Addicted to Soda all my life.

I love Sparkling water. All the carbonation and none of the sodium or sugar, etc. It's just fizzy water. La Croix and Polar Spring Lemon is awesome and they sell it in 12 pack cans. I realized that I was more addicted to the fizz and not so much the taste. Alas, they don't sell them where I live right now.

I quit drinking Mtn Dew cold turkey 11 days ago and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I was drinking 3-4 cans a day. I do get cravings and it is hard when going out. I play tavern poker 3 days a week and it is difficult to order water when they want your business. But, I have just ordered unsweetened tea instead. At home, I keep bottled water in the fridge and use the liquid flavors to help. Not keeping it in the house has also helped.

I am far enough along and determined enough to avoid it if my husband brings it home. I want to be so far away from soda so that when I do have it later on, I will prefer something else.

I used to be the biggest Coca Cola addict (as well as pretty much all sodas) in junior high through the beginning of high school. In 2006, I quit cold turkey. I haven't consumed a single ounce of a caffeinated beverage (I have never had coffee either, so I'm sure that helped) since then. I didn't just lose weight, but in addition to slimming down, I have consumed 10x more water, which has helped boost my energy, give me clearer skin, and gear myself to eating more healthy.

It's definitely worth it. I'm not saying everybody should never ever drink pop, like me, but consider it a treat, and only have some once a week.

Well......I am very familiar with your story! I am only 4 years younger than you and have been a "sodaholic" most of my life.....Dr. pepper being my soda of choice. I too put on 40 pounds in the last 4 years. I have been athletic my entire life and with the exception of gaining 10 pounds then losing over the years have never had this kind of problem either. For me.....I think it is a metabolism change and stress. I hate that words "stress" , but I believe it has caused my entire hormonal system to get out of wack. I definately think that dropping soda will help in you quest, but I wouldn't hang all you hopes on that......for me, it takes dropping sugar all together. But, good for you.......4 days is great!!!!! I have quit with the occasional soda here and there.......but I don't go on a binge any more after having just one. You can do this!!!! It is so frustrating when you have lived your life in one way and then something changes and you have to change with it, but we can all do this!!!!! Good for you Add me a friend for support if you want.

I have given it up but if I splurge I get the little coke cans 90 cals. Also I would get the Hawaiian punch little packets you can put it water. No sugar and its only 5 calories! Plus you put that in a bottle of water you can easily chug that water down!

I drank 2-3 cans of soda a day for the past 2 years or so. On the 30th of last month was my first day of no soda at all, I quit it cold turkey!! I have had gatorade once, and powerade zero once since then, but otherwise just water or milk. That first week alone I lost 3lbs! I do think the soda has a lot to do with it and I am glad you are trying to stop drinking it. I got headaches around day 5-6, but as soon as that passed, I have not craved soda at all, which is shockiing to me, but I am glad!!

My addiction was Diet Pepsi. I referred to it as the elixir of life. I got my husband addicted to it too. I'm not proud!

Two months ago, I went off ALL soda and aspartame. The first day was fine. The second day, I had such a killer headache. My body purged so strongly that I vomited for hours (sorry if that's TMI).

I'm not going to say I don't miss it, because I do. My nutritionist says it's harder to quit heroin than soda. That scared me!

If you MUST have it, try Zevia. It doesn't taste the same, but at zero calories and zero aspartame, sometimes it's a nice fix. I don't have it often (a six pack every month).

I would love to say that I lost a ton of weight, but I didn't. 7 pounds in two weeks....

Good luck.

My addiction was mexican soda (i.e. Fanta... Especially the pineapple one. OMG YUM!) which is loaded with sugar. I switched over to mineral water which gives me the same bubbly sensation I get when I drink fizzy soda. I'm absolutely hooked on Perrier. Its all a mind game. I've tricked myself into thinking its soda and now I can't get enough of it. Zero calories... Zero sugar.... Zero sodium. Give it a try

THIS! The mineral water makes you feel full too. It's totally worked for me.

I haven't given up soda entirely, but I no longer keep it in the house. I'll have a bottle at work or order it at a restaurant. I was drinking tons to LaCroix and Mendota Springs sparkling water, but finally just bought a sodastream and now I just fizz tap water and drink it. I'm considering even giving up the work and restaurant soda, but not sure I'm quite ready for that!

As to the poster who asked if even diet soda was detrimental to weight loss, I found this article that you might be interested it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/nutrition/05symp.html

Bad media science on the daily baby please. Unfortunately you can't prove a causative factor with 1 correlation study. I'd have to read the full text of the study though. Research further though, you won't find an answer here. I also would like to point out that most human experimental studies haven't found any wicked health problems from diet soda intake. Definitely though if there was such problems with diet soda, I haven't had them, and it wouldn't be the artificial sweeteners (which has been studied into the ground). Like the red meat study, I certainly urge that this is not a huge eyebrow raiser in this face of lack of causal links. Basically, I'm saying, no one knows yet, but why fear something that may or may not do X; it would be like not talking on your cell phone because it may cause cancer, or refusing to give your kid organic food for fear of giving him/her autism. See what I am saying?

"The diet soda association was not hypothesized and deserves further study."
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/117/6/754.abstract

By the way, you know there often innacuracies on food frequency questionnaires. Also notice the sweetenened beverages did not associate with MetSyn.

For a better picture on the subject, look on PubMed and read a Meta Analysis on diet soda intake and insert health problem. The Meta Analysis is usually the Jack Pot of the gold mine because it has the relevant data up to X date on it. Way better picture than one study that could have been funded by corn farming lobbying groups trying to get these "deleterious" artificial sweeteners off market. I just made a conspiracy theory off the top of my head Teeheehee.