Help! Need some good tips for kicking the soda habit

I decided on Sunday of this last week that I wouldn't drink soda at home anymore. I had a coke zero out at lunch on Monday and then caved and had one Tuesday night with dinner. Right now I'm over 24 hours without one and other than being sleepier this afternoon than normal, I'm okay. I battled that by drinking water and taking my dog for an hour long walk, so the benefits are doubled, right?

I reached a breaking point over the weekend and have just decided enough is enough. I'm ready to not be a soda drinker anymore.

In October of 2011 I finally faced the reality that I needed to take control of my health and fitness. This could ramble on into a long boring story. Cut to the chase, I drew the line in the sand, no more pop/soda or McDonalds type fast food......period. I am not going to fight either way that these things are good, bad, or indifferent........I just knew that I didn't need them and the mental power gained by making this change would set the stage for better choices in other areas as I moved forward. AT some point you just have to want this........for you.........just because you do!!!

I am about a week away from my 365 consecutive day on MFP and going strong. Have reached my first goal weight which I felt was un-realistic when I set it. Now on track to soon be less than 200#, a weight I surpassed in the 9th grade (1985/1986). Everything about this past year has been about education on nutrition/ fitness and having mental control. Best wishes in your journey!

I also heard another tip that sticks-- if you leave a can of coke in the toilet over night and flush it in the morning, your toilet will be squeeky clean... and you're putting that in your body!

I used to be the same way girl... for me i found that using the water mixers... like crystal lite or something similar helped me more than anything. It did take some time to kick the habbit completely but I did finally do it!!!

^ this. Its a hard habit to kick but things like Mio and Crystal light can help.

I was drinking a fountain soda that was 64oz every day. That was practically 2 liters of crap in my mouth on a daily basis. I tried several times to kick the habit to fail. Then I realized something, I kept drinking that sugary death trap even when it didn't taste good anymore... WHY? It was in a cup with a lid and a straw. So then I think Hmm.. Maybe that is my ticket to freedom. I start carrying ice water in the same exact cup and kept it with me all day. That way I had something to suck on whenever I wanted it (haha yeah I said suck on).

I can proudly say it has been over a year and soda free. You just have to fight through the *kitten* of caffeine withdrawls. Yeah it sucked at first but after a month my body felt so much better.

Tip 1: JUST STOP IT.

Try adding fresh squeezed orange, lemon or lime juice and a zero calorie sweetener to club soda.

Diet Soda is nasty and extremely unhealthy.

I quit soda many years ago, but occasionally want a fizzy treat.

I take plain sparkling water (not club soda which has sodium) and mix in a an ounce or so of POM Pomegranate juice. It's a super yummy treat and way healthier than diet or regular soda.

I cut back to 1 caffine free diet coke a day when i got pregnant, then when i got heart burn i stopped all together, now i cant stand the stuff and havent had any in over a year. Cut down to 1 a day and then make the decision to stop. after a couple of weeks you may find you dont miss it, and if you do decide to have one you might not like it.

When I crave a soda, I will replace it with flavored, carbonated water. I get the same satisfaction as I would drinking a soda, but with no calories. There are one liter bottles at Dollar General for 70 cents. You might give that a try.

Just quit. It's called willpower, either you want to or you don't, there's no trick.

^This. I wanted to stop drinking so much soda, so one day I just quit and I haven't missed it at all! I've gone 2 years without drinking it (except for a handful of times where it was all I could get) and now it kills my stomach to drink it! Whenever I drink it, I feel ill and my stomach is very bubbly and upset. It may be hard to cut cold turkey but it worked for me.

I used to have a serious soda addiction. Like 3-4+ cans a day. Then one day a year or two again, I decided that it was really bad for me and I quit drinking it all together. I didn't put much thought into it, I just stopped. Then only thing I did to ease into it was before I quit for good, I would make myself drink a glass of water before I could have any soda. I still drank the soda though, but not as much in the long run.

When you quit soda, you will no longer crave it. At least I didn't. If I drink it now, it makes me burpy and makes my teeth feel like they were coated like sugar. My advice is to just stop drinking it.. and don't think too much about it.

With all this talk about it, pepsi sounds good right now! haha
The easiest for me was just not buying it. If it's there, we will drink it. I like it every once in a while, but water is good too!

I agree with some that have already said. Just stop drinking it. I was addicted to soda for a loooong time so I know it is hard, but decided it was too much of a pain in the @ss to lose weight while drinking it. Plus, it ain't exactly the healthiest anyway. Diet soda is worse then regular, so I don't recommend that as a way to get away from it. The best way to do it is to just stop buying it and force yourself to drink water. I don't even really crave it anymore and when I do have some of it (Very rarely), it's like, WOAH! That is a LOT of sugar, lol. Hope you can find the will power to quit the soda (: