Quit Smoking, Lost Weight, Can't quit the Diet Coke!

chelsealiz8

I quit smoking August 1st, 2010 so I just celebrated one year cigarette free a month or so ago! I thought that was the hardest thing I've even done.

Then I started to lose weight and realized my addiction to food is MUCH greater than my addiction to nicotine ever was. But I buckled down with healthier choices and a butt kicking Zumba class 5 days a week and have lost 23 pounds so far! I feel amazing

(Side note NSV- I'm wearing my "skinny capris" today- a pair I bought 3 years ago that were too tight then and have never ever fit before today!! :-)

I've heard I should quit diet coke, BUT I CAN'T!!! It's way worse than quitting cigarettes and over eating!!!

How did you quit diet coke? Do I really HAVE to quit diet coke? Can I wean myself off?

pandabear_

As long as you're not drinking one of those huge bottles a day, I don't see the problem of drinking diet coke!

I use it as a treat instead of eating lots of cake and sweets, I'll have a small glass of diet coke to just give myself a 'fix'. It's zero calories, so I don't see what harm it has caused. I'm losing weight, I'm eating healthily, I feel great!

rockylucas

Its more expensive, but try to replace diet coke with a diet soda sweetened with Truvia/Stevia, a plant based low calorie sweetener. These sodas are not packed with so many chemicals like regular diet sodas, but u have to go to places like whole foods to find them

MuffinMan25

Great job on quitting smoking!!!

As for the diet coke, i have the same problem!! The only advice i can offer is too make sure you are still drinking 8 glasses of water a day not including any soda!! :drinker:

purplepollypops

I quit! But it wasn't easy.
My GP told me to switch to decaff which I really hated. Took me a while to get used to drinking it and then suddenly I started to replace it with other diet drinks and then eventually I got down to just drinking squash or plain water.
I didn't drink it for a whole month and then tried one one day and I have to say I really enjoyed it because it was a treat. Nowadays I have 2 or 3 a week which is a lot less than my 2 litres per day that I was drinking!
Good luck, I'm sure you will manage it.
:flowerforyou:

Deckershann

lol I used to carry a 2liter of diet coke with me literally in my purse (you know...those oversized purses?) Yeah...I would have a tiny little wallet and then a 2liter in my bag!!

Thankfully I've quit drinking quite that much, and downsized my bag =P

imo Moderation

manderlou82

I wouldn't quit altogether right away. I have heard the aspartame is very bad for you but it is a calorie free drink. Maybe you can just cut it down to a couple a day and then go down to a couple a week. Learn to have them in moderation instead of excess. Replace it with flavored water or something that has a taste so it isn't so hard for you. I know drinking water can get boring and bland. I hope this helps! Happy healthy lifestyle!

wanetam

Congrats on quitting smoking! And congrats on the weight loss! You can quit the diet coke wehn you are ready. You have made alot of positive changes in your life, just try to slowly wean yourself. I used to be a huge diet pepsi driker, not I can't stand it. You are doing amazing, don't worry about the small things. : )

vettle

You're doing wonderful. My best friend has tried to quit smoking numerous times and just can't kick it. You are making healthy switches and diet coke is the least of your worries.

You've made a lot of changes in your life really quick, so just keep the diet coke for now. In a couple months when you feel more settled, then revisit the coke addiction and start slowly. Eventually you will be able to ween off of it. As long as drinking diet coke isn't tied to overeating, then you'll be OK (and it doesn't look like it is). Around the time you start to go off the coke (lol that sounds funny), choose water, or 100% juice, or tea, or anything else.

Good luck! You're doing great!

pixlamarque

I am so strugging with this right now! My drug of choice is Coke Zero, but the regular Diet will do in a pinch. I made a deal with myself to give it up a few weeks ago and I did great for about a week and a half but it has slowly slipped back in, usually one per day on weekdays. For some reason I only really want it at work. I really want to get away from aspartame completely, especially with the brain cancer history in my family. All I know to do is suck it up and use some will power, because I totally agree that quitting smoking was easier. Maybe because smoking is more of a hassel and is less socially acceptable. Good luck.

redefiningmyself

I tried to quit cold turkey but the headache that came was unbelieveable. So I weaned myself off.

I first went to 1 can a day, for a week or so, then 1 small can a day for a week or so, then 1 small can every other day. then nothing. It worked much better as there weren't any side effects at all.

its been about 3 years now, and i never re-took up the diet coke habit.
Now i only have it as an occasional treat - like maybe 1-2 a month at the most.

sweetheart03622

Start by just tapering down. You don't have to quit it completely, but you don't want it to be the main liquid in your diet. At one point, I was drinking 12 cans or more a day, now, I drink maybe two a week. Start with a goal of 64-80oz of water a day. Tell yourself you can't have any diet coke until then, or you can only have it with your lunch, something like that. You'll get it!

ninerbuff

I quit smoking August 1st, 2010 so I just celebrated one year cigarette free a month or so ago! I thought that was the hardest thing I've even done.

Then I started to lose weight and realized my addiction to food is MUCH greater than my addiction to nicotine ever was. But I buckled down with healthier choices and a butt kicking Zumba class 5 days a week and have lost 23 pounds so far! I feel amazing

(Side note NSV- I'm wearing my "skinny capris" today- a pair I bought 3 years ago that were too tight then and have never ever fit before today!! :-)

I've heard I should quit diet coke, BUT I CAN'T!!! It's way worse than quitting cigarettes and over eating!!!

How did you quit diet coke? Do I really HAVE to quit diet coke? Can I wean myself off?

No need to quit. There's no calories and if it helps to keep you in check rather than going on a sugar binge, then keep it in. I drink at least 2 diet Pepsi's a day.

VeganGal84

I am in a simular situation.

Quit smoking in July 2009.

Lost about 75 pounds since June 2009.

Drink a zillion diet sodas a day.

And I think that it's not the worst addiction that I have had, and I'm not going to worry too much about it at this point in my life.

Cigarettes and obesity are worse (in my opinion) than my diet soda "problem".

ATT949

I haven't been able to find a medical reason to not drink diet soda. Yes, there are lot of "I heard" and "my friend told me…" and those are wonderful anecdotes. My preference is to not base my decisions on what my friends tell me but on what scientific-based information I read and then form my own opinion.

At my age 54, I've been around long enough to remember lots of "scares" — stories about how saccharin "was linked" to cancer ("linked to" means nothing), how alar was a big deal, saline breast implants were banned by the FDA, and that we were going into a new ice age, etc., etc. All junk science that has been reversed or revoked.

When I started losing weight in December 2010 (Dec 2010 to July 2011), I stopped drinking Coke Zero. There was no specific reason to do so but I just cut it out. In the past few weeks, I've thought about it and the only reason I could think of to continue not drinking something I enjoy was that it was a form of penance for allowing myself to become fat. I had a Coke Zero on September 3 and will continue to enjoy it.

inotnew

I had gotten to only drinking 1 diet coke a day and water the rest of the day. I didn't this for many years, and I knew I wanted to get rid of it. I started to drink green tea to replace the Diet Coke. I drank both for the first week or two, cutting back on the diet coke. I now only drink green tea and water. I NEVER ever drank tea in my life before this. It was AWFUL, but I remembered when I was a kid and just started drinking diet coke, I thought that didn't taste good either. So, I plugged on, now I'm ok with the green tea and don't drink any soda. I don't miss the soda.

sryan8408

I quit drinking diet coke because of the aspartame in it. It is believed to be a cancer causing agent. BUT coke products got the go ahead to start using Truvia in their drinks so we should see an improvement.
How did I quit? For one, I cut out all my sugars for a little bit. Promise its just a few days. Then tried to drink diet coke because I was craving one, got it and took the first sip, YUCK! Way too sweet! Thats how I kicked it. It doesn't taste good anymore and also by cutting out any extra sugar I don't crave sweets as often. So win win.
I've also heard that because aspartame is sweeter than sugar, it can lead you to crave other sweet foods. (Hence my results of not craving sweets as often)

Cakepiebeer

Try sparkling water. Maybe its just the carbonation you crave. Thats what it was for me.

Stop saying you cant! You quit smoking for christs sake!! You can quit smoking then you can give up diet coke

marycmeadows

I used to be a Diet Coke addict! But I cut it out and start my day with about 8oz of water (before I even get out of bed usually).... and now I don't want the diet coke. I mostly drink water (plain - no crystal light or anything) and drink hot tea in the mornings. I'll drink diet coke if I'm out to eat sometimes and maybe twice a month I'll have a 20oz bottle at home - but you'll feel so much better not drinking it! AND once you get it out of your system, you won't even want it. It's often hard for me to even finish a glass when I have it!

SueInAz

Diet Coke shouldn't be your main source of liquids (water should, of course) but I don't think there's anything wrong with having one or two per day. As long as aspartame doesn't cause issues for you there's no reason you HAVE to give it up unless you want to.

I would highly suggest slowly replacing one Diet Coke per day with a glass of water. Years ago, I used to drink several 20 ounce bottles per day and, at my doctor's suggestion for a medical issue I was having at the time, tried to quit cold turkey. Not only did that not help my issue, the headaches were awful! Instead I slowly weaned myself off. I am now at the point where I drink one in the morning, since I'm not a coffee drinker, and sometimes I'll have a glass if I'm out to dinner or lunch on the weekends. I can, however, go the whole day without any caffeine without a headache, so I know I'm no longer "addicted".