Coke Zero

(Rockie Spinks) #1

Question. I am starting keto. been on it for 10 days. I have gained three lbs. Could it bee from drinking Coke Zero? I drink 3-4 glasses a day.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

Yes. Some folks report that artificial sweeteners affect them very much like actual sugar, inducing both a glucose spike followed by an insulin spike. Some report no such effect or for only some and not other sweeteners. Trial and error.

(Ian) #3

I have tracked the impact of drinking Coke Zero using a CGM and have not seen any detectable change in my blood sugar. I have always assumed, possibly incorrectly, that if it induced a glucose spike i would register that as a typical upswing in blood sugar or if it induced an insulin release, then I would see a reduction in blood sugar. N=1 and YMMV.

If you are new to Keto, its more likley that you are not accurately assessing your daily carbohydrate consumption, missing hidden carbs or are consuming more calories due to increase fat consumption. While healthier, it is possible to increase weight on a keto lifestyle.

#4

Without knowing your vitals and your macros and how well you are adhering to them, it would be impossible to tell. At my size, I can easily lose or gain 3 pounds within a few hours.

But the Coke Zero could be causing some kind of water retention.

A lot of people lose a fair share of water weight in the first 10 days, as glycogen stores dwindle and release the water bound to them.

(Allie) #5

Sure could, nasty stuff.

#6

This is too little weight, our bodyweight easily fluctuates more and it’s probably not fat so doesn’t matter. If it would be fat, that’s due to lots of excess calories but as the human body is very complex, yeah, sweeteners may be culprits, people experience that. They aren’t enough alone, our body still can’t make fat tissue from nothing but they can mess up things enough to see such difference as I’ve heard.

#7

In my first week of trying keto, I drank quite a bit of Coke Zero, since I’ve always found water to be rather unpleasant. At some point I forced myself to find a water brand I could tolerate and cut out the Coke Zero entirely. Between the sodas and all the other sugar (real and fake) that eliminated, I noticed that after another 2 days, my appetite dropped significantly (and trust me, I’ve always gauged the quality of a meal by the quantity on my plate and have always had a horrible sweet tooth).

I can’t say that you’ve gained weight because of the Coke, but in my personal experience, the change after eliminating it has been borderline profound.

#8

Unlikely, there are people who have sensitivities to the fake sweeteners in 0 cal soda but they seem to be the minority. There’s a lot of artificial sweetener purists that will blame them without any other info but better question is what are you eating daily? WAY more likely you’re just unknowingly self sabotaging yourself with what or how much you’re eating. Are you tracking your intake?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #9

If you can demonstrate that a particular sweetener causes a glucose spike, please inform the USFDA, because non-sugar sweeteners may not be sold in the U.S. if they raise serum glucose.

#10

Hi Rockie. Great to read you are starting keto!

Crikey, I remember those days of ‘diet’ soft drink dinking. People around here call them sodas. My crutch was Pepsi Max. These days I could not bear to even have a sip. I found that as taste senses normalise on keto that the diet sodas were nauseatingly too sweet. These days I find a carrot sweet enough.

But what else are you doing. Usually when people decide to improve their health in some way they will also start and exercise regimen. They’ll start lifting and carrying things. Increased physical activity is a good thing. But if you have added in exercise as well the minor weight change could be due to something outside of the way you are eating.

Other things that happen with starting keto is that people add extra salt to mediate the keto flu. Or they start drinking more water as that has been a general health meme for decades. All these can affect hydration status and body fluid, which registers on the scale.

Honestly put the body weight scales away for a couple of months. Clothes fit is a much more reliable progress measure. Don’t forget to take photos of your face and full length body shots, these are invaluable later down the track.

As Shinita pointed out an overnight variation of 5 lbs either way can be a normal expectation. But the thing there is that 5lbs down makes you strut and dance, whereas 5lbs up creates worry, which does not help in achieving health goals.

(Rockie Spinks) #11

3 cups of coffee in the morning, 2 eggs fried in butter-4 pcs. of bacon- 2 slices of chedder cheese and 2 hotdogs for brunch.

switch over to decaf after 2pm. 3 more cups. I do use whipping cream and Torina vanilla flavering. For dinner I have a big salad. lettuce, cucumber, 1 small size tomato, spinach, 2 slice of chedder cheese, a few olives and about 4 tbles. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. After that I snack on natural peanut butter and celery and walnuts or pecans. All through the day when I am thirsty, I drink Coke Zero.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #12

I was specifically reporting on forum folks’ claims and problems consuming these. Of course, I might have misunderstood what some said or claimed.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

I wasn’t actually being snarky in my earlier post. If you have solid evidence of a sweetener’s effect on serum glucose, the FDA really will be interested to see it. They don’t care about any possible effect on insulin, but they do care about an effect on glucose. The manufacturer is supposed to provide test data to prove that the sweetener has no such effect, but you and I know that the real effects don’t always show up until a food or drug is inflicted on the general populace.

The reasoning behind the FDA’s policy is that not affecting serum glucose makes such sweeteners usable by diabetics (I think this is an ill-advised criterion, but that’s a whole other issue). I’m sorry I didn’t take the time earlier to amplify that post; I was in a rush, but I really should have explained myself better.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #14

Whatever the WebMD study I cited demonstrates, or not, about any affect on serum glucose by the three artificial sweeteners discussed (ie saccharin, sucralose, aspartame), I’m sure the FDA has already been made aware. I know you weren’t being snarky and neither am I in response. I’m sure lots of folks would like to know for sure whether or not this stuff is cause for concern. Many report on these forums that ingesting any artificial sweeteners cause them problems. Others report they don’t. I can understand the resulting confusion for many and our general advice to avoid them.