Diet Soda (for those who gave it up)

thirtytwopostcards

I have given it up, apart from when I am out and drinking/having a meal. It was a bit hard giving it up at first as I was so used to the caffeine. After a week I felt much better though, and find I have a lot more energy now that I don't have such a reliance on caffeine. Now I'm not drinking it I don't crave it any more.

What helped me was having a big bottle of water with me at all times. This stopped me needing to buy drinks when I was out/at work etc. and so there wasn't the temptation to buy diet coke. I would definitely recommend trying to avoid diet drinks. I feel so much better and have more money now I'm not buying diet coke everyday.

slofitness1978

Right then! That's my challenge, I am going to give up diet pop (I have a few cans left which I can drink today) I will measure myself and then measure myself before I go on hols! (5wks time).... see if I lose inches!

Sneakypeek1972

I have not given up my diet coke, and doubt i will, i still have a small glass a day usually half a can, save the other half for next day etc i dont see any harm in it seeing as it counts as only 1 kcal , im still having problems upping my water intake even if i pop a lil bit diluted juice in ive gone from drinking no water to maybe 5 cups a day now and thats hard enough i gag when i drink it hope it gets better lol

CassieReannan

I drank pepsi max, it made me gain weight from water.

beachgal91

I used to drink Diet Coke every night with dinner, sometimes twice a day. I was having panic attacks and feeling shaky, so I cut it out of my diet completely (Now I just drink water, tea, and occasionally some fruit juice) and feel SO much better. IEvery once in a while I'll find myself craving soda again, but if I give in now it just makes me feel ill.

mejustsmaller316

I used to drink diet soda daily. Now I only drink it when I'm at a restaurant or on rear occasions. I got headaches when I gave it up, like for two or three days after. Now I'm fine. Never had head aches when I was drinking them. I just wanted to drink more water and less chemicals. I try to limit caffeine too.

MyLivelyBones

I've been a yo-yo dieter for years, and every time I get off the diet boat and back to my old bad eating habits, the first thing I grab is a diet soda. I crave the sugary sweet syrup taste. I ultimately 'gave it up' for the health benefits. I will occasionally have one, just because I can't bring myself to drink a regular with all those calories per can, but the minute I do I feel guilt.

wftiger

It doesn't affect my eating or habits at all. I don't drink it anymore mainly because of the caffeine and not being able to sleep. But it didn't make me crave anything.

That and with my addiction to heavy metal music I was bound to do something truly evil one of these days since both are vilified so bad. I kept the tunes since that bothers Tipper more.

lyttlewon

My tolerence for sweet things has reduced. I don't like super sweet flavors anymore. I had one for the first time in 3 months the other day and it was grossly sweet. I guess my cravings for things like ice cream seem to be gone too but I hadn't really thought about it much until now.

emmymae22

I have recently given up diet soda...I don't think I've had one in 3 or 4 months now...I still miss it sometimes... I replaced it with unsweetened tea, and I think the caffeine I get from that has helped me not have deprivation symptoms.

SerinaK

I gave up diet pop 5 years ago. I used to get headaches all the time and feel bloated. When I stopped drinking it, I had really bad headaches for about 3 days and ever since then I haven't had one, lost 8 pounds and feel a lot better.

Sunscreenandsweat

My cravings totally got better I eat much less, I don't feel as sick to my stomach as I used to, I haven't had a headache in a while and I drank some after going without for 3 months and it tasted so bad, made my stomach hurt and I realized I'm not addicted anymore because I didn't immediately want another one. Aspartame makes your memory bad and leads to weight gain, dehydration and food cravings so I would avoid soda unless its Zevia Cola.

katiebaby74

I had severe body aches which all stopped when I stopped drinking diet soda, now i wouldn't touch it for anything. I had no idea how unwell I felt till I stopped drinking it.

liog

I feel really good. I have found that my sugar/sweets cravings are pretty much gone. I don't miss it.

jlebert716

I gave it up, mostly because I was trying to cut down on aspartame. I didnt have any headaches or anything. I still have one on occasion (mostly when I am hungover haha)

tethomas73

I was a diet coke crack head.. Had to have it morning, noon, and night. I went cold turkey about 5 months ago and I can really see the difference. For the first 2 weeks I had really bad headache but not any more. I also gave up juice and coffee. Now I drink green tea and lots of water..

Alex_is_Hawks

I gave it all up cold turkey, pop, coffee, caffeine, chocolate. ALL of it.

I don't really miss any of it, except chocolate and I have had an odd piece of that here and there, but now i find it really super sweet and i can't have very much without feeling sick.

am i happy with these results? yes!

I do admit i "remember" the cool taste of a pop from before I gave it up and I do think "oh that would be SO nice to have...a pop with ice cubes and a straw" but honestly every time I've had a taste, the carbonation feels like it's cutting my throat up with glass.

So water with ice cubes it is for me!! Better for me anyways.

I still have headaches, but i'm a migraine sufferer, even without the pop/caffeine, it's just my genetic blessing.

but they are less often and less severe.

I'd like to say I will never go back to pop, but quite frankly i'm one of those "never say never" people, but at this juncture in my life, I will say that in my life path right now, I can see that i will never go back to pop.

L

auntiebabs

Drank diet soda since I was 10 or 11, back in the days of TAB.
I'd tried several times to give it up,but wasn't successful until I replaced it with coffee.
The caffeine wasn't as much of an issue for me as the chemicals.

Soda some how stressed me in a way that coffee does not.
I feel much better, less stressed.
I've also recently read articles about coffee's health benefits... mood enhancer, anti oxidants,etc.
So I've got two factors going here.

I on very rare occasions have a soda, but find it really increases my appetite. So if I want to keep in my calorie range, it's best for me to avoid it.

Seeing my Mom is what motivated me to give it up. She's been a big time diet soda drinker as long as I can remember.
She'd been plagued with migraines her whole life. And now she is literally crippled with osteoporosis and has had chronic pain issues for years.

It's not scientific proof, it's just one story, which I happened to witness.
If diet soda is the root of these evils and I give it up hopefully I can save some suffering.
If diet soda is completely benign and I give it up what harm have I done? Not like it's supplying any vital nutrients.

BigBrewski

i never had headaches and i was a 4 to 8 coke zero a day man. I did cold turkey for about 3 weeks and i felt better however it could have just been the cardio i was doing. also at the time my now ex gf was anti carbonation so it was a lot of ice tea. now i have maybe one can every other day but i am working on cutting back again because i find when i drink a soda i crave a snack with it so if i am not having a snack i go with water.

Suz_w8loss

I have not had any kind of soda in 5 months. I now only drink water, almond milk & coffee. I did try a sip of my hubbys diet coke last month at a friends wedding and it did not taste good. Weird because I used to drink at least 2 bottles of Diet Coke a day. I do not miss it & I have actually saved some $ from not having to buy cases of it at the grocery store. Now hubby wants it, he has to buy it himself LOL !

abigailmariecs

I used diet soda to kick my regular soda habit. Bad idea I ended up hooked on diet. Now I keep diet soda in the house but for the most part I only have it less then once a week. I get terrible migraines (not from the diet soda), I take Imatrex and my doctor suggested popping a pill followed by a can of soda or a cup of coffee (diet or regular as long as it had caffeine) to help speed the delivery of the medication.

now_or_never12

I don't drink it as often as I did (just because I keep forgetting to buy a case of it at the store) but I still drink it and always will until there's some actual scientific proof that it's harmful.

Personally I don't find it increases my appetite, makes me crave sugars, etc. It actually helps me avoid other "bad" foods like a chocolate bar. I will have a diet pop and I'm good.

I drink diet pop or coffee when I take sinus pain meds since it helps it work faster. Diet pop or artificial sweeteners have never caused problems for me.

Zevia is an alternative however it's expensive here ($0.99 a can) and only one store carries it.

crzyone

I gave up REAL soft drinks. It never bothered me with headaches or any other symptoms other than the feeling of "I REALLY wish I had something good to drink!!" I don't regret it...but I do wish I had something really good to drink sometimes.

whodatlixxie

Gave up diet drinks and took about 95% of the artificial sweeteners I was using out of my diet. It's been 2 and 1/2 years and I have never felt better! After about 6 weeks I noticed definite changes. One of the best being my sweet taste changing. Now a little bit of something sweet (even fruit often) will cut my sweet cravings. Before it would take massive amounts of really really sweet stuff.

Once I got serious about dieting the weight is coming off steadier and faster than any other time in the last 15 years. I firmly believe it is the fact that my body is handling sugar appropriately now that I am off of the artificial stuff.

Katbaran

I gave up all sodas, not for the calories of either one or lack thereof, I just seemed to have swollen feet all the time a couple summers ago. Even though I'm fat, I have bony feet and ankles. They were really swollen and I started to eliminate things to find out what it was. I quit salt, processed meats, salty junk food and candy. No help. I quit soda and they were back to normal in a day and a half. I still have a diet soda once in a while, but usually only if there isn't any water available or any safe to drink water.

To answer your question: I feel MUCH better since my feet don't swell anymore.

Gorgeous222

I have been OBSESSED with Diet Coke for years.....I originally gave it up for Lent one year, and while it was torture at first, I slowly got used to not drinking it. I don't tell myself I can never have it, and allow myself to drink it on occasion, but I find that if I do open a can to have with a meal, I take a few sips and don't even want to finish it. I remember reading posts and forums where people said they gave up diet soda and now they don't even miss it, and I thougt I could NEVER do that! lol But I never found that Diet Coke made me crave any sugary snacks, nor have I ever gotten headaches from drinking or not drinking it. I just loved the taste of Diet Coke. Damn, now talking about it is making me want one! lol

lucywantstoloseit

I have literally only just decided to give up diet pop (soda). I do actually suffer from headaches and i find that when I cut down on the diet coke/pepsi then they seem to go. I really could drink cans and cans in a day though. Plus, have you ever woke up and the first thing you have had has been a diet coke? I have and the feeling I get in my stomach as if I can feel it fizzing up is enough to knock me sick.

I'm hoping that cutting it out will mean that I'll drink more water. Also, I'm going to be starting out with protein shakes soon as i've started to incorporate strength training in with workouts. I have just discovered my love of peppermint tea too, and completely caffeine free!

albinogorilla

I drink 1-2 artificially sweetened beverages a day, most days. Diet soda, crystal light, etc. When I am craving something sweet it fits the bill with very little impact if any on calories. Or i grab a diet coke instead of a beer. I also never have any side effects, either from consuming, or from stopping consuming things like this either. It is just a low-no calorie alternative for me.

TRISTAR

I've always had sugar free lemonade and always will. I hate water. Never had a headache from sugar free lemonade.

hipslikecinders

sounds like the headaches are due to caffeine withdrawal? I used to get that once I stopped drinking coffee every day!