Giving up Sodas

jwramirez

Just getting back in the saddle of weight-loss and I KNOW my number one enemy is my love of sodas. I have a major addiction. Anyone have any advice, words of wisdom?

P.S. Have never been able to drink diet sodas, would drink water before that. And given that those aren't the healthiest either, I'd rather not learn to like diet sodas.

AHuffaker14

I feel you on that.. I am on day 2 with no Pepsi.. I was drinking 2-3 a day.. and no it is only water. Good Luck.

P.S. one thing that helped me was getting a waterbottle and keeping it filled and when i get the craving i grab my water. it also has saved money cause instead of stopping and buying a pop i just grabe my water bottle. Good Luck. YOU CAN DO IT

christinekry

When I give up soda I always drink water with lemon juice. The more lemon juice, the faster the water goes down. You could also try other water flavoring idea - like making a pitcher of water with cut up cucumbers in it to soak - or oranges, etc. I find that ice water is easier than plain water also. Stop slowly so that you don't have the withdrawal headache / sluggishness.

4my2jays

I also gave up sodas and only drink them on special occasions and thats even rare, plus I try to choose maybe a Sprite. I just really stopped drinking them a drank water and green tea. Mostly because I was on a specific diet that called for me to only drink those two things. I did have headaches when I gave them up but just do it and stay focused. Your body will get use to it. As with anything your body has to adjust. Good Luck to you and you can do this.

CherokeeBabe

I went from drinking 1 liter of soda a day, to none at all, 3 weeks ago. Haven't touched it and don't miss it all that much. I'm drinking nothing but flavored water, and very rarely a cup of tea.

heypurdy

water water water water water water. it is your friend.

Becoming_A_Butterfly

I hate diet soda, and it actually makes me ill. I am in the process of cutting way back on regular soda, and something I am doing right now is making sure I have something else to drink to replace the soda. I keep a water bottle at my desk, but I recently started making unsweet tea and bringing that to work as well as keeping some at home, so I always have an alternative to soda.

I didn't go from chugging soda all day long to zero soda, either. I have been cutting back gradually so it's not such a shock and is easier to deal with. So far, so good!

heymirth

Buy some TRU Lemon or Lime or even TRU Orange. It awesome and natural.

rluedtke

I cut out pop 4 or 5 years ago. I was drinking 1 diet pop a day, then slowly decreased to a couple a week then once a month or so. If I wanted something fizzy I'd drink club soda, Perrier or San Pellegrino and usually toss a lime or lemon slice in for some flavoring. Even a splash or cranberry juice or frozen cranberries is a nice treat.

Now I have a pop maybe once or twice a year and it's usually ginger ale. I even drink Perrier instead of liquor these days just to cut down the calories.

thinflower_punk

My best advice to would be to not keep any soda in the house, and if you ever find yourself out somewhere and craving a little, have at it! A tiny bit won't kill you, as long as overall you stick to healthier drinks.

Starfish1125

I gave up soda on January 1st - and I won't lie, the first week was hard. I got those withdrawal headaches....but now that I'm 35 days into it, I don't miss it.

I could never drink diet sodas b/c of the aspartame (gave me migraines)

My advice is to just go cold turkey. It took me a few attempts but now I'm over the hurdle and I feel MUCH better! Good luck!

shawnachaffins

I gave up soda a month ago, I loved Coke-Cola and would drink 2-4 a day. What really helped me was not wanting my children to drink soda and knowing it was unfair to them to see mommy have it but not them. I just stopped cold-turkey because I knew if I just cut down I would go right back to drinking them all the time. I am not a big fan of water but have been drinking more now since cutting out soda, I also like to fill my cup up with ice and eat on it...For some reason it helps!!! lol But I am like you I really dislike diet soda's so if I get a desire for something with flavor I drink a little Gatorade I know its not better then soda but I never drink more then a cup in a day. Most the time I just pour a little over my ice to flavor it so I probably average 1/4 a cup of Gatorade a day if that...Good luck!!!!

crush86

I gave up soda over 4 years ago. I replaced drinking soda with tea and lemon water for a while, eventually drinking plain water was as easy as drinking the soda Good Luck!!

sphoc

I stopped my Coke habit about a month ago. It's hard because they keep a stocked cooler where I work, and it's next to the copy machine so I'm in there every day. I either drink ice water or hot tea at work instead. The tea gives me enough of a caffeine buzz when I need it, and I've told everyone at work to yell at me if they see me with a soda . So far, that's been working! Weirdly, I never buy the stuff at home, so that has made it easier - I mostly drank it at work.

monkeefun

I was the same way! I still love my soda way too much though, and always regular! I definitely agree with keeping a water bottle on hand at all times. When I first started making the switch I had a 33.5oz water bottle I kept filled at all times, and it really helped!

KyleB65

I gave up all sodas. Regular and diet. Best decision of my life!

I still have a soda from time to time when I go to a movie theater. But that is all.

For me it is water, coffee in the morning and green tea with honey from time to time.

junerbooner

Soda is the first thing I decided to give up when I started my life style change last June. I thought I would have a difficult time because I was drinking 5-6+ cans of Mountain Dew a day. I stopped cold turkey and haven't had a can of soda since May, 2012. I can really say, I don't miss it. I even have Sprite in my refrigerator right now for my husband, but it doesn't tempt me at all. I think I just set my mind to say no to it and stuck with it!! I only drink water now and feel much better for it. I know I have lost a lot of weight by just cutting out soda from my diet. Best of Luck to you in breaking your habit. It is worth it in the end.:happy:

Mbishop7684

I quit diet soda doing two things: 1) I cut down slowly, I went from 3-4 a day to one at lunch and one at dinner, then I wen to just one at lunch, now its VERY rare that I drink soda at all. 2) Making sure that I was drinking at least half my weight in oz of water. By the time I finished that, it left very little time or room in my tummy for other liquids.

Also, don't be fooled, weaning yourself off takes just as much discipline as going cold turkey, imho. I say this because going cold turkey you don't ever taste it again (it has its own demons you have to handle), weaning you still are tasting once in a while so it takes discipline not to over do it.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

golstad

One nice benefit of giving up soda is the money savings.

I have not eliminated soda, but as I track my calories, I see the impact it has on my calorie intake. Occassionally, I see that I have eaten well and have room for soda, but it is - 1 twelve ounce can.

Keep it up with water. I also like Crystal Light and similar products.

tj1376

I don't drink soda's (unless there is alcohol in it) and haven't for several years. I like breaking up all the water with flavor additives. If you really want to give up soda's (yeah!!) try adding crystal light or MIO to your water. It will help you stay on track by making you feel like you are drinking something other than water. Water gets boring.

LolaBug85

I gave up all forms of soda cold turkey just under a month ago. Honestly, the first 4 days were AWFUL because of the headaches from not having any caffeine. But I knew that if I wanted to lose weight, it would be to cut out soda 100% out of my diet. So here I am almost a month later and doing great. I drink 4 bottles (64oz) of flavored water (no sugar, no calories) every day and I rarely even think about soda. It's great. I was having a hard time with plain water but once I switched to flavored it made a world of difference. It is much easier than I expected it to be Good luck! You can do it!

ckisskiss

I was drinking like 3 cans of pepsi a day a few years ago. When I started losing weight, i reduced it to one can a day. I did that for the first year (and lost about 50 pounds in the process). for the last 3-4 months I've been drinking 1 diet coke a day (if that). i was one of those hard core people who HATED diet soda, but eventually I got used to the taste

svgaedtke

I'm a HUGE Diet Pepsi Junkie... I get headaches quite often so I need to slowly ween myself off... I've done well in the past when I made up my mind to cut it.. ( but just like many things I fell off the wagon) I started by switching to flavored carbonated drinks that they sell at Walmart.. then flavored and plain water..

I guess I should start this transition now, instead of talking about it...

annemw82

When I get bored with regular water I drink La Croix. There are a bunch of flavors and they are also carbonated. Nice if you want a little fizz and something quick to grab since they come in cans.

mestacy010

I gave soda up a few years ago. I drink it on occasion but it burns my throat now because I'm not used to the carbonation.

happyheart15

I used to be a chronic soda drinker, but I quit in early 2008 and never looked back. I also understand what you mean about diet soda. It is DISGUSTING. lol

aepdx

Some say I have habits of an 80 year old, but my favorite thing on earth is flavored seltzer, particularly lemon lime. I can find a 12 pk at the store for $2.77. You should try it! I like regular seltzer with fresh citrus juice too (lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit). I had to give up soda because it was literally rotting my teeth (which really hurts), so this is a good replacement – no sugar!

bdburch

Everyone has given great advice. It is important to try to get rid of that craving as soon as you have it or it will bug you all day. Having a water bottle close by is very handy. I try to carry a filtered water bottle with me wherever I go. You can find these in stores and online, usually for under $15, and you don't have to worry about the yucky taste of tap water. Also, try to have a soda alternative. Lemon water, green tea, and some juices are good (just watch the calorie counts and whether you're getting anything good from the juice). The only other thing is not to punish yourself for having a soda. It's nice to have a treat every once in a while and you shouldn't feel bad for it as long as you don't go over board. Try to cut back slowly to avoid any type of caffiene or sugar withdrawls. It could be easier if you could find other alternatives to the caffiene like drinking coffee or tea.

whatjesseats

It's been almost a year since I gave up soda. I went cold turkey and the first week was pretty rough, even though I was drinking tea (with caffeine) instead.

Byron6219

When I diet, the thing I miss the most is not the volume of food - it's the big powerful flavor hits. Drinking a lot of water only seems to make this worse - and results in what I have come to think of as "water-mouth" where I'm dying to taste something exciting or strong (and good, of course).

I've found that a breath mint helps get past this, without costing too many calories. Instead of a 140 calorie soda, a breath mint that's 10 or less seems to scratch the itch.

The other thing I am liking as a treat are the juice bars from Edy's. I know some people have complaints with them not being as "healthy" as the packaging makes them sound, but the little ones are 25 calories and the big ones are 60 and they taste great.

Good luck!

alifer

I gave up Mountain Dew cold turkey on January 1. My husband bought a 12 pack of it on NewYear's Eve. I told him to take it to the basement because I didn't want to see it. The first week was rough. I drank a lot of hot tea with honey instead. Also started drinking water when I wanted a Dew. You have to have the right mindset- coming from experience. I decided I wanted to lose weight more than I wanted that next Dew. (I had been drinking anywhere from 4-7 cans a day) After the first 3 weeks without it I bought a pack of the mini cans for those times when I really just want the taste. Those are a special treat every now and then.

I have never been able to drink diet soda as I get digestive problems and headaches with the fake sugars. Getting used to water does take time. I prefer spring water from a glass or disposable bottles. I have found that the reusable water bottles can absorb other flavors and make the water taste weird.