Help breaking the diet soda habit

Amysgetnfit

HI
Ok we all know soda diet or otherwise is bad for you. all the empty calories, all the chemicals, no nutritional value....caffeine, wonderful & evil :devil: Caffeine... Yet I have just like so many have consumed enough in my life to drown an elephant.:noway: I tried to quit drinking it about 6 months ago &through terrible headaches & withdrawls I managed to cut back, but I didnt completely quit....

So now I am here to say Im going cold turkey, with my trusty bottle of Advil in hand.:drinker:

SO My question is for those who have quit, any tips tricks etc. that helped you? I have always drank alot of water & am replacing some of the soda with powerade this week, due to needing the electrolytes right now. But today I am pretty sure I have drank 2 gallons of water already, I cant seem to get past being thirsty, & the advil is helping with the headaches.

Any tips? :drinker:

Amysgetnfit

****Crickets chirping****

Carolyn_79

No tips but just wanted to say good luck! I'm still drinking my one can of diet soda a night. I'm just not ready to give it up yet.

ChelseaGoneAwry

When I was trying to give up soda (soda free for two months now I would water down a soda before drinking it. Watered down soda is DISGUSTING, so after about a week I just couldn't bring myself to even THINK about soda anymore!

takechances

Well first off, I'm really proud of you for quitting soda. I had a really bad problem with juice that I kicked last year.
Here's some of the things that helped me.
1. I didn't look to replace my juices with teas and other sugary drinks. I decided if I wanted to prevent further addictions, I would cut out ALL liquid calories. (Those that you drink, that is.) That being said, if I was thirsty, I would have no choice but drinking water.
2. Think of it from a financial standpoint. A soft drink at a restaurant will cost you 2-3 dollars. Water is free. Name brand sodas at the supermarket are also wallet busters. Take a moment to estimate how much money you will save in a year by not buying.soft drinks. Then, reward yourself with that money saved. If buying healthy food was always difficult for you because of the price (
That's the case with me!) Maybe you can use that money for groceries.
3. Grapes. I swear, when I have that thirst that water won't quench, I reach for a bag of grapes. Delicious!

I hope this helps somewhat!

loufranks

I would imagine the best thing is to replace your soda habit with a healthier one...so find another healthier drink that you like?

I don't know, a diet soda addiction is the last thing on my mind LOL. Good luck though

ERMBSN

Goodluck!! I have been soda free for 68 days. Now I don't miss the soda at all. I had major headaches the first two weeks. So, I would drink a small glass of hot chocolate. The small amount of caffine help the headaches. My doctor suggested drinking about 8oz of soda aday for a week. This may also help with yor headaches.

Lavern77

Wouldn't quit cold turkey, wean off of them a little slower. I'm down to one a day and will soon go to half.

MrsFolk

No tips here either but wanted to say good luck to you I've never been a soda drinker and I don't drink it at all, but I understand trying to stop a bad habit.

Amysgetnfit

Thanks for the support everyone~ Im drinking water water water... & one powerade today. I dont really care for the powerade drinks much, but with the heat Ive had some serious muscle cramps this week & they are helping.
Im not a person who can have something im trying to eliminate, because 1 turns into more.... not even thinking about it.
this too i shall overcome... the headaches are a killer though!

loumaag

Ok we all know soda diet or otherwise is bad for you. ...

Well I will grant that they are not healthy, but "bad" depends on where you are and what you are trying to achieve.

... all the empty calories, all the chemicals, no nutritional value....caffeine, wonderful & evil :devil: Caffeine... Yet I have just like so many have consumed enough in my life to drown an elephant.:noway:

I'm not sure how you have no nutritional value if there are calories, and most diet drinks have no calories, which I will grant have no nutritional value.

I tried to quit drinking it about 6 months ago &through terrible headaches & withdrawls I managed to cut back, but I didnt completely quit....

So now I am here to say Im going cold turkey, with my trusty bottle of Advil in hand.:drinker:

The headaches and other problems are due to the withdrawal from caffeine, one of those "legal" drugs still allowed by our government. No judgement either way, just saying...

SO My question is for those who have quit, any tips tricks etc. that helped you? I have always drank alot of water & am replacing some of the soda with powerade this week, due to needing the electrolytes right now. But today I am pretty sure I have drank 2 gallons of water already, I cant seem to get past being thirsty, & the advil is helping with the headaches.

Any tips? :drinker:

Unfortunately, I can't offer any advice here...why, well because I still have the diet Coke monkey on my back and since I really don't have any intention of getting rid of it at this time, all I can do is offer you well wishes.

lmeslie

I quit diet soda cold turkey about a year ago and I haven't had soda or cravings since! Drinking tea helped if it's the caffeine you want. Avoid other carbonated beverages for a while because it will make you want a diet soda. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought and an unintended benefit is that it costs less to eat out now because we don't order a drink . Good luck!

alie147

try switching to brewed ice tea. it still has caffeine in it but no chemicals. dont sweeten it either bc then you are just adding way to much sugar.. that will help you caffeine withdrawal. then just be ready to pee a lot bc tea is a diuretic. it will also make you more thirsty. try putting some lemon in your water that seems to help take away the "dry mouth" feeling that comes with drinking plain water for some reason. hope that helps!

changinmylifeforever

This is ironic! I just posted about diet soda a few days ago and most people said that it was o.k. though not the best choice. I used to drink Mountain Dew and when I quit I had a headach for about 4 days straight. I think weaning yourself is a better option. After all these years regular Mountain Dew taste like syrup. If I'm going to reach for a pop it's going to be diet. The empty cals are in regular sodas loaded with calories. Diet soda is my savior when craving something sweet. If it helps me on my journey I'm going to do it.

chanixxx

I switched to seltzer water. I really only wanted the bubbles so it was perfect for me, and when I needed flavor I put some really good Tropicana orage Juice in with it

gibsy

A great alternative to soda is to mix a little bit of juice (real 100% juice with no added sugar) with a lot of mineral water! I do 1/3 orange juice, 2/3 mineral water. It's tasty and fizzy and a lot better for you than pop. Or just plain mineral water, if you like it that way, is even better. Maybe a squeeze of lemon.

lmeslie

Thanks for the support everyone~ Im drinking water water water... & one powerade today. I dont really care for the powerade drinks much, but with the heat Ive had some serious muscle cramps this week & they are helping.
Im not a person who can have something im trying to eliminate, because 1 turns into more.... not even thinking about it.
this too i shall overcome... the headaches are a killer though!

Also, I would avoid the powerade drinks. Get potassium from other sources like bananas or coconut water (for the muscle aches). The powerade is only going to keep your body craving sweet beverages and powerade isn't good for you (as they may advertise). Part of my success in quitting diet soda was stopping my cravings for the sweet flavor of drinks. The headaches are likely from the caffeine withdrawal so drink tea or coffee and milk without sweetener. I hope this helps! Again, good luck!

ChitownFoodie

I haven't had soda since I was 12 (I am 29 now), so I really can't help you. I am only commenting to keep the post going. Hopefully, you will get a good answer.

BigDaddyRonnie

HI
Ok we all know soda diet or otherwise is bad for you. all the empty calories, all the chemicals, no nutritional value....caffeine, wonderful & evil :devil: Caffeine... Yet I have just like so many have consumed enough in my life to drown an elephant.:noway: I tried to quit drinking it about 6 months ago &through terrible headaches & withdrawls I managed to cut back, but I didnt completely quit....

So now I am here to say Im going cold turkey, with my trusty bottle of Advil in hand.:drinker:

SO My question is for those who have quit, any tips tricks etc. that helped you? I have always drank alot of water & am replacing some of the soda with powerade this week, due to needing the electrolytes right now. But today I am pretty sure I have drank 2 gallons of water already, I cant seem to get past being thirsty, & the advil is helping with the headaches.

Any tips? :drinker:

I quit drinking ALL soft drinks (soda, diet soda, iced teas, sport drinks, etc) more than 3 years ago. The first two weeks was hard. After that...simple...nothing. I only drink water, milk, OJ, coffee (morning), tea (winter warmup). Oh...and beer.

After losing 10 lbs almost immediately (yep, about 10) I realized that my headaches and trips to the doctor were due to dehydration and the chemicals in the soda. I feel so much better and do not hesitate to order a water anywhere I go.

Your headache now is most likely due to withdrawal and no caffeine. Your body will equalize and you will notice it. Trust me. Almost similar to giving up smoking, but not as drastic (that is another thread topic).

crush86

I have been soda free for 3.5 years! The thing that helped me was stocking my refrigerator with bottled water and tea I relied on lemonade flavor packets to get me some flavor if I was ever craving something sweet like soda. Now...I don't even want or even like the flavors. Take it slow, maybe try some of the carbonated waters and always always always drink water!

tungsten93

Good luck...you can do it!

I gave up Coke in January (not diet Coke, regular Coke) and I can honestly say I miss it every single day. I'm not going to say I'll never drink a Coke again but for right now I'm staying away from it. It's hard but I know it's the right thing to do so I keep looking the other way when I pass a soda machine at work.

I never had headaches from caffeine withdrawal but maybe you could try some unsweetened green tea for variety and cut back on the caffeine more slowly.

Edited to add: mineral water is good when you want some fizz. I find that sometimes I miss those tiny bubbles!

kenyajae

I'm trying to give up the diet soda a day habit too. I haven't had a soda in a week. The worse is when a co-worker opens one in the office in the middle of the afternoon. I wish you a lot of luck and let me know if you find The Secret to Success on this!

Montegue42

I was never a big soda drinker, but I did drink a lot of juice. I've been trying to only drink water, but when I get aggravated at it, I pull out a can of coconut or grapefruit La Croix, or Club Soda with a slice of a citrus fruit. Its very very good, and basically nothing.

Sissy4EverX3

I haven't made it all the way yet, but I've taken to coffee and tea like fish takes to water. I also stock up on those carbonated waters you can get at the Dollar General Store or Walmart for like, 70 cents or so. That really helped to kick the soda habit down.

nels5157

Buy the tiny cans. Let yourself have one a day until they're gone. Then, don't let yourself buy anymore. I think seeing the number of cans go down might help you limit yourself.

Drink green tea. Super healthy and has caffeine so it should help with the headaches.

Good luck!

drmerc

Diet soda has very little to no calories

kaedaza

I am on my third week with no soda, I drank green tea with ginseng and honey to sub. for soda I still got the headaches but it helped with cravings

JenCM

I broke a SODA habit (Mountain Dew or Vanilla Coke) and then I had to break a Diet habit as well.
What I did was drink sparkling waters, something about something fizzy for me. *shrug*
Now, I don't even drink soda, except on a rare occasion and I've happily found I don't even usually finish the ones I have! It just takes lots of time and re-training, you can do it!

ktbug1186

I had an addiction to regular coke. My stomach was always bloated and i was dehydrated. I know this sounds crazy, but what helped me is every time i would see the fizzy stuff on top of the soda I would just imagine that in my stomach and it getting more and more bloated, lol!! I still have one occassionally just for the taste but its made a world of difference on how flat my stomach is!

JenRLo

I'm trying to give up the diet soda a day habit too. I haven't had a soda in a week. The worse is when a co-worker opens one in the office in the middle of the afternoon. I wish you a lot of luck and let me know if you find The Secret to Success on this!


Agree! The sound of a soda can or bottle opening makes me crave it like crazy! Good luck giving it up, I can't ... not yet. I don't smoke, rarely drink and am kicking the junk food addiction. I can't go without my diet coke or coffee right now!

ixap

Im not a person who can have something im trying to eliminate, because 1 turns into more....

I'm so the same way. I have just resolved to give it up too. It's hard. I cut down a LOT over the past few weeks but then had a few slip-ups when I decided I'd just have one as a treat while out at a restaurant... like you say that just led to more.

So far the best thing has been to replace them with a cold herbal tea. I brew a packet of a Celestial Seasonings tea in hot water and then dump in a ton of ice. Some of the fruit flavors are have a nice lightly sweet taste but no calories or artificial sweeteners.

The best parts so far of cutting way back:
-money saved
-my taste buds are changing

I have had very little in the way of dessert or soda this past month (as compared to before, anyway), and last night at dinner I split a dessert with my friend. I couldn't eat more than a few bites b/c it tasted too sweet to me. That was so surprising to me. I usually have such a powerful sweet tooth.