Hi...

I need advice. I am trying to lose the last 5-10 pounds. I am 6' 4" and i weigh 215 pounds. I exercise pretty regularly now and .

my diet has been improved and revamped in the last few years and enabled me
to lose 25 pounds and keep it off.

The worst part of my diet now i suspect is 2+ diet sodas per day and pasta 3-4 nights per week.

How bad are the diet sodas and that much pasta? Which is worse? Is 3-4 medium to large plates of pasta preventing me from losing further weight?

Is eating pasta just like eating white bread and potatoes...just refined foods that turn to sugar quickly and add calories?

Is 2 diet sodas per day a problem?

I need further guidance....

Thanks.....................kfk

Diet sodas aren't that big a deal. Some people think the artificial sweeteners are bad for you, but I'm not so sure I agree with that - in reasonable quantities. However, if you're drinking 2+ a day and not drinking water, then yes, I'd say that's a problem. You need to make sure you're drinking sufficient water FIRST ... and then have your sodas as a treat after that.

Pasta, however, is a problem. Pasta is just the same as bread and potatoes and other simple carbs. If you're going to eat pasta you should control your serving sizes and if at all possible at least make it whole grain pasta. If you're having LARGE servings of pasta 3+ times a week, then yeah, that's going to keep you from losing weight.

On a further note, for me personally (and I've heard similiar from others) diet soda and pasta make me feel hungry.

When I don't drink diet soda I am much more able to control cravings and I feel less hungry during the day.

When I eat a big plate of pasta I feel full then about 20 minutes later I feel hungry again and want to eat something else!

Try looking at how you feel when you do/don't consume these things. Perhaps you have a similar reaction as me, in which case you would want to look at minimising how much soda/pasta you consume so that you are able to make more progress with your weight loss.

I've wondered the same thing myself. I drink a lot of diet soft drinks (6-8 12oz cans a day!) and wanted to cut back a bit to coincide with my change in lifestyle. I'm trying to get more sleep during the week and getting rid of the caffeine will help. What I've been doing lately is alternating between the diet drink and water. So I'll drink a 12oz can and then won't allow myself to drink another until I consumer a certain amount of water. I try to double my water intake so ~24 oz of water. It's helping but I hope I can eventually work myself away from them within a few weeks. Not to mention the little bit of money I'll save not drinking them.

I limit my diet cola consumption by drinking my water allocation first. I drink 1 fluid ounce of water for every 2 pounds of my weight. After I have had that I allow myself to drink as much diet cola or whatever as I want. It tends to mean that there is not too much time for drinking other things.

That's not a bad idea, I may have to try that. Although it'll be unusual straying from my normal caffeine in the morning I've grown accustomed to over the years. I've been eating breakfast which is something I hadn't done in very long and I already feel much better in the mornings.

i drink around 2-3 diet cokes a day (the 20oz bottle) and have lost weight/gained muscle just fine..just make sure you drink a lot of water..there are lots of people who swear that after they quit drinking soda with artificial sweeteners they were able to put off a lot of weight..but most of the time it was because they were substituting water for soda.

really if diet soda and pasta are your biggest worries you're doing a lot better than most, having pasta x amount of times a week isn't a problem as long as you are getting your other nutrients as well and adjust your workout to correspond to how many calories you are taking in.