Dumping diet soda

mksgirl83

I am currently on the road of no soda, I am on day 6, and I feel so much better!!! I have switched to tea, green tea and water only! has anyone felt better after they stopped drinking soda, mainly diet soda? I have a feeling its what screws up my diet (well and if I dont eat breakfast)

evajg

One of the best changes you could make. You won't regret it!

syndywindy

Before I started losing weight I was pounding the diet soda down, I was drinking it morning noon and night. It was difficult at first giving it up(which I did cold turkey) but now I don't miss it at all. In the last 4 months I've maybe had a total of 2 cans and had no desire to have more. I don't know if I can say I feel better by not drinking it, but I certainly don't miss it. I drink only water with lemon or sparkling water now.

magerum

To each their own, do whatever works for you! Personally I still drink 2-4 diet sodas a day & never eat breakfast. Neither have hindered my weight loss/maintenance/bulk.

ImperfektAngel

I cant believe I once thought diet soda was ok! I havent had one in years!

hockey7fan

I had to give up diet soda when I had lap band surgery in August. Since I'm not having the carbonation any longer, my feet and ankles no longer swell up at all.

It's been 10 weeks since I had a diet soda. I took a sip of my husband's the other night and it tasted awful.

It was the best thing I've ever done for my health. I never drank any water before - only soda. I drank 6-8 cans a day easily.

lilsis10

It's been 20 years since I've had a real caffeinated soda. Had to cut it out caffein for medical reasons. It's been 5 years since I gave up all carbonated drinks. Got tired of the bloat. I feel better but I wish I could still drink them. I still miss the fizz, but it's not worth the pain.

Kaiukas

I have been a serious Diet Coke addict for years. Not that I drank a lot, but I had to have 2 cans a day.

Today is my second day of going cold turkey. I cannot say that I feel any better yet. And I do miss the fizzzzzz...:blushing:

jayres67

I gave up sodas about two months ago.... The first week was really tough. I actually had dreams about eating cake. I'm guessing it was from the sugar withdrawals. Lol...

I don't regret it at all. I feel great now. Goodluck

arcticfox04

I barely drink soda now of days. Maybe 1 a week if I'm out for lunch. I don't drink coffee or anything caffeinated so it was quiet easy. Now my friend though is another story he's fixed on caffeine.

charelg

I switched from regular soda to coke zero this year. I only have like one soda a day, somedays none. But, I don't think I could give up the fizzy goodness . But of course, water is much better for ya.

kealambert

yep, stopped drinking it in june or july

i drink a lot of coffee and tea and water, with the occasional beer or mixed drink if I'm out

I haven't noticed any difference, but I can only imagine it's a good choice

kylebusch

I have gone from periods of being addicted to caffine (migrane headaches if I didn't have enough) to quitting for periods up to 6 months. The problem for me is that I get bored with water after a while and want something else with some flavor to drink. With that being said it is hard to switch to a juice as they contain calories (would rather eat them!) and I switch back to diet soda figuring it can't hurt.

I know I can put stuff in it to flavor water but it feels like the same thing going down. I never thought of it as "missing the fizz" but maybe that is it. It wasn't uncommon for me to drive past a gas station and stop at the next as I could get a 52oz drink instead of a 44oz lol.

jennyrebekka

For those who have given up diet pop, what do you do for caffeine in the mornings..? I drink Diet Dr Pepper - - one in the morning and one around 3pm at work.......and i've tried to quit before, but then i'll have a night of not sleeping well, and need to be AWAKE in the morning for work.....not sure what to do (and please don't say exercise in the morning to wake yourself up - - i can barely get dressed......) lol

natbeach

Good luck. this is definately on the to do list in the future!

jzrharv

Oddly enough, diet sodas are an integral part of overall consumption and it seems to work pretty good for me. Proof, pudding, all that stuff.

Kotuliak

Excuse my ignorance but I don't follow. I never drank diet soda because I can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners, but I always thought a diet soda was essentially an equivalent of a glass of water.

What am I missing?

Kotuliak

For those who have given up diet pop, what do you do for caffeine in the mornings..? I drink Diet Dr Pepper - - one in the morning and one around 3pm at work.......and i've tried to quit before, but then i'll have a night of not sleeping well, and need to be AWAKE in the morning for work.....not sure what to do (and please don't say exercise in the morning to wake yourself up - - i can barely get dressed......) lol

Again, referring to my previous post, what's the damage drinking Diet Dr Pepper or coffee? I drink coffee because that suites my taste but how is ANY calorie-less drink relevant to the quest of losing weight?

jenilla1

I used to drink diet soda. Drinking diet soda had no negative effect on my weight loss and maintenance, and it was a good way to transition away from sugary drinks. Now I have transitioned away from diet soda, too.

I stopped drinking ALL carbonated drinks because I found that the carbonation irritates my digestive tract - my doctor suggested it and it worked. So I do miss the fizz, but I don't miss the bad side effects - nausea, bloating, etc. I don't drink caffeinated drinks either because they give me heart palpitations and stomach aches. I guess I'm a sensitive person...

Taimarra

I stopped drinking diet soda on accident. I had no intention of quitting, I just kind of did it. I was going through a 12 pack every 2-4 days .. most days I had a soda cracked and in my hand before I even let the dog out in the morning. We moved to our new place which has a fridge with the built-in water dispenser and every now and then I'd see the water dispenser and go "Hey, water sounds pretty good right now." Then after a couple weeks it got to be more of a hassle trying to find somewhere for the 12 pack than it was worth, and I started only keeping 1 can in the fridge at a time, replacing as I drank it. When my boyfriend pointed out the same can had been in the fridge for like 4 days, I called it a sign and came back to MFP - August 5th. (That same can, by the way, was STILL in the fridge this last weekend when a friend came over and asked if she could have it. I said YES! Please, it's been driving me nuts!)

After I quit soda, I dropped my coffee intake from 4-6 cups a day to 1-2. I hardly have any caffeine these days and I have SO MUCH MORE energy than before!

buzzcockgirl

Me too! I was a soda junkie-- drank it (almost) every day for years and years (25+) !! regular, diet..whatever. I gave it up about 5 months ago and to my surprise, the migraines I've suffered from (for about 10 years) have all but disappeared! Only 2 in the last 5 months!! I think the aspartame in diet soda could have been causing it!! I always tried figuring it out - was it chocolate, certain smells, alcohol, my 'time of the month', never could pin point it. But I am really thinking it was the aspartame!!!

Welcome to the NO SODA club!! Water for me from here on out! And the occasional cocktail!! haha!

SideSteel

For those who have given up diet pop, what do you do for caffeine in the mornings..? I drink Diet Dr Pepper - - one in the morning and one around 3pm at work.......and i've tried to quit before, but then i'll have a night of not sleeping well, and need to be AWAKE in the morning for work.....not sure what to do (and please don't say exercise in the morning to wake yourself up - - i can barely get dressed......) lol

Again, referring to my previous post, what's the damage drinking Diet Dr Pepper or coffee? I drink coffee because that suites my taste but how is ANY calorie-less drink relevant to the quest of losing weight?

Strictly in terms of weight loss the differences will be somewhere between minimal and zero unless the individual can claim with certainty that something about diet soda caused a significant change in energy balance.

crash_club

So, I read a lot... probably more than I should. Anyway, one of the articles I read not to long ago was saying that any aritficial sweetener is "bad" for you. Take out the chemical compounds that create these things and their health risks, and consider this. According to the article, when you use a fake sugar, you trick your mind into thinking its getting sugar. Now, this has a nasty side effect of... HEY... you just gave me my sugar, where is that energy sugar delivers. Since the fake sugar has zero calories, your body craves something... anything... that has calories. This is one of the BIG pitfalls that people who diet fall into. All of a sudden, after having a diet soda (or pop depending on your geographical location) you find yourself hungry...

Regular soda is loaded with High Fruitcose Corn suryp, Diet soda is full of chemicals producing the sweet sensation... Since cutting all of this out of my diet... I dont have the constant urge to eat.

pussycat1997

i cant live without diet soda, and good on you

Taimarra

Excuse my ignorance but I don't follow. I never drank diet soda because I can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners, but I always thought a diet soda was essentially an equivalent of a glass of water.

What am I missing?

I don't know how much is hype and how much is true, but I've read a number of studies about it. Everything from diet soda can lead to diabetes and obesity, to it's just fine. From what I have managed to understand, supposedly the soda tastes sweet, so it triggers your brain in to believing you're eating/drinking something sugary and to stand by for the sugar to hit the system. The problem there, is no sugar hits the system, so the brain kinda freaks out and screams "WHERE'S MAH SUGAH??" It then triggers you to crave something sweet ... which you eat .. and wash down with a diet soda .. and well, you know; lather, rinse, repeat. Nobody (to my knowledge) has been able to prove or disprove this particular theory, but it seems to be out there in abundance.

Taimarra

I don't know how much is hype and how much is true, but I've read a number of studies about it. Everything from diet soda can lead to diabetes and obesity, to it's just fine. From what I have managed to understand, supposedly the soda tastes sweet, so it triggers your brain in to believing you're eating/drinking something sugary and to stand by for the sugar to hit the system. The problem there, is no sugar hits the system, so the brain kinda freaks out and screams "WHERE'S MAH SUGAH??" It then triggers you to crave something sweet ... which you eat .. and wash down with a diet soda .. and well, you know; lather, rinse, repeat. Nobody (to my knowledge) has been able to prove or disprove this particular theory, but it seems to be out there in abundance.

I should also add ... within about 2 weeks of quitting diet soda, I suddenly realized that my sweet tooth had died down quite a bit. While I used to have these near panic-inducing moments when I just HAD to have something sweet, and no fruit in the world was going to cut it for me ... now days it's more like a momentary throb, and I can move on with my day.

EvgeniZyntx

For those who have given up diet pop, what do you do for caffeine in the mornings..? I drink Diet Dr Pepper - - one in the morning and one around 3pm at work.......and i've tried to quit before, but then i'll have a night of not sleeping well, and need to be AWAKE in the morning for work.....not sure what to do (and please don't say exercise in the morning to wake yourself up - - i can barely get dressed......) lol

Again, referring to my previous post, what's the damage drinking Diet Dr Pepper or coffee? I drink coffee because that suites my taste but how is ANY calorie-less drink relevant to the quest of losing weight?

Strictly in terms of weight loss the differences will be somewhere between minimal and zero unless the individual can claim with certainty that something about diet soda caused a significant change in energy balance.

The direct effects of the calories are zero as SS notes.
However, caffeine does seem to have an effect on metabolism, peripheral circulation and cardio function as well as being a slight appetite suppressant.

Also, secondary effects of caffeine can certainly effect how we do on healthy eating. Irritability to depression for some people - how does that affect outlook and lifestyle? Only you can tell.

I love coffee, I'm having a cup right now, but I need to cut back.

Consider: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002445.htm

BeeElMarvin

moderation

darlingdynamoxo

i stopped drinking soda and started drinking a cup of coffee so i wouldn't bleed out from caffeine loss.. now i'm off both.

and i'm sad to say... although i don't crave it anymore. i miss it. oh soda i miss you. especially at dinner.

postcall

I am not being sarcastic but can someone point me to a study that shows a causative effect of diet soda. Caffiene in general is good for weight loss and the entire tricking you to eating more is only applicable if you decide to no longer count calories or watch what you eat. Any "DIET" food is more frequently used by people with obesity or diabetes for example Slim Fast usage is probably linked to both despite not being the cause. I could also see a stronger correlation between watching tv/computer use and obesity.
I do agree however that from a nutritional standpoint it is not beneficial however does it really do harm. Give it up if you want to but I really wonder if that energy could be better spent elsewhere. There are already several things I dont eat such as Gluten, most dairy and several types of fruit all for legitimate medical reasons so I am pretty careful when it comes to adding or removing things from my diet. Again please if you can link or cite a study I would appreciate it.

mclandry89

soda is completely pointless. great job getting rid of it! i haven't had it in going on 3 months. i used to crave it, but now i crave water, green tea, and coffee. i wish i could get rid of caffeine, but it is just not happening! that will be my next goal after No Scale October!!