Weight loss soda is a scam for those who are too lazy to work on themselves

What does soda do in the body?

Everything we eat has its own pH level. An increase in general acidity leads to the occurrence of inflammatory processes. Soda neutralizes the effect of acids, lowers the pH level, and, logically, relieves inflammation.

However, if you consume sodium bicarbonate constantly and uncontrollably, the body will become alkalized, and this may lead to:

• the intestines will stop regulating their environment;
• intestinal microflora will be washed out;
• alkalosis will occur (a strong shift in pH to the alkaline side).

In other words, if you drink sodium bicarbonate correctly, there seems to be a complete benefit. But there are many reviews on the Internet that say something completely different:

• someone began to experience constipation;
• some were left with the toilet for some time due to prolonged, incessant diarrhea;
• someone started itching and developed acne;
• Many people vomited after drinking a soda cocktail;
• and some even started having heart problems!

Sodium bicarbonate is often used as an antacid (that is, as an aid for heartburn), as they say, “cheap and cheerful.” However, frequent ingestion of soda to get rid of heartburn can cause ulcers! It's simple. First, sodium bicarbonate is quenched by hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach. But this effect is short-lived. Then an even greater release of hydrochloric acid occurs.

In addition, during the reaction of soda + acid, carbon dioxide is formed (hence the bloating that always occurs after taking sodium bicarbonate for heartburn).

An overdose of sodium bicarbonate can provoke an attack of arrhythmia, or even cardiac arrest. People with cardiovascular diseases should definitely not drink soda cocktails.

A person with high acidity has a high risk of developing stomach ulcers, which, depending on the cause, are treated with medications. If a patient drinks sodium bicarbonate, their absorption becomes difficult, and antibiotics become completely useless.

Ways to use soda for weight loss

There are different ways to use baking soda to lose weight. They can be divided into two groups: internal use of the substance and external use:

Each of these weight loss techniques has its pros and cons.

Symptoms of sodium bicarbonate overdose

It is quite difficult to overeat soda, unless you use spoons of it. However, you need to know the symptoms of an overdose of sodium bicarbonate:

• increased anxiety;
• stomach ache;
• extreme thirst;
• dizziness;
• decrease in blood pressure;
• convulsions;
• excessive irritability;
• pain in the intestines;
• weakness.

Sensitivity disturbances in the limbs, mood swings, and headaches may occur.

How to drink baking soda correctly for weight loss (in short, no way)

Below are folk recipes with sodium bicarbonate, which are supposedly - this is the key word! - effective for weight loss. Whether to use them or not is up to you.

The simplest recipe is a glass of water and a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. Stir and drink half an hour before meals in the morning on an empty stomach. But to avoid alkaline stress, they start with microdoses - some with a handful on the tip of a knife, others with a quarter of a teaspoon.

Want to experiment or don't like the taste of soda? Add lemon or grapefruit juice, honey, pineapple puree. The result is a pretty decent-tasting cocktail.

By the way, soda with lemon for weight loss is one of the favorite recipes of beauty bloggers who claim that they lose at least 3 kilograms every week and feel great. You just shouldn’t really believe them. The beautiful photos and videos that they post on their Instagram accounts are the result of using all kinds of filters; you will never check what these people look like in reality and whether they drink soda to lose weight.

Have you seen these recommendations? Like, don’t forget to give up flour, fatty, sweet, and fried foods during the soda diet, which lasts 2 weeks. Conventional logic dictates that there will definitely be results from the soda diet, but not thanks to the soda, but solely because of the correct approach to nutrition. If you eat exactly the same, but without sodium bicarbonate cocktails, then there will be no harm to your health!

Soda drinks for weight loss

To lose weight, it is necessary to prevent the accumulation of fats and ensure their breakdown. The soda in drinks prevents their absorption, blocks them and burns them. It also affects metabolism and reduces the calorie content of food.

There are general requirements for the use of soda cocktails internally:

• start taking small dosages, gradually increasing them;
• drink cocktails only on an empty stomach;
• drink liquid at a temperature of +50 to +90 degrees (when mixing tea soda with it, hissing should be observed);
• the course of treatment should not last more than 3 weeks.

Traditional medicine has developed various recipes for making soda drinks to normalize weight using sodium bicarbonate:

Lemon with ginger and soda can get rid of 10 extra pounds in 3-4 days by burning fat and removing water from the body. And lemon juice from 3 citrus fruits, mixed with 1 liter of water and 1 tablespoon of soda, consumed throughout the day, will eliminate a hanging belly.

You can easily lose 5 kilograms in 3 days with the help of a drink, for the preparation of which 3 tablespoons of soda are poured into 1 liter of purified water and the juice of half a lemon is poured in.

The result of using these funds will be if the cocktail is consumed:

• to enhance the effect of the main diet;
• with high stomach acidity;
• with increased appetite;
• to get rid of cellulite.

Baths with soda and salt for weight loss - safe or not?

This option is less dangerous for the body, but the contraindications are the same as for oral administration. Plus, let’s add here all kinds of skin pathologies, including microtraumas - cuts, scratches, wounds.

It’s easy to prepare a bath like this for yourself:

1. Fill the bath with hot water (t 37-3*9°C).
2. Separately dissolve 300 g sodium bicarbonate and 500 g sea salt.
3. Pour it all into the bath, add a couple of drops of essential oils of lavender, bergamot or mint, stir with your hand.
4. Immerse yourself in the bath up to your neck.
5. Take a bath no longer than 25 minutes. Course - 10 procedures, regularity - every other day.
6. After the bath, dry yourself well with a terry towel, climb into bed and cover yourself with a blanket. Rest for 1-2 hours.

Recommendations

To get results from the soda diet, you need to follow these recommendations:

• Drink enough clean water throughout the day. For a person of standard build, the fluid norm is 2 liters, for people with excess body weight - from 2.5 to 3 liters.
• Maintain a gap (at least half an hour) between drinking a soda cocktail and starting a meal.
• Review your diet: it should contain a lot of vegetables and protein from lean meat or fish.
• Avoid sugar whenever possible. You are allowed to eat a few slices of dark chocolate a week or sweeten your drinks with a little honey.
• Add sources of prebiotics to your diet: fermented milk products, pickled vegetables, pickled apples, cheese.
• Remove fried, fatty, pickled and salty foods from the menu.
• Avoid alcohol completely.
• Reduce consumption of bread and flour products.
• Add a few hours of physical activity to your weekly schedule (exercise at home or a brisk walk in the park).
• Review your daily routine and get at least 8 hours of sleep a day.

Reviews

Natalya Dmitrievna, 45 years old

I started drinking sodium bicarbonate on the advice of a friend. The first few days it seemed like nothing. Then, after taking it, I started feeling nauseous, and a week later I started having such diarrhea that nothing could calm it down! It all stopped when I stopped drinking soda. There was weight loss, but, as I understand it, the water left and the intestines cleared, that’s all. There is no need to talk about any fat loss (the volumes remain the same).

Tamara Leonidovna, 59 years old

I'm not a fan of experiments, but I succumbed to the advertising. I wanted to lose weight for a long time, I went to the gym, but the result was not impressive. I thought, I’ll drink soda and finally lose the weight I want. The result was disastrous. Yes, I lost 10 kg in 2 weeks, but I developed stomach problems, became irritable, and in the second week I was so weak that I had to temporarily cancel my workouts at the gym. I do not recommend anyone to drink this crap.

Let's summarize

Does baking soda help you lose weight? Yes, you will indeed lose a few kilos. And you will get health problems, it’s good if they are mild. Some extreme sports enthusiasts end up in a hospital bed. And all because they ignore the first bells when the body signals that it is feeling unwell.

Is it possible to drink soda for weight loss? “ My body is my business” is the slogan of body positivists. Fans of extreme weight loss paraphrased it, and it turned out: “my body is my business.” If you really want to get sick, drink. For people who understand that they need to lose weight under the strict guidance of a nutritionist, I definitely do not recommend consuming sodium bicarbonate. For those who especially believe in the magical properties of soda, I recommend conducting an experiment: eat properly for 2 weeks within the required KBZHU (here you can calculate it, and here you can choose a suitable free ready-made menu). And if there are results (and I’m a million percent sure that they will be!), think about whether you need to risk your health to lose weight if everything works out that way?

Is a bath with soda and salt effective for weight loss? Yes, you are losing pounds. But this is not weight loss, but temporary dehydration. As soon as the fluid balance in the body is restored, the weight will return to its previous level.

To summarize all of the above: you should not take soda for weight loss! Doctors are literally screaming about this and there are numerous reviews from poor fellows who decided to undertake such an experiment. You can get rid of the hated kilograms by adhering to the rule: “we burn more calories than we get from food.” And nothing else. If you are gaining weight due to hormonal imbalance, you definitely cannot do without the help of a doctor.

Irina Polyanitsa My name is Irina, I am the owner and admin of the site, as well as the author of most of the recipes and articles. I love to cook simple and healthy delicacies. Certified gym instructor, personal trainer. She completed a course on nutrition and health at Stanford University, Stanford Introduction to Food and Health, as well as a course at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy (about nutrition and lifestyle during pregnancy).