Gave up sugary drinks? Good for you! Thing is, switching to diet won’t necessarily help you drop pounds.
A 2015 study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that people who drank diet soda daily nearly tripled their abdominal fat over nine years versus those who did not drink diet soda. Those who didn’t drink diet soda gained an average of 0.8 inches around their waists, while daily diet drinkers gained 3.16 inches. “Artificial sweeteners increase your addiction to sweets and are a much stronger stimulant of the brain’s pleasure center than sugar,” says Brian Quebbemann, MD, a weight loss specialist in Newport Beach, Calif. “As a result, artificial sweeteners may be more addictive than sugar, and in fact cause people to crave sweets even more.” Cut out soda sweetened beverages altogether or substitute fizzy water with lemon or other fruit slices.