Calories matter, but not as much as we have typically thought. What calories you eat matter, as some calories satiate while others make you hungrier. Some calories nourish us while others create problems for various body systems.

Diet Soda, for example, despite being zero or low calorie is worse because the fake sugar replacements create havoc in the body. See for example:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325919#:~:text=Many%20studies%20have%20linked%20diet,the%20age%20of%2045%20years.



Perhaps the worst thing about diet soda is that it actually makes you MORE hungry/thirsty. so then you end up consuming many more calories than you are saving by having the diet soda in the first place. Hence why everything is supersized now.





Plus, new research suggests it may actually lead to more weight gain then regular soda.



Also, a big problem with diet soda is that because people THINK it's not bad for you, they drink more of it then they would of the "bad stuff." So increasingly researchers are sending out the message that diet sodas should be considered as bad (or worse) than regular soda so we don't deceive ourselves.

But anyway, I know folks don't always agree on nutrition research, and this isn't my hill to die on because I don't care what people drink, but just sharing my opinion and the research I've read that seems to clearly indicate that diet soda is as bad or worse. I'll admit I don't know about diet gatorade—but I assume if it's artificially sweetened that it'd be the same way.

So be careful. Water really is best if it's health and weight loss we're after.