Perhaps Dr. Atkins had a point when he said no caffeine and no diet sodas. Recently in a study of coffee drinkers amongst people who have diabetes,
All these subjects normally drank two or more cups of coffee a day. They were given capsules of caffeine, the equivalent of four cups of coffee. The results were that blood sugar was raised and especially after meals, by about 25 % after dinner, for instance.
It was unclear why caffeine increases glucose levels. Dr. Lane suggested that adrenalin and other stress hormones released upon drinking coffee could perhaps stimulate glucose secretion in the liver.
Here is a link to explain what happens to folks with diabetes when consuming lots of caffeine - blood glucose levels are higher by 8% on those days: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/95380.php
My conclusions: If glucose levels are increased, then insulin levels would be increased and that would make one hungrier, as insulin is the hormone that stimulates hunger. Perhaps that is why paradoxically diet coke seems to make people fatter. Drinking diet coke or coffee raises blood sugar and that means more insulin and that in turn means more energy is stored in the body in the form of fat. Seems like Dr. Atkins knew what he was talking about prohibiting caffeine and diet sodas.