Monday, November 17, 2008

Diet Sodas Are Making Me Fat!



Okay I can't say that I blame the companies that make diet soda for doing so. It is an amazingly appealing product concept - a drink that actually tastes good, is refreshing and doesn't have any calories. Undoubtedly, this extremely attractive combination of benefits is why diet sodas have thrived for so long in a marketplace where many other diet and low calorie products go by the board because they just don't taste very good.

I myself have been a diet soda addict for a long time. Often when I am trying to cut back on calories (which is almost all the time), I will treat myself to a diet soda or two at meals because they are so much more satisfying as a beverage than plain old water or unsweetened tea! I am a bit of a hedonist at heart and have never been able to totally get my head around the water and lettuce leaf way of life.

However, I had rather a nasty realization recently and that was that diet soda was actually making me fat. I don't know whether the manufacturers of this wonderful stuff realize it, but diet soda actually increased your appetite. When I am being good and just drinking water with a little lime or lemon juice in it (boring) I am far less hungry than when I drink diet soda. Now I know that there are many super models out there, one of which I am not, that live on diet soda, coffee and cigarettes and find them to be an essential part of weight control. For me, it doesn't work. The moment I have a diet soda before lunch, my appetite immediately doubles and I tuck into a double portion of ranch dressing on my salad with the french bread on the side and still find myself considering some sort of sweet for afters.

So what is the solution? Perhaps those wonderful people who make the stuff could find a way to do it so that we actually felt full after drinking one instead of wanting to eat the carpet. Has anyone else had this experience or am I one of the unlucky few that don't get to enjoy the real benefit of drinking something that is both calorie free and delicious?

No comments: