Why Water Beats Diet Soda

Water has zero calories. It has no sugar, no fat, no carbohydrates. It is just water. This is why water is a great resource when you are trying to lose weight. Your body needs water to survive, and while you can get by getting your fluids out of juices and sodas, those are going to add calories to your day. Water isn’t.

This is a strong argument that helps many people make the adjustment to drinking more water, but it doesn’t make water any more flavorful.

And then you look at the diet soda can.

Diet soda also has zero calories. It has no fat, no sugar. It adds nothing harmful to your body in terms of your weight loss goals. Once you have a long look at the nutrition label, it is easy to start swapping out those bottles of water for the more flavorful (and caffeinated) diet soda. But are the two really interchangeable when it comes to your weight loss goals? The diet soda companies would like you to think so, but the science behind the situation sends a slightly different message.

Drinking diet soda could actually undermine your efforts to lose weight, according to a new study published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. In the study, researchers looked at 81 overweight women who had type-2 diabetes. Controlling the weight loss program and diet of all participants with the only variable being the amount of diet soda vs. water consumed, the researchers found that after 24 weeks, those who had water daily lost an average of 14 pounds, while those who drank diet soda every day only lost a little over 11. This may not sound like a big difference, but with everything controlled for except diet soda, the benefits of diet soda are most certainly called into question.

When it comes to losing weight, water is absolutely the best choice. However, this doesn’t mean that all other beverages are downright horrible. Diet soda is a better choice for weight loss than is standard soda or sugary juices, but that doesn’t mean it is something that is healthy to drink every day.

If you aren’t a fan of the plain taste of water, consider spicing it up a bit with cucumber or lemon. Adding a bit of fruit to your water can help you get added flavor without added calories.