Diet soda addiction

jsc4him

I am addicted to diet soda! Does anyone have any tips on how to get off of it? I made it for a week once! I ususally need a little pick-me-up in the morning and I don't like coffee.


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♥seoid♥

i tried it for a week, it about killed me. i wish you luck & hope someone gives you some great advice! :drinker:

T_R_A_V

When you figure it out, please let me know

pkgirrl

Saaame here!

I find the only way I can keep away is by not keeping it in the house, period.

lweldon

Just like an addiction to anything, you need to slowely wein yourself off it. Start going down can by can and then day by day. I also had a really hard time with diet soda, and it worked for me. Also once i did get off I did loose the bulk of my weight. So now the results are what keep me from drinking it! Hope this helps and good luck!

jquintinjr

im addicted to coke zero.... >:-O

♥seoid♥

i'm addicted to pepsi zero with splenda.....no aspartame....so i figure it's not nearly as bad. i'm probably fooling myself.

aisha11188

I havent had a diet drink in a while now even though my family drink it a lot. I dont know how I stopped, but I just did!
Try drinking alternaties which is what I do ie green tea, water, flavoured water, diluted juice etc.

lobster888

i was addicted to caffeine free diet coke for years. I tried hard to quit - but only for a week or two at a time and then if i drank just one I was back to it every day. But then finally three years ago I gave it up for lent (40 days) and have not have one since. I don't drink soda at all, mainly water and green tea. It was very hard but giving up at lent gave me something else to achieve and then after that i just didn't want it. But .... I am still afraid of having just one.....

tlschlp

I used to be too!

First, what I did was reduce the amount I was drinking. I used to go to McDonald's on the way to work and buy a large soda (hey, it was only $1!). So, I began by dropping from a large to small diet Coke. (That got me the caffeine I needed to start the day.)

I tried to stay away from the soda on the weekends if at all possible (never kept soda in the house, so that helped).

I then noticed that I was craving the carbonation more than anything, so I bought carbonated water. That gave me the bubbles but not anything else! Pretty soon I was weaned!

Now, I drink regular bottled water - no carbonation at all

Good luck with this!

jdavis193

I have drank so much of coke zero and diet coke taht I don't care for it anymore. I drank one can of diet a day.

jdcole67

It's a problem I see recurring frequently...how many "skinny" people do you see drinking "diet" soda? I myself started drinking it when I was like 15, and over time developed an allergic reaction to the artificial sweeteners...I tried quitting many times, but always went back to it...right now, I try to limit myself to 1 or 2 a day, and I only buy the 8oz cans, so that I can control the amount I drink better than in 2 liter bottles or other larger serving sizes...as many have said, you have to ween yourself from it over time, like any "drug" the diet sodas do impact your body chemistry and you can have withdrawal symptoms...good luck!

karen81

stop buying!

manderpander22

I recently gave up diet soda as well. I went from every day, to every third, to every other and then quit. I was sick with withdrawal symptoms for a couple of days but now I feel great. Try to keep yourself busy so you won't think about it, find alternatives like high energy food sources and don't have it available. It's takes motivation and willpower like anything else. I won't say that I haven't cheated because I have. Now I use it as a treat instead of the norm. I might have one a week and I can tell you it tastes a lot better now that I use it as a reward. Good luck!

weidner

Hi, my name is Michelle, and I am a Diet Pepsi Addict!!!

Sorry I could not resist and I am addicted as well.

lbtewksbury

I have been off of diet coke for 6 months and I still would like to have one , but I haven't I now drink unsweet Iced Tea so that water has a little flavor. I can tell you that when I am stressed I still miss that Diet Coke. By the way, I quit cold turkey, the first day was okay the second and third were horrible.....

ericac

I cringe when I see people nursing a soda all day......as a dental assistant I see decay rampant in peoples mouths.....from soda's..
diet or whatever....still does the same job.

I'm not a soda drinker..(I have other vices...lol) I guess I agree with what others have said.....try to wean...and don't buy them anymore when you get down to where you can

So do it for your teeth...and your healthy weight loss.....Love E

PixieGoddess

My mother is having this struggle right now. My brother and I refer to Diet Coke as her crack. What she's doing is making herself drink x amount of water and/or green tea before she's allowed to have a Diet Coke. I think she's doing better, and (BONUS!!) she says she's noticed a decline in her snacking.

GOOD LUCK!!

sniffles

As a morning pickmeup might I suggest peppermint tea? Good stuff and probably better for you then diet soda!

Here's the thing, if you want to give up a habit you have to replace the 'bad' habit with a new 'good' habit. So find something you like just as much and that makes you feel as good to replace the diet soda.

I've been slowly weaning soda's out by replacing them with teas and 100% fruit juices. I KNOW fruit juices aren't ideal BUT they have to be better then soda! And like anything in life moderation is key.

shanna618

I find it helps if you have a "bet" with someone.... About 7 years ago my all time favorite food was ice cream. A friend of mine couldn't get enough hot dogs. So we decided to try to give up our favorite thing for 40 days... It was a friendly competition and it worked for me! I tried some ice cream after those 40 days and it totally lost it's appeal. After that I decided to give up sweets entirely (cakes, cookies, chocolate etc) and have never looked back! People used to make me "try" a piece of this or that but nothing tasted good anymore and to this day I am dessert free! I know you can do it! Mind over matter!

SaraAnne

i had that problem too. it's one of those things you just have to do. I had headaches from withdrawal from caffiene taht just about killed me, but you can get through it. It helps if you make sure you have time for some extra sleep at first!

lizcecil

For years I was addicted to diet sodas. Didn't matter what kind they were or who made them. As long as it said the word "diet" I was drinking it. At least, until one day when I went for a routine doctor's visit and the doctor explained to me that the diet sodas that I was consuming for years was the cause of alot of my illnesses....including dehydration. She told me that I needed to drink more water and lay off of the diet sodas for awhile or at least cut back a little. I can't stand the taste of just plain water and never could. She should of just told me to cut my right arm off. It was of felt the same to me at the time. One day, I decided to try and drink more water. Strolling thru the drink section of my local Walmart I stopped at the "water section". Because I have high blood pressure I tend to stay clear from food and drinks with high sodium content. After checking out the back labels of all of the "flavored" waters and discovering that either they were high in sodium and / or sugar....I found my new choice in beverages. Walmart's brand (Sam's choice) was offering a flavored water that has absolutely no calories, sodium, sugar, or caffeine. And it comes in several different flavors. Either by the 20 oz bottle or the 1 liter bottle. I thought, "Ok, I will give it a whirl!"....that was 2 years ago and now I drink nothing but. I even take it with me when we dine out. TIP: The strawberry is my fav!

JessicaFB

Here's an article I came across yesterday. Very interesting. Good luck on giving it up!

Top 10 Reasons to Give Up Soda
By Steve Edwards
If you're looking for a scapegoat in the obesity epidemic, look no further than soda. It's the single greatest caloric source in the world, accounting for somewhere between 11 and 19 percent of all the calories consumed worldwide. It's cheap, addictive, and readily available, which generally means that it will take some willpower to avoid. But don't despair, as we at Beachbody® are here to help. We present: our top 10 reasons to give up soda. Drumroll please . . .

Soda may cause cancer. According to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks. As reported, the study "followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years. During that time, there were 140 pancreatic cancer cases. Those who consumed two or more soft drinks per week (averaging five per week) had an 87 percent increased risk compared with individuals who did not."

Then why, you're probably asking yourself, is this number ten on our list and why is soda even still on the shelf? Not that I'd challenge the ability of such large corporate power to hide such a thing but, in this case, the study slit its own throat. As one of the researchers noted, "soft drink consumption in Singapore was associated with several other adverse health behaviors such as smoking and red meat intake, which we can't accurately control for," meaning that we have no way of knowing, for sure, if soda was the culprit. Still, it doesn't hurt to know that when you drink soda it lumps you into a fairly unhealthy user group.1

It's not just about calories. Calories grab headlines, but recent science is showing that diet soda users are still in the crosshairs. A 2005 study by the University of Texas Health Science Center showed that there's a 41 percent increased risk of being obese—and a 65 percent increased risk of becoming overweight during the next 7 or 8 years—for every can of diet soda a person consumes in a day. Admittedly, this one should be higher on the list, but I wanted to make sure the article-skimming crowd knew the score up front: that diet sodas are very much a part of the problem.

It's the water . . . and a lot more. Okay, so that was a beer slogan, but soda is also made up mainly of water, and when you're slinging as much of it as they are, and you need to sling it cheap, sometimes you can't help but run into problems with your supply chain. In India, Coca-Cola® has found itself in hot water, and not the kind they thought they were purchasing rights to. Two of their factories have been closed, but one continues to run amok. According to a report in The Ecologist, "They accuse the company of over-extracting groundwater, lowering the water tables and leaving farmers and the local community unable to dig deep enough to get to vital water supplies."

"Since the bottling plant was opened in 2000, water levels in the area have dropped six metres, and when a severe drought hit the region earlier this year the crops failed and livelihoods were destroyed."2

BPA: not just for water bottles anymore. Nalgene® and other water bottle companies took the heat when the dangers of bisphenol A (BPA) were made public a couple years back. While these companies went to great lengths to save their businesses, the soda companies somehow flew under the radar and continue to use it in their products. A recent Canadian study has found that BPA exists "in the vast majority" of the soft drinks tested. Most of these were under the national limits set for toxicity, but some were not. And remember how much soda the average person consumes, meaning odds are most soda consumers are at some risk.

"Out of 72 drinks tested, 69 were found to contain BPA at levels below what Health Canada says is the safe upper limit. However, studies in peer-reviewed science journals have indicated that even at very low doses, BPA can increase breast and ovarian cancer cell growth and the growth of some prostate cancer cells in animals."3

Can convenience. As in the 1950s colloquial: can it. Speaking of the 1950s, those were the happy days when most of our soda was consumed at soda fountains, obesity was a term hardly anyone had heard of, and the most feared epidemic was one of atomically mutated insects taking over the world. Now instead of hoofing it down to the corner confectionery for one soda, we fill out trucks with pallets of shrink-wrapped cans or bottles and quaff the stuff by the six-pack. Not to mention how out of balance this ensures our diets will become, it wreaks havoc on the world around us. The bottled-water industry (which is mostly owned by the soda industry) famously uses 17 million barrels of oil a year, and the aluminum industry uses as much electricity as the entire continent of Africa. Not only that, aluminum mining accounts for a ton of toxic chemicals that is left behind for every ton of the metal produced.4

The Frankenfood factor. Whether you consume diet or regular soda, you're getting all of the genetically modified food you need and more, via high fructose corn syrup or aspartame. Both of these are under plenty of scientific as well as anecdotal scrutiny. Findings aren't pretty but, so far, this multibillion-dollar industry has kept these sweeteners on the shelves while alternative sweeteners meeting cost requirements are explored. Since it's almost impossible to read health headlines without finding one of these ingredients in some type of controversy, I'll just use one example:

"The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition and food safety advocacy group, called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to review the claims, which stem from research conducted by the European Ramazzini Foundation in Italy.

The foundation reported that rats who consumed aspartame in exceedingly large quantities were more likely to develop cancer. CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson considers this an important finding that should not be overlooked." 5

I know, there I go again with the cancer. But some people need to be shocked in order to take action. For me, seeing the Diet Coke® and Mentos® experiment was all I needed to swear off the stuff.

Foreign news cares how much soda we sell in our schools. How bad is your country's problem when the whole world is watching its daily actions? "Nearly one in three children and teenagers in the U.S. are overweight or obese and health experts say sugary drinks are part of the problem." Yep, bad. The world is well aware of the problems soda is causing and is looking to us to lead. And we certainly are trying. Are you with the program?

"Under the voluntary guidelines, in place since 2006, full-calorie soft drinks were removed from school canteens and vending machines. Lighter drinks, including low-fat milk, diet sodas, juices, flavoured waters and teas, were promoted in their place."6

And, while great and all, it appears that no one got the memo about diet sodas.

Diet? Um, that's just like your opinion, man. When it comes to soda, treat the word "diet" as a slogan. A study at Boston University's School of Medicine linked diet soda with increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. To be more specific, the study "found adults who drink one or more sodas a day had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome," which is a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other symptoms that lead to heart disease and/or diabetes. And, for those of you only concerned about how you look in the mirror, "Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese."

Soda outkills terrorists. A study out of the University of California, San Francisco, shows that soda has killed at least 6,000 Americans in the last decade.

From ABC News: "The new analysis, presented Friday at the American Heart Association's 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, offers a picture of just how horrifying the damage done by excess consumption of sugary drinks can be.

Using a computer model and data from the Framingham Heart Study, the Nurses Health Study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers estimated that the escalating consumption between 1990 and 2000 of soda and sugar-sweetened beverages, which they abbreviated as 'SSBs,' led to 75,000 new cases of diabetes and 14,000 new cases of coronary heart disease.

What's more, the burden of the diseases translated into a $300 million to $550 million increase in health care costs between 2000 and 2010."7

It's the "real thing" . . . not exactly. Should having the number one caloric source in the world come from something that's entirely manmade be a metaphor for a dying world? It doesn't have to be this way. After all, there's nothing in soda that we need. In fact, there's nothing in soda that even comes from the earth except caffeine, and that's optional. It's a mixture of altered water (injected with carbon dioxide gas), artificial flavors (yes, "natural flavor" is artificial), artificial color, and phosphoric acid, along with its sole caloric source that is a by-product of genetically modified corn production and offers virtually no nutritional value. It's about as real as The Thing.



Sources:
1 http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/aafc-sdc020310.php
2 http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/373906/cocacola_just_part_of_indias_water_freeforall.html
3 http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/03/05/popcans.html
4 http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/bottled_water/bottled_water_and_energy.html, http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/books/eco/eech6_ss3
5 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3317079&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
6 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8557195.stm
7 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/study-sugary-drinks-lead-early-grave/story?id=10019518

Alexis1227

I started replacing my diet soda with diet Snapple or Crystal Light. And sometimes the Starbucks Light Frapppucinos in the bottle.
I've managed to only drink 2 soda's in the past week , which is HUGE for me because I get massive headaches if I don't drink it.

allykat8

Diet Soda is delicious!!!!!

They say you have a higher chance of becoming overweight when you get older when you drink diet soda. Sounds like a bunch of craziness to me.

merguson

Another thing you can try is to drink Perrier (sp) water instead. I like the one with lemon added to it. I find that is the best substitute for me. It's Very bubbly!

sunnysashka

Some people use soda to clean their teapots from scum! It dissolves metal! I don't want to put it into my stomach!:huh:

marbier15

Try Crystal Light or adding maybe an oz or 2 of juice I like the Dole Pineapple Banana Orange one to your water... it gives it some flavor with out all the sugar. It helps me get water down!

SewRue

I was addicted to regular soda my whole life. Swore I would never drink diet. I thought it was so gross. Well as I got older I tried some. Soon it became my addiction too. But for some reason I have always thirsted more for water than for pop. But a person with a problem...my mom! The woman loved her Coca-Cola. It was the only pop she would drink and she despised water. Well that caught up with her real quick. A doctor told her you HAVE to drink water. She didn't know how to fit it in. I said challenge yourself. There is no better competiion than with yourself, atleast for me! I told her for every pop she drank drink one glass of water. Eventually the water quenched her thirst not the pop. Nowadays she'll have 1 a week. Trust me it's possible! As for me, I only drink water. Sometimes no calorie juice when I'm sick. You can kick the habit!

SewRue

p.s she drank reguar pop...not diet!

jsc4him

Wow! Thanks for all the info.!