Tips for stopping diet soda intake

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goldilocks007
goldilocks007 Posts: 107
in Food and Nutrition
My good friend is truly addicted to diet soda. She understands the science behind diet sodas and why they are so bad for you. She also understands that it contributes to her food cravings. She has decreased the amount she drinks (2 bottles daily), but can quite seem to give it up completely. I quit drinking soda years ago after a horrible bout of bronchitis, so I have no advice to share with her. Any practical tips to finally kick the diet soda habit would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for the advice :flowerforyou:

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  • mamaclev
    mamaclev Posts: 9
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    I was also a very big fan of diet soda, but knew they weren't doing me any good. I now drink Vitamin0 Water. Love the Grape /Raspberry and Orange/Mandarin. Now I don't drink any soda at all. Never buy it in the grocery store and when I go out to eat I just have ice water or iced-tea. Hope this helps.
    Lisa
  • tknuzum
    tknuzum Posts: 52
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    My advice would be just do it. Set your mind to it and just do it. Its hard the first like week, the headaches are killer, just drink some coffe or take some pain killers. And thats how I had to do it, now 3 months free. Eating out its Ice tea. And we don't have pop in our house at all. The bf knows that it will tempt me so he doesn't drink it at home either. And once you quite for a while. It will taste funny if you start again. And the first one burns. So yeah, tell her good luck and she can do it just put her mind to it. And if its like me, its convinient to grab a can of pop at home rather than a glass of water, so instead, buy bottles water, instead of pop :) Hope it helps.
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
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    Honestly - you just have to find what drink is a good sub - for her I mean. For me it was Propel - Black Cherry and Berry. I tried a million different drinks before - but this one worked for me. Now I hardly ever have a Propel - just water, water, water for me!
  • fitnesspirateninja
    fitnesspirateninja Posts: 667 Member
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    I also had a huge diet soda addiction. It was my worst habit. I just quit cold turkey one day because I got sick of being dependent on crap that was so bad for me. It's like smoking, she's got to be ready to do it. Here's what I did:

    -Drank strong black tea to avoid getting "lack of caffeine" headaches.
    -Drank a huge amount of water to flush my system.
    -Took walks when feeling stressed out instead of getting a soda.

    It also helps that I live far from town and I have to really work to get a soda. But those are my main tips.
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
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    I was a diet coke addict! I just stopped one day cold turkey and said that in 3 days I could have one if I wanted. I added in seltzer water for the carbonation. I drank cans and cans to fullfill my soda cravings.... On the 3rd day I had a soda and to my surprise it tasted horrible! What a nice surprise. I found that after that I didn't want them. I still want my soda water but for the most part I've switched up my drinks to ice tea/ lemonade/ water.

    It was a great day when I no longer thought of diet coke as a must have for me.
  • jhobson2005
    jhobson2005 Posts: 6
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    I drink diet coke constantly and I am in the same boat. I want to quit, but the headaches are horrible. Im also very picky so juices I like are few and far between. To make this even more fun, I have tried forcing myself to like coffee and it is just not happening. Whats everyones opinion on using sweet tea to wean off of the cokes?
  • lupuslady
    lupuslady Posts: 99
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    Diet coke is really really bad for your jts. Aspartame can really do you in. I love flavored water, but it is so expensive. But I am offf soda, when your doctor says it is bad you need to stop. Caffeine is hard on your blood vessels, but you can just drink enough to keep the headaches away. Like one glass or cup a day.
    But I think the answer is to suffer through the headaches and get off caffeine and diet drinks.
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
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    I was a diet mt dew addict a few months ago...I mean I would literally drink 12-20 cans a day (wonder why I couldn't lose weight huh?) I stopped cold turkey. I did drink more coffee and ate energy mints, to offset the headaches. I just wouldn't buy them so if they aren't in sight I can't drink them I would have to drink something else...Now there is no pop in my house except for when the kids have upset stomach's then its sprite. Every time I would get thirsty or start craving soda I would try to drink a glass of water...

    I don't even miss it now.
  • AdamATGATT
    AdamATGATT Posts: 573 Member
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    Diet coke is really really bad for your jts. Aspartame can really do you in. I love flavored water, but it is so expensive. But I am offf soda, when your doctor says it is bad you need to stop. Caffeine is hard on your blood vessels, but you can just drink enough to keep the headaches away. Like one glass or cup a day.
    But I think the answer is to suffer through the headaches and get off caffeine and diet drinks.

    Good thing I have a food allergy to artificial sweetners. Instant migraines. :sick: Bonus: I greatly dislike the taste of diet drinks anyway.
  • Olblueiiii
    Olblueiiii Posts: 43 Member
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    I, too, quit my huge Diet Pepsi habit cold turkey. And yes, I was pretty uncomfortable for about three days. Find something better for to drink instead. For me, it was powdered Arizona diet green tea mix. But now, there's just nothing better than pure water. Good luck!
  • lilbugsd
    lilbugsd Posts: 5 Member
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    Add me to the list of, "Soda to Pure Water" converts. I don't even order soda when I go to restaraunts.

    The headaches at the beginning suck, but Tylenol helped, as well as napping when I could.

    Wish I could pass along some magical advice, but I don't have any. Basically, I quit my whining about it and just stopped cold turkey. If I wanted something to drink, it was water, period. End of story.

    It's been a couple years since I've stopped, and thinking about how great I feel as well as all the money I've saved is fantastic!!! You just really have to be ready to do it, otherwise, what's the point?
  • KristenY18
    KristenY18 Posts: 42
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    I was a diet dr pepper freak! I would have about 6 cans a day!!! Horrible I know. I would actually crave it badly. I decided to switch do the decaf version and cut my amount to 3 cans. After a short time, i found a flavored carbonated water... that did the trick for me. So I took baby steps and have not looked back! Best wishes!!!

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