Soda pop.

Gunr2147

How the hell does everyone curve their soda pop cravings? I am a Pepsi addict and can't seem to quit the stuff.....

oomalmal

I have frequent Migraines and sometimes I drink a coke with my meds to make it work better. It may be all in my head, but it works. I just fit it into my calories and go on. Mind you, this is only about once or twice a week.

Gunr2147

I have done that as well. I can tell when I haven't had one for a few hours because that is when the "pain" begins.....

zdreamer

I do not miss pop much. However, if I truly want some Coke........I just have a little, track it and move on. That way I'm not continually thinking about it.

I did notice that I am less likely to do that now that I am tracking food because I can see the non-nutritional calories and they seem much more real!

The more water you drink, the more you will love it!

Acg67

How the hell does everyone curve their soda pop cravings? I am a Pepsi addict and can't seem to quit the stuff.....

See if your insurance covers Pepsi detoxes and go form there

neretete

I have found that if I start with drinking pop then I want pop. If I start with water, I want water. Mostly I seem to want pop out of habit more than anyting. I drink one mug of coffee and bring two 25-ounce water bottles to school every day. After my coffee I make myself switch to the water. I don't let myself have any pop until all my water is gone. I have found that doing this I really don't even want the pop, and my body craves the water. If I do get the pop, it rarely tastes as good as I remember.

nolongerXXL

Honestly, I quit "cold turkey".

I was, sad to say addicted to coke/pepsi. I felt the NEED to have one.

I just started doing this: Once a week when I go to the produce market (it's like a store with fresh produce and seafood) grab a diet A&W root beer, if I want it. Honestly after not having carbonation for so long, I takes me several hours to finish it. The last one I got, I sipped it just a little and totally forgot about it, I ended up throwing it out.

jaxokc

I used to drink 5-8 12oz cans of Coke a day. Now, I rarely ever have one, MAYBE one a month. When I was cutting back, if I felt the urge to have one I'd drink half and throw it away. Then I'd cut to just a few sips and throw the rest away. That way you don't feel that you are depriving yourself and it helps with caffeine headaches if you get those. I didn't switch to the smaller can because metally it helped to recognize the soft drink as garbage and that's where it belonged. Now, like fast food, it taste horrible and I just don't want it anymore.

Marketing is amazing. If I see a Coke commercial it still triggers the "Oh that sounds soo good", but to actually drink one...blah.

bearkisses

so sad that this is our planet and what we have done to ourselves.

i grew up in a house that drank water, and got some juice and sometimes had pop on special occassions...like birthdays! and christmas...

just stahp!

jljshoe1979

I love my soft drinks - I love the sugar, the caffeine, the carbonation...soooo I know how hard it is to stop completely. Some things I've done in the past 1) stop cold turkey (I get headaches and irritability for a few days, but it passes), 2) reduce your intake each day (right now, I only allow myself ~8-10 ounces everyday of something to drink other than plain water) 3) make yourself drink the same amount of water that your drinking in soda everyday on top of the 6-8 glasses of water you should be drinking everyday.

Two things I haven't tried, but have heard of working for others: 1) for every calorie of soda you drink, workout to burn that many calories, 2) a friend of mine got one of those "make your own soda" machines. She loves it and sometimes even just makes carbonated water because she likes the carbonation.

Good luck!

RambyPandy

I read about the health risks and it scared me. So I stopped!

whierd

I don't curve it, I take it straight.

coe28

I was the same way, but with Diet Pepsi (which I learned was even worse). I switched to crystal light (agh! the aspartame! I know, I know...) because at the time I was a smoker and needed something with flavor to cover the taste in my mouth. Now that I've quit smoking, I'm weaning myself off the crystal light too and switching to plain old water.

michellechawner

Seltzer water. It's a nice change to just plain water. I will have a diet soda maybe ONCE a month, and never regular soda (sugar + inflammation disease = more pain).

I spritz some lemon or lime juice in my seltzer water too. Nice flavor.

cwolfman13

I quit cold turkey and din't have any soda for about 4-5 months. I have some now occasionally, but I avoid high fructose corn syrup, so whatever I choose to drink has to be natural sugar...I usually do the Sanpellegrino sparkling lemon or orange beverages...maybe once or twice per week.

MommaChocoLatte

If I want it, I have it. If I don't, it's all I will think about. I dont believe in deprivation, moderation baby *wink*

I just make sure I have a bottle of water first.

BeeElMarvin

I know what you mean. I can't seem to get him off my mind either.

circles2

I hear you, but my version is Diet Coke. It is a tough one to kick..I did go off totally, for a month then had one and gradually am back to my original intake. I have to focus on weight loss as my priority, but do want to address this, soon.

joeylu

I drink flavored seltzer water. They taste better than diet soda with no caffeine

hugsy85

I have been a huge Coca-Cola drinker for years - and find the taste of Coke Zero or Diet to be awful. So far I have been able to cut it out and maybe have one Coke every 2 weeks.

I started adding the Propel Zero packets to my water bottle (one packet in a 32 oz). Helps curb that sugar craving and allows me to drink more water instead.

2ht2hand1e

I bought a sodastream and we make our own flavorings. It's also a lot cheaper than buying soda in the long run, especially if you fill your CO2 tanks at paintball stores.

schonkreuz

Like most people said I finally just said enough is enough and stopped drinking it. My hubby still does though and the other day he got me a soda not thinking, I took a little sip because I didnt want to waste it and it BURNED so bad. So done with soda

beckyboop712

Dr. Pepper addict here.

There are brands of flavored sparkling water that keep me away from soda and are zero calorie. The most popular is Natural Ice, but Target has their own brand and so does Walgreens. This will be attempt #3 (in the past year) to quit the stuff at least insofar as to not be drinking it every day. I'm back on Day 1.

FitPhysique

so sad that this is our planet and what we have done to ourselves.

i grew up in a house that drank water, and got some juice and sometimes had pop on special occassions...like birthdays! and christmas...

just stahp!

I grew up the same way. You get gingerale when you are sick. Our juices were homemade because my Mom said the store bought had preservatives and too little fruit content. I never really like them because she made them too sweet. The irony. :laugh:

Well. Start reducing you daily total by one can and work from there.

JusticeGirl25

If you can limit yourself to a can of pop a day, that will be a good start. I used to drink quite a bit of pop during my pre-teen/high school years because I needed it to stay awake to finish up on homework, study for tests, work on projects and for the most part, it helped me. I gradually weened off of pop and honestly only drink it a couple times a week. I think eventually I won't drink pop anymore.

famousmel

I find if I have a piece of higher-sugar fruit with my coffee in the morning instead of my usual Mt. Dew, it takes a lot of the craving away. Also, if I do have a Dew in the morning, I tend to stay off track for the whole day. EVIL it is!!

jangier

Like most people that already posted, I just quit drinking it one day. After about 6 months I stopped thinking about it, and after a year the thought of it is kind of gross to me. I replaced it with A LOT OF WATER, like A LOT!!!!! Best of luck!

galenofedgewood

Water, Iced Tea, Coffee, and Monster Rehabs is the way that I do it.

Then I will go grab a Coke Zero from time to time.

affacat

i was a soda addict. not the 2 liter a day level, or anything, but definitely a bottle a day, so... 12-16 ounces. I love the stuff.

I bought a Sodastream, and now make the all natural fruit flavors (orange, etc). They are the 'My Flavor' line -- 0 cals, no fake stuff, no sugar, just natural fruit essence. It's basically flavored carbonated water.

It took me a week or two to adjust... but now I look forward to having a glass with my dinner, and it's zero guilt. The carbonation and flavor is just enough to curb my need for actual soda, which psychologically (for me) is mostly just a need for fizzy-ness.

also worth noting -- I avoided all the seltzers and stuff like that for decades because i never liked them. and i hate all 'fake' chemical sugars. even when i drank soda, i always stuck to the ones that use pure cane sugar. but now, the flavored carbonated water just works for me. it just took making the switch, and a couple weeks of wishing it was soda. Now... like I said, I love my nightly drink... and from a dietary standpoint, it's basically just a glass of water.

i've also quit cold turkey in the past (and lasted for years) but this is a happy compromise.

FrankieTrailBlazer

i was a soda addict. not the 2 liter a day level, or anything, but definitely a bottle a day, so... 12-16 ounces. I love the stuff.

I bought a Sodastream, and now make the all natural fruit flavors (orange, etc). They are the 'My Flavor' line -- 0 cals, no fake stuff, no sugar, just natural fruit essence. It's basically flavored carbonated water.

It took me a week or two to adjust... but now I look forward to having a glass with my dinner, and it's zero guilt. The carbonation and flavor is just enough to curb my need for actual soda, which psychologically (for me) is mostly just a need for fizzy-ness.

also worth noting -- I avoided all the seltzers and stuff like that for decades because i never liked them. and i hate all 'fake' chemical sugars. even when i drank soda, i always stuck to the ones that use pure cane sugar. but now, the flavored carbonated water just works for me. it just took making the switch, and a couple weeks of wishing it was soda. Now... like I said, I love my nightly drink... and from a dietary standpoint, it's basically just a glass of water.

i've also quit cold turkey in the past (and lasted for years) but this is a happy compromise.

Good idea & Well done!!

FrankieTrailBlazer

For anyone who wants to learn why sugar (sucrose = glucose + fructose) and high fructose corn syrup is so addictive i would recommend watching:

Sugar: The Bitter Truth - Dr. Lustig

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
or
https://mega.co.nz/#!1kU3TSpJ!Av3TWi2RGn5a_y_ps7w6IQSSgBInBy9nHpDe0rJXvaU


"Fructose is Ethanol without the buzz"
"Fructose is a toxin (just like ethanol)"
"Fructose is a carbohydrate metabolised like a fat"
"Thats why our "low-fat" diets with processed foods included do not work"
"The FDA will only regulate acute toxins NOT a (low dose) chronic toxin"