Having trouble quitting Regular Soda

LauraW1219

I'm a pepsi addict. Other cola drinks don't do it for me. I think day 4 was the worst for me between the headaches and the zapped energy level. It was hard not going lie. I now drink green tea. It has the caffeine in it so that will help. From day 4-6 I felt like death, but then it started getting better. I still crave it, but I can't go back to those headaches. They were to brutal to ever repeat. Sorry I don't have better advice.

penelepurr

I used to be so into Pepsi; when I started dating my boyfriend (who drinks only diet soda all the time; his fridge is full of it) and joined MFP, I thought I would never convert. I did, surprisingly. I wasn't really trying to at first; I love Pepsi but soda wasn't a staple of my diet or anything. At first, I would only drink diet root beer at his house because it tastes the same as regular; Diet Dr Pepper is close to regular. When we would go out to eat he would always get Diet Coke and sometimes if I finished my drink and didn't have a refill I would take a sip of his, so eventually the diet taste snuck up on me and I adapted to it. I now actually buy Diet Coke on my own, and at a point, thanks to being on MFP, I saw that I didn't even have a desire for regular soda; my calories and sugar intake couldn't afford it if I was to make any progress on here. So the combo of those things helped move me off regular soda.

Topher1978

I switched to non-fat and low-fat milk at first, and gradually worked into just drinking water most of the time. Also, this will get some derision, but a 14 to 30 day juice fast will reset your palate, and that can help a lot.

FormerFatSlob

No advice here as I am struggling with the same thing. I would go through a 12 pack of regular coke in two days. I have tried to stop and am just a ***** to be around. Sorry that I have no advice - just someone who knows where you are at.

catbyrd

Hello, I can totally relate. I started successfully losing weight in November due to beginning health issues. I was addictd to Pepsi and drank at least 7 to 8 cans a day. Now 2 months later I am down to 1 to 2 cans a day. I can't do artificial sweetner because it gives me severe migraines. What I did was begin by decreasing my intake by one can a day. I did that for two or three days and then I would reduce it by another can. It is hard. Especially for the first month or so, there would be nights when I had to have a pepsi because the craving was so bad. I currently try to do 1 can day and I am still having trouble kicking that last one. I make myself drink a set amount of water during the morning and then I drink unsweetened ice tea. After lunch I usually have my pepsi and then try to drink water the rest of the day. I add lemon to my water and instead of plain tea I seep it with a bag of decaffinated flavored tea, just for a change. Good luck!! You can do it. The biggest thing is willpower

Annabel89

Here's my two cents.

I HATE sugary fizzy drinks, and maybe if you can start to see my reasons you will begin to find them equally disgusting.

1. Drink a sugary drink. Then run your tongue over your teeth. Feel furry?? If you don't drink sugar, your teeth stay smooth. In my head, that is SUGAR sticking to my teeth. And it makes me feel gross and like I haven't brushed them.

2. Get a can of soda and pour it down the sink. Watch it foam and fizz and be brown and clean your drain out. Now imagine that on your insides. Disgusting.

If you can start to associate soda with disgusting things, it might help? Worth a try?

boobear416

I think quitting anything cold turkey is difficult. How much pop do you drink a day? There’s just so many empty calories in soda.

Try half and half. I always felt less guilty when I went to the soda fountain at work, I’d get half coke, half diet coke and it is half the calories.

Also try the sparkling flavored waters from walmart or your local supermarket… they taste like pop but have zero calories and they don’t taste like diet pop

You can also try diet fruity pop like diet Mountain Dew or Sunkist… it’s a little easier to get down than Diet Coke or Pepsi IMO.

Good Luck.. I understand your pain.

Iceman420

2. Get a can of soda and pour it down the sink. Watch it foam and fizz and be brown and clean your drain out. Now imagine that on your insides. Disgusting.

Very good point there. I will try to look at soda like that. Thanks!

How much pop do you drink a day? There’s just so many empty calories in soda.

Right now I'm down to one 1Liter bottle of Mountain Dew each morning. It's nothing compared to what I used to drink, but it's still bad. Today is the first day I went without regular soda in a long time. Hopefully I can make it two days tomorrow

nefretiri456

This what I do. I drain the juice off of canned fruit and add sparkling water to it. You can also add sparkling water to other 100% fruit juices (not juice cocktails). Just be careful because the calorie count for juices can be high.

CalJur

My man if you are serious about this journey then you will find the willpower. Cutback to no more than 2-3 per day if not lower and eventually cut them out completely. I used to love diet pepsi. I quit cold turkey on 8/1 and haven't had a soda since that day of any kind. Try sparkling water for the fizz and working out more to help alleviate the caffeine headaches. Lots of suggestions online for overcoming caffeine-related headaches.

thathockeychick23

Cut back slowly to allow your body to adjust to not having as much and eventually any. If you're 5 cans or so a day, cut back to 4, then 3, and so on. Also, try keeping the soda further away from you. You're more likely to grab it and drink it when it's sitting right next to it. If you put it somewhere where you have to continually get up, you're more likely to not drink as much.

ktrn0312

I did it cold turkey. Decided well over a year ago if I was going to lose weight the Pepsi addiction had to go. I am a water & tea drinker now.

Telecide

I used to down 8 to 10 Mountain Dews a day. Basically couldn't start the day with a Dew and a cigarette. Quitting soda is a lot easier than cigarettes. You have fairly intense withdrawal symptoms for a few days, but then they're gone. I know water probably seems unacceptable to your palette now, but try it for a few days. Once you get used to the feeling of actually being hydrated your body will adjust its tastes towards what it needs. And that one little change by itself will probably amount to a 2 lb a week calorie deficit.

Once you're used to normal beverages, a diet soda will seem plenty sweet. My fav is coke zero.

ldrosophila

This may not be a popular post but...
I am a true soda addict I love the pure sugar/corn syrup. I have to go cold turkey. I luckily have gotten used to diet sodas but my heart belongs to regular pepsi.

Anyways, I started this weight loss program with the intention of only drinking soda for lunch and fitting it into my calorie goals. I figured as long as I was going to crave it why deny it.A 32oz has 500 calories or one lunch. Silly diet I know but I was trying to beat the craving. I got away from that even though I was losing weight because overall it wasnt what I wanted for my body. I started drinking a lot more water, doing the MIO (I dont do that as much anymore), or any other sweet no sugar flavoring to get over the sugar craving. A couple options diet wise that I find almost mimic the real thing are coke zero, pepsi max, diet dr pepper, dr pepper 10, A&W diet cream soda. Buy some of those sugar free coffee syrups and add that to carbonated water.

The way I see it is you can do three things.
1. Incorporate it into your diet. Allow the calories for that day. Try to reduce the amount you drink if it doesnt fit in your day. Dont buy a whole litre buy cans to make it easier to measure.
2. If it wont set you back and bring back your addiction have a soda binge day once a week or less.
3. Go cold turkey

Anyone who tells you that you can't have soda is wrong (provided you arent diabetic) and the world wont end, but you have to figure out what is improtant to you. What gives your body health and strength and what helps you lose weight.

Keep moving foward finding what works for you.

caitlyn30

I used to drink pop all the time, I quit and now I don't crave it. sure, I will have one if i go out and eat at a restaurant or something, I haven't banned it forever, but, I usually just get water and I'm fine with that.

Iceman420

Update: It's been one week since I quit regular soda. The cravings are killing me at times but I am determined to break this addiction. Thanks to everyone that gave me advice on how to stop