A question for people who have stopped drinking diet drinks

I used to hate water and I just could drink it, so I changed sodas with fruit juices which gave me way more energy to work out and made me feel lighter. Then I started drinking water while working out and now I drink only water, except special occasions (like being depressed)

"I think it is healthier not to drink them, but don't expect any magical change when you stop."

That's a shame - I was really hoping it would kick-start weight loss and I'd feel much better and have lots more energy...............

Everyone is different though. You might.

Don't know if there was a "feeling" BUT, I can say all that sodium has helped with the bloat every day. That alone was about 5 pounds!!! I have one every now and then and YES, I can feel the sodium the next day. But it is a treat now when we go somewhere or a just cause treat. I have replaced it with water and green tea AND juice. The less fake food we eat the better.

I was an addict too. I drank anywhere between 6-8 per day. what I had to do to release myself from the control diet coke had on me was first, make up my mind to endure the headaches or withdrawals symptoms. I did this by slowly reducing the amount by 3 cokes per day then spacing the remainder through out the day. now I am completely off for the last five weeks I don't even desire any other sodas. I now make fresh juices like carrot or cucumber and ginger sweetened with stevia. I can't say I see any difference in my weight by the switch but I certainly feel better in my body.

Well, I've amazed myself so far today as it's almost 24 hours since I last had a diet coke! :laugh: I feel fine so far, no headache or anything.

Today I have drunk plain water and, when I started to feel a craving for something else(!), I had a glass of sparkling mineral water with ice and a couple of slices of lime. It was delicious!

I really hope stopping the diet coke will make a positive difference.

Good for you! It really gets easier after a few days. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks for me.

I still drink coffee in the morning and started drinking unsweet iced tea (instead of adding splenda) for the caffeine. But even with that, I'm drinking way less caffeine and haven't had any headaches.

nothing but water and milk here, feelsgoodman, hate aspertine and I hate the sluggish feeling sugar gives me, so i don't drink anything else

maybe i'll do 1-2 sodas a year

Diet Dr. Pepper was my crack!!! I drank about 3 cans a day! I stopped drinking it because of the chemicals. My acne has cleared up, I don't have so much of the "brain fog" & I just feel way better since I stopped the habit. It's going on 3 months and I actually don't miss it! I had to ease into kicking the habit though......the first week instead of 3 cans I had 2, the second week had I cut back on another and so on. You can do it! Good luck! :drinker:

All I can Really Say Is It Make's You One Step Closer To Your Goal:) And Try Drinking Glaceau sparkling zero calorie Fruit water

Well, I had quit diet coke because I figured might as well have the good sugary kind. Now I really don't like the taste of diet. I'll drink both sparingly, but just don't care for it anymore. I'd rather have a good brewski. For caffeine, I drink coffee black or iced tea.

I wasn't a diet drink addict per se, but whenever I did low carb I drank diet sodas, but my favorite was minute maid light lemonade. When I was younger i didn't notice any side effects, but almost two years ago I started getting really bad burning pains in my feet. I ended up going off low carb and the pains got better (neuropathy ). I did some research and loosely concluded my body was making nasty byproducts from metabolizing the aspartame that were causing nerve damage. I switched to diet drinks with stevia (Sobe) and didn't have any problems.

So the point is there is no easy way to get off Diet Coke (I have many friends that are hooked) other than weaning yourself down, substituting another form of caffeine if you need to (I love Fuze half lemon/half ice tea now, and they have a low sugar non-diet version/orange cans, 70 calories) and take these headache/zit/foot pain stories as incentive to get off the Diet Coke.

It'll make you gain weight even if its low in calories.

That all I have to say. But you can do that!

First post and it's epic wrongness.

Drinking a diet drink doesn't make you gain. Overeating does.

It'll make you gain weight even if its low in calories.

That all I have to say. But you can do that!

First post and it's epic wrongness.

Drinking a diet drink doesn't make you gain. Overeating does.

That is just symantics---Calorie wise it may not make you gain...but the chemical combo that is in it will make your body crave sweets until you finally eat something with sugar. Best thing is to cut out as much artifical sweetner that you can. I do no diet sodas, sugar free deserts, or anything with nutrasweet, equal, or sweet n low. If I am at home, I drink tea sweetened with stevia. I have given it up for 8 weeks--no cravings for soda or sweets. I did not have the headaches either. I just replaced it with water...lots of water.

Since giving it up, I have NO cravings for sweets, I have had no binges, and I have lost 27.4 pounds. I changed my diet, but without having sweet cravings, it is so much easier to eat healthier. Studies have shown that America's obesity problem has increased since the introduction of the Sugar Free drinks and food. No wonder, since the sweet taste makes your body release insulin--expecting glucose in the bloodstream. When the body does not get the glucose, your body craves sugar to level out the insulin.

Start looking for the artificial sweetners, and avoid it. Crystal light and many of the water flavorings have it in them too. If you want to cut it out, flavor with lemon, orange, or any fruit juice. At least it is natural, and your body gets something that it can use and is good for it than the poisionous crap that will make you have cravings.

Carrie1610: Well done on cutting down. I used to drink 4 or 5 cans a day and I know how hard it is. Lots of water and fruit teas (but especially water) will help with the headaches. I still have them if I'm out, but only 3 or 4 a week and hopefully will cut down more. Keep it up!

Since I have cut down, I noticed I almost never get heartburn any more (but cutting down on fat and sugar helped with this too), and I don't know if any one else experienced this but I feel a lot calmer and happier. I used to be very moody, snappy and got bad headaches when I drank a lot of coke, bt this was probably down to not drinking enough water and bad diet as well.

Also better skin, definitely less spotty around my chin and mouth, and it used to be quite bad.

I stopped drinking soda regularly years ago. Before I started MFP I would have a very occasional (maybe like 1-2 a month) diet drink.

Now I drink kombucha every day. It tastes amazing, has probiotics, and doesn't have many calories. You can buy it at a growing number of grocery stores (expensive, like $3-$4 a bottle) or make your own, which I think is really fun, and cheaper than commercially-bought bottled anything.

If you end up making your own kombucha- http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-173858

I was a hardcord Diet Coke drinker...8-10 cans per day! I initially started kicking the habit by drinking one can then one bottle of water. I didn't allow myself the next can until the water was gone. I then did one can and two bottles of water in between, etc. I haven't had a Diet Coke since 4/25/2012. I cut caffeine completely. When I stopped cold that day, I had a massive headache for three days. Took some Aleve and went to bed at 7pm each of those nights. I haven't looked back and don't miss it. I lost 20 pounds within the first two months. My skin is SO much healthier...not so dry. I am less hungry between meals and have had zero heartburn.

It was tough but it was the best decision I ever made!