I have two questions about weight loss. I dont want to loose much, Just 20 pounds. Im 5 7 and weigh 135. I was at 142 and have been on a diet for a week now and lost 7 pounds but the last 2 days I have gained a pound and have done nothing different from the diet ive been doing accept adding a crystal lite packet to my water maybe twice a day. I have heard that even though diet sodas and diet drinks have no calories or fat that theres an ingredient that could still possibly halt any weight loss. Is this true? Should I stay away from diet drinks and diet sodas? Ive also had a few of those new diet pepsi max drinks. One every other day or so. Am I doing the wrong thing by drinking these diet drinks? And also one other thing is, can birth control really make you not loose weight? I just got on the nuva ring a month ago. Could this be why i cant loose weight either even though im on a good diet? And if so is there any birth control that doesnt make you gain weight?

Well your weight loss has probably slowed because 7 pounds is an incredible amount of weight to lose in 2 days. Diet drinks are ok, but diet sodas aren't good. They did a study and found that carbonated beverages, even diet ones, can lead to type 2 diabetes and cancer in women. I read that on e-diets.com. Plus they supposedly make you eat more. So water is your best bet, and crystal lite is fine. I drink it everyday myself. But if you like lemonade, you should try FulFill Lemon. It is calorie free and has added vitamins. It is possible that birth control can cause weight gain. I'm not sure about the ring, but I know the pills can cause you to retain water. I'm not sure if there is any birth control that keeps you from gaining weight.

Thats your problem.
NEVER eat anything that says diet on it.
That just helps you pack the pounds.
Trust me proven research.

first, to answer your questions:
STAY AWAY FROM DIET SODAS (ALL SODAS, BUT ESPECIALLY DIET). here's why:
http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/30/diet_...
http://www.mercola.com/sweet-deception-a...
http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucral...
regarding birth control, everyone reacts to them differently. some gain weight, some don't (i never did).
and regarding diet to lose weight ... i hate diets, but i swear by David Kirsch's method. i say go get you a copy of his book The Ultimate New York Body Plan! it's a two week program, but it really educates you on what to eat, what not to eat and WHY! the book also gives you a hard core work out plan and recipes for high protein, low carb meals! fabulous! i lost 7 lbs the first week, and that was just incorporating the "food" part of the diet, no exercise! could you imagine what i could have lost that week if i'd been working out!?
i got my book online on amazon.com for less than $8 w/ shipping!
anyway, the key is to eat high protein, low carbs and eating five small meals a day (you can substitute two of those meals w/ protein shakes made w/ water, not milk). cut out the alcohol & fruits - too many carbs & sugars. but like i said, the book explains everything. i love it, and swear by it. i recommend it to anyone who is serious about losing weight, but mostly being HEALTHY!

ok a few things.
1. when trying to lose weight, only weigh once per week at the same time of day, on the same day each week. Your weight will fluctuate throughout the week for various reasons and you will only get discouraged by this.
2. Water is still better than diet drinks like sodas and Crystal Light. It helps make your body more efficient. Your liver assists the kidneys when they have too much work in filtering the crap out of food and drink such that it can use it. If the liver is too busy doing that... it becomes less efficient at it's first job, which is metabolizing/burning fat. If you drink more water, the kidneys will keep up on their own... letting the liver do what it does best.
3. Birth control can make you gain weight... but it's not the BC itself... the pill is telling your body that it's pregnant so it won't continue to ovulate. Your body releases hormones when it's pregnant and they make us emotional which make us eat.. and they also make us hungry, and the slow our metabolism to prepare for gaining fat necessary in pregnancy. Over time it will stop. I don't think there is any BC that doesn't do all that. I think that the Nuva Ring is the best when it comes to that though, it's very low dose.