HELP! I'm Addicted to Cherry Coke!

HaleyJoAnn

Why not just exercise it off? Once a week is hardly the kiss of death. Besides, if you have it to look forward to you won't be as crazy to binge on it.

agree! If you don't let yourself have one at least once a week, then I think you will go crazy and just drink like 5 of them a day :laugh:
You need to treat yourself once in awhile!

subear274

My mom has full blown osteoporosis. She drank her daily recommended amount of milk and ate dairy all her life. Her doctor told her to stay away from soda - especially the dark ones because they decrease bone density in women. I used to love the stuff but since I now officially have a family history of osteoporosis I only have it as a "treat" once in a while.

txsgirlK

I made the transition from Coke to Coke Zero (and the cherry coke zero is good) by stopping all soda cold turkey for about 2 weeks (I hate diet!) then I drank a Coke Zero and it was the best thing I ever tasted. I don't know about all the negative press for aspartme but I have found that it icreases my headaches and the sodium makes me feel bloated. I still have one about once a week or so though when the urge hits....but I have found that I CAN live without it!

ahamm002

The whole "it makes you crave real sugar" is a myth.

You just keep telling yourself that! Epidemiology strongly supports that there is something wrong with diet soda. Sure it could be a confounder, but that's unlikely.

lauralizzy829

Not from the aspartame or artificial sweeteners : caused by the phosphoric acid in the soda regular Coke, Dr. Pepper and others are included....

I'm curious, do you have any scientific studies that back this up? For the last several years all I heard was "Aspertame, aspertame, aspertame" until it became clear that the science didn't back up the paranoia. And now, suddenly, in every thread that mentions diet soda, it's "Phosphoric acid, phosphoric acid, phosphoric acid."

I'm not saying you're wrong, I would just like to see some actual scientific evidence from SOMEONE.

Phosphoric acid, used in many soft drinks (primarily cola), has been linked to lower bone density in epidemiological studies. For example, a study[3] using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry rather than a questionnaire about breakage, provides reasonable evidence to support the theory that drinking cola results in lower bone density. This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. A total of 1672 women and 1148 men were studied between 1996 and 2001. Dietary information was collected using a food frequency questionnaire that had specific questions about the number of servings of cola and other carbonated beverages and that also made a differentiation between regular, caffeine-free, and diet drinks. The paper cites significant statistical evidence to show that women who consume cola daily have lower bone density. Total phosphorus intake was not significantly higher in daily cola consumers than in nonconsumers; however, the calcium-to-phosphorus ratios were lower.



What I take away from this is the last line, balance. Balance all of your nutrient intake and all is good. Or at least of what you can control. Always going to be genetic and certain factors you can't influence that can affect bone density.

stahly78

I was addicted to Cherry Coke as well, would drink 5-6 cans a day. Then 6 months ago I decided to make a change and get serious about losing weight and have not had any soda since December. I still have a 12 pack sitting in the kitchen that I bought before starting this journey though as a reminder but I have not given in once. Just been drinking lots of water and 1 coffee a day at work.

ahamm002

The subject says it all. I cannot go a week without giving in to my inherent 'need' for cherry coke. Has anyone kicked the soda habit? I need to. It legitimately always is the cause of a bad calorie day. :grumble:

Switch to coffee or tea. Both have caffeine and proven health benefits. You'll miss the sweet sugar for a few months. Eventually those cravings will go away though.

WhitneyT586

Seven years ago I was drinking a 6 pack of canned soda a day at least. That Lent season I gave up all things caffeinated and I have kept it up (except for the very occasional coke zero when I have a migraine) ever since. I have no advice on quick fixes or magic tricks. You just have to eliminate it entirely. No caffeine, no soda, no coffee, no tea. If you want to get rid of the craving for it you have to go without completely in my experience. Drink water and LOTS of it. I usually keep a 1 Liter bottle in my fridge at all times and refill during the day. I add crystal light flavors to it as needed. They have so many great flavors (cherry is AWESOME btw). The first week after I stopped was not great with the headaches (let's face it, caffeine is a drug and your body has to detox). But it did and does get better after time. You have to make the decision to stick with it for the long haul. It will make such a difference. I sleep better, don't have as many cravings for sweets or sodas or anything really, lost weight! So I guess my advice in a nutshell - JUST DO IT!

Good luck!

kristen6022

I had a ginormous soda addiction up until October 2010. At that point I went cold turkey. Haven't had soda (diet or regular) since then and I don't miss it. That's the only way I could get rid of the addiction, keep telling myself NO.

Amanshep

Cherry Coke Zero!! It's the best...No calories either

Amo_Angelus

I very rarely drink soda at all, which is a miracle for me. I used to drink those big 2L bottles by myself in about an hour. I stopped buying it. Can't drink it if I don't buy it. Same with anything else I struggle with. Ice cream is my biggest vice, that's hidden at the bottom of my freezer, by the time I've taken everything out, found it, put everything back in again and managed to keep the dog from investigating every single item...I'll actually have earned it, just the thought of it is enough to deter me, I'll never get everything back in, it'll take me an hour just to close the freezer door again! So chances are I'll only go for it if I've had a crap day and the effort is worth it. And when I say crap I mean sit alone in a dark room crying and eating ice cream is the only avenue left.

Really, the only way to kick your addiction is to say no and stick to it. Make it easier to say no by avoiding the drinks isle when shopping and not having any in the house. Sure you'll still have it on occasion, but it'll be something you have to go out of your way for and after a while you'll no longer crave it.

mbajrami

After about 3 months of only water, the feel of carbonated beverages borders on painful. I CAN'T drink anything carbonated anymore.

Jaloth

Drink Water with your Cherry coke!! Have a sip of Pop and then sip water!! you will drink less pop!! This is what I do and I have cut my Pop drinkage by half!!!!

HannahDiaz25

Try pepsi next it has way less sugar and might be a way to ease you off of the sugar addiction :-) Then start drinking only half of a can. Its always easier to gradually let go of something then just chopping it off.

MileyClimb

I have!! I've been a year without it. you are welcome to add me. for me I was so soda crazed i had to quit cold turkey. it was hard at first and the withdrawls from the caffeine was rough but I kept going forward. I am helping another friend my bestfriend actually with his soda addiction too.

Mysticdi

I know it's hard...I drank 4 Pepsi's a day before I started MFP. Try substituting something like Crystal Lite when you have a craving. If you can go 30 days without it, it becomes a habit. I went 2 months before I let myself have one and then it tasted funny to me. It helps to find something you can substitute that makes you happy too.

kmjenkins

I Cherry Coke!!!

I try to only drink soda once/week and Cherry Coke Zero is a good substitute I think. If you don't want to do diet, and really want to kick the habit though, just wean yourself off it, that is what I did to get down to once/week. I used to drink soda non stop all day, but replacing a few at first then gradually going down to none I was able to kick the habit for the most part without going crazy.

Good luck

igora_soma

I used to drink a lot of diet coke. I get it for free at work so it's way too tempting. You could switch to diet, how many are you drinking a day? If it's more than one you can try to cut down the number of cans you are drinking (or volume I guess). I used sparkling water as a tool to cut back. It's really helpful especially if you add fresh lemon or lime.

Good luck!

McKayMachina

Start watering it down with club soda.

Just a tablespoon to start, then work your way up to half cherry coke and half club soda within 3 weeks. I do this to my juice now (for different reasons: it was just way too sweet for me) and it works like a charm.

aswieser

I'm a big fan of Dr. Pepper. I am 25 and have gone almost my entire life without drinking water. For years the only time I would drink water was to take Advil to cure a headache (most likely from dehydration). I was hospitalized twice for it. Anyway, I kicked my Dr. Pepper habit and now drink almost nothing but water and it took me about a month. I started bringing a water bottle to work and made it a point to always, every single time, order water at restaurants. I switched over to 2L bottles of Dr. Pepper at home instead of cans and only poured half a glass (8-10 oz) when I wanted some. I was slowly able to go from doing that like 4-5 times a day to only at dinner and when my last bottle finally ran out about a month ago I never bought more! I had a sip of pepsi the other day and actually disliked the sweetness!! I think I'm a water drinker for life now Good luck. Try the baby steps. I didn't find that substituting anything else in for the soda worked for me. I just stopped all together instead.