Kick the soda addiction?

jhagemann

Any tips out there for kicking the soda addiction? I only drink Coke, I'm not interested in diet sodas.....flavored seltzer just seems TOO carbonated... Water with lots of lemon seems to help a BIT.....but I still have my cravings....

Jlynb1109

How about Crystal Light? They have some good flavors...

goldfinger88

I was drinking one diet soda a day for a long time. I started making green iced tea and now I drink that instead. I love it. I add some fennel or jasmine or some other flavor green tea as well and it's very tasty. I don't sweeten it. You might give that a try. Green tea is very good for you and helps with weight loss.

Figuringoutme

I like sparkling flavored water. safeway has good ones. Raspberry acai, apple, raspberry blackberry are really good

lexximan

I switched out pop for iced tea. Not as boring as water. But just as many calories.

I was drinking probably around 75oz of pop a day before that as well.
Its possible! =]


I say stick with tea. Its the best for you and no calories or chemicals!!

Mercerlove

Hot about tea? Cold or hot. I love flavored teas! Right now I am loving blueberry green tea! My hubby says it smells just like a fresh baked blueberry muffin!

HeelsAndBoxingGloves

I kicked my using the crystal light flavors and now I'm keeping it gone with those and lots of tea! Although I do still crave and allow myself a soda from time to time

Mexrose

I am not a fan of diet sodas either but I will say the best tasting (similar to the original) diet sodas are Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet 7-up. I use to drink about a can of soda of day and at a sit down meal I could easily have two. I have not touched soda for more than two months now. I drink lots of flavored teas and Crystal Lights. Good Luck!

ElizabethRoad

Stop eating sweets until you get over the sugar cravings. Find something (tea or coffee?) to replace the caffeine.

2012Kristin

Quit it cold turkey....

That's what worked for me. I was drinking 2-3/day and like you I had no interest in diet sodas. I would quit and then get terrible caffeine withdrawals and have the worst migraine imaginable so I would go right back to drinking soda. If you get the caffeine withdrawals too, but can make it pass the headaches you will be fine. Just don't get tempted.

I haven't had a soda in a week and a half.... I know that may not sound like a long time, but for me it is! No cravings past the initial first day either.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

CMmrsfloyd

I was addicted to the caffeine *bad* before I started trying to lose weight. Like, nothing but diet mt dew all day, every day. If I didn't get enough, I got bad headaches. I actually had no interest in *regular* sodas - too sweet! LOL Back in July when I decided to try to lose weight, I figured it would be a good time to deal with the soda addiction too. I dropped it cold turkey for a month - had headaches for about 4 days. After I got past those 4 days, a couple of other times during the month I got a headache and allowed myself 1 soda since the caffeine helps. So for the whole month I had only 2 sodas. I drank lots of Crystal Light (hate plain water) but I found a different brand that I liked better - the Archer Farms water flavorings at Target - they are sweetened with Stevia and I like the lightness of the flavor much better than Crystal Light. 10 calories per packet. Now I let myself have one or two diet sodas a day, it's my morning caffeine since I don't like coffee much. But most of my fluid intake is now water with the Archer Farms flavoring.

NashvilleShelley

I stopped buying it. Only when I go out to eat I can have one. Eventually I switched to unsweetened tea when out. Now I can't have anything carbonated or it gives me a stomach ache. Lots of water will get rid of the caffeine craving. Good luck! It was hard.

fitaliciag

allowing myself a 20oz once a week seems to work for me. i don't crave it anymore, but when i do, I just force a chug of water. there's no magic tip, you just have to want to quit bad enough :-) good luck

ASPhantom

Quit it cold turkey....

That's what worked for me. I was drinking 2-3/day and like you I had no interest in diet sodas. I would quit and then get terrible caffeine withdrawals and have the worst migraine imaginable so I would go right back to drinking soda. If you get the caffeine withdrawals too, but can make it pass the headaches you will be fine. Just don't get tempted.

I haven't had a soda in a week and a half.... I know that may not sound like a long time, but for me it is! No cravings past the initial first day either.

This! I was only Coke all day. Drank way too much. Now, I only have one if I get a Migraine or sore throat.

PippaJo_

Any tips out there for kicking the soda addiction? I only drink Coke, I'm not interested in diet sodas....

There's your key right there.

TRY to quit cold-turkey, but tell yourself that if you really, REALLY just HAVE to have a soda, you can have a diet soda.


If you think they're nasty enough, you'll probably go get yourself a glass of water instead. I know when I was addicted to regular soda, the thought of a diet one made me re-think my craving.

lacroyx

I went cold turkey when I found out I had diabetes Dec. 2009. Haven't missed it one bit.

arykh24

I drink the fountain diet pop. It is carbonated water with the pop syrup flavoring. That is how I justify it.....carbonated WATER!!! I didn't lose any more weight NOT drinking pop than I do drinking pop!

crystal_loga

I gave it up for lent, cold turkey. I didn't suffer with the headaches, but did get a few bouts of anxiety. Now every once and a while I will take a sip of my husband's soda, and its so gross! I only drink water now, and when I go to a restaurant, I'll squeeze some lemon in my water. For me, it worked, and now I don't even miss it!

dragonfly1178

When I kicked the soda addiction I switched to Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng. 0 calories!

sara_e_wallace

I am too trying to Kick this habit - so thank you for this post I needed it on this Monday Morning - I went to the store and bought Pepsi Max and Diet Cherry Pepsi - I am going to try to switch to those - but after reading these posts - I just need to not have any soda at all!!! SIGH:sad:

GettingFit4Me2011

I did it. I swore that I would never go through kicking the caffeine addiction again........which is probably the same as your soda addiction and sugar addiction. I quit Mountain Dew, I am not a big coffee drinker. Mountain Dew was my coffee and drink of choice. I weaned off the sodas in about 2 weeks and had constant headaches.

You can do it!

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Emery313

I feel your pain! Soda has been my biggest weakness basically my entire life. Thankfully though one day at the gym on the tv dr.oz came on. He says that if you just stop drinking soda cold turkey insures your chances of relapsing!! Our bodies get so used to that much soda a day as well that by just stopping our bodies are in pain!!. If you go to his website and search for the 28 day national soda challenge there is a video and information on how to stop drinking soda in 28 days. Your are going to have to drink diet and later caffiene free, but if your serious about quitting this may be a great way to go. Week by week you slowly cut your soda addiction until one day your body is able to go without. It really helped me and I hope it helps you too!! Good Luck!

http://members.doctoroz.com/challenge/28-day-national-soda-challenge

CMmrsfloyd

I am too trying to Kick this habit - so thank you for this post I needed it on this Monday Morning - I went to the store and bought Pepsi Max and Diet Cherry Pepsi - I am going to try to switch to those - but after reading these posts - I just need to not have any soda at all!!! SIGH:sad:

Some people do better giving it up cold turkey and others do better weaning off a little at a time. Try one way and if that doesn't work, try something else. :-)

rly123

I quit COLD TURKEY. lol my friend and I have this "add something/ take away something" from our lives every month. One month I was like "i'll quit soda" she looked at me and laughed because I am such a junk food kid! I always had a soda in my hand (preferrably diet) and I started to drink a gallon of water everyday. This did the trick! I told myself "you gotta drink this WHOLE gallon of water before you even think about drinking anything else" and it worked. after the gallon of water was gone, I didn't even want to drink anything.. A friend accidently gave me a soda (I honestly thought it was tea) and I drank it, omg it burned my throat so bad I wanted to cry!!! I am now totally scared to drink soda because the burn I once loved hurt the crap outta my throat.. lol It'll be 8 months without soda on the 23rd of this month. =D

Iceskatefanrn

Years of working the Night Shift turned me into a Diet Coke addict of the worst kind... and I'm happy to say I no longer drink the stuff. I also never order a beverage other than water at a restaurant, and the same goes for my whole family - some places charge up to $2.99/drink, so for a family of 4 that's $12, before tax and tip! Great savings!

When I decided to get off the Diet Coke, I also felt the need to increase my WATER intake. I know there are differing opinions on exactly how much water you should drink. All I can say is that, for ME, when I do get in 8-10 glasses a day, I lose weight consistently. If I don't drink much water (even though I'm eating well), I just don't lose the weight. So for me, I go for 8-10 glasses of water a day, plus I drink a lot of green tea, hot and iced.

As a replacement for soda, AND to help get some water servings in, here's what I do:

Fill a PRETTY cup or glass with ice. I usually use a tall, 16 oz glass, but sometimes I drink this beverage out of a water goblet or wine glass - makes me feel so special, lol!

Sprinkle 1 packet Stevia-In-The-Raw over the ice.

Squirt the juice of half a lime over the ice.

CAREFULLY pour plain Selzer water over the ice. (The Stevia makes it fizzle and foam a bit so be careful!)

It tastes nearly like a soda, like Sprite, but it's just water and so yummy! Sometimes I do a quarter EACH of a lemon AND a lime. Really refreshing when the weather is hot too, I can gulp down 2 tall glasses easily, and the glasses are 16 oz so count for 2 glasses of water each.

I get the Selzer water at Walmart - for a one liter bottle, their cheapest brand costs 64 cents where I live.

Good luck getting off the Diet Coke, and try to get that water in! Here's your 8 glasses for today...

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

Ice

secostley

I "weaned off" sodas by going from regular, to diet, to flavored selltzers, to crystal light. It took a couple of weeks and I do still have an occasional one. But the cravings are nowhere near what they used to be (I drank soda like people drink water).

acstansell

I did it cold turkey when I first started my diet. I went for 13 days w/out a taste of soda. 21 days and you form new habits.

I had a headache the first day, but I supplemented with MiO water additive (and drinking a lot of water), and sparkling water. I had a sip of Coke after 13 days and it was disgusting. Now, if I want soda, I drink Dr. Pepper 10, and only 1/2 a glass (about once a week or so). But, now I'm to the point where I don't even want that.

I even buy soda still for my husband and it's just not my instinct to drink it anymore. Though I do need more sparkling water.

Felbsies

Quit it cold turkey....

That's what worked for me. I was drinking 2-3/day and like you I had no interest in diet sodas. I would quit and then get terrible caffeine withdrawals and have the worst migraine imaginable so I would go right back to drinking soda. If you get the caffeine withdrawals too, but can make it pass the headaches you will be fine. Just don't get tempted.

I haven't had a soda in a week and a half.... I know that may not sound like a long time, but for me it is! No cravings past the initial first day either.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

I did the same and haven't had any since September!! Just stick with it and don't get tempted. I find it the most difficult on days that I am eating out. But then I remember, I may not be fully controlling the calorie intake on food, but I can certainly skip a few hundred by just drinking water

ninerbuff

MiO is something new. You just squeeze it into water and use as much as you like to flavor it.


http://www.kraftbrands.com/mio/





A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

inammorata

I used to be a Coke Classic junkie, but since going on the diet I've discovered Diet Dr. Pepper, I love that stuff.
Also MiO (zero calories) sweet tea is my fav!