Q: Won’t I lose weight easier if I drink diet drinks rather than regular soda?
A: Not necessarily so. Though you may avoid those calories at the time, research shows that you may unknowingly make up that caloric deficit in the ensuing 24 hours. Appetite control is very complex. The sweetness of the diet drink (though without calories) seems to be remembered by your brain and body who both wonder what happened to the associated calories. This disconnect between calories and sweetness is then remedied in the next 24 hours, most of the time unrecognized by us.
— Dr. Thomas A. Cable,
Optimal Health Institute Lifestyle Center, Family Medicine and Medical Society member