Seriously What Is WRONG With Me?

I've been soda free for about 6 weeks now. I just went cold turkey on it. I've tried several times before, but this time seemed easier for some reason. I don't know why. I had been drinking Coke Zero for years. Before that normal Coke.

Oh yeah.. and I've lost 9kg in six weeks. But I've been eating well and exercising well too since cutting out the soda.

Nothing is wrong with you. You're perfectly normal. Have you tried to drink a glass of water for every soda you drink? Then do two for one and so on so you can slowly wean yourself? I agree, tea is rather nasty without anything in it. I would try slowly lowering the amount of sugar. Like if you put 1 cup now try 3/4 of a cup and continue to lower it until you have very little sugar while still getting your tea. Hope this helps. I believe you can do it!

See if you grocery store sells Zevia. It's a soda that is naturally sweetened with Stevia... It's much better for you and not near as bad as regular soda.

I find it in the organic's isle at Albertsons.

I went slowly cutting my coca-cola out went to the mini cans then to coke zero (which is nasty imo) but still get the lack of caffeine headaches and don't drink tea so have found caffeine tablets help me with the headache and then its just a power struggle not to drink pop out of habit.
I can't have pop in the house now though cause if it's here I will drink it I have slipped a couple times but the longer you go without it the worse it tastes if you end up slipping and having one.

Sorry that you are having trouble with this - I know it can be frustrating. I'm sure all of us have something, a food item or what not, that seemed to be insurmountable to fix. Mine wasn't soda, but candy. You concentrated on soda a lot in your post, so I don't know what the rest of your diet is like, but if it is very hard to tackle this part of your diet, perhaps you can save it to last. The up-side of this approach is that it sounds like you can change other aspects of your diet more easily than soda, and in that case the confidence in your ability to regulate other parts of your diet will undoubtedly spill over into soda drinking, so you will feel better able to regulate your soda intake to a more appropriate level.

Also, moderation might be more easily achieved and more realistic for you than elimination; so, in the end, you might want to aim to reduce soda intake to a reasonable amount rather than try and eliminate it altogether. Especially because it's not necessary to eliminate soda or sugar-sweetened beverages altogether, unless that is what you want.

This approach worked for me and candy; I saved my unhealthy candy habit for last, and by the time I concentrated on it, it was less of a challenge to lower intake because I had already increased my fruits, vegetables, exercise, and decreased my overall calorie intake so that I felt WAY more capable of handling candy than I did at the beginning.

Just a suggestion, hope it helps! In the end, I'm sure you'll look back at this and think "Why did I think that was so hard?"
Good luck!!

I killed my coca cola addiction a few years ago. I went on a cruise and paid for a soda card. To get my money's worth it turned out I had to drink a minimum of 5 cokes a day. By the time I got off that cruise I didnt want to see another can/bottle of coke. It's lasted ever since.

I gave up soda as a new years resolution for 2012... I went the entire year without any, drank a glass on Jan. 1 2013 (just because I could again!) and haven't had another since. I would recommend going cold turkey because you will be less tempted as time goes on. I drink ALOT of water now, and find it quenching my thirst in a way soda and other beverages don't! One trick to try... add lemon/lime/watermelon/etc. to water and let it soak into the water for a bit. It will give more flavor to the water if thats what you're after. Also, if you are worried about caffeine withdrawls, drink a bit of iced green tea without sweetener. It will give you a bit of caffeine and energy!

Good luck!! You can do it!!

That sounds very much like a smoking addiction (or some other type of drug). A guy I used to work with quit smoking and he walked around with all the cash (a HUGE wad of it after a year) he saved. Every single day, without fail, he added the cash he would have paid for the cigs into his stash and carried it with him. Give it a shot!! Maybe seeing the cash start to add up will give you enough pleasure and excitement to resist.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

I was a Cherry Coke Zero addict... drank 2-3 cans each day. At the first of the year, I decided (for the countless reasons of which you are already aware) to break the habit. In January, I limited myself to 1 each day and then on Feb. 1st - stopped completely and haven't had a drop since :happy: I forced myself to drink copious amounts of water each day... That was hard; I didn't like it at first, but it really did help curb my soda cravings. Right around 'Week 2' of quitting was the hardest for me, but I struggled through it and I don't even think much about it anymore. I don't buy soda and I really don't want it either. Good luck! It does get easier! Also, since quitting... My skin looks & feels so much better!

Go to a clinic.

You clearly have a problem.

I've been drinking non-diet sodas for most of my life. Last year I was up to 4+ 16 oz bottles a day. Rather than cold turkey, which I didn't think I could do, I got it down to up to 2 /day last summer. I started only having half a bottle at a time. It was great to see my recyclable bin only half full when I set it out. I just kept at 2/day, I wasn't thinking about giving it up entirely at all, just wanted to cut down.

I was on vacation during the second half of February and just out of the blue, I stopped the rest. It's almost five weeks now and I haven't had one. I do say I wasn't planning on giving it up, but right now I don't want any and while I think about it once in a while, I have no cravings. This is big for me, because self-control is definitely not one of my traits.

Work on cutting it down, even in tiny amounts -maybe throw out the last sip or two of the glass/bottle/can in your hand Don't rush it. If I can do it ...

Good luck.

There is nothing wrong with YOU. It's the soda. I am a die hard, straight up coke drinker. I LOVE it. I crave it. And sometimes I'll have it, but it's like all the other food in my life. I grew addicted to it. Still am. I started drinking diet and hated it. I despise aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. They are just gross. I made the switch to sparkling water. Flavored of course. My favorite is Mandarin orange. It really does help with the transition away from soda and high fructose corn syrup. Try it and try it again. It may take some getting used to, but it's so worth it. Good luck lady!

I still do. Ive tried at times to give it up but couldnt. Not stopping now, figured its my only vice, wth?
People have wagged their finger at me over the years. Oh thats bad? But you smoke, drink, eat processed foods, have unprotected sex isnt that bad? I eat very well most days, so i consider tis my treat. Others dont drink soda, but I rarely see them eat a green and they skip meals.

Works for me. But to each her own.

Everytime you crave a soda, try a packet of EmergenC. You can get them at grocery stores or for sure Whole Foods. They are fizzy and sweet, but have 1 calorie and vitamen C! Tangerine is my fave, but they have orange, lemon, berry, etc. A nutritionist suggested it for me, for not only soda cravings but sugar too. :happy:

It's a sugar/caffeine addiction and the soda is made to promote that.

The best way to get rid of it, if you're not a diabetic, is do one week where you cut out ALL sugar and ALL caffeine....and when I say ALL sugar I mean even the natural sugars found in fruit and dairy, as well as refined carbs (otherwise you'll find that you cut the soda but start upping on something else to make up the sugar level you're used to.):

If you do that two things will happen:

1. You'll spend about 2-3 days wishing you were dead....I mean feeling extremely ill; headaches, shakes, feeling sick.
2. Once the week is out you''ll have bust the addiction and most likely the next taste of Coke you have you'll find disgustingly sweet. You'll naturally consume less stuff with sugar in it.

I haven't had a soda in about 3 years now; instead I drink sparkling water with natural flavourings in (slices of lemon, root ginger, strawberries etc). I can now taste added sugar in something which really shouldn't have it a mile off and I don't have the daily *need* for sweet stuff.

I won't lie though, doing that kind of one week cold turkey can be scary if you've been consuming a ton of sugar - you don't know how addicted you can become to sugar until you take it away and you're there shaking like a damn crack addict!