How do I give up diet coke??

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  • sharonfoustmills
    sharonfoustmills Posts: 519 Member
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    In April 2011, I gave up soda (diet mountain dew was my preference). Also, I have never had coffee in my life...so, essentially, I was cutting out all caffeine at the time. The first few days, I had some hazy caffeine-withdrawal-related haze/headaches...but once I got past those first few days, I was good. And, once I started drinking more and more water...and getting further removed from caffeine and other crap they put in soda....I started having MORE energy during the day. You see, most folks don't realize that caffeine may give you a boost, but it also brings you down. So...gone with caffeine and gone with the up and down energy roller coaster that it brought.

    Anyway...you asked how...the answer is that you just have to do it, know its going to suck for a few days (maybe even a week), and believe that you will feel much better after that initial crap 3-7 days.



    I also found it gave me more energy once I quit them, and it stopped my crohn's symptoms and my osteoarthritis symptoms
  • pbrahan
    pbrahan Posts: 107 Member
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    In the words of Bob Newhart, "Just stop it"

    I'm curious why you're starting WW. MFP takes out the step of converting to points and is free!
  • daniellemm1
    daniellemm1 Posts: 465 Member
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    It took me three months to get off the diet pop. I had to sloowwly cut down and add water. Now I drink a ton of water and only have a diet pop sometimes at a restaurant if I forget to bring my own water or that's not appropriate (that's because I don't drink tap water and don't want other sugary drinks). I thought that I would miss it since it has been a major staple in my life (at least a 2 liter a day)since college almost 20 years ago but I don't miss it at all. Good luck!!!!
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
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    To start with, stop buying it.

    Coke eats corrosion off batteries & scum out of toilets. Imagine what that does to your teeth.
  • pippywillow
    pippywillow Posts: 253 Member
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    I gave up diet pepsi cold turkey.

    I used to drink 2 liters a day, and usually 1 or 2 energy drinks. Then I went a day without it and the headaches were horrible. I realized it's unnatural to be so dependent on something as silly as a beverage. It's not substance, I don't need it to survive. So I just stopped drinking it. (I also gave up all caffeine)

    Now all I drink is water, and occasionally flavored seltzer water or juice as a treat. Now that my body's used to going without caffeine I realized I never really needed it to begin with.

    Last week I thought I'd treat myself to a diet pepsi while out to dinner, it was gross. I can't believe I used to think I needed that.
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
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    I gave up an 80-100 oz diet pepsi habit by slowly weaning myself off of it. I bought the mini 8oz. bottles. And would drink 1/2 bottle at a time, a couple-few times a day. Then I would try to go a little longer without drinking it, til I was drinking a 1/2 bottle only twice a day. What usually prompted me to start drinking it was when I would start feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. Usually a half of a mini-bottle was sufficient to ward off the headache. Over time, I could go 2-3 days without having any diet soda. And eventually, I stopped all-together. It took me about 3-4 weeks of weaning. And after about 5-6 months, I no longer missed it (nor remembered how it tasted).

    I now drink water almost exclusively. Low-Cal Lemonade or Sobe Lifewater on occasion with a meal.

    Good luck!

    If you're in a state where there's a deposit on the cans/bottles, the best part of giving up soda is no longer having to return that crap to the store. Heh!
  • jmreich30
    jmreich30 Posts: 23 Member
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    Don't buy it and leave it in the house. I was once like you, drank a 2 liter or so of diet a day. That helped the most and make sure you don't substitute it with sweetened drinks like juices or ice teas either. For caffeine I have my coffee in the morning with two truvia and fat free half and half. Every once in a while I'll have a gatorade or powerade when working out in the heat just to try to get the necessities back up. But at this point I don't crave sweet drinks like I used to.

    Everyonce in a while when I go out I'll get a diet coke because I want one. But after being soda free in the house for the last 6 months I don't feel like I need one.
  • Lili0817
    Lili0817 Posts: 109 Member
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    Forget the artificial sweetners, just drink water!! Or water w/ lemon or a slice of cucumber. Like others have said, you have to REALLY want it, like bad.. officially decide you are quitting... like really decide and make up your mind, like FOR SURE. Otherwise, you will go back to your soda drinking ways. I think decreasing your soda intake, to eventually zero soda might be easier on you. Good luck, do it!!
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
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    I am just over 4 months "free" of diet Dr Pepper (my transition soda from 20 years of diet Coke addicition). I love soda. I love carbonation. I love the taste.

    When I make a big change, I have to have a plan. In this case, I decided to use unsweetened home brewed iced tea as my caffeine replacement. I bought a neat leak-proof pitcher that I could transport back & forth to work that allows you to steep the tea in a little basket. I bought some flavored tea bags to included with standard tea when I brew for some flavor variety.

    Then, I had to just stick to the plan. Eating out? Iced tea or water. Friends house, iced tea, water or nothing. I had to eliminate it. I can't have one here or there or I'll be right back at it. My multiple failed attempts at ditching diet soda taught me that!!

    Make a plan. And then stick to it. In a few months, you'll be amazed that soda had as big an impact on you as it does right now.
  • carolachristensen
    carolachristensen Posts: 13
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    I stopped drinking diet coke more than a year ago. I did it gradually. I had been drinking more than 6 a day and sometimes even more. Since I don't like coffee, I would start my day a diet coke. That was the last diet coke I cut out. I first cut out the ones that were easiest for me: the evening ones and the ones with dinner. I took very small steps and I did not have caffeine with headaches. I did find I craved carbs less and I even lost 15 pounds without trying too hard. I feel so much better knowing those bad chemicals are no longer being poured into my body daily. Good Luck!
  • decdav
    decdav Posts: 41 Member
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    I was drinking 6+ cans a day during the week, more on the weekends. Don’t stop cold turkey unless you really like headaches (caffeine withdrawal). I went to 4 cans for a couple of months and then slowly weaned myself off that. I’ll now have 2-3 cans a week. I’ll consider myself off when I don’t even have that (like when I run out at home, I still have about 30-40 cans).

    There are many reasons to kick the diet drinks and everything I’ve read says kicking the habit will help you lose weight.
  • foug11
    foug11 Posts: 1 Member
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    Watch "Hungry for Change." It's a documentary about the American diet & food industry. They talk a lot about how bad diet soda is for you - and how bad aspartame is for your body.

    I drank diet soda for 20+ years! After watching "Hungry for Change" I quit drinking it as much. The movie really explained how drinking diet soda, though zero calories, contributes to weight gain. Also, it explained some of the negative effects the combination of aspartame and caffeine have on your body/brain. I quit buying 2 litters for home but I do occasionally buy a diet soda at the gas station and drink it while driving. Prior to watching the show, I was drinking a 2 litter a day!

    According to the show, diet soda causes you to crave sweets.
  • Adirafox
    Adirafox Posts: 107 Member
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    It took me a while to be able to give up Coke Zero, even knowing how bad diet soda is. I just had to keep reading articles about what it does to the body, and one day it clicked.

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

    http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1010&sid=24552939

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/07/11/200488420/do-diet-drinks-mess-up-metabolisms

    Here are a few for thought.
  • bluesky248
    bluesky248 Posts: 18 Member
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    I drank diet pepsi first and then diet coke since I was 16..I never drank coffee so first thing in the a.m. diet coke, I drank about 12 a day on average depending how busy I was at work! I finally quit drinking ALL diet pop 2 years ago this February, I had quit smoking the year before and that was my crutch diet coke with a ciggy. well, anyway, I decided I had enough so I tried to cut down first slowly, went to 6 a day and then cold turkey....OMG!! I had a horrible headache for 2 days but I didn't give in! it was hard not walking around with a diet coke in hand but I figured I gave up ciggys this should be easy...it isn't! Finally after 2 days of a blinding headache, things got better and now I only have a diet pop on legal holidays lol. No caffeine though.
    my advice from a diet coke/pepsi drinker for 20 years...
    wean yourself down slowly, your body gets addicted to this crap. I should have got down to about 1 a day before quitting but that's my advice but man YOU FEEL SO MUCH BETTER without it and I have saved a heap between ciggys and diet coke! I lost those annoying bags under my eyes too as a bonus from the diet coke. good luck and go at it slow but you will FEEL BETTER! :)
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
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    I usually allow myself to have 1-2 diet cokes for lunch. The rest of the day I usually drink water. On a rare occasion I'll have it with dinner if we're out. I just widdled down to it. (I used to have about 6-8 cans/day.)
  • MacroMiranda
    MacroMiranda Posts: 78 Member
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    You quitters are a great inspiration! I've been wanting to quit drinking Diet Coke/Pepsi for a while now, but have been so afraid of the dreaded caffeine headaches. Many of you drank more soda than I currently do, and everyone seems to be saying that the headaches go away after a few days. Now I have no excuse, time to stop.
  • MissJanet55
    MissJanet55 Posts: 457 Member
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    I have really struggled with this on and off for years. Two things have helped.

    1. I figured out how much money I spend on diet coke every day - usually $4. So if I only spend $2, I put the other $2 in a jar. If I don't spend anything I put $4 in the jar. After a year, I have just short of $800, and this year I am aiming for $1200. I knew I was spending a lot of money, but seeing it in the jar is really motivating. Once a month I deposit it into my savings account.

    2. I switched over to soda water with a little bit of blueberry juice and a wedge of lime. It has the same burn as diet coke and is really refreshing. It's a good substitute.

    On days I wake up tired - too many - all bets are off, I need the caffeine. So it's a work in process, but these things have worked well for me. I can't do cold turkey, because having just one is a slippery slope and I'll inevitably have one after a few weeks, so slow and gradual has been better.

    Good luck.
  • fervc
    fervc Posts: 19
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    I'm a diet pepsi addict. About 2 weeks ago I switched to green tea. It takes a little getting used to, considering I don't like tea, but I found a brand that I'm getting used to.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Why do you want to give it up? If it's diet it isn't going to help your weight loss and if you are used to the caffeine and you want to quit then you probably want to wean off or go through a couple days of banging headaches.

    because those artificial sweeteners in diet soda are death in a can, that's why!

    :laugh:
  • orangebuttercat
    orangebuttercat Posts: 143 Member
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    1. Drink a Diet Coke
    2. Want to die, because it tastes awful
    3. Drink Regular Coke

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