Snack or Diet Soda?

[limewave]

So, I'm sitting in my office and my stomach is rumbling. I've already eaten my healthy snack that I packed, apple and string cheese. And I've had about a gallon of water to drink.

Which is the lesser of the two evils:
A snack from the vending machine (raisinettes? lowfat microwave popcorn?)
OR
A diet soda (24 ounces)

I know the fake sugar and sweeteners in the soda are not great for metabolism . . . but I don't really want the extra calories from a snack either.

What to do. What to do.

[Jones]

I would drink the diet soda but I am addicted to diet soda. I think a better choice would be some nuts, a handful of peanuts or almonds is really satisfying. Also non fat milk or even non fat chocolate milk; filling, nutritious and not too many calories. Good luck. Jones

[HappyTexasMom]

Disclaimer: I fall into the camp of people who feels that artificial sweetener should simply never be ingested, period.

That said, I'm guessing that if the water hasn't helped, the soda won't, either. I would choose the most healthful snack I could find.

[Blueberry]

I'd try coffee or tea. And I'd try the soda. Fizzy things tend to make me feel fuller than non-carbonated things.

CA

[OakLeaf]

Anything with caffeine or carbonation irritates my stomach and makes me crave more food.

How much more time do you have to get through before you get off work? That's key, to me - if it's a long time, go for something high fat (or even protein if they have it) - peanut butter cheese crackers, etc. If you do the low fat/high carb thing, you'll get a blood sugar rush and crash.

[shootingstar]

I'd try coffee or tea. And I'd try the soda. Fizzy things tend to make me feel fuller than non-carbonated things.

CA

+1. Coffee or tea with milk, no sugar, is lesser of evil compared to a carbonated, sweet-tasting soda.

I still have a unopened can of diet mountain dew from 3 months ago in fridge. It was a freebie from Bike to Work wk. That's how little I care for carbonated drinks.

[witeowl]

That said, I'm guessing that if the water hasn't helped, the soda won't, either. I would choose the most healthful snack I could find.

This.

(And I'm an unabashed artificially-sweetened diet soda drinker.)

As far as what, I'd see if I couldn't find some nuts in the machine.

[limewave]

I didn't really want caffeine. If I have coffee after noon I can't get to sleep at night.

Thankfully, my cubicle neighbor saved me and gave me her banana. Otherwise, I was going to go for either Peanut M&M's or Raisinettes. Our vending machine doesn't have anything healthy.

[txred9876]

I try to plan ahead and have healthy things in my cube all the time. I keep small packs of nuts, peanut butter, popcorn (once in a blue moon) ect...

I try very hard to stay away from soda of any kind and the vending machines.

Normally I keep a fruit bowl on my desk and take home or give away anything left at the end of the week. If I do not bring fruit to work with me I will make bad choices. I like pinapple and one of the "in natural" juice individual servings only has 60 calories or so.

a little off topic but I have been keeping track of my intake and exercises on livestrong.com because it helps you see all the "hidden" things that may not be over your calorie limit. I find protien calories help me to curb hunger the best no matter when I eat them.

If I decide to splurge I try to make it early in the day so it has time to digest. I will eat dark chocolate vs milk chocolate ect...

I know I have thrown out lots of things and kind of gotten off topic a bit...but so far its working...and I have lost 37lbs.

Tina

[tulip]

Hey, good call on the banana. Maybe you could add that to your healthy snack, since the apple and cheese obviously were not enough.

Diet soda does nothing for me, but I do understand that a lot of people like them. I just don't see the point. When I worked in an office, I kept a box of cereal at my desk and some milk in the fridge. I found a bowl of cereal with a banana or dried blueberries was just perfect for the middle of the afternoon.

[papaver]

Why don't you take fresh soup to the office. It's healthy, fills your stomach and it's really no hastle.

And you know if you are hungry and there's nothing around, try hot hot water with some lemonjuice... that really does the trick. :)

[AlwayzOnDaMove]

I think the snack from the vending machine. I dislike diet soda and I think that it's worse than regular soda.

[papaver]

I think the snack from the vending machine. I dislike diet soda and I think that it's worse than regular soda.

My sister-in-law had a horrible biking accident a couple of years ago (she was hit by a bus). She suffered massive brain injuries but she pulled through (well sorta). The doctors absolutely forbid her to drink diet soda's.

[tulip]

So sorry to hear about your sister-in-law, papaver. What an ordeal.

What do the doctors say about the diet sodas? Do they constrict blood vessels or something? I just see no benefit to them at all. If I'm thirsty, I'll drink water. If I want a soda, I'll go out and get a real Coke or Dr. Pepper. But that's a pretty rare treat (on a hot day).

[papaver]

So sorry to hear about your sister-in-law, papaver. What an ordeal.

What do the doctors say about the diet sodas? Do they constrict blood vessels or something? I just see no benefit to them at all. If I'm thirsty, I'll drink water. If I want a soda, I'll go out and get a real Coke or Dr. Pepper. But that's a pretty rare treat (on a hot day).

Well it's the aspartame that isn't good for the brain. I wasn't there when the doctors told her this, so I couldn't ask for more info.

[shootingstar]

Well it's the aspartame that isn't good for the brain. I wasn't there when the doctors told her this, so I couldn't ask for more info.

You don't need to answer this question, if you don't want to: How is she now? Is she fully functional after the cycling accident? Brain injury is a serious injury.

[papaver]

You don't need to answer this question, if you don't want to: How is she now? Is she fully functional after the cycling accident? Brain injury is a serious injury.


Physically she's fully recovered. Almost every bone on the left side of her body was broken. Mentally there has been a change... people who don't know her won't notice but we do. She is more naive (almost like a child), she can't follow a conversation with more than 2 people, she can't read books anymore. And she won't be able to work for the rest of her life.

BUT she was very very lucky. This happened on the parking lot of the best hospital in Belgium. Within 2 minutes she was in the O.R. Those doctors really fought hard for her. She was in coma for about 6 weeks, she had 3 brain surgeries, and after 6 months she could leave intensive care.

[shootingstar]

Though your sister in law is alive and can interact with people, it still is sad that she never fully recovered from the brain injury.

A totally different type of medical case, for a woman just 1-2 years younger than I, I met awhile ago, was someone who suffered neurological damage (brain and nervous system) from what appears to be medical malpractice. Her case will be heard in court.

She went into a coma, etc. Before her surgery (I can't remember what it was for), she was cycling and running half-marathons.

She had problems focusing on certain tasks, can no longer do fine drawing/painting (she has a formal degree from one of Canada's top art colleges), etc.

Good health, being fully functional in terms of our body and brain, is so precious.

[Jiffer]

Diet soda is horrible for you. Artificial sweeteners do all sorts of evil things to your body. I drink water 90% of the time and if I have soda, I have the real thing. Not good for you either, obviously, but while sugar is evil, it is MUCH less evil than artificial sweeteners. I try to limit soda to once a week. Doesn't always work that way, but that's the goal. I don't buy it for the house anymore, so when I have it, it's at a restaurant. Dr. Pepper! Yum!

[ny biker]

So, I'm sitting in my office and my stomach is rumbling. I've already eaten my healthy snack that I packed, apple and string cheese. And I've had about a gallon of water to drink.

Which is the lesser of the two evils:
A snack from the vending machine (raisinettes? lowfat microwave popcorn?)
OR
A diet soda (24 ounces)

I know the fake sugar and sweeteners in the soda are not great for metabolism . . . but I don't really want the extra calories from a snack either.

What to do. What to do.

I always figure if my stomach is rumbling then my body needs fuel. Have a snack but make it healthy. Popcorn is a whole grain food.

Better to eat normal meals/snacks during the day (breakfast is especially important) and then cut back calories at dinner.

[tctrek]

I stopped drinking diet soda 2 years ago on the premise that it was not good for me... some said the sodium, aspertame, etc. were impacting my ability to lose weight. Now I drink only water and green tea and sports drink on my rides. Unfortunately, it didn't make a hill of beans difference in my weight control and sometimes I wonder why I gave it up because I really enjoyed it!!

Still, once you stop eating/drinking something "bad" it's probably best not to go back to it.

That said, try having some almonds with your Apple snack in the afternoon. Surprising what the little extra fat does to help you stay satisfied.

[SpinSpinSugar]

aspertame = formaldehyde = BAD BAD BAD

when you drink aspertame it breaks down in your body as FORMALDEHYDE

oh yeah... and it's also a ---- NEUROTOXIN

Do not drink it. It's poison pure and simple.

Watch this Documentary called - "Sweet Misery" if you have any doubt.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/sweet-misery-a-poisoned-world/

SpinSpinSugar

[Crankin]

Diet soda just makes me ravenously hungry. I would bring more/bigger snacks.

[aeiea]

I weened myself off all sodas five years ago, which was tough since I grew up in Coca-Cola country with Diet Coke parents. It went from sodas mixed with sparkling water... then to sparkling water... then to water. I haven't missed it since.

However, I recently fell in love with Kombucha as a fun snack drink. There are some theories (I think japanese?) that encourage eating all the different tastes at a meal -- savory, sweet, sour, etc -- as separate entities, not mixed. The theory was more complicated than this, but my simplified version helps when I'm snacking -- if one "taste" doesn't satiate me, I'll try another. Kombucha tends to fulfill the sour... and the bubbly makes it fun to drink.

Very interesting thread, and I had no idea aspartame affected the brain. A similar accident happened to a friend of mine, and we've noticed the personality changes in him. But we're happy he pulled through. I'm hoping the doctors also told him about aspartame (or whatever it is in the diet sodas).

[szsz]

Kombucha rocks! I won't touch soda, I drink a ton of water and I gave up coffee six months ago. So, while it is expensive, I find it a reasonable indulgence especially since it is also a vegan probiotic, of which there are few.

Also, since it's best to drink kombucha on an empty stomach, that adds in some additional discipline.

[snapdragen]

I keep a jar of raw almonds at my desk to snack on. Just a few seem to help that mid afternoon snack attack.

[OakLeaf]

I wish I knew someone local who had a kombucha growing. My sister has one, and it was "spawning" when I visited her last year, but I don't think TSA would've let me take it on the plane... :rolleyes:

[smilingcat]

no GMO food,
No high corn fructose
No artificial sweetner. Mind as well use real sugar.

I sometime worry about all those sports drink, recovery, during workout...

I'm also one of those who finds sweet and low to be very bitter and not sweet. And some of the other artificial sweetner to have a bizzaro taste that I can't stand. I know what sugar tastes. I know the sweet taste of onion when cooked, carmelized carrots. Carmelized onion and carrots develop sweetness that's just plain yummy. :D :D :D

[OakLeaf]

Caramelized onion and carrots develop sweetness that's just plain yummy. :D :D :D

That's very true, but I don't know how well I'd do with a caramelized onion smoothie during a 10-mile training run... :rolleyes::p

Not to mention trying to clean out my gel flask!

[limewave]

I keep a jar of raw almonds at my desk to snack on. Just a few seem to help that mid afternoon snack attack.

DH has just started doing the grocery shopping for us as I've "had-it" with the grocery store.

He came home with a 3lb bag of almonds . . . "they were on sale!"
So, I think I'll do what you do. Bring a big jar to work :)