on a daily basis as you are expending (burning).  RESULT: Your weight will stay the same and not change.

 

• Calorie Deficit:  having a higher calories out than calories in, taking in (eating) less calories than you are expending (burning) on a daily basis.  RESULT: Your weight will drop.  Depending on the size of the deficit will depend on the weight loss.

 

• Calorie Surplus:  having a higher calories in than calories out, taking in (eating) more calories than you are expending (burning) on a daily basis.  RESULT: Your weight will increase.  Depending on the size of the surplus will depend on the weight gain.

 
Depending on what your goal at that particular time would depend on what state you will be in.  You can only be in one at any given time…you can’t be borderline bulking/maintaining. 
So for this example we want to lose weight.  What we need to do is:

• Figure out maintenance calories (see old blog post).
• Figure out your time frame.
• Figure out how much you want to lose.
• Studies have shown that 1lbs of fat = 3500cals, so if your weekly weight loss goal is 1lbs than you have to be in a 3500 weekly calorie deficit to achieve that.
• So if your maintenance calories is 2000 calories your weekly maintenance calories would be (7(amount of day in a week) x 2000 = 14000 calories)…now to lose that 1 lbs a week we need to subtract (14000 calories – 3500(weekly calorie deficit) = 10500 calories)
• So from this we get our calories which we are expect cause 1lb of weight loss a week.
• So now to allocate your daily calorie intakes. You can just have the same calories every day (7 / 10500 = 1500 calories) …or…
• My recommendation for this would be to do it in regards to your lifestyle, if you eat out at the weekend with your partner or friends you want to save some extra calories for them days…no biggie my friend, it’s called flexible dieting for a reason.
• You could distribute your calories over 6 low days (1300cals) and one high day (2700cals) now that will give you the freedom to have a nice relatively satisfying meal.

 
BOOM you’re now dieting while enjoying some socialising, this is great isn’t it?
Stay tuned for next week’s blog post.  If you have any questions shoot me an email at: info@dpfitness.ie