Why do some people order diet drink when they order a fattening meal?

[Anonymous]

There are some people who want to lose weight, which is good for them if they want to lose weight. What doesn't make sense though is to order a diet pepsi with a huge McDonald's meal. If you're serious about losing weight, why not order all healthy food and drinks? Especially since diet drink is usually worse for you anyway.

[whattothink]

Honestly I can't stand the taste of regular soda. I went on a diet that only allowed diet drinks if at all. Once I became used to the taste a regular soda makes me gag in the way a diet soda makes a regular person gag. Also I don't like thinking about all that sugar. A 12 oz soda contains close to 1/4 cup of sugar. I would much rather have a diet soda and a yummy burger than waste my splurge on a regular soda. Plus I only drink soda when I eat out, which is not often. Or Ginger ale if my tummy is funny.

[Asker]

Yeah, so you're not one of the ones who do it ALL the times. I am talking about the ones who do it all the time. Once and a while, who cares. But when you eat out constantly, and say you're trying to lose weight and order a diet pop, it's not going to help.

Also I do agree with the taste. I don't drink pop anymore because of a bad experience involving cigarette butts, but before that I like diet better than regular.

Nothing wrong with once and a while though.

[Anonymous]

Ordering a diet soda doesn't necessarily mean you want to lose weight... Some people genuinely like the taste of diet soda more. I know a couple of people who even know that diet is worse for you and don't care, haha.

Also, it doesn't cost more money to order a diet. A cheeseburger is $1 and a salad is $4.

[Asker]

Yeah but I'm not talking about the people who aren't trying to lose weight. I'm talking about the ones who order a huge fattening meal, and then order a diet pop and then say "Well I am trying to lose weight."

[Opinion Owner]

Well as other people have mentioned, it's a minor way to cut calories or sugar. If they were previously drinking nondiet drinks, switching to diet is going to make a difference, according to general beliefs about weight loss (and ignoring the fact that aspartame is awful for you).

[Asker]

If you eat fattening food everyday, it's not going to make you lose weight just to switch to diet pop. You have to make all healthy choices. If someone is eating a huge meal, and then having dessert afterward, just drinking diet pepsi won't help. Cut out the dessert, or have it in a smaller portion, or have your meals in a smaller portions, then yes maybe. But if you don't change your diet except diet pop, it won't help.

[Opinion Owner]

Maybe you should go the, "it's none of my business" route, then.

[MrOracle]

"I want a double Whopper with cheese, extra mayo, a gigantic-sized fries, and a DIET Coke."

LMAO! I've seen it happen.

What those folks will tell you is that they are used to the taste of diet soda, so that's what they order. Since the ONLY soda they drink is diet, it isn't really connected to the food they are ordering. Maybe they normally only eat "healthy" at home and only splurge occasionally with some fast-food.

Still, it does seem pretty silly.

[Asker]

Yeah I agree. I was meaning the ones who do it all the time. If you're having a cheat day, then you're not going to gain weight from one unhealthy meal. My sister does cheat days every two weeks, and it's working for her. I am meaning the ones who do it practically everyday. They order a very fattening meal, and then order a diet pop and think they are accomplishing something.

[kheserthorpe]

Just because you make one unhealthy choice doesn't mean you need to make another.

IMHO a large non-diet soda is probably worse than anything else at macdonalds (not including desert). The cheeseburgers are a little fatty but have some nutrition. Fries are too fatty again. But the large bucket of sugar is worse then either.

[WoIIie]

A good decision is a good decision, regardless of the bad decisions made beforehand.

That's Logic 101.

If you have a choice between diet soda and regular soda (given that the premise is a desire for a sweet fizzy beverage), it's wise for someone with slight health concerns to go with the option that doesn't hit the thighs so hard. Whether diet is worse than regular is still open for debate, however it is proven that regular soda contributes greatly to weight gain.

[Asker]

No that is definitely true. About four years ago I wanted to lose ten pounds, I wasn't really fat but the dress I wanted to wear for a wedding didn't go past size 3 and I only fit in size four. So I was eating healthy but wasn't losing weight. Then I decided to cut out soda and bam it was gone.

But anyway, my point is, if you want to lose weight. Why not just have all healthy choices with food and drink. It doesn't make sense to eat a 3000 calorie meal only to just order diet pepsi.

[Asker]

Because even if pop does help with weight gain, you could cut out pop completely, diet or regular and just eat 3000 calories meals and still not lose weight. The 'diet' pepsi isn't going to make you lose weight. I've seen so many people order a huge meal that and then say "Oh I'm ordering diet pepsi because I'm watching my weight," but the meal they're eating is over 3000 calories.

[WoIIie]

The actual health of diet soda is a different argument.

The choice of Soda A vs Soda B is an independent of whether or not they should eat fast food. You're trying to say they are dependent, which is bad logic. For example, I choose to have diet coke over coke with my salad. That's a better choice. Even if I had deep fried butter instead of the salad, choosing diet coke over coke is still the better choice.

The health of diet soda is not the question. This is more about fundamental logic.

[Asker]

Well yeah, a salad and a diet coke isn't bad. I'm talking about people who order a huge fattening meal but order a diet pop, and do this on a regular basis. Even if it's just once an a while, like you were eating healthy everyday and then one Saturday night a person pigged out on a huge pizza by themselves but stuck to their diet soda. Who cares, any other time you're eating healthy, one night isn't bad. I'm meaning if you do it all the time and then say "Oh I'm watching my weight." when you

[Asker]

get a diet soda with your huge poutine, or your huge plate of fries and burgers plus a big dessert. The diet soda is not going to make you lose weight. My sister is a good example of that. She eats healthy because she is dieting most of the time but sometimes she has a binge day but drinks diet pop. My friend practically lives off McDonalds, but says she is watching her weight when she orders a diet pop. It makes no sense whatsoever. She is not going to lose weight just by drinking diet pepsi.

[WoIIie]

Yes she is. Diet Pepsi has less calories than regular Pepsi.

A big 16oz cup of Pepsi can contain 700 calories. 16oz of Diet Pepsi has less than 25 calories. So she consumed 675 less calories by choosing diet.

I really don't think you get it because you keep saying the same thing over and over.

[aMuse]

Because they don't want all the sugar and extra calories? You can go to a fast food place and order a meal. If you have a diet soda, it might be 700 calories. If you have a regular soda the meal will be closer to 1200 calories. 700 calories is a reasonable meal for a male adult. 1200 calories is far too much, and being that 500 or so are basically pure sugar, means they are going to turn directly into fat. It's a smart move.

[djvtech]

No, it's an equally stupid move. Aspartame is possibly worse than sugar.

[aMuse]

There's actual quite a few studies that have focused on aspartame and it's safety. Have you actually read the scientific data and finding or are you just a fan of rumors and conspiracy theories?

[Asker]

Yeah but if you're serious about losing weight, why order a fattening meal in the first place? Why not just order something healthy. And if you still want your diet pop then order it. But if you order a huge meal that is more than your days worth of calories and then say "Oh well, I want to lose weight I better just order diet." Ordering diet isn't going to cancel out all the fattening food you just consumed. Because at other restaurants I've seen people order huge meals, and then dessert but

[Asker]

order a diet pepsi and then say 'Well I am trying to lose weight." Wouldn't the dessert contribute to that pure sugar you're trying to avoid? And then they bitch and complain that they can't lose weight. It's okay maybe once and a while, but I'm talking about the people who do it ALL the time. If someone does it on a Saturday with friends, and go back to their diet after, then who cares. Everyone is entitled to a cheat day. But what about every day?

[aMuse]

While it might not be considered the healthiest meal in the world, if it's within a reasonable calorie range then it's not really a "fattening meal". A guy like me that is 6'3" 22 LB with a good portion of muscle can eat 3 700 calorie meals a day and be at 2100 calories for the day. That is actually reasonable. When I'm trying to cut and get ton I drop to 1900 calories a day. So really one or two 700 calorie meals would not impede weight loss for a full grown adult male like me. However if I had

[aMuse]

a 500 calorie soda in addition it would bring it up to 1200 and be over half my calories for the day. Someone who is much heavier then me (say 250-300 LB), could probably easily lose weight on 700 calorie meals so long as they walk/exercise each day. They could not however lose that weight if they were having several 1200 calorie meals. Are their healthier choices that could fine tune their diet and increase their weight loss amounts? Sure. Can they do it on 700 calories meals? Yes again.

[aMuse]

*220 LB

[aMuse]

*tone

[Asker]

Yeah but you're talking about someone who is active and probably watching their diet a lot more. I'm talking about all the time. People who eat out at restaurants all the time, where the meal itself ends up being more than 1000 calories, and then they order a huge dessert. And also you're right, it depends on height and weight too. One meal is say 1000 calories, and they still have the rest of the day to eat, or they already ate before that. And their calorie intake for the whole day ends up

[Asker]

being more then what they should be eating regardless if they are on a diet or not one diet pop isn't going to help. And they do this basically everyday.

[aMuse]

Well like I said, it really depends on the overall diet. Calories alone many meals even at fast food places are within a somewhat reasonable range without the soda. If they drink water or a diet soda they're not doing terrible. If they drink the sugary soda, then they are crashing their progress. When I'm watching what I eat and cutting I eat 3 500 calorie meals and 2-3 snacks of of about 150 calories each. Skip the snacks and 700 calories would be in my normal weigh loss range. The devil is in

[Asker]

My sister is a good example of that. She is on a diet and every week or two, she pigs out but orders a diet pop. It has not messed up her weight loss at all. She is still losing fast on a 1300 calorie day diet. A friend of mine however eats at McDonalds at least twice a day even though she is watching her weight, and orders a diet pop with both meals. And the she cries every week when she weighs herself because she isn't losing weight.

[aMuse]

details of course. What works for a 100 pound girl for weight loss is far from what works for someone who is very over weight. Just because some girls starve themselves to try and lose the last pound by eating only salad, doesn't mean that is the right choice. You always want to stay within a healthy calorie range, and for people with a lot of body mass, that means a lot more calories.

[Asker]

Well then, you're right when it comes to ovarall diet then. I wasn't meaning people who make healthy choices regularly.

[mistercupid]

I drink diet soda sometimes. I like the taste better. Normal soda tastes thicker somehow. I don't think a person ordering gross food cares much about calories, they might just think 100 calories less will help.

[Asker]

Yeah I know. But I'm meaning the ones who order a huge fattening meal that is more than their recommended daily calorie intake, and then order a diet pepsi and then admit: "I am watching my weight." I know quite a few people like that.

Nothing wrong with ordering a diet pepsi because the taste is better. It's just silly to order one only because you think it's going to help you lose weight.

[mistercupid]

Lack of maths skills?(its maths not math by the way)

Some peoples maths skills are pretty bad. I have a friend at Yale that made the mistake of 6+9=17. And that's from Yale. Its 15 by the way for any dumb people reading this.

[Anonymous]

I've known some people that prefer the taste of diet drinks because they're usually not as sweet.

Also, it's all about balance. I prefer to get my calories from good food instead of a drink. Maybe they're saving some calorie intake for the food. Just because they order fattening food doesn't mean they have to have EVERYTHING be the worst possible choice for their health. Every little choice matters, usually.

[snowangle]

Diet sodas trick the body into thinking it's hungrier than it is, which makes you eat more than you normally would. So yeah, ordering a big fattening meal with a diet drink isn't a smart choice. Water is a much better option.

[palek]

To me it's similar to women who spend hours and tons of dough getting their hair and nails done. picking out just the right outfit and accessories, yet they weigh 400 pounds.

[peace-love-couture]

omg

Palek LOL

[palek]

; - )

[SuckingurLollipop]

Some drinks are too sugary and getting the diet ones help with ending sugar addictions.

[Anonymous]

Some think that its to compensate.

Though, it doesn't really offset the fact that its a fattening meal.

[Anonymous]

Just cutting calories wherever possible. Assuming they aren't always going to fast food places, of course.

[Enideqa]

Maybe some people just like the taste

[HungryJones]

Some people like the taste of diet pop

[dudeman]

save the calories for later

[foxsquirrel]

To feel less guilty.

[NerdyAnon]

Irony.