Soda addiction....

Meeshell91

I have a terrible addiction to soda... It does not have to be caffeinated, I just need the carbonation and sugar... I would like to see how many people have the same issue or would like to hear from people who have overcame the addiction! Thank you!!

Liftng4Lis

seltzer water!

Meeshell91

I have tried it!! It didn't break the addiction sadly

philibre57

I used to be addicted to Diet Coke and replaced it with green tea instead. It was tough, but eventually stopped craving it. I still indulge occasionally, but don't end up craving it afterward. It just takes willpower. I've heard replacing it with seltzer water is helpful, but I'm not a huge fan so I went with tea instead.

Meeshell91

Thanks.. I wish I liked tea because i. wanted to start lyfe tea but I can't adapt.. I have a feeling I'm just gonna have to quit it and stick to it.

JM1481

Been there, years ago, but I still remember it quite well. I know caffeine plays a factor for sure, but I do think it was more a sugar addiction than anything else. I wish I had some really great advice for you, but it really just boiled down to a real resolve because those cravings were a biiatch for a while. Things that helped me was a cup of coffee in the morning and then constantly drinking water and tea throughout the day. That obviously didn't do much for the sugar cravings but it did help curb the headaches a bit. If you are into carbonation you could add in some carbonated flavored water or something. That's sadly all the advice i have though. Like kicking any habit, it will suck for a while, no getting around it.

On a positive note, it doesn't really last that long. Stick to it for a month and you should be well over it. Not that you might not think you want it here and there, but it shouldn't be intense. Also, I doubt you will ever regret kicking it due how much better you feel not drinking it. After the withdrawal type symptoms pass you will likely find you have a lot more energy. I'm not positive but I'm guessing it's because there are no more sugar spikes/crashes. Also no more drinking your calories (which is great if you are trying to lose weight.)

Good luck!

pwatol

My folks switched from soda to bottled water, but I needed something with flavor and some sweet to cut the soda out of my diet. The sugar free Wal-Mart drink mixes have worked great for me. I don't often miss soda, and I'm able to be happy with smaller cups of soda when I do drink it every month or two.

Meeshell91

Thanks! I appreciate all this feed back.. It's sad to call it an addiction but it is. I'm going to try and limit myself to 2 sodas a day for a week instead of 5-6.. Than after a few days limit it to 1 and hopefully find a replacement that is much healthier.. I know it needs to be done for my weight loss journey to be that much more successful

DvlDwnInGA

Coke zero ftw. Seriously, it is amazing what you can adapt to. Now regular coke tastes syrupy. I drink one or 2 a day.

Meeshell91

It's kinda like the dr. Pepper 10 just zero calories but it still contains a lot of other bad things.. I hear diet or zero is way worse than regular.. But who knows.. If I went to coke zero I feel like my head would than justify that dr. Pepper 10 is okay lol.. I just have to cut all soda and be on a healthier route.. But thanks for the advice!!! I really did think about switching to zero but than thought about how much better it would be to just cut all sodas out of the equation..

DvlDwnInGA

I like dr pepper 10 too. I have lost over 40 lbs, and like I said, I drink around 1 to 2 daily. It is not going to stop you from losing weight. There are worse addictions to have than diet soda, I can live with mine.

dman0_11

Mine too was bad. I stopped in January and the first week was horrible. Really bad headaches. Five weeks later I feel much better and actually have more energy. I found getting enough sleep is important. I still have a can every other day but the need is gone.

TheVirgoddess

I used to drink 6-7 a day. I just went down to one, and now - 9 months later I have a sip or two of my husbands.

I just stopped allowing myself to drink it, so I'm probably not much help. How about for every two glasses of water, you can have one soda? Then bump it up to three glasses, then four, until you just don't drink anymore?

Meeshell91

See if I could stick to 1 or 2 a day I may be okay... But it's like 6-10 a day... And no water or any other kind of fluids unless I'm at the gym.. Than I drink water... But I went one day with no soda and I did have a terrible head ache. But what's not pain is no gain right.. Just wish I had a water addiction lol.

RllyGudTweetr

Diet soda for the win.

TheVirgoddess

michelleheesh wrote: »

See if I could stick to 1 or 2 a day I may be okay... But it's like 6-10 a day... And no water or any other kind of fluids unless I'm at the gym.. Than I drink water... But I went one day with no soda and I did have a terrible head ache. But what's not pain is no gain right.. Just wish I had a water addiction lol.

You just gotta make the choice to stop. You might get a headache, but it'll pass.

DvlDwnInGA

Well the first step of knowing you have a problem is to admit it. How do carry around so many sodas with you? If you are stopping by gas stations to grab them, that is an easy fix. Stop stopping. If you are packing them in a cooler and toting them around, get a smaller cooler.

ksmi141

Vanilla Coke is my guilty pleasure. I'd have at least one a day. I'm down to one or two a week now. I drink coffee in the morn, and I tried doing green tea, but I'd still end up with a coke on the way to my night classes and just be super alert. I just stopped buying them when I go to the store. I take coffee with me to my night classes. And I just try not to think about how yummy and smooth it is, because it always puts me over my cals and sugars, which is more frustrating to me than not having one.

pwatol

The headaches are from caffeine withdrawal. It's rough, but it should pass in less than a week. And they're not as bad if you stay really well hydrated until your system adapts. If you have to, try grabbing a little chocolate instead of a soda while you're quitting. It's got some caffeine, but not as much as the soda.

MikiFloofyPanda

Seltzer water and a small amount of some kind of juice (make sure it's just the juice with nothing added) helped me a lot. The headaches will happen but after a while they'll stop. You could wean yourself off of it slowly, I allow myself 1 a week.

MikiFloofyPanda

RllyGudTweetr wrote: »

Diet soda for the win.

Most of them are not good and have aspartame in them. Same with "no calorie" sodas.

LavenderLeaves

pwatol wrote: »

The headaches are from caffeine withdrawal. It's rough, but it should pass in less than a week. And they're not as bad if you stay really well hydrated until your system adapts. If you have to, try grabbing a little chocolate instead of a soda while you're quitting. It's got some caffeine, but not as much as the soda.

Pwatol speaks the truth. It's caffeine withdrawal giving the headaches, there's no such thing as sugar addiction. If you're having trouble going cold turkey, I'd start limiting your intake every week. Maybe a quarter less of what you drink normally each week.

simplemamato3

I am on 1 1/2 weeks of kicking my 2soda a day habit. I loved my Pepsi and didn't think I could ever stop drinking it. The first 4 days were hardest. I always drank water but liked something with flavor at meal times. So I drank oj, lemonade and milk instead. If I felt like I was just having a sugar craving I had one mini York peppermint patty and the craving subsides. I knew that they still had calories and sugar but it really helped with those first 4-5 days. I have since cut most of that out too. I feel sooo much better!! I feel like I have more energy and no midday crashes anymore. I also have noticed a pretty dramatic decrease in my appetite as well. Truly the cravings have been very minor and short lived these past few days. The first 4 days were the hardest and after that It's been progressively easier. I did read that excedrin is good to take for caffeine headaches as it has a small amount of caffeine in it. You can do it!!!! You really can!!

Zedeff

MikiFloofyPanda wrote: »

RllyGudTweetr wrote: »

Diet soda for the win.

Most of them are not good and have aspartame in them. Same with "no calorie" sodas.

So what?

OP, it's simple. You have 4 choices really.

1: keep your current diet and current weight
2: keep your current diet including 10 cans per day of cola (1600 calories worth!) and make that fit into a deficit diet (obviously unhealthy)
3: drink less regular cola and deficit diet
4: switch to diet cola or other low/no calorie beverages and deficit diet

If you want to lose weight you must deficit diet, and less cola calories = more food. Simple.

Meeshell91

Thanks for all the advice!! Knowing I'm not the only one and a lot of you have been successful helps!

annetteh145

michelleheesh wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice!! Knowing I'm not the only one and a lot of you have been successful helps!

Have you tried cold tea with stevia extract? I drink 2 pots of cold tea home-brewed everyday because water doesn't go down so easily... Some people absolutely hate stevia as a sweetener because it has a distinct taste to it. I'm using it for 2 years now in place of sugar for all of my drinks (tea, coffee and smoothies)

Sued0nim

michelleheesh wrote: »

I have a terrible addiction to soda... It does not have to be caffeinated, I just need the carbonation and sugar... I would like to see how many people have the same issue or would like to hear from people who have overcame the addiction! Thank you!!

diet soda and sparkling water

Azathera

My poison is Pepsi I drink about 1-2 per day if I have it. The secret here is not to have it handy. For example, when I crave it I make sure to send hubby to do groceries and he won't buy it. Then if I don't have it in my house I just don't consume it.
It's easier when I am at work cause I am so busy that I barely have time to eat food. But, I've been in maternity leave for almost one year now and being tired and stressed with a new baby really pushes you to comfort food and drinks like Pepsi.

It's really like a drug. Hard to break free but not impossible. If you want it you can do it.

jkal1979

Instead of going cold turkey, I would recommend cutting it back gradually until you are not drinking it. That will help minimize the headaches from the caffeine withdrawal.

Meeshell91

Would b12 vitamin help with caffeine withdrawal?? I believe they have caffeine pills now? Not 100% about that.. It's just what I have heard