Giving up diet soda. So hard!

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Replies

  • EpicChristy
    EpicChristy Posts: 12 Member
    I stopped drinking diet coke only to start drinking sprite zero. I gave up all caffeine. Lately I have started having a 20 oz bottle of caffeine free diet coke. I feel much better when im not having any type of soda. It sucks but im cutting them all out this time.
  • makinne
    makinne Posts: 8 Member
    I've been trying to give up diet soda for the past year, and just started to feel successful in the past month or so. I agree with a lot of other people that having seltzer water to replace the carbonation, and tea for caffeine helped a lot. I also found that drinking lemon water (I use TrueLemon) helped. I think the lemon flavor probably has some of the same chemicals in lower levels. After a few weeks of switching to lemon water I started drinking more unflavored water, without even trying. Now I drink mostly tea and water. I'll have a soda if I'm out or doing a lot of housework, but I don't drink a 2 liter a day and no longer feel I need soda everytime I get thirsty.... You CAN do it!
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    If anyone every told me I had to completely give up my diet Pepsi, I'd be going to jail for assualt and battery lol.

    I drink a 20oz bottle on days I am working, and still have been losing weight.
  • BeTheChange352
    BeTheChange352 Posts: 253 Member
    edited January 2015
    elphie754 wrote: »
    If anyone every told me I had to completely give up my diet Pepsi, I'd be going to jail for assualt and battery lol.

    I drink a 20oz bottle on days I am working, and still have been losing weight.

    If I had to give up diet soda I don't think I'd even bother trying to lose weight anymore. I don't like coffee and energy drinks are SO expensive. what else is there to live for at that point?
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited January 2015
    dsproffitt wrote: »
    i gave up sweets and diet soda .... What am I going to drink with pizza?

    You want to lose weight and you still want to eat pizza that often you need help giving up fizzy drinks? Ironic? Much?

    I think you need to read how many calories you are putting in your body with a slice of high fat, high salt, high carb, etc pizza.

    uh, I ate pizza and still lost weight. In fact, I had pizza yesterday. It was an upsidedown slice from this amazing place near my office. so good. You don't need to give up everything you love to lose weight. Just because you give up one thing doesn't mean you are going to eat more of another thing or that you have to give it up.

    I'm not even advocating that everyone needs to give up diet soda, although I'm getting accused of all sort of stuff. Just said that I gave it up and lost weight.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    If anyone every told me I had to completely give up my diet Pepsi, I'd be going to jail for assualt and battery lol.

    I drink a 20oz bottle on days I am working, and still have been losing weight.

    If I had to give up diet soda I don't think I'd even bother trying to lose weight anymore. I don't like coffee and energy drinks are SO expensive. what else is there to live for at that point?

    There's always bacon lol.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited January 2015
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    dsproffitt wrote: »
    i gave up sweets and diet soda .... What am I going to drink with pizza?

    You want to lose weight and you still want to eat pizza that often you need help giving up fizzy drinks? Ironic? Much?

    I think you need to read how many calories you are putting in your body with a slice of high fat, high salt, high carb, etc pizza.

    uh, I ate pizza and still lost weight. In fact, I had pizza yesterday. It was an upsidedown slice from this amazing place near my office. so good. You don't need to give up everything you love to lose weight. Just because you give up one thing doesn't mean you are going to eat more of another thing or that you have to give it up.

    I'm not even advocating that everyone needs to give up diet soda, although I'm getting accused of all sort of stuff. Just said that I gave it up and lost weight.

    why was this post flagged?
  • Goin4goal
    Goin4goal Posts: 129 Member
    I never drink anything when I'm eating. Its better for your digestive system to only eat solid food - when you're done eating, then you drink whatever you want. This takes care of the usual food/soda combos like pizza, wings, nachos, etc. Pizza and water just doesn't cut it, but eating pizza alone and then drinking water afterwards does the trick. Just what I do!!
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Goin4goal wrote: »
    I never drink anything when I'm eating. Its better for your digestive system to only eat solid food - when you're done eating, then you drink whatever you want. This takes care of the usual food/soda combos like pizza, wings, nachos, etc. Pizza and water just doesn't cut it, but eating pizza alone and then drinking water afterwards does the trick. Just what I do!!

    where on earth did you hear that?
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    Goin4goal wrote: »
    I never drink anything when I'm eating. Its better for your digestive system to only eat solid food - when you're done eating, then you drink whatever you want. This takes care of the usual food/soda combos like pizza, wings, nachos, etc. Pizza and water just doesn't cut it, but eating pizza alone and then drinking water afterwards does the trick. Just what I do!!

    huh? never heard this and doubt it's true. i drink water with my food. water with pizza is fine.
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  • While I can't be bothered to find it right now there are studies that show drinking diet soda can and will make you consume more calories. You're telling your brain that you are consuming very sugary things and then letting it know you lied to it.

    In addition to that, when you drink sugary things all the time your tolerance for sweets goes way up. Soda suddenly doesn't taste as sweet as it used to because your taste buds have adjusted. If you spend a few months traveling India you probably wouldn't find Americanized Indian food very spicy anymore either. It's the same thing for sweet, salty, sour, and umami.

    Think about the effect water is supposed to have in your body. It's supposed to replace the water that has been excreted (through crying, breathing, sweating, urinating, defecating, and menstruating). When you eat dry things it helps you push it along. Soda is basically sugary high ph acid for your body or low calorie chemical high ph acid for your body. When soda is your primary choice for liquid intake it's sure to take its toll on your organs.

    It's all a matter of framing and finding a healthy substitute.
  • mscheftg
    mscheftg Posts: 485 Member
    WOW! This thread got out of control!!! OP - I have learned to LOVE tea. I buy loose tea from a local "earthy" store and brew that up. I get flavored options and NEVER have to add sugar. If you want to message me or add me as a friend, I'd love to talk tea with you. :)
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  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    OP (if you're still around): since you're trying to retrain your taste buds away from overly sweet foods, what about drinking diet soda that isn't sweet, if you find it hard to give it up entirely?

    My favorites are diet tonic water and "Half and Half" (a Polar-brand drink that's similar to Squirt). I find them refreshing and not too sweet; they have just enough aspartame to offset the bitterness of the quinine and citrus.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Goin4goal wrote: »
    I never drink anything when I'm eating. Its better for your digestive system to only eat solid food - when you're done eating, then you drink whatever you want. This takes care of the usual food/soda combos like pizza, wings, nachos, etc. Pizza and water just doesn't cut it, but eating pizza alone and then drinking water afterwards does the trick. Just what I do!!

    I'm perfectly happy drinking just water and usually do in restaurants, but could never do this. It sounds horrible. I hate it on planes, even, when they bring food and then another drink. I wait for my drink. (Not that the food experience on planes is otherwise stellar, normally.)
  • llUndecidedll
    llUndecidedll Posts: 724 Member
    edited January 2015
    Since cutting calories, I've developed a strong like for various flavors of unsweetened tea, so I say try different flavored teas. You really can't go wrong. You can make the tea as strong or as weak as you like.


    So yeah, try tea.
  • aperson1961
    aperson1961 Posts: 8
    edited January 2015
    Since cutting calories, I've developed a strong like for various flavors of unsweetened tea, so I say try different flavored teas. You really can't go wrong. You can make the tea as strong or as weak as you like.

    I still love diet soda, though, and I'm trying to cut back on it as well. Mainly because my skin is severely dehydrated and it's better for me to drink flavored water than diet pop. I also felt somewhat better after not having any pop for about a week, so I decided to keep with the new change. I don't think there's anything wrong with soda at all. I just need more hydration and as someone who doesn't drink much, I just try to drink water when I can because my skin is in horrible condition.

    So yeah, try tea.

    A good thought about hydration. I recommend downloading a water logging application and set a target for drinking enough plain water. I did that in August after my work's health coach recommended it. I did feel better from drinking more water. I use the waterlogger app (on my iPhone) to make sure that I drink 100 oz/day; it is very simple to use ... but you could also use myfitnesspal or fitbit or other apps to keep track. If you make sure you are drinking enough plain water, then you might drink less other drinks such as soda. If you are losing weight, then there is supposed to be more likelihood of developing gallstones and kidney stones. If you google for info on preventing stones, one of the suggestions is to drink plenty of water. I don't believe other drinks replace the need to hydrate with just plain water. So for those of you looking to reduce or quit drinking diet drinks, maybe tracking/meeting water goals might be helpful. And I've found that the fullness from drinking water has just helped my weight loss in general. There are other benefits. Here is a link to a short list: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/6-reasons-to-drink-water?page=3
  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
    I'm not much of a soda drinker, so I'm not an expert, but some diet soda will not do a lot of damage. When I drink soda, it's always diet, I refuse to drink something full of sugar and no nutritional value. If I drink something with no nutritional value, then have it 0 calories.
    Having said that I have been drinking more diet soda lately than before (compare 4-5 glasses / week to maybe 1 per month), because it's filling. I crave something to eat, something sweet, but I'm not really hungry, I have a glass wit ice (I have to have ice lol).

    If you try to quit, why not replace it with carbonated 0 calorie drinks, (there are many of them). Most of them have not nearly as many chemicals in them, in fact a lot of them are natural. You can drink as much as you want to help you quit, and then you can reduce those or stick with those.

    Either that, or allow yourself only 3 glasses / week.
  • llUndecidedll
    llUndecidedll Posts: 724 Member

    A good thought about hydration. I recommend downloading a water logging application and set a target for drinking enough plain water. I did that in August after my work's health coach recommended it. I did feel better from drinking more water. I use the waterlogger app (on my iPhone) to make sure that I drink 100 oz/day; it is very simple to use ... but you could also use myfitnesspal or fitbit or other apps to keep track. If you make sure you are drinking enough plain water, then you might drink less other drinks such as soda. If you are losing weight, then there is supposed to be more likelihood of developing gallstones and kidney stones. If you google for info on preventing stones, one of the suggestions is to drink plenty of water. I don't believe other drinks replace the need to hydrate with just plain water. So for those of you looking to reduce or quit drinking diet drinks, maybe tracking/meeting water goals might be helpful. And I've found that the fullness from drinking water has just helped my weight loss in general. There are other benefits. Here is a link to a short list: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/6-reasons-to-drink-water?page=3

    Thanks for the information. I feel like my skin has become a little more hydrated, but the damage is done at this point. I have lines all over the place. I also have been worrying about kidney stones since I consume way too much salt and too little water on a daily basis. This lifestyle change is a work in progress, for sure.
  • JonKinarthy
    JonKinarthy Posts: 44 Member
    Lynette, this is how I gave up diet soda (did it 12/29/2012 and never went back). I woke up that morning and had a diet soda. Then I didn't have any until the first sign of a headache. At that point I had one can. Then I didn't have another can until the first sign of another headache. Then again. Each time the headaches got father and father apart. Then after about 4 days, I had one last can to stop the headache, and no headache came after that. At first I switched to water, but that didn't satisfy me. Then on the advice of a friend I started drinking water with lemon, and that lasted about a month. Then I switched to Hawaiian Punch sugar free grape in powder form. You mix one packet of powder in .5 liter of water. But that was much too sweet for me. So I experimented with different strengths and settled on one packet for 1.5 liters of water. Now I drink 3 liters of that per day(2 packets) and have no trouble avoiding soda.

    So I'm still having a diet drink, but one with fewer chemicals (and especially important, no BPA, that chemical I stopped drinking diet soda to.avoid in the first place.). Plus, I'm only having two drinks worth, instead of 2 liters of diet soda like I used to.

    Good luck!
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited January 2015
    Lynette, this is how I gave up diet soda (did it 12/29/2012 and never went back). I woke up that morning and had a diet soda. Then I didn't have any until the first sign of a headache. At that point I had one can. Then I didn't have another can until the first sign of another headache. Then again. Each time the headaches got father and father apart. Then after about 4 days, I had one last can to stop the headache, and no headache came after that. At first I switched to water, but that didn't satisfy me. Then on the advice of a friend I started drinking water with lemon, and that lasted about a month. Then I switched to Hawaiian Punch sugar free grape in powder form. You mix one packet of powder in .5 liter of water. But that was much too sweet for me. So I experimented with different strengths and settled on one packet for 1.5 liters of water. Now I drink 3 liters of that per day(2 packets) and have no trouble avoiding soda.

    So I'm still having a diet drink, but one with fewer chemicals (and especially important, no BPA, that chemical I stopped drinking diet soda to.avoid in the first place.). Plus, I'm only having two drinks worth, instead of 2 liters of diet soda like I used to.

    Good luck!

    that sounds like caffeine withdrawal and a how to in order to give up caffeine. that was not the o.p.'s issue since she said her diet soda was caffeine free.

    i never gave up caffeine. that's much harder than just giving up diet soda for me.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I don't buy diet soda for my home. I instead reserve it as being something I can drink with my meal when out for dinner. I just like having something different to drink with a restaurant meal. And if diet soda serves that purpose I won't order a glass of wine (I still do, but less frequently). And it saves money. Diet soda is significantly less expensive than wine and usually comes with free refills (though I never need a refill).
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    I don't buy diet soda for my home. I instead reserve it as being something I can drink with my meal when out for dinner. I just like having something different to drink with a restaurant meal. And if diet soda serves that purpose I won't order a glass of wine (I still do, but less frequently). And it saves money. Diet soda is significantly less expensive than wine and usually comes with free refills (though I never need a refill).

    but diet soda won't make me drunk.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    I don't buy diet soda for my home. I instead reserve it as being something I can drink with my meal when out for dinner. I just like having something different to drink with a restaurant meal. And if diet soda serves that purpose I won't order a glass of wine (I still do, but less frequently). And it saves money. Diet soda is significantly less expensive than wine and usually comes with free refills (though I never need a refill).

    but diet soda won't make me drunk.

    :-) I just don't really like to drink frequently. My husband is a non drinker and doesn't like if I drink frequently (conversation becomes less interesting), and when I am out with my kids soda is often a better choice for me. And the cost.

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    realharlot wrote: »
    While I can't be bothered to find it right now there are studies that show drinking diet soda can and will make you consume more calories. You're telling your brain that you are consuming very sugary things and then letting it know you lied to it.

    In addition to that, when you drink sugary things all the time your tolerance for sweets goes way up. Soda suddenly doesn't taste as sweet as it used to because your taste buds have adjusted. If you spend a few months traveling India you probably wouldn't find Americanized Indian food very spicy anymore either. It's the same thing for sweet, salty, sour, and umami.

    Think about the effect water is supposed to have in your body. It's supposed to replace the water that has been excreted (through crying, breathing, sweating, urinating, defecating, and menstruating). When you eat dry things it helps you push it along. Soda is basically sugary high ph acid for your body or low calorie chemical high ph acid for your body. When soda is your primary choice for liquid intake it's sure to take its toll on your organs.

    It's all a matter of framing and finding a healthy substitute.
    You don't have time to post links to studies? Right. Maybe there are none.

    That said, maybe soda does make some people hungrier but not everyone.

    Eating sweets might cause some people to want more but, again, not everyone.

    Your assertions are very general.

    Links to peer reviewed studies, please. ;)
  • musicandarts
    musicandarts Posts: 187 Member
    Why give up diet soda?? It is a great substitute for a snack. Yes, it has chemicals. But so does iced tea, coffee, health foods etc. You will be fine if you do everything in moderation.
  • MindySaysWhaaat
    MindySaysWhaaat Posts: 401 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    memelendy wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    jasonmh630 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    jasonmh630 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    jasonmh630 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    jasonmh630 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    LeenaGee wrote: »
    Mamapeach, why the interest in getting people to drink diet soda? I would have thought someone with your medical history would be more interested in nutrition.

    I have no interest in getting people to drink diet soda. Read my first post in this thread. I believe it's on the first page. I even gave the OP some suggestions on helping her quit her habit.

    I do have a great interest in people making unsubstantiated nonsense claims with no factual basis arguing an all or nothing approach. You know why? I've worked my way through 20 years of falling for that nonsense and coming out the other side.

    If the OP wants to give up soda, that's great. She shouldn't be giving it because of trumped up nonsense, though. Everyone deserves the chance to make their choices based on knowing facts.

    It's not nonesense that giving up diet soda helped me to lose weight. I also didn't say she needs to go for an all or nothing approach. Why does it matter so much to you why she gives it up?

    Sorry, I haven't been overweight for 20 years in order to fall for as much nonesense as you apparently have.

    Didn't you say you don't understand why your posts are getting flagged and that they don't break the terms of use? This (above) IS against the terms of use.

    I paraphrased what she said. I see nothing wrong with my post.

    And anyway, even if that's against the terms of use, that is NOT what the flags are for. The abuse flag is for things like porn. The spam flag is for spam bots. My post falls into neither of those categories.

    My perfect post is now hidden :(

    Violating the terms of use IS categorized under the "abuse" blanket.

    no it isn't. re-read the rules and see the suggestions/feedback section where the mods clarified. it's not.

    abuse is meant for either porn or things you would not want your kid to see if they are looking over your shoulder. that does not qualify.

    Either way, taking a personal shot at someone's weight (like you did) is not only unethical but also still against the terms of use. That's true, regardless of if it falls under the "abuse" cloud or not.

    wasnt a shot against her. she said she fell for weight loss gimmics for 20 years. i paraphrased.

    unethical? not according to my ethics.

    Unethical may have been a poor choice of words. Whether you were paraphrasing or not, the way you worded your comment came off like you were taking a personal shot at her. Like you were trying to be insultingly sarcastic.

    Yup. Wasn't the first time she did it either. Posting the dictionary definition of "joke" earlier in the thread was another example, but hey, I figure I'm probably old enough to be her mother and it's really not a big deal what someone on the internet thinks of me.

    you're not old enough to be my mother

    You don't even know how old I am!

    yes i do. that portion of your profile is public.

    I'm going to go on a limb here and say that because your screenname has 92 in it, you were born in 1992. That means you're 22 and she's 52. She's old enough to be your mother because when I was 22, my mom was 52. But this really isn't a math post, and I don't really care one way or another what people think about diet soda so...

    WHAT???????? OMG, YOU'RE A FREAKING GENIUS. I had no idea how to subtract 22 from 52 and even FURTHER, no IDEA, NO IDEA that a 30 year old could be a mother. WOW, you have totally enlightened me on maths and stuff and have totally blown my mind.

    FYI, I wasn't born in 1992. *rollseyes*

    Sheesh, sorry for trying to lighten the mood a bit. Some people just can't take a joke. *shrugs.* And from your sarcasm, I'm going to suggest that maybe you were born later than 92 since you sure are reacting like a child.

  • realharlot
    realharlot Posts: 21
    edited January 2015
    MrM27 wrote: »
    realharlot wrote: »
    While I can't be bothered to find it right now there are studies that show drinking diet soda can and will make you consume more calories. You're telling your brain that you are consuming very sugary things and then letting it know you lied to it.

    In addition to that, when you drink sugary things all the time your tolerance for sweets goes way up. Soda suddenly doesn't taste as sweet as it used to because your taste buds have adjusted. If you spend a few months traveling India you probably wouldn't find Americanized Indian food very spicy anymore either. It's the same thing for sweet, salty, sour, and umami.

    Think about the effect water is supposed to have in your body. It's supposed to replace the water that has been excreted (through crying, breathing, sweating, urinating, defecating, and menstruating). When you eat dry things it helps you push it along. Soda is basically sugary high ph acid for your body or low calorie chemical high ph acid for your body. When soda is your primary choice for liquid intake it's sure to take its toll on your organs.

    It's all a matter of framing and finding a healthy substitute.

    You couldn't be bothered to find the studies but you took the time to type out that long post. Makes sense.

    Oh how I love the way people treat each other when they're not face to face.

    Linky-link! I even made it user friendly for you, friend. :wink:

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited January 2015
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    I don't buy diet soda for my home. I instead reserve it as being something I can drink with my meal when out for dinner. I just like having something different to drink with a restaurant meal. And if diet soda serves that purpose I won't order a glass of wine (I still do, but less frequently). And it saves money. Diet soda is significantly less expensive than wine and usually comes with free refills (though I never need a refill).

    but diet soda won't make me drunk.

    Neither will wine if you drink it in moderation. ;)
This discussion has been closed.