Coke cravingd

sc487

I appreciate all the feedback. To touch on a couple points mentioned. I can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners, I'll skip completely before drinking diet. Second. The difference between apple juice and soda is I will drink 8 oz of apple juice and be ok. Beats the big gulp coke I would have gotten. And if I take one, I'll take one more, then one more, then 15 more....

The good news is, the craving has passed, I drank my gallon+ of water today and I'm doing pretty good

philiesgrl22

When I started college my first semester I went through one of those 24 packs a week. Around December I read am article about weight gain and the relationship with soda.

That Christmas I decided I was going to completely give it up. I haven't had a full drink of soda since December 2009. I can barely have more than a sip of it every few months I dislike it that much now.

Give it time, and replace the soda with a BIG water bottle. I have a 64oz bottle I try to get through a day. Now that's all I drink.

mtresino12

I like using sparkling water as an alternative for soda. I still get that carbonation but not all that sugar. Just make sure you look for brands that don't have artificial sweeteners. My "go to" is la croix-grapefruit or passion fruit flavors.

sc487

philiesgrl22 wrote: »

When I started college my first semester I went through one of those 24 packs a week. Around December I read am article about weight gain and the relationship with soda.

That Christmas I decided I was going to completely give it up. I haven't had a full drink of soda since December 2009. I can barely have more than a sip of it every few months I dislike it that much now.

Give it time, and replace the soda with a BIG water bottle. I have a 64oz bottle I try to get through a day. Now that's all I drink.

My daily gallon of ice water

jjbbbbm

sc487 wrote: »

I've been off coke (the drink)for 8 days and have amazing results but....I want one so bad I couldn't sleep last night! I was prowling around my kitchen like an addict going through withdrawals. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Please everyone else tell me how long you have been soda free! I really need some encouragement.

elishiaf1984 wrote: »

Can you switch to coke zero and limit it to one a day? Dieting shouldn't be giving up everything you love just modifying it... Instead of calorie infested regular Coke, go for a Coke Zero.

jjbbbbm

I was drinking 10+ diet cokes a day at one point. What helped me was soda water. Perrier even has some flavors.

SezxyStef

I personally think it comes down to saying no to yourself.

I love diet coke but I have a rule...no pop until I have all my water in for the day period.

I am an adult and apply adulting to my choices. I say no to myself not only with over spending but to my diet choices ie amounts consumed.

esp considering the OP is getting in as much sugar and more caffeine from the tea and apple juice than 1 can of coke.

rsclause

I am not going to say how bad diet or regular soda is and don't really care about the science but does anyone here think there is any benefit or food value to sodas? It just became something I decided didn't fit my lifestyle anymore.

SezxyStef

rsclause wrote: »

I am not going to say how bad diet or regular soda is and don't really care about the science but does anyone here think there is any benefit or food value to sodas? It just became something I decided didn't fit my lifestyle anymore.

Yes there is a benefit for me...it makes me smile, I like it, want it and if I had to give it up I could but I chose to drink it for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Food value eh nope other than tastes good which is value

vikinglander

...and the debate rages! Funny, I didn't see anyone mention caffeine, per se. That could be the cause of your late night pacing. Any headaches?

perkymommy

elishiaf1984 wrote: »

Can you switch to coke zero and limit it to one a day? Dieting shouldn't be giving up everything you love just modifying it... Instead of calorie infested regular Coke, go for a Coke Zero.

This. It's likely the caffeine you are missing. Try tea or coffee in place of the soda when you crave it real bad. Might help.

I drink diet Pepsi and want to get off it one day but focusing more on the weight loss right now. I will conquer the soda one later

SezxyStef

vikinglander wrote: »

...and the debate rages! Funny, I didn't see anyone mention caffeine, per se. That could be the cause of your late night pacing. Any headaches?

I did...he gets lots of caffeine from the tea he drinks...more than what is in a cup of coke.

glenneric913

All soda is bad. High Fructose Corn Syrup causes rapid weight gain and impacts your cognitive ability - just google it and read some of the studies it's pretty scary. Diet soda is deceiving since it has no calories but since your body can't metabolize it, you end up storing more fat. Recent studies show that diet sodas and artificial "zero calorie" sweeteners actually cause you to GAIN MORE WEIGHT! http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/12/23/artificial-sweeteners-confuse-body.aspx

Jthanmyfitnesspal

sc487 wrote: »

I appreciate all the feedback. To touch on a couple points mentioned. I can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners, I'll skip completely before drinking diet. Second. The difference between apple juice and soda is I will drink 8 oz of apple juice and be ok. Beats the big gulp coke I would have gotten. And if I take one, I'll take one more, then one more, then 15 more....

The good news is, the craving has passed, I drank my gallon+ of water today and I'm doing pretty good

I think you are focusing on exactly the right thing. Living with a constant sugar drip apparently (if you believe the current thinking) changes your physiology in profound ways, even leading to diabetes in many cases. So keep up the fantastic work! I can imagine that it will take some adjustment as every cell in your body screams for that sugar. Having greatly reduced my intake of sugar I can tell you that it quiets down. My latest afternoon snack is a whole orange. All 70 calories are from sugar, but you also get the fiber and vitamins. (I enjoy peeling them by hand, where you get the feel, smell, and taste for a multi-sensory experience.)

Also: there's nothing particularly good about artificial sweeteners. I am afraid I lean too heavily on aspartame in that I put a packet in my tea at least three times every stinkin' day. Maybe I'll go back to sugar once I reach my weight goal...

DoNotSpamMe73

sc487 wrote: »

I've been off coke (the drink)for 8 days and have amazing results but....I want one so bad I couldn't sleep last night! I was prowling around my kitchen like an addict going through withdrawals. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Please everyone else tell me how long you have been soda free! I really need some encouragement.

Yeah I'm the same, though I have coke zero. I get sugar spikes/drop if I have the regular stuff.

MommyL2015

nosajjao wrote: »

glenneric913 wrote: »

All soda is bad. High Fructose Corn Syrup causes rapid weight gain and impacts your cognitive ability - just google it and read some of the studies it's pretty scary. Diet soda is deceiving since it has no calories but since your body can't metabolize it, you end up storing more fat. Recent studies show that diet sodas and artificial "zero calorie" sweeteners actually cause you to GAIN MORE WEIGHT! http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/12/23/artificial-sweeteners-confuse-body.aspx

Be careful, people are getting easily offended when you talk bad about their treasured junk food. Truth is often offensive.

None of what he stated is even in the same ballpark as truth.

sllm1

I drink a Dr. Pepper every day. Just one. 12 ounces. It's heaven.

wonko221

nosajjao wrote: »

MommyL2015 wrote: »

None of what he stated is even in the same ballpark as truth.

"Soda is bad" as a claim is apparently offensive enough to be flagged for abuse.

Some people cling to their vices with a death grip, and will defend their habits violently regardless of other ideas being presented to them. It's a deeper sign of intolerance, but generally I find it sad when people are so close-minded that new ideas sound like fighting words to them. I'm not offended when someone claims diet soda is good for you, it offers me an opportunity for a conversation, whether the outcome is us both agreeing to disagree or not. The difference is the right evidence might change my mind, whereas other people refuse to allow their minds to be changed, and they'll be offended at the idea you're trying to change their mind.

How do we evaluate the "right evidence" that might change your mind?

My criteria is that it needs to be peer-reviewed by experts within the field.

I have not seen any credible evidence that drinking diet sodas tricks the body into storing fat.

Furthermore, this claim flies in the face of physics: energy doesn't come from nowhere. Nothing about a diet soda lets your body both burn a calorie AND store it as fat. You consume X calories per day, and your body burns Y calories in that day. If X-Y < 0, you are in a deficit, regardless of whether you also had some nutrasweet that day or not.

Since diet soda does not add a significant source of calories, the only way for it to "trick the body into producing fat" would be if it reduces the caloric burn. This mechanism has NOT been demonstrated in peer-reviewed research. AND i personally know plenty of anecdotal examples of people successfully losing weight and maintaining healthy weight while drinking diet soda.

So... i'm not intolerant of new evidence. Just a bit tired of seeing the same bad evidence trotted out repeatedly. I don't even mind how boring it is - but i do mind that it can mislead people who are really struggling with ways to adopt new, healthier lifestyles.