How do I cut down on my soda intake?

kayleeunderwood25

Hello!
Okay so, I drink a lot of soda. Like we are talking 3-5 cans a day. I know it isn't healthy, but I just crave them so bad and get headaches if I don't drink them. What do yall suggest I do to dull the cravings and possibly cut soda out of my diet all together?

Azexas

It's most likely the caffeine giving you a headache when you don't drink them.

Say you drink 5 cans a day. Week 1, drink 5 cans/ Week 2 cut down to 4 cans/ Week three cut down to 3 cans and so on.

There isn't really anything wrong with having a can of soda here and there as long as they fit into your calorie goals for the day.

You can also switch to diet soda which is zero calorie.

conniehgtv

I put lemon wedges in water bottle add 1/3 of the bottlw with water. Frreze. when ready to drink add water and shake.Yummy,cold lemon water. Vitam c, anti inflamatory. I still allow my self 1 can every other day. This is also good with lemon and ginger.Good luck!

JoRocka

drink more water.

stop buying them.

lx3tx

I previously called myself a soda addict. I had to have a few diet cokes everyday, and then I discovered La Croix. I like them since they don't have sugar or artificial sweetener. Now I drink those and only about one a day, and I don't feel the need to have a soda. I guess I was just a fan of the bubbles in soda.

TeaBea

I still drink diet soda (in moderation).....lifestyle changes.

Anyway....I agree with Troutsy.....as for the headaches, it's the caffeine. I drink unsweetened iced tea. Get some flavored tea bags. Then make a slightly fruity iced tea. Often no sugar is needed. I'm drinking Lipton Bavarian Berry tea (for lunch).

kat_princess12

I used to be so dependent on soda I would wake up in the middle of the night and wouldn't be able to go back to sleep unless I had a soda! I brought myself down to 1 a day by drinking Capri Suns (which I then weaned myself off of due to the sugar) and putting lemon and lime juice in ice water. More recently, I broke myself of the 1-a-day habit by switching to flavored sparkling water in cans - no calories, no sodium, no caffeine, but you get that initial feeling of something sweet and cold and carbonated washing down your throat. Let's face it, what we usually can't stop thinking about is that first drink after popping open the can.

EmmaFitzwilliam

You might try sparkling water, preferably with only lemon or with fruit juice to flavor it. Flavor packets are just a different source of many of the same chemicals, so I don't think they're functionally any different. I found I actually started to enjoy water once I started drinking more of it.

Snowhappens

I love diet soda - but I don't think its the healthiest option to drink ALL the time. So I keep a water bottle at my desk - I drink more with ice water to I fill it with ice at work. I don't buy soda for the house anymore and try to limit to one glass when Im out to dinner. I'm not prefect and sometime I run to the corner store for a splurge.

nvmomketo

I had to give up soda entirely, as well as anything else sweet or I craved soda. Moderation did not work for me. Don't buy it and don't carry change.

I got the headaches too - it wasn't the caffeine. For me it was (like) a sugar withdrawal. Perhaps it had something to do with blood sugar swings. Anyways, if something (nonessential to life) is giving you pain when you go without it, I think that is a pretty good sign that you should live without it.

flamingblades

switch over to flavored, sparkling spring water for a while, then wean yourself off to just plain water. It can happen. I am living proof. It took about 4 to 6 months for me but I go through a 32-pack of bottled water each week, by myself, not including my diet green tea.

TheVirgoddess

I used to drink nothing but coke. 6-7 a day.

I just made a rule. I couldn't have one until I'd had a glass of water. Then, two glasses of water, then only with a meal. Now I have a few sips with dinner, because I still love me some coke.

marinesKiwee

I had to quit cold turkey, stepping down wasn't working for me. Now I drink an energy supplement in the AM (for me I like advocare spark) and then infused or plain water

rwhyte12

Go to a dietician and have them freak you out. Get your mom to give you a lecture.
Think everytime you drink one that you're wrecking your body.
Soda's sweetner is fructose. Google that and read some terrible articles.

Kalikel

Taper it down. I drank more than you did, diet pop was pretty much all I ever drank. I'd quit, but I'd always pick it back up. I doubt anyone quit pop as much as I did.

Cold Turkey brings headaches in a BIG way. Being outside, especially swimming, helps a lot. Advil...not really. Not much, anyway.

Tapering lets you quit with less headache ordeal, but you have to be really committed to doing it. Just keep drinking less and less until you're done. It helped me to get the 2-liter bottles. They go flat pretty quickly, so they're less fun (or refreshing or whathaveyou) to drink than fresh, fizzy pop.

Those plastic bottles are nice because they hurt so much to open, but are more expensive.

Good luck!

Name_Me_Whatever

I use to drink Mt Dew everyday! Just stop! It's that simple!

kk_inprogress

There are some great ideas in this thread! I can't relate to your soda cravings, but the headaches are likely caffeine withdrawal or dehydration. Try to add water to your day (I have to flavor mine with fruit, lemon or liquid Crystal Light) because it's amazing how much being hydrated can reduce headaches. Try to find a caffeine alternative (like coffee or tea) that can help you get over the hump. I personally don't believe in entirely cutting things I like, but reducing it to a healthier level is a great idea! Good luck, OP!

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KristenMarie1181

I used to drink lot of soda as well. I just ended up stopping drinking it cold turkey and started drinking lots of water. I felt so good after it.

lemurcat12

As others have said, the headaches are due to cutting caffeine.

So the easiest option is to switch to a lower or no-calorie caffeine source. Black coffee or diet soda, for example. I love black coffee and see no reason to quit it. I do from time to time if my intake seems to be creeping up, that's all.

It's better to drink some water and not just soda, so I like Virgoddess' idea above about telling yourself you can only have another beverage if you also drink a glass of water IF you aren't currently in the habit of drinking water. (If you are, great!)

This is based on the assumption that your concern about cutting out soda is due to the calories and effect on your weight loss. If not, I'd question whether you need to worry about it now, as it can be easier to focus on one thing at a time and cutting calories is already a big step. (For example, I quit coffee for a while this year, but did it when I was basically at maintenance, not when I first started losing weight, because why deprive myself of an almost no calorie beverage I enjoy at the same time I'm dealing with other changes?)

If you do think you need to cut out caffeine now too, the easiest way is tapering--cut out one can a week or every few days. And realize you might feel a bit tired for a bit. Find a low or no caffeine beverage you enjoy--I sometimes like fizzy water, and I love chilling teas, especially the fruitier herbal ones and some of the Yogi brands (although many of these have caffeine).

Stephanie3399

I drink advocare spark! I water it down a good bit, so it taste like flavored water! It had caffeine for energy and lots of vitamins and minerals that are good for you!

brandyosu

I cut them out cold turkey. It took 3.5 days. Every day, when I felt the headache coming on I would take a couple of over the counter pain killers and chug lots of water. The second day in I really, really needed a nap...so I took one. After that I was fine. I didn't drink any soda for well over a month until 1) I was certain I wouldn't have a withdrawal headache the next day and 2) I new I could keep it limited. Now I sometimes drink one on my free day but not always.

RockstarWilson

Don't buy soda...quit cold turkey. That's about it. If you cant control yourself when you have it, the only way to help is to just cut it out.

Probably part of the reason you drink a lot is because you are constantly hungry (blind guess). Maybe look into the root cause as to why you drink all that soda.

griffinca2

Follow Troutsy's advice.

Apud85

La Croix! I don't drink soda, but I love the La Croix flavors when I'm bored and feel like I need to eat/drink something. It's just sparkling water, so no sugar, chemicals, etc. The coconut, grapefruit, and lime flavors are my favorite. The lime tastes just like Sprite.

chasingthesun85

Don't buy the crap, I refuse to buy anything but almond milk, green juices, tea, coffee and we have filtered water and sometimes I buy the flavor pouches for the kids. And that's all we drink, don't buy it, don't drink it! I used to drink nothing but soda, no water, nothing else. Got fat and felt miserable. Had kidney stones, high bp, bloated, etc etc. ever since cutting it out I am skinnier and feel so much better!! You can do it!

Liftng4Lis

Try seltzer water.

kilbyrunning

If you don't drink coffee or tea, start! Try them black, or with a little milk, but no sugar.

Then, replace all your sodas with sparkling water! If you can't handle the taste of regular sparkling water, add in some fresh herbs, fruits, or veggies like cucumber to give it some flavour. You can even do that with regular water.

And most of all, get rid of all the soda in your house. Just do it. Throw it away. Nobody needs that in their body. When you go out, don't carry cash you could use in a vending machine. At restaurants order water with lemon if you can't do plain water.

Clean drinking can be amazingly delicious!

yurtgirl2000

I quit cold turkey and I realized it's the bubbles I missed. But I'm over it now. I have 2 options, non-bubbly, tho.
1. Home brewed ice tea. I also brew one tea bag of a fruit tea, Celestial Seasonings is the brand I like. I use one large family size Lipton bag and one small fruit tea bag for one pitcher of tea. Since I don't do artificial sweeteners, I put just enough organic sugar to sweeten it for me as a treat, otherwise, no sugar at all.
2. Ice water with a splash of fruit juice. I fill a 32 oz mug with ice and add about 4 ounces of grape juice, then fill it up with water. Gives a slightly fruity taste to the water. I haven't had soda in over 2 months and no longer miss it. I did have a taste not too long ago of my former favorite, diet ginger ale, and hated the artificial flavor. It lingered for quite some time on my taste buds.
3.

Drewlssix

I find that water displaces the soda effectively. If you are drinking the amount of water recomended (especially if you are being active or exercising as part of your change) it's actually rather hard to fit soda or much else in.

Yeah soda has water but realistically I can't during the volume of soda needed to keep up with the water I need so soda isn't really a substitute, especially when I'm really needing a drink.

Yoshirio

I drank Pepsi all day long at at one point. I simply just stopped. The last time I had a sip,I didn't even enjoy it. I love and prefer my water now.