Diet Coke addiction

jsheph1

So tell me how bad it is that I drnk about 100 oz. of Diet Coke a day and hardly any water? Anybody been in my shoes? Any advice on cutting out this practice?

AmandaR910

I was like that, so I started MAKING myself drink 12 glasses of water today. Now I'm down to 32oz of Diet Coke. Not perfect, but an improvement for sure.

poodlepaws

I never realized until you said how many oz. you drank that I DRANK that much a day as well, I cut back for a couple weeks and then just quit cold turkey. I do have one a week or so but that's it.
Once you realize what you're putting in your body and how much crap is in those things it's pretty easy to quit.

dawn_eichert

Been there...done that. I used to drink almost a 12 pack a day. First I switched out a couple for water (had to add crystal light in the beginning) then would switch a few more. I still drink anywhere from 2 - 3 cans a day but I make sure I get all my water in. Otherwise I find I am constantly thirsty (there is sodium in diet coke). As with most addictions, unless you have the willpower to cut it all out at once, I recommend gradual. I worked for me.

Good luck. As much as I love Diet Coke and still consider myself an addict, it really isn't very good for us.

artickb22

I am overcoming the same addiction...I seriously used to kill 6 + liters of DC a day. No joke. It was all I would drink and even as a kid I've always drank alot of everything except water. I've been drinking more water now and stopped bringing pop to work with me which cuts out about 12hrs a day that I even have the option to drink it. I'm now down to about 2 lites a day which is still overkill but dang I just LOVE the sweet burning sensation of carbonation. And I dont care what anyone says, drinking carbonated water IS NOT THE SAME TO ME. At any rate, good luck, it's not easy but you can do it.

pfauzie

I was addicted to Diet Coke too. After giving it up for two weeks people were complimenting me on my appearance. I weighed the same but lost the bloated belly. I now drink sparkling water. Perrier is my favorite.

Jess814

Okay, I don't really get on here much; but, this forum peaked my interest. I'd just like to say that, I had the WORST Diet Coke addiction. My whole family does. Especially my mother. We would all drink maybe 10 cans a day and would get headaches from lack of caffeine if we didn't have any in the morning.

I've always been a health psycho; but, then I read some articles that said that even though Diet Coke doesn't have calories, it still gives you that feeling of you feeling bigger and it's a LOT of water weight. I slowly shifted myself to Minute Maid Light, through many headaches and the urge to drink Diet Coke, I now can't even stand pop. It's helped keep my bloated-ness down and a few pounds of extra water weight off!

Just thought I'd let'cha guys know!

binary_jester

Do you drink it for the taste of the caffeine? The caffeine can be replaced by caffeine pills. I found that when I drink diet mt dew, i tend to drink less water throughout the day.

AmberElaine84

I am currently trying to overcome the same addiction. I don't drink as much as you, but I am really dependent on it. I get the headaches if I don't drink it. I am slowly starting to make myself drink more and more water, I also hope to be not drinking it at all here within this month.

auntiebabs

Think about replacing your Diet Coke addiction..... with coffee it's an all natural beverage, it's still got that caffeine kick, and as a bonus it suppresses the appetite. Most everything thing I've read says a couple of cups of coffee a day is fine.

ALSO now on the rare occasion when I do drink Dt. Coke it is remarkable how much it increases my appetite. Practically impossible for me to stay under my calorie goal. If I've had a soda that day.

I'd been drinking diet soda since my pre-teen year (Tab before Dt. Coke was on the scene). When I'd heard from several source about all the hideous chemicals in it. It didn't really sink in. But I keep hearing over and over again from reputable sources about the detriments. I made efforts to cut down, but always reverted.

I rarely drank coffee and when I did it was decaf. Oddly, enough when a friend of mine who is a scientist was doing studies and discovered that while decaf has no cholesterol in it, it increases your cholesterol. I switch to caffeinated coffee, quit the diet coke and brought down my cholesterol.

Also my Mom a big Tab-o-holic herself has had horrible health issues. I can't help, but wonder if it's related to the dt soda. If it is there is no harm in deleting it from my diet, if not there is still no harm in deleting it from my diet.

Fitzpoppa

Im a huge diet coke fan. About 12 a day and what i did was the gradual method. Im still having a few a day but i mainly drink water now.

Yarnpiggie

I wish I had a bigger struggle to tell you about. I used to have something of a DC addiction too. (i say it like that because reading y'alls stories makes me realize mine wasn't that bad) :-/ For me it was all about the taste. I loved it.

Then I started feeling bad about all the plastic bottles I was putting out in the world and got some SIGG bottles. I couldn't bring myself to put DC in the Sigg bottles so I stopped drinking it. That's it. I just stopped. I switched to water and never (almost) went back. I gave in to a craving once after about a year and realized I didn't actually like it anymore.

One thing former diet dude told us was that we could drink as much diet soda as we wanted, but we still had to drink 8 glasses of water each day. The soda didn't count. That is a LOT of beverage if you are adding that on top of 10-12 sodas a day. He also said he didn't know why, but all the people on his program who drank diet sodas seemed to lose weight slower than those who didn't. I am sure it is something in the chemicals that cause that to happen but that is for some resarcher to figure out.

tarapin

I've read studies that actually states that diet colas keep you from losing weight, so be careful and try to ween off a few a day perhaps. check this video out. It might seem a little long but so worth the info and they get to diet colas about 6 mins into it, but the whole thing really explains it......good luck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI

elloradannon

Everyone I know who is addicted to diet coke has had a VERY difficult time losing weight and had difficulty getting pregnant. Could be a coincidence but I think it's bad news

blel0906

I'm officially 5 days Diet Coke Free..I as well had a serious diet coke addiction, I'm sure I was drinking just as much as you and never any water. I was introduced to TAB when I was about 9 and have been drinking diet soda ever since, in fact I HATE all other soda's coke, mountain dew, 7-up and Dr Pepper (I did used to really like Dr Pepper). Diet coke is such a part of my life it usually replaces meals..My past eating habits have been Diet Coke ALL DAY then late night snackin and genrally a dinner thats not so healthy followed by more diet coke until I go to bed and occasinally waking up to have anouther swig.. Personally I knew I couldn't just cut back on it, past experience has taught me if I have one I can rationalize having another. So I just quit cold turkey..

Day 1 went great, I didn't miss it at all until around 3 then I started feeling really lathargic
Day 2 the lathargic feeling was still there and the headache kicked in (my morning coffee did nothing to curb this) Took some asprin and a long nap (It was Saturday)
Day 3 felt a little better but was no big bundle of energy wasn't quite as lathargic and no headach
Day 4 I felt pretty normal, still around 3-4 the cravings kicked in and I found myself pacing the kitchen for something sweet to satisfy the Diet coke craving (By the way I gave in and had something sweet but it really didn't help)

I'm on day 5 now last night I had trouble sleeping, don't know if it had anything to do with the Diet Coke, but I kept waking up and wanting to have one.

Regardless I can't say my withdrawl symtoms have been horrible, in fact relatively mild compared to some story's I've heard and it gets a little easier each day.

Subequently I started my diet at the same time...I'm trying to keep from getting an official # until Friday, but I've taken a few peaks..I appear to be down about 6lbs and I do feel less bloated although my fingers and face a still a little puffier than I would like. I've given up diet soda short term before (a week tops before I tell myself well maybe just one). I consider Diet coke to be my catalyst into bad eating habits...as everytime I get back on it the eating pattern soon follows..

My personal goal is to make it 30 days Diet Coke free and see how I feel after that...I've never gone that long without since I was a kid (we were not allowed soda in the house) I'm also trying to stick to strictly water,(not adding anything like crystal light and I find the flavored waters gross) and a my couple cups of coffee in the am.

laurenbausch

Wow! It DOES exist!!! I'm hooked. I can quit cigarettes, but I can't quit Diet Coke. I have about 2 per day if I'm good. Damn! It's soooooo tough!

CraftyGirl4

I just up and quit one day. I have heard every reason to do it. But, I had one last day of diet coke, and that was it. I still get a craving for it once in awhile, but for the most part, I don't think about it.

There is some confusion, I think, about why this might cause problems when losing weight. The artifical sweeteners used in diet coke and other diet products are a lot sweeter than sure. Therefore, you need less of them to make a product as sweet as if you were using sugar. However, the more sweeteness we have (including diet coke) the more we crave it. This is a good reason for the problems losing weight. Even with the best will power, you might still be choosing foods with higher sugar contents (even fruits have sugar) because of that craving and not even realize it.

candykisses025

I, too, am currently addicted to Diet Coke (or Coke Zero, or Pepsi Max, I don't discriminate). A week can go by and I won't have a single sip of water. On bad weeks I consume 80-100oz a day.

Since starting MFP three days ago, I'm trying to cut back (The water meter makes me feel guilty if it sits at 0) I'm down to 40z a day (two bottles) usually in the morning to curb on the headache's from not having it. At night I'm trying to drink water. Yesterday I did have to take some Advil because the headache was getting to me.

Good luck with quitting!

idivadi

I have been a diet coke addict since 1990--before that I was drinking tons of pepsi regular-- I knew that was not good for me so I went for hypnosis--and really I could not stand the taste of pepsi after that but the craving for that carbonation was still very present--i started having the occassional diet coke to help HAHA laugh for sure.:laugh: :flowerforyou: Years later and I struggle with the diet coke daily==anyone who knows me will tell you that I sometimes get down to one a day but it takes no time and I am back up to 5/6 bottles per day. Thats about three litres a day. I HAVE THIS ADDICTION ON MY HIT LIST --IT IS RIGHT UP THERE WITH MY WEIGHT. At this point I am subbing water for every second bottle.......Good luck with your diet coke--- and yes I tried hypnosis for the diet coke . It did not work. There should be a diet coke addiction site. Just had a thought I will use this site to track how much I am drinking--I have not been counting the diet coke on my food lists. Thanx jsut babbling on here has given me that great ida

teresaelliott

I am addicted to Diet Pepsi, so I can definitely sympathize. I usually have a can of D. Pepsi before 9 am and usually 2-3 more cans by noon and then more and more as the day goes on. If I don't get that D. Pepsi by 9 or so, I start to feel anxious, like I am missing something from my day. I have quit before and it takes a good 2 weeks for the headaches to go away and for the constant cravings to pass. My problem is that once I stop drinking it, I can't have it at all, because if I do, I am right back to where I started. Today though, I am going to quit!! It is almost bed time for me, so no diet soda before bed, and tomorrow I am going to drink water and milk all day. I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefuly you can wean yourself off too. All these people are right, even though there are no calories or fat in the soda, there is absolutely no nutritional value either, so we might as well replace it with something that is going to help us in the long run. Good Luck!!

DestinyWeight

I used to have this problem, but with diet dr. pepper.
Now i make sure to drink 8 cups of water a day and only 1 can of diet dr.pepper a day.

MadiCole

Before I really began to pay attention to what I was eating and drinking, I was drinking multiple liters of REGULAR soda every day with no water...at all. I gained about 30 pounds in less than a year, so I made the switch to diet soda and started being a little more careful about my eating habits. Now I drink maybe 2 or 3 cans of diet Pepsi a day, but I also carry around a 1.5-liter bottle of water wherever I go and make sure I keep it refilled.
I guess it's not the best thing in the world, but in moderation with plenty of water, it's not the worst either. I guess "in moderation" is the key word. :laugh:

teresaelliott

I just finished day 1 without my Diet Pepsi...it was hard (still is) but I am getting by. The week-end wil be harder as we will likely eat out and I find it hard to not drink soda in a restaurant. Most of the day I was feeling headachy and lethargic, but I did do some exercise after supper and felt much better. Good Luck with cutting down. I will let you know how I am making out in a week or so.

qwho

I have been drinking two 2 liter bottles of diet soda a day for like 30 years. When I started this diet in August I cut my consumption in half. Not perfect, but way better. I realized I was doing it out of habit as much as anything. Now I enjoy every bit I have and not only am I saving money every month, but I no longer have to carry so many bottles upstairs to my apartment.

kate205gti

have a read up on the aspartamine and chemicals in it - thats what helped me to give it up! i went cold turkey (after having about 2l a day for years) after my fitness instructor at the gym explained what was in it and how it would be contributing to me keeping the weight on and the bloated belly, it was hard without it at first but i had a mouthful the other day after about 2 months without and you can taste the chemically taste - bleurgh! try soda and lime as a replacement?

tiarapants

I used to drink a minimum of 4 litres a day (approx 135 fl oz), often it would be more like 6 litres. One day I woke up and realised that it had to stop. I was fed up of the constant headaches and the staining it caused on my teeth (yuck!) That day was my first day without diet coke. Seven years on and I haven't touched a drop of it - can't even bare the smell of it these days.

Cold turkey was definitely the way for me to go.

Good luck x