Quitting Soda

I just wanted to open this discussion because in the past I've had my struggles with drinking soda, specifically coke. I wanted to see others who have had or are still having struggles with this issue. I also wanted to see tips and advice from people who have gone longer and feel they've officially weened themselves off soda.

I am currently on two months without a soda except for two of my cheat days. (Was surprised and proud of myself when I didn't relapse due to those 2 days) The biggest thing that put me over was the fact that I could quit for a week here and there but would always relapse. Being able to know how I felt off of it was a huge motivator. I decided in a week where I worked 50 hours at my distribution job (A receiver at Kohl's DC) was the best test for myself not to drink soda. I was stressed and always busy and at those times in the past a coke would ease my troubles. Being able to push through that week helped start it all for me. My situation is subjective however. What helped you?
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Replies

  • Chenry18
    Chenry18 Posts: 211 Member
    Spark. Sugar free drink with 120 mg caffeine & 26 vitamins. Tastes good, less than a monster or red bull & actually good for me. It was the only thing that helped me wean off cola.
  • bruhaha007
    bruhaha007 Posts: 333 Member
    Switching to La Croix naturally flavored soda water. Coconut is my favorite :)
  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
    I like Zevia.... black cherry... mmm. still only go through a six pack a month tho...
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
    Bring extra water and add fresh fruit, good for you for quitting soda!

    I like La Croix too, it's for sure not as sweet as soda but the carbonation is there, you could add a bit of juice to it also to make it sweeter
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    You could switch to diet soda.
  • moonchildisme
    moonchildisme Posts: 83 Member
    Is diet really any better?
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    I decided I couldn't wean, I had to drop cold turkey and break the mental habit clean. I replaced with Crystal Light for the taste and after a few months I introduced soda back, but I'll buy a single serving at 7/11 instead of have it in grocery. I really think the cold turkey broke the craving for me.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Is diet really any better?

    Absolutely.

    Zero calories. Still fizzy, still sweet, still satisfying.

    In moderation, like all things, of course.
  • moonchildisme
    moonchildisme Posts: 83 Member
    I only asked cause I am a diet pepsi addict
  • Mushman911
    Mushman911 Posts: 1 Member
    Doc told me if I really want to stop regular soda - drink water because the diet and other stuff have too many additives in them to make them even taste good. I am a straight up Coke addict. I love my coke - could drink 6 or 7 bottles (16.9 oz) a day, and have in some cases.

    I am slowly trying to wean myself off of it, but am not going to punish myself or beat myself up if I have too much in one day. I switched to water and started using the Mio flavor drops for water. I love the Black Cherry - I probably put more than they suggest but it tastes like black cherry kool-aid. It seems to be helping me
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    I only asked cause I am a diet pepsi addict

    Well drink away, and enjoy.
  • pottsoconnor881
    pottsoconnor881 Posts: 4 Member
    Used to be
  • pottsoconnor881
    pottsoconnor881 Posts: 4 Member
    Used to be seriously addicted to the caffeine in soda (not a coffee drinker but 4-5 cans of soda each day wasn't unusual). Best advice I got was to suffer through withdrawal, as in, when the awful headaches start, don't take any Advil or anything for it. Quit on a Friday. Spend the weekend on the couch dying. You'll never go back
  • wildeyezz
    wildeyezz Posts: 84 Member
    I weaned myself off Coke by replacing fresh water with fresh squeezed lemon or lime. I rarely have Coke now, because I crave water more.
  • pottsoconnor881
    pottsoconnor881 Posts: 4 Member
    Is diet really any better?

    Absolutely.

    Zero calories. Still fizzy, still sweet, still satisfying.

    In moderation, like all things, of course.

    Diet soda has been linked to cancer.

  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Is diet really any better?

    Absolutely.

    Zero calories. Still fizzy, still sweet, still satisfying.

    In moderation, like all things, of course.

    Diet soda has been linked to cancer.

    Yeah, we're going to need a source for that.
  • ac3UVspad3s
    ac3UVspad3s Posts: 5 Member
    Is diet really any better?

    Absolutely.

    Zero calories. Still fizzy, still sweet, still satisfying.

    In moderation, like all things, of course.

    Diet soda has been linked to cancer.

    Yeah, we're going to need a source for that.

    I'm guessing they mean the aspartame argument which has been debunked quite a while back.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    I think quite a few people have had problems with coke. It's a hard habit to break. Oh. Wait. Soda. Never mind.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
    edited February 2016
    I'd been drinking diet soda since I was 10 y.o. (long before nutrasweet) had tried to ditch diet coke many, many times and always revert.

    Switched to Iced Coffee almost 10 years ago, that way I didn't have to worry about caffeine withdrawal. And really it wasn't the caffeine that was a problem for me but all the chemicals and the artificial sweetener.
    So it's a more natural beverage with actual health benefits, I gradually weaned myself off of sweetener. (One packet of sweet'n'low -->half a packet of sweet'n'low --> one packet of sugar --> half a packet of sugar-->no sugar)

    I gotta say I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!

    I didn't think I was going to take a hard fast stance against soda and figured I'd have one occasionally at a social event. But the last time I had a diet soda, I didn't even like the taste...
  • ac3UVspad3s
    ac3UVspad3s Posts: 5 Member
    I think quite a few people have had problems with coke. It's a hard habit to break. Oh. Wait. Soda. Never mind.

    Definitely a pick me up. Helped with most of my weight loss. ;)
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    I am a huge coke addict. Last year I went cold turkey for 10 weeks. After the first week it wasnt too bad as I was doing a food program at the same time and not buying lunch, eating takeout etc made it easy. During this time I really focused on changing the habit of drinking with meals cause I'd always choose coke normally. I also tried to drop the grab a drink when filling with fuel, doing the shopping etc habit. I've quit before mainly to prove I could but it was the habit that was the killer, even after cravings had gone I was so used to grabbing a coke with lunch or while shopping I was often replacing it with something else while I quit and then would cwitch back to coke when I'd finished quitting.

    As a replacement I drink mineral water. I started with the flavored stuff lemon/lime etc but now just plain mineral water. I drink plain water during the day but night and weekends its all mineral water which makes it feel a bit special and less boring.

    I do find now that I've let coke back into my life it is a slippery slope to letting it get out of control again. But I have found times that I've bought a coke out of habit/ intention to have one and ended up not drinking it. I also am more likely to have 1 coke at the pub/dinner now and then switch to soda water more easily. I guess I am almost treating it like drinking alcohol. Sometimes and in moderation is ok. I often mean to have a coke free day as I know my addiction is still at a level where I wont suffer withdrawals but they happen less and less frequently.
  • Andrewcpimpin
    Andrewcpimpin Posts: 124 Member
    I drink topo chico every morning. It scratched the itch for something carbonated.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Is diet really any better?

    For losing weight, you bet it is!
  • jessicalopezlv
    jessicalopezlv Posts: 4 Member
    wildeyezz wrote: »
    I weaned myself off Coke by replacing fresh water with fresh squeezed lemon or lime. I rarely have Coke now, because I crave water more.

    I did the exact same thing, I was drinking about 1 liter of soda per day. Haven't had any for over 30 days!
  • Kait3822
    Kait3822 Posts: 2 Member
    I stopped drinking soda almost by accident, and now I only drink soda if it is in a mixed drink. I used to drink at least two cans of soda a day in high school, probably more, but I'm not sure as it's been almost ten years since then. I stopped buying it in college, only drinking it when I went out to eat or to the school cafeteria. Then I started ordering tea instead, and only had soda when I was craving it. Pretty soon I got to the point where I almost never craved it.

    Now I'll have soda maybe once every two months, if a fancy bottle of root beer comes my way, but I can't drink all of it. I can really tell a difference in my body when I do drink even a little, I feel bloated and gross. I really noticed a change when I started drinking water all throughout the day. Take it slow and treat yourself occasionally. You'll start to feel a change!
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
    Is diet really any better?

    Absolutely.

    Zero calories. Still fizzy, still sweet, still satisfying.

    In moderation, like all things, of course.

    Diet soda has been linked to cancer.

    What hasn't been linked to cancer?
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
    I've never been a drinker of regular pop, always liked diet better. I have one or two cans a day. Not giving it up.
  • karenburnsbot
    karenburnsbot Posts: 14 Member
    I gave up my daily Diet Coke by switching to La Croix and to flat water with a lemon or lime slice in it. Now I can get through the day with water and hot tea only. I have maybe 5 sodas a year now, as a treat. Good luck!
  • cbihatt
    cbihatt Posts: 319 Member
    Kait3822 wrote: »
    I stopped drinking soda almost by accident, and now I only drink soda if it is in a mixed drink. I used to drink at least two cans of soda a day in high school, probably more, but I'm not sure as it's been almost ten years since then. I stopped buying it in college, only drinking it when I went out to eat or to the school cafeteria. Then I started ordering tea instead, and only had soda when I was craving it. Pretty soon I got to the point where I almost never craved it.

    Now I'll have soda maybe once every two months, if a fancy bottle of root beer comes my way, but I can't drink all of it. I can really tell a difference in my body when I do drink even a little, I feel bloated and gross. I really noticed a change when I started drinking water all throughout the day. Take it slow and treat yourself occasionally. You'll start to feel a change!

    I have never really been much of a pop drinker, although I would have it occasionally when at a restaurant. I think this would be a great way to start limiting your intake. Give yourself a certain set of circumstances under which you allow yourself to drink it, but limit it to one serving at a time. The less you drink it, the less you want it.

    One of my resolutions for 2016 is to not drink any pop all year (primarily due to calories). I am still going strong and don't miss it at all. But, as I said, I never really had a problem with it in the first place.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I used to drink 3-5 12oz sodas per day...I can't remember the last time I actually had a soda...I occasionally will use some soda as a mixer or something, but I don't think I've sat down to drink an actual soda since...Mmmmm...September when I took my kids to McCall's Pumpkin Patch where I traditionally have a home brewed sarsaparilla. I might have the equivalent of 3 sodas per year these days tops.

    I quit drinking sodas almost three and a half years ago now...I thought it was going to be some great task, but it was pretty easy for the most part. I just weened down to one per day for the first week...then one every other day...then one a couple days per week...then once per week...then none and I was done. I still like fizzy stuff and drink a lot of carbonated water.