Cola zero

(Mel ) #1

Hi.
I started my keto journey today. I am roughly 50kg overweight. I am addicted to coke zero. It’s the only thing i drink. How will it effect my weightloss journey? Thx.

#2

No one can tell. Many people say sweeteners do affect their fat-loss while others lose fat according to calories, apparently…

But addiction isn’t good and drinking only that stuff is very serious so I would try to lower the amount. Of course it may be not realistic, I do have my own addictions (coffee…), I do fight against them and not fully in vain but the first years were pretty much a fail… Just to be clear I don’t think it’s easy, I am merely sure one shouldn’t drink only coke zero, not even much of it. Like every day. But it’s your decision, I am very much aware.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #3

If “zero” means no sugar at all, you will probably be fine, at least for a while. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t permit the sale of non-sugar sweeteners that increase people’s blood sugar.

On the other hand, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some sweeteners raise some people’s insulin, which is what we are trying to avoid by cutting the carbs. The good news, however, is that it’s usually only one sweetener that does this, and others are fine. And it’s not the same sweetener for everyone who is affected, either. Also, it’s fortunate that most people are fine with any of the non-sugar sweeteners.

So enjoy your “zero” soda, but think about trying to wean yourself off it. I found that as I went along in keto, sweet things eventually started tasting too sweet. Over time, I just got tired of sweet tastes. I stopped drinking diet sodas long before going keto, and if tap water doesn’t appeal to me, I drink Seltzer water. The carbonation gives it just a little zip.

The loss of my sweet tooth is good, because glazed doughnuts used to be my carb of choice, but now I’m over them. The smell of yeast bread fresh from the oven, on the other hand, . . . :scream:

Fortunately, now I am zero-carb/carnivore, and such things are much easier to resist. :pray:

#4

The Coke Zero by itself isn’t a problem, most people do just fine with them. But if it’s truly the ONLY thing you drink… that is! Work on that.

To expand on the bad side, again, for most, there is back and forth about sweeteners like Ace-K being Insulinogenic, and it is, but most people would have a Coke Zero here and there, so not a real issue, but if that’s all you’re drinking all day long, the rules are different for you, at that point, it could actually be an issue because you’d be consuming way more of it than people typically would be.

(Harriet) #5

I like Fresca, a lot. Too much. Which is why I limit myself to a can a day, if that. It’s zero calories/carbs and sweetened with aspartame. The thing is, it seems to make me get hungry out of nowhere. So I did some internet searches and apparently one study done in 2019 discovered that artificial sweeteners affect the part of the brain that further stimulates hunger. Funny thing, stevia and erythritol don’t do this to me, just Fresca.

(Brian) #6

I wish I were more able to get at least most of the way there. My wife really is not wanting to go all in carnivore so she kinda drags me back into the realm of some veg and small fruits. I’m still keto a lot of the time but would like to be closer to carnivore. Having people around you that want to eat like you do can definitely help.

Just bein’ honest.

(Bob) #7

Welcome aboard!

I’ve done keto-carnivore for several months now and I am down 50 lbs. I’ve remained a Diet Coke addict through it all. Only recently have I started weaning myself off of it, but even still I am swapping in Zevia which is cleaner.

For some people, even the taste of artificial sweeteners can trigger a cephalic phase insulin response and raise your insulin a tiny bit. This may slow down progress or amplify cravings. Or, it may do nothing at all and you can keep drinking it.

I would enjoy it until you hit a plateau, and then start thinking about cutting down, or cutting it 50/50 with San Pelligrino. It will taste the same. I’ve done this :slight_smile:

(Geoffrey) #8

Welcome @mel84. Good luck and good health in your journey.
Everyone’s advice so far has been spot on.
The only thing I would point out is that you really should try to transition over to drinking water. It really is the only liquid we were meant to drink.

Whoaaaa! Transport me back to the 60’s. I haven’t heard of that stuff in probably 50 years. Lol!

Nobody’s stopping you but you. Jump on board, join us in the jungle and let’s go primal.
My wife doesn’t participate in my woe but she has seen what is done for me so she is supportive.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #9

Absolutely. It makes a real difference.

As a wise man once said: “Light the fire, burn the beast, and be happy.” :bacon::grin:

(Brian) #10

You’re right, it is me.

FWIW, today so far, perfectly carnivore if you allow coffee. Eggs and bacon for breakfast. Perfectly satisfied, too. I won’t be hungry for quite a while.

My wife is not as into this way of eating. She had her bacon and eggs for breakfast, too, but she added some toast and jam for her. I didn’t partake.

I do sometimes get some really good feedback when I cheat. I’ll give an example. Over Thanksgiving, we had lots of company that brought lots of carby stuff here. They left some behind when they left, and some of it was various kinds of chips, potato, corn, numerous kinds. We had chili a few nights ago which isn’t carnivore but keto. I remember how I used to like corn chips on the bottom, then chili on top. I did it. Didn’t taste as good as I remembered. And for the next 24 hours, all I could taste was what I can only describe as a “rancid corn oil taste”, always there, not pleasant. So that was enough feedback that even though there are chips here from that same bag, I will NOT have any more of them.

Unfortunately, life is messy sometimes. I’ll actually be quite glad when the holidays are over and the excuses for junk food die down. Sometimes I can resist. Sometimes I can’t.

(Brian) #11

I like that one! :smiley:

(Mark Rhodes) #12

Welcome here to meeting friends you didn’t know you had @mel84 .

In the begining the Coke Zero will not be much of a difference maker. Later on it might. My wife plateaued in Novemebr of 2017 after a good year of Keto success. We went to Madsion to meet with Maria Emmerich at a book signing. In those days she wasn’t concerned about her “fame” and still ran an onsite nutrtion business. We tried to hire her but she told us to buy her book about Keto Reset and if that didn’t work, she would see us. WELL, it worked. What worked? Cutting out Stevia and other alternative sweetners. She didn’t have a reason back then as to why. (Today she will adivcate for plenty of alternative sweetners because people want their slim look but want to eat ckae too)…for my wife this meant bye bye Stevia laced Coffee.

Ben Bikman maintains alternative sweetners (AS) affect the gut health. Evidence is slowly confirming this. I suspect that if it cannot be digested NOR be seen as a fiber, it is is less than healthy. Also they raise insulin levels. Here is his chart (click his name fo rmore) I do wish allulose was mentioned as Jennifer Kleiman has excellent resources on this:https://moonsgrovefarms.com/allulose/

Jason Fung introduced me to the idea of Cephalic Response the idea that if you taste sweet your pancreas still prepares to handle glucose and BAM, insulin.

But whatever gets your foot in the door. So welcome!! If I am not mistaken and I haven’t asked him recently, one of our co-founders @richard still drinks Diet Coke on a regular basis.

(Geoffrey) #13

My one and only cheat that I’ve done was with chili. It wasn’t so much a cheat as it was an experiment to see if my body would handle it. Nope, nada, did not go well. I can handle spices and jalapeños but the tomatoes had me hurting for three days.

It’s amazing how sensitive our bodies can get when we’ve done without for so long.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #14

I may be a little cold hearted but hey, if you can give up carbs you can easy give up coke.

(Harriet) #15

Any possibility you have a problem with nightshades? Sometimes when you’re intolerant of a food, as opposed to allergic, consuming it regularly sort of makes you immune but when you avoid it for a period of time you lose the immunity. My son is terribly lactose intolerant but as long as he has some cheese daily he maintains his immunity. My doctor wondered about nightshade for me because of joint pain but abstaining didn’t change anything. Tomatoes in moderation (2 or 3 ounces) are within my carb allowance.

(Geoffrey) #16

Not cold hearted, just logical.

(Geoffrey) #17

That’s exactly what I’m thinking.
I used to love sauces mode with tomatoes and ripe one right out of my garden but I was also in a lot of pain back then and a physical wreck.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #18

It’s easy for food problems to be masked in the general noise of poor eating. Clean eating can bring them out.

Also, nightshades are a source of solanine, which is a toxin.

(Marianne) #19

My thing is water but with a squirt of sugar free Crush - same thing as Coke Zero, essentially, but without the carbonation. The thought of switching just to plain water seems daunting to me. I guess I should try to reintroduce it - maybe drink one plain water followed by a Crush water.

(Brian) #20

“Just drink water” was hard for me, too. And I still don’t really “like” water like I think I’m supposed to but do drink plain water sometimes.

I was a sweet tea and Mountain Dew junkie before keto. Very bad. Couldn’t just “drink water”. I had to transition.

First step was home brewed mint tea blended with home brewed green tea. I added a bit of stevia to it. That did well for me. It gave me something “interesting” to drink that I kinda liked but didn’t have all the sugar. The green tea gave me a little boost, too.

Second step was dropping off the green tea and just brewing the mint tea, still some stevia but not a lot.

Third step was adding a cut up lemon to a jug of water that lives in the fridge. It gets used out of and refilled with the same lemon in there for a while. It’s not exactly lemon water but sorta since there is some lemon flavor, just not really much of the actual lemon in there. No sweetener or any kind. That has been our go-to for several years now and is kinda where we live. I’ll make a batch of mint tea a few times a year, usually over the summer but mostly don’t bother with that anymore, either.

And if I’m just getting a little drink before going to bed, I’ll typically just get it out of the refrigerator door dispenser which goes through a reverse osmosis setup, just water.

All that to say it doesn’t have to be one giant step. Baby steps might just get you where you wanna go and is a whole lot less stressful. Good luck!