Diet soda and non-nutritive sweeteners
Zero-calorie sweetened drinks used in place of sugar or as an appetite tool while dieting
Drinks sweetened with aspartame, sucralose or stevia instead of sugar. Swap them in for sugary drinks in a randomized trial and weight and metabolic markers generally improve. Against water the picture is mixed rather than worse. That is the case dieters make for them: a sweet taste with no calories and, for some, a little appetite suppression. Worries about the gut microbiome, appetite and cancer keep surfacing in the press. So far the human trials have not backed the stronger claims, though several people in this directory avoid them anyway.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Bill GatesDoes it
Microsoft co-founder · Gates Notes reading lists
Diet Coke at the office, starting with the can he opens when he gets in, and maybe three or four across the day. He did the math once. By his count the habit adds up to roughly 35 pounds of aluminum a year.
Source: Gates Notes: Have you hugged a concrete pillar today? - Layne NortonDoes it
Nutrition scientist and powerlifter · Biolayne
Says he drinks Diet Coke and would not worry about his kids having one a day, though they drink water by choice. His wider point is that swapping sugary soda for diet soda produces real weight loss in trials, slightly more than swapping to water, so he treats it as a tool rather than something to demonize.
Source: FoundMyFitness: Dr. Layne Norton on Building Muscle - Sam SulekDoes it
Bodybuilder and YouTuber · Spring Bulk gym vlogs
A two-liter bottle of flat diet soda opened one of his cutting days, standing in for a first meal. He argues it draws more criticism than it deserves, and reckons two cans of the full-sugar version would be the stranger choice.
Source: Fitness Volt: Bodybuilder Sam Sulek Breaks Down His 2,477-Calorie Full Day of Eating for Weight Loss
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under fitness.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Daily walking
A long walk most days, often without headphones
On record from 19 of 62 tracked people: 14 do it, 5 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily minimum workout
A floor you never drop below: 20 minutes of movement and recovery on your worst day
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 4 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost
Calorie and macro tracking
Logging food against a calorie and protein target, loosely or to the gram
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily step target
Hold a fixed daily step count so everyday movement does not quietly shrink on a diet
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 2 recommend it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Batch cooking protein
Cook a week of chicken, lean meat or fish in one session so protein is always to hand
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - Habit$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Personal trainer
Paying someone to program the session and push you through it
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.