So I finally kicked the diet soda habit... Need help

Brocksterdanza

I have removed caffeine from my diet. I was a chronic 4-5 diet Pepsi drinker a day. I started getting worried that it was going to cause me problems later in life (cancers, diabetes, etc). During this time I'm also trying to get away from the sorbitols, aspartames, Splenda, etc of the world. The problem is, what else can i drink except water with fruit in it? I have an infuse picture for fruits etc, but it's getting old. Can I do the powder Gatorade mix or something of that nature? I loved the fact of having a zero calorie drink in diet Pepsi, it taste good and was a habit. Now I drink juice, milk, etc and have to now allocate calories for my drinks. Any help would be appreciated.

Also, wouldn't cutting caffeine and diet soda in turn help me lose weight?

mrslcaines

How would removing a zero calorie drink help you loose weight? X - 0 = X every time. But, if you want to allot for the calories and sugar in "sports" drinks, it's all up to you.

allysonvb

It's a catch 22- either low cal drinks or higher cal with non artificial sweetners. I'd do juices and water them down if you can- it gives a lighter flavor and less cals. I'd also try tea- peach tea, etc, that can be brewed then chilled. I'm getting ready to cut down or out diet coke as well, and I'm going to use crystal light drink sticks- I know it doesn't suit your purpose but it's going to have to do for me

Teixeic

I quit diet Pepsi just like you about a year and a half ago. Since then I have been drinking Arizona diet decaf green tea. I really like the taste and it has no artificial flavorings. Since I stopped the caffeine ( I also drink decaf coffee) I no longer get headaches like I used to. I hope this helps you.

Brocksterdanza

Losing the zero calories drink to help lose weight goes with the new studies that drinking diet soda causes our bodies to crave sugar and eat more.... Also the obvious high levels of sodium in each soda thus causing water retention.

ponycyndi

Try herbal tea. There are lots of flavors available in the regular grocery store, and they are healthy. I drink mine hot or iced. Add a little honey if you like.

Dlacenere

I could never give up caffeine but haven't had a soda in years. Green tea and water with lemon is my go to (and coffee of course :-)

Fishshtick

It's not the caffeine in diet drinks that is the suspected long-term problem, it's the artificial sweeteners (even the evidence there is a bit iffy). Unless you consume very large amounts, or have a hypertension or sleep issue, most studies suggest caffeine is probably good for you, with benefits to both brain function and weight loss ( when consumed right before a workout). So my suggestion is don't give up that part of your beverage consumption. Drink black coffee and unsweetened teas. Coffee and teas have other benefits as well. Both are high in anti-oxidants which should be part of a fitness routine given that recent studies show that high intensity exercise causes increased production of free radicals and oxidative damage.

dellaquilaa

Good for you for kicking the habit! I did too about a year ago...I developed a ridiculous caffeine sensitivity so I switched to caffeine free + diet, then started getting migraines from the asperatame so I changed to regular caffeine free....and then I got sick of drinking my calories lol. I go for mostly plain water and herbal tea now

Brandolin11

I'd like to offer up a humble observation for you (and I say this with all kindness, because I've been there!): This diet soda "habit" that you think you've kicked? You actually haven't. If you are this desperate to find something to satisfy some kind of "drink craving" that appears to be plaguing you (otherwise you wouldn't have posted this thread), then you still are practicing the habit. All you're doing is substituting different substances for your former drink.

It's the same thing as the folks who give up desserts and then search and search for low-cal substitutes like fat-free frozen yogurt, etc. It's not just the food you're looking to get the 'hit' from, it's the behavior. What many people don't realize is that Behaviors can be even bigger habits/addictions than food! What ends up happening to most folks who try to substitute stuff for their former habitual (read: trigger) foods and drinks, is they end up going back to the original food or drink and getting hooked on it worse than before. It's because these "substitute" foods and behaviors leave them wanting, compared to their old stuff. Eventually, they cave to the craving because of the pressure of hanging on by their fingernails.

My suggestion would be to first learn to let go of "having to have" something besides water to drink. Purge and cleanse your body ENTIRELY with water for a couple weeks. Learn to stop "needing" something to "satisfy" you. Let your mind relax and let go - stop feeding the mental/emotional cravings for awhile. Detox. Let the cravings subside. You just might find out you really don't need other types of juices and stuff to satiate you anymore.

mama2redhead

I second the chilled herbal tea idea. I also use a stevia product called stur on occasion. I also use trader joe stevia drops for sweetening stuff like tea up. ( It is less processed than other stevia sweeteners per foodbabe.com).

Sometimes I will also try a splash of juice in my water, but usually I go the tea route as it has more flavor.

kingscrown

Will be 2 years off diet soda and all artificial sweeteners on January 1st. I'm here to tell you that the first 8 months or so was pretty difficult. I literally had withdrawals. Not necessarily to diet soda, but the rituals that surrounded it in my life. Once I had gone through each phase without diet soda and began my new life without it. For instance every day I'd have 2 cans of caffeine free diet coke poured over a large cup of ice, which I drank while waiting for my kids to get out of school. When I went camping I had bought a folding small table specifically for me to set my diet coke on while at the camp fire. I didn't like it sitting on the ground. Many more examples of that occurred in my life. I just had to get past them. So, glad I did.

As for other things to drink I didn't like tea. I won't drink juice. I was committed to no soda. I drank water. And more water. And more water. It was getting so tedious. I tried carbonated water with a splash of juice, but I just don't like drink calories. Once I got past the one year mark water seemed more the norm. I stopped saying I "can't" drink soda to I "don't" drink soda. Then my daughter asked me to sample tea with her in a Teavana store. We fell in love with Youthberry. I bought some and nearly fainted at the price. DD reminded me that it really came out to 64 cents a cup. OK I can live with that. I realized I needed to experiment with tea and find ones I liked. One doesn't need to go to Teavana, but I would suggest experimenting and find some you like. Some combine well to make great tastes. I drink it hot and I drink it cold. Never in a million years thought I'd be a tea drinker.

Achrya

Losing the zero calories drink to help lose weight goes with the new studies that drinking diet soda causes our bodies to crave sugar and eat more.... Also the obvious high levels of sodium in each soda thus causing water retention.

I never got this in the context of mfp and calorie counting. I may crave more sugar (I don't, but let's say I do) wouldn't I be able to see that eating more will put me over my goal and then not do so? Isn't that the point of MFP?

Mangopickle

Throw couple of herbal tea bags in a pitcher of cold water and put in fridge. Let steep few hours then pull out bags. Fresh, fruity and sweet.

nikkylyn

Just drink water no cals. I notice when I drink soda i crave sweets a whole lot more. Maybe thTs why you want the juices n teas with sugar.?? just keep drinking just water for a while you soon adjust n will actually crave water.

_SABOTEUR_

Losing the zero calories drink to help lose weight goes with the new studies that drinking diet soda causes our bodies to crave sugar and eat more.... Also the obvious high levels of sodium in each soda thus causing water retention.

Please may we have links to these studies?

meshashesha2012

Losing the zero calories drink to help lose weight goes with the new studies that drinking diet soda causes our bodies to crave sugar and eat more.... Also the obvious high levels of sodium in each soda thus causing water retention.

I never got this in the context of mfp and calorie counting. I may crave more sugar (I don't, but let's say I do) wouldn't I be able to see that eating more will put me over my goal and then not do so? Isn't that the point of MFP?

this.

my dopctor gave me that warning as well. i dont see the point, just because you crave it doesnt mean you are going to go eat it and everyone i know (including myself) who drinks diet soda hasnt experienced these sugar cravings.


also since when does cafeeine cause cancer and diabetes?

Fishshtick

I'd like to offer up a humble observation for you (and I say this with all kindness, because I've been there!): This diet soda "habit" that you think you've kicked? You actually haven't. If you are this desperate to find something to satisfy some kind of "drink craving" that appears to be plaguing you (otherwise you wouldn't have posted this thread), then you still are practicing the habit. All you're doing is substituting different substances for your former drink.

It's the same thing as the folks who give up desserts and then search and search for low-cal substitutes like fat-free frozen yogurt, etc. It's not just the food you're looking to get the 'hit' from, it's the behavior. What many people don't realize is that Behaviors can be even bigger habits/addictions than food! What ends up happening to most folks who try to substitute stuff for their former habitual (read: trigger) foods and drinks, is they end up going back to the original food or drink and getting hooked on it worse than before. It's because these "substitute" foods and behaviors leave them wanting, compared to their old stuff. Eventually, they cave to the craving because of the pressure of hanging on by their fingernails.

My suggestion would be to first learn to let go of "having to have" something besides water to drink. Purge and cleanse your body ENTIRELY with water for a couple weeks. Learn to stop "needing" something to "satisfy" you. Let your mind relax and let go - stop feeding the mental/emotional cravings for awhile. Detox. Let the cravings subside. You just might find out you really don't need other types of juices and stuff to satiate you anymore.

I will humbly offer that I think much of this comment is a crock. A person isn't addicted just because he or she likes some flavor in a beverage. You don't need flavor to survive, but it's hardly a personality flaw or addiction to want some. He probably would be better off with just getting used to drinking some more water and it may take some time to get used to doing so, but I wouldn't call that 'detoxing' or even suggest it has to be all or nothing. Whenever I hear 'detox' my BS detectors go off. Pretty much every detox program is just someone's get rich scheme. There are some real ways to get rid of toxic substances from a body. Iodine tablets can help remove radioactive elements in the same column of the periodic table. If you somehow have the right info on food sources you could perhaps consume less PCBs, mercury or arsenic and your body burden of those would decline over time, but those activities are from what most people claim as a detox. Soaking cucumbers in some water or drinking the juice of the latest strange fruit doesn't detox anything. I have also never heard of anyone succeed in long term weight loss via some week or two long detox program.

If the OP is really having some severe cravings for sweet things, then the first logical place to look for issues is whether he/she is overdoing the calorie cutting, especially the reduction in carbs/fats. Consuming too few carbs/fats can really amp up cravings.

QuietBloom

How about just drinking water?

QuietBloom

I'd like to offer up a humble observation for you (and I say this with all kindness, because I've been there!): This diet soda "habit" that you think you've kicked? You actually haven't. If you are this desperate to find something to satisfy some kind of "drink craving" that appears to be plaguing you (otherwise you wouldn't have posted this thread), then you still are practicing the habit. All you're doing is substituting different substances for your former drink.

It's the same thing as the folks who give up desserts and then search and search for low-cal substitutes like fat-free frozen yogurt, etc. It's not just the food you're looking to get the 'hit' from, it's the behavior. What many people don't realize is that Behaviors can be even bigger habits/addictions than food! What ends up happening to most folks who try to substitute stuff for their former habitual (read: trigger) foods and drinks, is they end up going back to the original food or drink and getting hooked on it worse than before. It's because these "substitute" foods and behaviors leave them wanting, compared to their old stuff. Eventually, they cave to the craving because of the pressure of hanging on by their fingernails.

My suggestion would be to first learn to let go of "having to have" something besides water to drink. Purge and cleanse your body ENTIRELY with water for a couple weeks. Learn to stop "needing" something to "satisfy" you. Let your mind relax and let go - stop feeding the mental/emotional cravings for awhile. Detox. Let the cravings subside. You just might find out you really don't need other types of juices and stuff to satiate you anymore.

Maybe she is just dehydrated.

Crumpet_Girl

also since when does cafeeine cause cancer and diabetes?

I think it's the artificial sweeteners that cause cancer?

Everything in moderation? A little bit of diet soda won't kill you... bucket loads might... drink mainly water and have a glass of soda from time to time...