Couldn't save referer info. Omphaloskepsis: Catching up: Math Diet

June 02, 2005, 14:59Catching up: Math Diet

Sometime last week, I was introduced to the concept of the "math diet". By replacing the Pepsi I drink each day with Diet Pepsi, I'd be cutting several hundred calories out of my daily diet. Since it apparently takes about (weight in pounds * 10) calories of intake per day to maintain your current weight, this would be a very simple way to reduce my calorie intake and thus lose some weight without reducing the amount I drink each day or changing my diet in any other way. I believe the calculation performed showed that if I drank only Diet Pepsi instead of Pepsi for one year, I could potentially lose up to 73 pounds. And that would be pretty remarkable.

(Though, come to think of it, that math may have been in error... it assumed that I was always at my current weight, and thus my current maintain-weight calorie level, rather than having a lower maintain-weight calorie level as time went on. So the incremental benefit should have diminished over time as my weight approached an asymptote. I may have to calculate this out later.)

A 20-oz. bottle of Diet Pepsi was purchased for me. The taste was not great, but not horrible either. I figured the taste might be bearable for a while to easily lose some weight. However, I was not able to finish the complete bottle, just because the taste was not appealing enough.

The following day, I bought as 12-oz. can of Diet Pepsi from a vending machine and started drinking it. Later in the day, I found that I was having very odd backaches. I searched on-line, and found that some sites claim aspartame (the ingredient that replaces sugar in the diet version of many beverages) has been known to help heal backaches in some people, but the only reference that I found to it causing backaches was on some odd holistic medicine website (link omitted). But I could think of no other reasonable causes for the ache (e.g. if I had slept funny the previous night, wouldn't I have felt that all morning instead of developing it later in the day?), so combined with the taste, I decided that Diet Pepsi just wasn't for me.

In thinking about it now, I may not have to completely give up this approach. I tried Diet Dr Pepper a few weeks back, and was surprised to find that, just as the ads say, it "does taste more like regular Dr Pepper". Although Pepsi is my first love as far as carbonated beverages are concerned, I do like Dr Pepper. So assuming that it wasn't the aspartame that caused the backache, maybe I can do a partial replacement in the future. Though the office I work in doesn't have any Dr Pepper vending machines, so I guess it'll still have to be Pepsi during the workday.

davidh

fourteen replies:

As for aspartame being bad, I can only say for certain that it makes me shake if I consume it. I haven't found any research telling me this is normal in any way, but it's true for me. I've found splenda to be a much better sugar replacement, and sorbitol isn't too bad. If I had time I'd look myself, but if you want to look for more information, you could try on PubMed (pubmed.com). It's a searchable collection of peer-reviewed articles run by NIH, and it's a good resource.

Interesting, somewhat related factoid: all Wrigley's chewing gum now has aspartame in it, so I can't chew it at all!

Amy - June 02 '05, 16:03

I read somewhere that Diet Coke actually tastes closer to Pepsi than to regular Coke. Apparently, the Coca-Cola company, when they first made a diet cola, was trying to make theirs taste more like Pepsi because it won in taste tests. In fact, the only reason regular Coke survived the Cola War is because of push-through advertising. By the way, you might also try Pepsi One. I don't think it uses aspartame.

Dan Henderson () (link) - June 03 '05, 01:38

apspartame is bad. it can wreck your kidneys because it intereferes with glucose shunts and plays with how your body metabolizes things. i'm forbidden from drinking diet drinks by my father and i agree. The newer sugar substitutes aren't that bad because they only change the structure enough so your body doesn't recognize it as fuel, but it's still water souble so it can be easily rid of the body.

Kate - June 07 '05, 21:46

Random article I ran across. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/107/.. About diet soft drinks & sugar substitutes actually making your body crave more calories.

Amy - June 21 '05, 11:48

There are tons of rumors and allegations on the Internet about aspartame, almost all of which are false. Go to and click on the "Myths" section and you'll see what I mean! Because I'm obsessed with diet soda and sugar free gum, I did some research on my own about aspartame's safety and found that it has been studied a lot! meaganUGA@hotmail.com

meaganUGA () - June 24 '05, 09:18

Oops! The link didn't attach...my bad. Check out aspartame.org

meaganUGA () - June 24 '05, 09:21

Clever, Meagan, but not clever enough. You present yourself as a random person interested in diet soda, but in fact you are working for the Calorie Central Council, "an international association of manufacturers of low-calorie and reduced-fat foods and beverages. [The Council] has approximately 60 members, including the manufacturers of alternative sweeteners, fat replacers and low-calorie bulking agents." The CCC runs aspartame.org, and is a client of the Kellen Company. Meagan's post was from a host in the "kcocommitmenttoexcellence.com" domain, owned by that same Kellen Company.

A Google search on the name "meaganUGA" shows that she has posted on a few other sites about this same issue, each time not disclosing her relationship to this council. That really doesn't make me want to believe her.

davidh

David Henderson (link) - June 24 '05, 16:00

Nice way to pull a background check. :D

Amy - June 25 '05, 09:25

forum.lowcarber.org

Meagan - July 01 '05, 19:50

David,
Yes, I do work on behalf of the Calorie Control Council (CCC) but I'm also a girl who loves diet soda. Who knew you could actually mix work with pleasure! At the CCC, I work alongside registered dieticians who are very knowledgeable about aspartame's safety and benefits as well as low calorie sweeteners in general and weight control topics. I've read a lot of the information and research out there so I'm serving as an informed source with scientific evidence to back up my statements. I care about the facts surrounding the safety of aspartame because I am a consumer too! I'm here to inform others about a safe low-calorie sweetener that may help them lead a healthier lifestyle. More than 200 studies have proven the safety of aspartame yet it is still being subjected to rumors on the Internet.

meaganUGA () - July 01 '05, 20:10

Unfortunately, Meagan, by initially mis-representing yourself as solely a consumer, you lose credibility and end up doing your cause more harm than good, because now, no matter what you say, your message will be tainted by the thought, "but she didn't tell us the whole truth at first, so why should we believe her now". Dissembling is not a good method of disseminating truth.

And, just so you know, everything is subjected to rumors on the internet: aspartame is nothing special in that regard.

Peter - July 02 '05, 21:05

It should be noted that Coca-Cola HQ is in Atlanta, The Kellen Company is located there as well in very close proximity and they list Coca-Cola as a main client. Kellen Interactive, the internet division of The Kellen Company also runs the site aspartameissafe.com which is a CCC site.
Also, a look into the role of Donald Rumsfeld and how aspartame finally got approved is quite interesting.

Alec Paine () - June 05 '06, 16:32

It's always a trade-off... should I be consuming enough calories to create sleep disorders, heart-attack issues, dental problems, etc... or should I switch to potential problems with............ Your going to die from something, getting to choose is a bonus :-)

If quality of life decreases because you don't like the after taste, then go for it.

X$super$ () - September 01 '06, 22:11


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