Trying to quit drinking pop

wrknonmedaily

I was a huge mountain dew fan and it showed around the middle. Jan 1st I went cold turkey and I am now down 18 pounds. I drink a lot of iced water and hot green tea now. Love the green tea with orange blossom I add honey and a pack of sweet and low. So good.

cwolfman13

I used to drink about 5 sodas per day...pretty much I just quit doing that and started drinking more water. I still drink bubbly water when I want something fizzy...but now I have maybe 3-5 sodas per year. It really wasn't terribly hard...I just stopped buying it or having it around. It really didn't take long before I stopped even thinking about it...I haven't thought about a soda in months until I opened this thread.

cme4bb

I stopped cold turkey. First week was rough. Increase water, and drink coffee a couple times a day. It will help with the caffeine headaches. Just add a couple teaspoons of sugar. Not a ton of extras. You do get used to it after a while and at certain point you won't even miss soda.

Dvdgzz

I don't see anything wrong with diet or zero. I have 1-2 per day.

BestWishesForYou

I transitioned (not abruptly) to caffeine-free first, so no withdrawal. Omg I do love diet sodas. I succeed when I cut down and then cut it completely out. For me, cans of diet sodas fit the old saying: one's too many and a thousand aren't enough. When I drink one, I have to have another. It's true that after you've quit for a while, they taste awful. But go on a binge and the taste and cravings come back.

I've gone through this many times over several years. I can stop for months at a time and always feel better and have better fitness progress. Then I give in to old habits and soon I love it as much as ever.

Worse, the diet drinks give me a sweet tooth: I crave all carbs like crazy on days I drink them. All other factors being equal, my whole weight loss progress slows during the week if I drink sodas even one or two days. I have enjoyed a streak of weight loss success for the past three months – – yay! – – and the slowed progress/increased calories from days I drink sodas are startlingly obvious.

You've probably already read the ways they will cause a weight loss downfall and how diet drinks are even worse than regular sodas.

To stop, I often go on a jag of Arizona green tea, especially peach. With regular or peach, I find it much better to add a little grape or cranberry juice. It takes on the taste and (somehow satisfying) color of the juice, even from a small amount. That's a win – win for me, as I find green tea a little bit weak, but juice is a little too strong on its own.

(Parents, this is a great idea when serving your children juice. It looks the same as juice, the kids don't taste the green tea, and it cuts the sugar and calories of juice a great deal while adding the health benefits of green tea.)

Increase your water intake during all of this, even at times when you're not even trying to cut down on the sodas. The sodas cause dehydration. Lots of soda seems to spoil my taste for water, but my tolerance/desire for water increases as my use of the soda decreases.

Good luck to both of us!

Kullerva

Dvdgzz wrote: »

I don't see anything wrong with diet or zero. I have 1-2 per day.

I agree if that doesn't increase sugar cravings (it did for me). Switching to diet is a good first step if people are intimidated by cutting back or going cold turkey.

smit7633

I agree with majigurl! Just stop! Quitting pop is the same as quitting any other habit. You have to be committed, you have to want it completely, and then you will do it because its what you want. Like how many times have you gone out of your way to get pop, or some other food, just because you wanted it so you were determined to do whatever it took to get it. Quitting is the same, be honest with yourself.

kandeye

I just stopped drinking it. If I crave something sweet to drink I make suntea with a teaspoon of sugar or honey. The other day I had a sip of my boyfriend's coke and it was so disgustingly sweet . It's hard at first but after awhile you won't miss it