Day 1 of no diet coke...not going well

abbylg1983

So, I am a regular drinker of diet coke. I absolutely love it. On a good day, I only drink one, but most days it's two, and somedays it's more like 3 or 4 (if say, I get it at a restaurant and get refills). This is more of a personal challenge to myself and I have a can in the fridge at my work in case I decide I can't do it. I've done this once before and it sucked.

Is anyone else a reformed cola drinker? How long did it take you before you stopped missing it? Did you replace it with anything else? I am not really a juice drinker or a flavored water drinker- it's pretty much just diet coke, plain water, coffee, or beer for me. I do like unsweetened ice tea, but that's not very portable and if you buy packaged, it's usually sweetened or very expensive.

terra32903

I gave up the habit in November. I still crave it something awful. Now I drink about 12 cups of water a day but it just isn't the same. Sorry :-(

CyberEd312

They would have to pry my Diet Pepsi out of my cold, dead hand... lol :drinker: Best of Luck though, I would rather lose 300 pounds again.... ha

trixie315

I used to drink 2 cans of diet coke a day. I replaced it with water - ice cold water. Its my beverage of choice now which is weird to say because I used to hate water. I also enjoy flavored water - I have a thing of Mio at my desk at work to switch things up if I need to. If you are looking for a carbonated option- there is this new thing called 'ICE' and it's like a carbonated vitamin water with 0 calories.

Yes it does suck, but you can do it! plus diet coke is terrible on your teeth- you'll save in dental bills along with your savings from not buying soda

Im_NotPerfect

They would have to pry my Diet Pepsi out of my cold, dead hand... lol :drinker: Best of Luck though, I would rather lose 300 pounds again.... ha

Yep...pretty much this (except Diet Coke). I drink 1 a day...but like you sometimes 2. I figure if that 1 diet coke is the one thing that is stopping me from having the perfect body (it's not BTW...), I'd rather have the diet coke! LOL

gonnamakeanewaccount

I'm one week free of diet soda, and let's just say it's not getting any easier. My personal favorite is Coke Zero.

kristen6022

You can do this! I was an avid soda drinking up until 2010 when I went cold turkey. Lately I have been letting myself have a diet coke here and there, but I feel it's creating the same bad habits that I had when I drank soda. It's just something I CAN'T have if I want to maintain/lose.

reddcat

For the most part, I am off the sauce. Diet Coke is my liquid crack. Harder to give up than ANYTHING. I just drink water now. However, if I slip and have one (fountain pop is my kryptonite)....I find that I feel like crap and want to eat anything not nailed down afterwards for days! Agree with terra....there is just no substitute.
Good luck to you!! Giving the stuff up is a b#@ch!!!

summersbest

I used to be a big diet coke fan but had to give it up post surgery. Honestly, it took several months to kick the craving and some days I went crazy not being able to have one but it is doable. I now drink Crystal light galore because I don't like plain water. You just have to find a substitute you like and not give in to the cravings. Good luck. ~

pbrinnm

I quit buying it in large bottles or a case at a time. I was having at least 1/day. I now have 2-3/week. If I want a can or bottle I buy only one can or bottle. I also work out of my home so if I want one I walk to the convenience store located a few blocks from my house. My rule is that I won't drive anywhere for a soda.

If I go out for lunch I have a diet soda and I don't beat myself up about it.

RosaLaRose

Would taking seltzer water to dilute it gradually until you wean yourself off be helpful? :flowerforyou:

ILuvMoo

Maybe you could wean yourself in stages? Like, for starters, say "no drinking soda at home." Then when that's comfortable, switch to "no soda at work", or "no soda at fast food restaurants (but sit-down restaurants are still ok)."

I recently gave up drinking soda at my house... but for me, that was about 99% of my soda intake. I can't have caffeine (it makes my narcolepsy angry and gives me heart palpitations) and I hate it when beverages count against my daily calorie total, so I only ever drink soda that's BOTH diet AND caffeine free.

It sounds easy, but you'd be shocked how many restaurants/fast food places DON'T have anything in their soda fountain that's BOTH.

So now I only drink soda at Five Guys and Panera (because they both have caffeine-free diet Coke in their soda fountains )

The one thing I truly miss is having unsweetened iced tea when I'm out and about I can make it at home with decaf tea bags, but NO RESTAURANT EVER has decaf unsweetened iced tea.

MishiTagle

I really like the plan of gradually weaning myself off...seems doable!

CorvusCorax77

I get zevia cola. yummiex.

bethanylaugh

My husband just quit it cold turkey... I snuck him some excedrine when he had bad headaches and he was drinking club soda with a little juice in it for the bubbles. I also bought him cherry pepsi chapstick... i don't know how much that helped but he liked it!

meredith1123

don't beat yourself over one day.
just stick with it.
It gets easier, inspite of what people say. Be positive, it WILL get easier!

I use to drink diet coke for breakfast every day...
now i drink lemon water instead.

RunForChai

Hang in there--it is hard but the health benefits are enormous.

jen6278

So, I am a regular drinker of diet coke. I absolutely love it. On a good day, I only drink one, but most days it's two, and somedays it's more like 3 or 4 (if say, I get it at a restaurant and get refills). This is more of a personal challenge to myself and I have a can in the fridge at my work in case I decide I can't do it. I've done this once before and it sucked.

Is anyone else a reformed cola drinker? How long did it take you before you stopped missing it? Did you replace it with anything else? I am not really a juice drinker or a flavored water drinker- it's pretty much just diet coke, plain water, coffee, or beer for me. I do like unsweetened ice tea, but that's not very portable and if you buy packaged, it's usually sweetened or very expensive.

Do it! You will be so happy once you have stopped. I just passed the 5-month date of giving up diet soda (all soda, but Diet Coke was by FAR my favorite and hardest to quit) and I am so glad I did. My own personal experience is that I was having stomach problems that I didn't even realize... I was only drinking maybe 1 diet coke a day, but once I quit I rarely experience any gas, rumbly stomach, etc... all of which used to be a regular occurrence for me. Sorry if that is TMI. I did not really substitute anything, but on mormings when I feel I need caffeine I will now drink black coffee (all natural) instead of diet coke.

Also, I missed it a lot at first but now I truly don't think I would want one.

HealthWoke0ish

During law school (2008), I was drinking about three two-liters of diet cola a day (usually diet coke, but depending on sales, sometimes pepsi or dr. pepper). I quit and now I haven't had a drop of soda since 2010. Tough...but you can do it.

theerachele

For quite a while I drank nothing but soda! Once I started caring about my health I finally realized just how much soda I had been drinking! I took it one step at a time. First I did not bring anymore soda into my house, then I stopped buying it to bring to work, and then I started limiting myself to 1 diet soda at social functions as a treat. Honestly I don't miss it anymore & it just tastes like chemicals. I'd say it took a few weeks after I stopped drinking it to not even care anymore. The first few days were rough though, but you can get through it! Maybe buy the super small cans & allow yourself 1 can per day to start?

laurenislost

I am pretty addicted myself. Have you tried any other substitutes like teas or sparkling water such as san pelligrino? I did the Whole 30 last year and those were my favorites when I was craving something to drink that was fizzy or other than just plane ole water.

mylast5lbs

I love Coke and Dr. Pepper, but I have had only one Coke in the last 8 months. And I had that only to see if I really missed it. Nope!!!
It was sort of easy for me, where I worked there was no vending machines.

murphy612

You sound like me :-) I've tried to give it up but without success. I have cut down A LOT though. I like water and unsweet tea but I realized it was the carbonation that I craved more than anything. I replaced diet coke with a carbonated water but I'm not sure that's much healthier.

Now I just have a rule I can drink a Diet coke but before I drink another I have to drink 64 ounces of (plain) water. So this has increased my water and decreased my diet coke. So that's a start. I don't have any weird health concerns with Diet Coke or anything, I just doin't like being dependant on something. It was like when I quit smoking, the freedom was the best part and now I don't like being dependant on anything.

Good luck!

btsinmd

I tried weaning off Pepsi multiple times and it never worked. After a bit I'd find I was right back where I started. Ditto for a friend of mine. This last time, in 2009, we both decided to quit (again), but she went with the weaning off again and I went cold turkey. I used Excederin a few times to help with the caffiene withdraw, but didn't touch the soda. I treated it like any other addiction and tried to avoid the triggers. It took a couple months, but I'm off it now and haven't started again. My friend is back to drinking it.

junes2013

I gave up pepsi - fully loaded - 64 days ago when i decided to get serious about my weight loss. I drink 8-10 or more glasses of water a day, and honestly...I don't miss it anymore. In fact, snuck a drink of my daughter's pepsi the other day at a restaurant and it didn't really taste very good.

YOU CAN DO IT!

labeachgirl

I'm off soda, but I gradually phased it out. The caffeine withdrawals are no joke, so maybe replace it with tea to get the caffeine fix and then just gradually replace it with water.

lesleyoung6

"My name is Lesley and I'm a Coke-aholic"... phew, that feels better! Seriously, Diet Coke is my drug of choice and I regularly OD. As a total newbie to this weight loss deal, can I please ask... why is Diet Coke soooo bad? Seriously, give me reasons, people! I need motivation to ditch the drug! To my mind, it's virtually zero calories so does it matter to my weight loss ambitions if I drink it every day? Please don't think I'm being a devil's advocate here - I genuinely want advice. Thanks!

PS. Sorry for hijacking your thread :flowerforyou:

hellokatee

I stopped drinking Diet Coke in January... I didn't drink it for over a month and also stopped eating out, telling myself I would have a Diet Coke if and when I went out to a restaurant or something similar. Sometime in February I went to the movies and automatically ordered a Diet Coke without even thinking about it. I went into the movie, sat down with my huge soda and took a drink... And I was like "EW, THIS IS NOT DIET!!!!" :mad: I had my best friend and my boyfriend taste it and they said I was crazy and it was definitely diet. I kept trying to take sips but it was just gross and I kept wondering what was wrong with their soda... Until about halfway through the movie it occurred to me that I hadn't had a Diet Coke in over a month! I realized that it had been long enough that I had lost that "acquired taste" for Diet Coke. Stick with it and you won't even want it anymore, I promise.

I drank Diet Coke every day for eight years before that!

Good luck!

kellykw

You people need to ditch the Diet Coke IMMEDIATELY . . . . and switch to Coke Zero or Diet Dr. Pepper. :laugh:

dbrightwell1270

I used to drink about three 1-liter bottles of diet coke a day. I stopped in early November 2009 and haven't had a soft drink since the Friday after Thanksgiving 2009. I had that one because a friend, who didn't know I quit, bought it for me. After 2.5 weeks, the taste was disgusting. It didn't taste anything like I remembered. The odd thing is that 2 years prior to quitting I was in the hospital for 8 days and didn't have a Diet Coke during that time. When I got out and had one, I had the same experience as I did the Thanksgiving weekend. The only difference is that at that time I thought it was because the medications were affecting my sense of taste.

When I quit, it was a horrible feeling. I had headaches for about 6 days. My wrists and even the joints in my fingers ached for a few days. I don't regret it. The only time I miss soft drinks is when I want a Jack and Coke or something similar.

ninerbuff

Reduce it then. Personally I've drank Diet Pepsi for about 25 years now on the average of 1-2 a day. Moderation is the ticket.

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