I am addicted to Coke!

kjenelle

Ever since I was a little girl, I have had at least one Coke a day! From sitting with my mother at her own weight watchers's meeting to present, and I sound like an old southern lady when my head hurts "Lord, I need a coke cola to get rid of this headache!" I am busting my hump in the gym but realize this two coke a day habit is hurting my weight loss. Any suggestions on how to replace my daily sweet in my life?

fudgebudget

Honestly, what worked best for me was just cold turkey for a few days. Once you go some time without it, you don't crave it as much.

elfranzen

most people will tell you to stop or switch to tea but I switched to Diet and Coke Zero. I got rid of all regular coke in the house and only bought Zero/Diet after a few weeks I didn't notice I was drinking diet anymore. its worked for me.

nrvo

Are you drinking it for the taste, the caffeine, or the carbonation? If it's for the taste, try cutting back to just 1 a day, or switching to Coke Zero. If it's for the caffeine - try iced coffee with Splenda. If it's the carbonation you crave - try carbonated water with a squeeze of lime.

Stuartm1

You could try the caffeine free Diet coke Tescos own is really good!!

Zeromilediet

Cold turkey is the way to go, but prepared to feel lousy for several days. Get it out of your house and tell everyone you know that you're giving it up so you won't be offered and have to deal with the temptation. It's hard to do, but worth it for your health. Plan yourself a reward for when you've gone a month without it.

Simomofmich

Compromise with yourself and switch to diet coke or Coke zero. In the end tho, you don't want to stop drinking or cutting back for sure.

Hope228

Honestly, what worked best for me was just cold turkey for a few days. Once you go some time without it, you don't crave it as much.

This is what worked for me also. I was addicted also.

heybrit

I would recommend casually cutting down on your soda intake until you can completely cut it out and can just treat yourself to a can one or two times a week. Diet sodas are made with artificial sweeteners like aspertame which is way worse for you than regular Coke. Aspertame is linked to a lot of horrifying health problems (like schizophrenia!) and IMO should be avoided at all costs. I would try drinking tea (to get the natural caffeine as your body will probably initially go through caffeine withdrawals!) Good luck!

ASPhantom

Harvard study of 6000 people found that drinking just 1 soft drink a day increased the risk of obesity by 31%,now there's more evidence that diet drinks are as bad as normal ones;1 university study found that rats fed artificially sweetened drinks for 10 days gained more weight than those fed sugar drinks.Researchers theorize that when you eat artificial sweeteners,your body prepares for a large intake of calories. When these fail to materialize,your body demands food by making you feel hungry.


I recently quit cold turkey.

StormyLlewellyn

I understand I used to jokingly call my mom a Popaholic.... I have struggled giving up soda myself and I had to cut back so I din't get the caffiene headaches.... I cut back to 1 a day then a half, now none. I know cold turkey might work for some but I craved it more that way... :happy:

KeepOnMoving

Do you drink sugar Coke? I am addicted to diet colas. Couldn't find anything wrong with it since it is Zero calories, but recently read that too much artificial sweetners in soda (like more than 2 servings a day) can decrease your kidney function by 30%. So I am trying to cut down to just 1 or 2 a day.

If you drink the regular Coke, just remember, one serving a day will equal to 10lb weight gain a year. If you cut it out, then you can easily loose 10lbs a year (assuming your not replacing it with another caloric sugar beverage.)

Biancalee76

I have a similar issue with Dr Pepper. I would drink one or two a day. I had my last one on Friday. I am crabby, exhausted and I know that it will get better. I feel like an alcoholic who keeps one last beer in the fridge to remind themselves what not to do. Every time I open the door, there is that cheerful red can staring at me from the top shelf.

kjenelle

Thanks everyone! I have tried the cold turkey but I munch all day on everything. I will definitely try the coke zero and hope for good results.

KeepOnMoving

Harvard study of 6000 people found that drinking just 1 soft drink a day increased the risk of obesity by 31%,now there's more evidence that diet drinks are as bad as normal ones;1 university study found that rats fed artificially sweetened drinks for 10 days gained more weight than those fed sugar drinks.Researchers theorize that when you eat artificial sweeteners,your body prepares for a large intake of calories. When these fail to materialize,your body demands food by making you feel hungry.


I recently quit cold turkey.

I lost weight over diet soft drinks. It had nothing to do with weight gain. Of course I kept the food diary going. My concern is my diet soft drinks a hazard to to my kidney function filtering out the artificial sweeteners.

KeepOnMoving

Dr. Pepper Ten is an interesting drink. It has 2g of sugar (mixed with artificial sweeteners) and is only 10 calories.

emj1978

I feel your pain! I LOVE Coke but you are right it is probably holding you back slightly with your weight loss, not to mention it is horrible for your teeth and sugar levels. I still enjoy Coke in moderation but I make sure I drink ALOT of water every day to balance out the sodium in it. If you want to cut out coke completely, go cold turkey, deal with the temporary headaches and energy drop and stock up on carbonated flavored water...lower calories at least:)

Whatareherthings711

I always used to hate Diet Coke, but since I switched I've learned to like it. although I know it is not the healthiest alternative, it's way better than drinking regular coke in the quantity that I used to. Best of luck beautiful.

workinprogress12_2

I am not a have to have person when it comes to soda, my husband thought he was. His fix was diet dr pepper, I just refused to but it and made sure there was alternatives for him. Water, sugar free kool aid, and tea. When we would go out to eat he would always order a soda, when the bill cam e and they charged 2.29 for his drink in which he would rarely get refills, his own argument was this cost a much as a 2 liter. I let him sink his own ship when it came to soda. the final straw for my family was watching everyone around us act like they couldn't live without it ( as if it was air!) and knowing that they could.

One thing that help me cut calories when I would drink soda was to do half and half.Esp fountain drinks. Half coke half diet or zero. Maybe if you can't give it up you can save some cals.:drinker:

hewhoiscd

Drink TONS of water. Keep healthy snacks on hand at all times. Any time you want a coke, drink a glass of water first. If you still want a coke, have a small healthy snack first.

I used to drink several cans of coke a day. I finally decided to just quite drinking it all together about a year ago. Read the BLOG link in my sig if you want to see the details and results

dlyeates

My "drug" of choice is Coke Zero....tastes and "feels" more like regular Coke. I know there is research that shows that drinking even diet soda can increase weight because your body will "crave" the real sugar and cause over eating but I want to remind you that YOU are in control of your eating and if you make a plan of what to eat then that won't happen.

I've recently lost 12 lbs and I drink diet soda and I know that I'm the only one that can put sugary or high calorie food into my body!!! Take responsibility for what you put in your body and you will succeed!!!! You are in control and you can do it!!!!

BrewerGeorge

If you've gotta have it, treat it like a dessert. Buy the short cans, and make having one an event - really enjoy it. And LOG those calories. That's what I'm doing with beer.

Just realize that you're giving up a lot of food in exchange for that Coke. A whole medium apple, or an orange, or 3 oz of lean meat, a or medium potato, etc. As you start logging it, you'll be making those equivalence in your mind every time you drink a Coke and you'll probably naturally decrease how often you want one.

rnbrice

That's a great way to look @ it. I'm trying to get past my caffeine withdrawal headaches right now. I've been soda free for 4 days. I just quit cold turkey. Try a flavored Crystal Light in some water. They have some that are caffeinated and don't taste half bad!

kailey_watson

I completely understand. I love Dr. Pepper WAY too much. Cold turkey has never worked very well for me for quitting much of anything (except going vegetarian for some reason), and after a few attempts of going cold turkey on Dr. Pepper and relapsing, I gave up. I treat Dr. Pepper like a treat- just like at the end of some days I give myself a small serving of ice cream, a pudding cup or some other small reward. if I feel a headache, or think I need the caffeine to get through my next class or just want it while I study, I pour it into a measuring cup, to make sure I'm getting exactly 1 serving, and drink just that. I never drink cans or bottles any more, I just keep a liter in my fridge, and challenge myself to make it last as long as I can.

kjenelle

I drank a 20oz Diet Mt. Dew not bad! Will keep cutting back.

dreilingda

Many years ago when I started running alot I made myself drink a lot of water during the day and I somehow rid myself of the soda habit. I really didn't intend to I just got out of the habit of having daily soda's. Now, if I ever drink a soda I feel kind of grossed out by all that sugar and it makes me want to drink a jug of water. Maybe once a year I get a craving for a cherry coke or pepsi but it's rare. Break the habit and drink lots of water...maybe that will work.

jess213tx

I was the same way with Coke and Dr. Pepper. Whenever I thought a headache was coming on or I felt nauseous, I grabbed a soda! I've quit a couple of times and gotten back on the wagon within a week or two, telling myself that one soda here or there was okay. Well that one soda led to one a day then one at every meal, until I was back on my full blown coke habit!

What finally worked for me was reading an article on Yahoo! about how soda (even diet soda) was shown to increase belly fat - my archenemy. So I did more research about how bad sugary drinks are for you and I decided to just stop drinking it. I got myself down to half a coke in the morning and half a coke at lunch. Then, just half a coke at lunch. Then half a coke every other day until I didn't need it anymore. I haven't had a soda now in about 6-7 weeks and have no desire to drink one. The first 3 weeks are the hardest, because you get used to having something sugary when you eat.

Don't give in! "Nothing tastes as good as skinny does. Nothing." That's my mantra now. I eat things that I like, and that are good for me, but I won't eat anything I know is bad for me. Because it's just not worth it.

kjenelle

I had my first sip of Coke Zero and it was the most horrible thing ever! I think I may just tough it out with water and fruit juice!

_Ben

Easiest way, diet and zero. Both taste great IMO. You will get used to them if you drink them more often. I never was like a 'I have a specific drink' person, so thats why I got good about drinking diet and zero though

redraidergirl2009

Girl, I used to have at least 3 sodas a day. Now I rarely have one, maybe one every two weeks. If I can give the up, anyone can. First I'd suggest replacing your caffeine from other sources. I love tea. I also used to sugar the crap out of it. Now I drink plan black tea Luzianne is my favorite, and I squeeze in some lemon. Lemon is also great for digestion. This way you can ward off caffeine withdrawal headaches.
Try and limit yourself to one soda a week. I started out that way. Think about it like this 140calories a soda, and you're having two a day?280 time 7? You do the math. I did and thats when I decided they weren't worth it,

fknwak

How about a coke zero. Still has coke taste, just without the calories