Quitting Diet Soda

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Tewsy87
Tewsy87 Posts: 55 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I need help! I want to quit diet soda. I have like 2-3 per day, but the recent research on diet soda has me scared. People who did quit it, how did you do it? And what products/drinks did you substitute for caffeine? For those who don't know what I talking about read the link below from CNN.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/10/diet-soda-may-do-more-harm-than-good/

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  • diggswood
    diggswood Posts: 47 Member
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    I am not surprised at this study. I gave up diet soda a couple of years ago and it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life.

    So, in order to quit, I decided that diet soda was hurting my health. I had headaches for about two weeks and cravings. I drank lots of water and still do. I also needed to sleep more for about two weeks after I quit so I allowed myself to do that.

    I feel so much better eliminating diet soda from my diet. On a side notes, my trips to the dentist are awesome - no more issues. The acid in soda wrecks your teeth. I don't drink any caffeine now and I get much, much better sleep which helped my overall health as well.
  • tinylightsbelow
    tinylightsbelow Posts: 85 Member
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    Try substituting green tea! Contains caffeine, but undeniably healthy and also in more reasonable quantities.
  • c7eat2live
    c7eat2live Posts: 308 Member
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    I tend to crave the carbonation more than anything...so I substituted kombucha!! It has the fizz, and a little flavor, is good to REDUCE adic in the body versus what soda does which is increase it, and its super low cal! I like Synergy Cranberry, Passionberry, Mango etc. Also substitue tons of iced (unsweetened!) tea especially green and mango black with lemon, and seltzer water. Good luck! Your body will thank you!
  • dwh77tx
    dwh77tx Posts: 513 Member
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    I gave it up cold turkey. I had to for health reasons. I used to crack open a cold diet coke every afternoon with my snack. But, once I realized that drinking it was really hurting me (literally) I stopped. Same with coffee. If you really want to do it, you will. If you would suggest tapering off maybe. Reduce the 2 or 3 to 1 a day, then none. good luck!
  • EmilyMcD84
    EmilyMcD84 Posts: 46 Member
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    I just had to quit cold turkey. I felt like I had the flu and was a walking zombie for a few days. Once I got past that and the headaches I was fine.

    The reason I chose to do it that way, was I couldn't wean myself off slowly. It was either I drank it all day or not at all. I realize my method isn't the best for everyone.

    I've heard sparkling water is a good thing to drink if you're going to cut back slowly.

    If you have the withdrawal headaches be careful of certain pain relievers as they have caffeine.
  • Tewsy87
    Tewsy87 Posts: 55 Member
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    Thanks for all the help everyone!
  • kaseyAnne425
    kaseyAnne425 Posts: 230
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    If you're craving that carbonated deliciousness, try Fruit Water (by the makers of Vitamin Water.) They have AWESOME flavors, they're carbonated, do NOT contain aspartame, and have 0 calories, fat, sugars, sodium. They're so yummy! That helped me.
  • Xoe4
    Xoe4 Posts: 38 Member
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    Carbonated water. I just like the carbonation more than anything so sparkling water helps curb my cravings.
  • MarioLozano16
    MarioLozano16 Posts: 319 Member
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    Coffee is tasty
  • reba020
    reba020 Posts: 55 Member
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    Where do you find Fruit Water and how much is it?
  • kayemmgee5
    kayemmgee5 Posts: 86 Member
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    I gave it up and just quit cold turkey. It wasn't easy! All I drank was coffee, water, and diet coke. Now I have 1 cup of coffee in the morning and then water all day and all night. Invest in a good quality water bottle and refill throughout the day. Sometimes I add fruit to mine to enhance the flavor, most the time I just drink it plain. It's one of the best things you'll do!

    I honestly thought I'd miss it more...I watched my husband crack open a can of ice cold diet coke (Diet Coke in a can was my all time fav) just this past weekend and didn't even want one sip. I was perfectly content with my ice water.

    I think once you change your habits, your tastes change.
  • erindh87
    erindh87 Posts: 94
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    I gave up diet soda cold turkey on July 1st. Now in the mornings I drink either green tea or herbal tea instead. In the evenings, I drink flavored carbonated water (no calories or aspartame). I've also found the flavored water is sweet enough that I don't eat quite as much chocolate in the evenings. I still crave diet soda a little, but hopefully in the next month or two those cravings will subside completely.

    Good luck!

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