Diet Coke Addicts Unite.

flyinghow

I HAVE to quit....I stopped drinking alcohol in 1994 and have been sober almost 20 years, but I picked up Diet Coke after I left alcohol and I drink 2-4 L a day depending...now that I am getting older, it is starting to turn on me with the weight gain, cravings, feeling crappie, and I am getting tired of lugging it home from the store and getting the shakes if I don't have it in the house, etc. I am considering cold turkey because since I really believe I am addicted to the sweetener and chemicals therein, trying to wean down would do no good. I would just keep going up and down with it. Any thoughts??? Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, whichever is on sale. Preferably Diet Coke! Love the stuff.

needconfidence

*stands up* hello all my name is Karen and I'm addicted to diet coke sigh the struggle is real but hell its better then eating a whole chocolate cake

martyqueen52

Coke Zero Vanilla = Godly

Jayma375

I am a big time Diet Coke addict and the last time I gave it up was over 10 years ago after I had surgery when I had morphine drip which made the withdrawal bearable. That lasted over a year before I jumped back on the DC train......

Well back to 2014 and I haven't had one in the past 7 days. A few months ago we decided to stop bringing it into the house. We would buy 6-10 2 liters a week just for home. I did continue to drink it anytime I wasn't home which meant about 2 liters/day. Last Sunday night I happened upon an article in the Blog section of MFP (see link below) and decided to give it a try. Well it wasn't too bad. I don't know how long I will be able to keep it up but for now I'm DC free!!


https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/02/so-you-want-to-stop-drinking-soda/

berry987

I used to be a huge diet coke drinker. In my teen years I drank around 8-10 cans a day (this was 20-25 years ago). I lowered my intake over the years to just a few a day, but I never skipped a day. I drank it when I woke up and throughout the day, usually until about 4pm when I had to stop or the caffeine would keep my awake at night. When I was pregnant with my last child 4 years ago I was determined to kick the habit for good. I drank a ton of seltzer water as a replacement and I remember thinking about diet coke, craving it, and having to stop myself from buying it. That lasted a couple of months and then it got easier... I only craved it when we went to restaurants and other people were drinking big icy fountain sodas. But I kept at it. And then something really awesome happened. I just completely stopped caring about it entirely. It's been probably 2 or 3 years since I've even thought about diet coke. I have zero desire anymore. In fact we stopped at a mini mart on our way out of town to take a hike today. My kids needed to use the bathroom. I stood there waiting for them and scanned the beverage cooler and saw a huge wall of diet coke and it reminded me that I used to be powerless against the stuff. It was 96 degrees today and it didn't sound remotely appealing. I don't even need seltzer as a replacement anymore. I just drink water during the day and it's fine.

So, I just thought I'd share. I remember posting on a forum years ago about trying to quit diet coke and struggling. And here I am, on the other side - the cravings go away completely eventually and it's totally doable.

nixxthirteen

Coke Zero addict!

I NEVER enjoyed pop until I started losing weight. It's so weird. I used to order juice or iced tea with my fast food meals, but now I really hate drinking my calories. So I switched to Coke Zero and now I'm hooked.

I drink a 710 mL bottle almost every day. Aaaandd I'm bad and never bother logging it....

SomeNights246

yea, but why would I want to cut something out that I love

Everyone is different, but I notice when I cut back on drinking Diet Pepsi, which I freaking love, my skin on my face clears up. The more Diet soda (probably any soda or sugary drink would do it) I drink the worse my skin is.

I went from drinking one or two a day to..... usually 2 a week. Sometimes less.

But Diet Coke (or pepsi imo) is SO DAMN GOOD

I got the dry skin, too. Mind you, when I got those, I was drinking nothing but soda, and easily killing 1-2 two liters (yes you read that right) a day. Most of it would be around my nose.

It, also, messed with my appetite. (People think only diet soda does... which is kind of cute)

I drink 1-2 bottles a day now. Not liters, either. I don't plan on giving them up soon. I like the taste, I enjoy it. It gives me a change of pace from water.

I, also, find that diet soda is a LOT less addicting than regular (in my case, anyway). When I drank non-diet, it had to be Dr Pepper. I was addicted to it. When I drink diet, it doesn't matter what kind it is. All i want is the caffeine and/or the carbonation.

Outwardlycalm

I gave up diet coke about 3 weeks ago. Cold turkey! So far so good.
The big test was when I went to the movies.
Drinking water with my popcorn didn't kill me. Surprise!
I use to drink about a 2 liter a day, if not more.
Couldn't imagine going to the store and not buying some.
It feels a little strange. Like I forgot something.
I decided to give it up after my doctor said it probably contributed to phylops in my colon, which then required surgery.
Also people keep telling me that it was keeping me from losing weight.
We shall see.

aeb09

Update from my post in April: I have had 2 or 3 Diet Cokes since then and now I feel like it tastes terrible. My last one was on my birthday, 6/22. I could only drink half of it and I got a headache almost immediately. Water for me, sometimes Crystal Lite when I make my own no carb/sugar Gatorade. So glad to have broken the addiction.

alereck

This is true for any addiction. Unless your a die hard, long time alcoholic which going cold turkey can kill you.
Power of the mind :smokin:

abear007

I can easily down 6-8 diet soda's a day (diet sunkist, coke zero, diet a&w). I experimented by stopping cold turkey for a couple weeks. Didn't feel any different at all so I went back to drinking as many as I wanted. Haven't seen any difference going back either. *shrug*

CariJean64

I stopped drinking diet coke two years ago when I became pregnant. When I tried it again after my pregnancy, it just tasted like a bunch of chemicals! Funny thing this was posted. Last night I drove around for an hour because every single store was closed. (it was only 8pm!) Before coming home I thought...boy, that was rough. I'm going to treat myself to an overpriced gas station diet coke. So I did. And it was awful. It is possible to kick the habit...but then again I live in Germany...and even regular coke here tastes bad.

I used to fill a 32 oz mug with Diet Coke before my work shift of 4 hours, finish it off, and refill it again before going home. That's 64 oz. nearly every day! Plus I had some at home.

About 6 months after I quit drinking it, I tried one at my sister's house. WOW. It tasted like a bunch of chemicals! I've tasted it a few times since then... same thing. I can't touch the stuff anymore.

GatorDeb1

I can drink it or leave it, same with coffee. I don't get people who say you can't lose weight drinking diet sodas, they don't enter into the equation.

//Drinking a Diet Shasta Cola As We Speak

mom2nicknat

I have a serious Diet soda addiction.. I know it sounds crazy since I only drink one a day (at lunch) but I feel sick if I don't have it.
I actually broke my foot and couldn't get out into the garage fridge where I keep them and had to call a neighbor to come grab one for me since I was home alone - he thought I was nuts.
I want to stop drinking them but then again, it's only one can a day so I'm just wondering how bad it really is for me.

Brownseabottles

This is a very useful thread! I'm definitely a Diet Coke addict - around five cans a day, and have been drinking little else, apart from a small amount of water. I've been doing this for twenty years. I crave it, especially after meals. My teeth are perfect, so I suppose I thought it wasn't harming me at all.

However - I've had a constant sore throat for three or four months now (seen the doc, but she couldn't find a cause), and it only occured to me yesterday that perhaps it's due to the Diet Coke. I have sixteen cans left in the house. My mission is to cut down to two a day for a few days, then one... then when they're gone, that's it. I won't buy any more. It'll be interesting to see whether my sore throat clears up.