Soda Addict

caitiedid10
caitiedid10 Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Alright, so I am embarrassed to admit this, but I have a serious Coca-Cola addiction. I mean buy the 1.25 liter a day and down it kind. I am a wife and mama, I work full-time and go to school as well, so for years Coke has been the thing that keeps me going.

I am still a crazy lady, but I have to kick this habit. I have tried in the past, but the moment I "have just the one" I am hooked. It is ridiculous! I don't want to swap to coffee, sorry to all you coffee lovers out there, but eww... Also, I don't want to swap one addiction for another. Does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to kick the habit?

I know this sounds so silly, I am just at my wits end with myself. After giving it up again for two weeks, (pretty good for me) I am back on the hooch! ;) Help!

~ Caitie
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Replies

  • Soccermavrick
    Soccermavrick Posts: 405 Member
    Find other things you like. Personally I found Sweet Tea as a sub. (Not great but better.) Then I started finding different ways to drink water. Personally if it is ice cold I will drink it, when it gets warm I stop. At first I switched to a bit of tea, but as I have transitioned it has been less and less. Found a cup that keeps water super cold, too. And I only allowed myself to have soda at lunch. Recently though at lunch it has tasted funny so I think I am finally kicking the habit myself. It is not an easy habit to break, but I am right there with you, I will never like coffee.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I switched from Dr Pepper to diet. It sucked at first but now I don’t even enjoy regular anymore. It’s too sweet. I buy cans and I limit one per day
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Or, you know, don’t buy it.

    Try quitting cigarettes, now that was tough.
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    Diet Coke or Coke zero ?
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    another vote for coke zero! simple switch to make.
  • 0426Jamie
    0426Jamie Posts: 57 Member
    Diet coke is my soda of choice. I am also trying to kick that habit. I have been drinking carbonated water (Sparkling Ice) and it really does help. No caffiene though, so you'll have to find a different way to substitute that part of your addiction. Mine is mainly to the bubbles, lol. Oh, and I make sure I drink at least 24 oz of water before I even think about drinking a diet coke or carbonated water!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    switch to diet coke.

    problem solved.

    i havent had a 'normal' coke in years.
  • jshaw2025
    jshaw2025 Posts: 61 Member
    I grew up that way. Always had come in the fridge and always had it with meals. I went cold turkey as a senior in high school and lost 15lbs over a 2 year period. I'm talking zero carbonated drinks period. I still drank sweet tea sometimes, but mostly water. Many years later and water is still my drink of choice. I can enjoy a Coke or Dr pepper occasionally and I go on with my life.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    If you go cold turkey, it might be a good idea to take caffeine pills while you switch and then wean yourself off of them, unless you're dying for one heck of a headache.
  • Crystal75Evans
    Crystal75Evans Posts: 4 Member
    I know exactly how you feel i am going threw the exact same thing i dont drink coffee so my first drink in the am is a soda i crave it and drink it everyday i have been able to switch to diet but i hear the diet is almost as bad for you so im trying to cut back I would love to break the addiction completely but it's hard i crave my soda and get grouchy when i don't have it
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I gradually cut down until I was only drinking a can a day, then switched to diet. I now have two cans a day: one in the morning because like you I don't drink coffee, and one with dinner. The rest of the day I drink water.
  • kbmnurse1
    kbmnurse1 Posts: 316 Member
    STOP.
  • peggym4640
    peggym4640 Posts: 156 Member
    I love regular coke, too. Especially from the fountain. I used multiple substitutes including soda water, coke zero and iced tea. Now I rarely have even a coke zero or diet coke. Keep at it until you find the solution for you. It's hard to have just one of those things. Good luck.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    I'll add my vote to the chorus of switch to a low calorie version.

    I alternate between Coke Zero (or Coke No Sugar as it's called here now) and Pepsi Max.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    I switched from Dr Pepper to diet. It sucked at first but now I don’t even enjoy regular anymore. It’s too sweet. I buy cans and I limit one per day

    Same. I actually have to ask people to taste my coke zero to make sure its not regular! Lol
  • caitiedid10
    caitiedid10 Posts: 21 Member
    kbmnurse1 wrote: »
    STOP.

    Not as helpful as I would have hoped, but thank you for the advice.
  • caitiedid10
    caitiedid10 Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you to everyone who replied, I feel a lot better knowing that I am not alone in this struggle! I am on day one of no soda, even though it is in the fridge. (My husband isn't on board and isn't planning on being on board any time soon, so I have to learn to buy it but not partake.) Thank you for all the encouragement, and while going cold turkey will probably give me delightful migraines for a week, I think I would rather do that and stick to water! (If I'm dying, I'll try a diet something or other!) :D
  • AmandaEdwards1
    AmandaEdwards1 Posts: 46 Member
    Maybe try switching to iced tea and add a natural sweetener for the sugar?
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Coke Zero, Cherry Coke Zero. Vanilla Coke Zero. Vanilla extract + Coke Zero + Half and Half = vanilla cream coke with very few calories.

    Coke Zero with Halo Top or similar zero digestible sugar ice cream for a low calorie Float.

    Since Coke came out with the Zero line, all the Coke drinkers in my family have been happy with it.

    By that I mean, my wife was a Coke fiend who quit drinking coke with each pregnancy. Each pregnancy, she lost weight with her postpartum weight being 20+ lb below her weight 9 months earlier.

    The Cherry Diet Dr Pepper, though, totally rocks.
  • caitiedid10
    caitiedid10 Posts: 21 Member
    mrsd1969 wrote: »
    I was the same, totally addicted to diet cola, so I went cold turkey and didn’t have any fizzy soda as to be honest they are all just as bad as each other, diet or normal. I don’t deny it, it was really hard and the headache for the first ftwo weeks was unbearable however I got there. For two years I was totally fizzy soda free however in the last 3 years I have found diet irn bru or sprit zero creaping back in to my life, so time to force myself to stop it all again.
    The full fat have high calories however the diet/zero sugar are the most addictive so I know it’s not great but the answer is water or flavour water if you really want to do it and it’s an all or nothing situation, drink one a day and that will increase to two and so on.
    Good luck, sorry it’s not the easy quick fix you wanted.

    I assumed that it wouldn't be, it is just nice to know that I am not alone!
  • Shakimi1
    Shakimi1 Posts: 3 Member
    Try the "Clear American" flavored water from WalMart. That stuff tastes amazing and curbs the craving.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited June 2018
    You're a cold caffeine fiend vs. coffee caffeine fiend.

    You don't want to swap one caffeine addiction for another so you're going to have to go cold turkey or swap. My suggestion is to start swilling LaCroix sparkling water or some other brand you prefer. I swill LaCroix like a fish. I like mango, apricot, passionfruit and coconut. Blackberry is pretty good, too. There are so many other flavors.

    I swill LaCroix first thing in the morning along with my coffee. I have some beside my bed and swill, swill, swill away. I like it really cold or luke, it doesn't matter. I am hooked on LaCroix. It's low abrasive and doesn't hurt my teeth. My dentist said so and it has zero, zip calories. It pairs nicely with every food and I can go through 3 cases in just a few days time. I always buy 3 at a time.

    I put some in the freezer for extra chilling but don't leave it too long in there, the cans explode. The colder the better, it really hits the spot. Something else you might try is kombucha. Great flavors. I like booch and I stretch it out with LaCroix. Booch, kombucha is pretty expensive but a LaCroix and Booch go together nicely and you get more bang for your buckaroos.

    You could call it Hooch Booch. Happy swilling whatever you choose to do.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    The addiction aspect is probably the caffeine so you could just switch to another caffeinated product other than soda. If you want to kick the caffeine habit you could start subbing in caffeine free variants of your favorite soda slowly over time until that is the only soda you drink.

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