Soda

I can't talk about cause and effect much, but what I can say is my personal experience. I used to get headaches when I cut out soda/caffeine, but I was drinking, like 6 Mountain Dew's in a day. The headaches will stop with time.

Since I've joined MFP with the goal of losing weight, I noticed when I started drinking (diet) soda again, my weight loss stopped. In fact, I gained about 5 pounds then they just wouldn't come off.

I stopped drinking soda again last week, and the weight is starting to come off again. I'm still consuming the same amount of calories on average.

Hope this helps!

(edited for typo)

Soda has a lot of sugar which can lead to carb craving (something I'm fighting right now)
If you want a better alternative, try the water flavor's.. I use Kool-Aid or Mio squirters for a quick flavor but you can also let fresh fruit sit in a pitcher overnight for a lightly tinted flavor.

I drink coke zero all the time and I don't get sugar cravings and I'm very flexible in the way I eat, meaning I don't cut out any foods, I have everything in moderation.

However I should make the switch to zevia or flavored water.

Drinking diet soda never stopped me from losing weight. It stopped me from keeping it off. If it gives you a headache to go without maybe slowly start weaning yourself off of it and on to something else. I never thought I'd ever enjoy ice tea, but I actually found one I like. I enjoy having ice tea and hot tea now.

I am totally addicted to Diet Pepsi and really want to quit. I just cut out my candy & crap so one day at a time!!
:bigsmile:

I would agree with the comments about gradually reducing over a period of time if you drink a lot of soda.

You could pick up some of those flavored water enhancer drops to increase your water intake - 8 cups of water per day are recommended - if you drink 4 X 500ml bottles of water per day that meets that recommendation - it doesn't seem like that much when you look at 4 bottles of water

Next Tuesday (3/18) is my one year anniversary being off soda. I used to be addicted to Diet Pepsi. My kids called it liquid gold. I really needed one every morning. I drank about 32 oz a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, but that's a good average. Last year one day I just decided to quit and never looked back. You can do it. For me it was the financial issue. But I will say I am apple shaped and have always carried weight in my belly. Quitting soda had no effect on that. It's still there.

Hello - my name is Jlynn and I'm a Dr. Pepper addict. I was drinking at least a 6 pack a day. I pretty much gave it up the first of the year (except for a stint where I was sick for 3 days and I gave in).

I did have headaches for a while - but drank an extra cup of coffee in the afternoon and that seemed to help.

I have noticed that I have lost most of the weight (13# so far) off my belly/hips/thighs - which is where I needed to lose it the most.

A client brought me a 12 pack over 2 months ago - and it still sits in the fridge at work - with only ONE gone and I gave that to my daughter one day when she came to visit.

Water alone at first was really hard for me - try getting some Mio or Crystal light and add a little for flavor - I like the lemonade ones. Now I rarely add that - unless I just really want something different. Also - I've made a rule - "If I want to eat, I have to drink" - that means every time I eat something I down a glass (8-12 oz) of water first - for starters it keeps me full - and two it guarantees I get at least 4-5 glasses in a day - over and above what I sip on at my desk.

I wish you the best of luck. Soda is a tough one for a lot of us. (It was easier for me to quit smoking!)

yes it does as I am struggling with breaking away from the pepsi I noticed that when I don't drink it for say like a few weeks my stomach is less bloated if u are needing that fizzy taste in ur mouth oceanspray and starbucks have little drinks in the can to help with that I have bought both so I feel your struggle

I am a huge diet coke addict - HUGE. I finally admitted to myself that drinking it was doing me no favors and have cut down to about 1 can a week, if that, and I always follow it up with a ton of water. After a couple of weeks I've lost weight must faster than I was previously, I've also noticed I've had much less tummy bloat at the end of the day.

Green tea (with lots of lemon) has been helping with the caffeine withdrawal and sparkling flavored water drinks (Fruitwater is my favorite) help with my craving for carbonation.

I've never been a big soda drinker myself, but I have a hard time just drinking plain water. I recently started drinking seltzer water with lime and splenda.. tastes fizzy and little sweet like sprite with no calories

*edited for typo

Growing up we never got pop in our house other than once a week as a treat on pizza night. As soon as I had a job I would drink it nonstop. I would get a 2 liter every morning and it would be gone before lunch. They where cheaper than water. 99cents for a 2 liter or $1.50+ for a liter of water ( I still cant figure that out ) . Than pretty much just drank it all night. 6+ cans. So I know how hard it is to stop. I did though. I started with cutting back on how much i drank each day. Than switched over to diet pop. Orange and wierd flavors like that that did not taste like diet drinks. I even started using those drink flavoring packets for water bottles. Eventually I switched to ice tea. Now the only thing i drink is water and milk ( regular and almond). I do how ever will get a coke zero every once in a blue moon as a treat if we go out to dinner. I got kinda cheap over my years and hate paying $2+ for a soda when water is just fine for me. Main thing for me as I go through losing weight is just to make sure what ever i drink is calorie free other than milk of course.

I used to drink 2-2 liters of regular Pepsi a day. Later, I fell for the misconception that diet soda was better because it didn’t contain calories and a person couldn’t get fat. So I brought a case of Diet Pepsi from Sams which contains 24 – 24 oz. bottles and drunk 3 a day. I did this weekly and along with bad eating and exercise habits, I topped the scale at 202 lbs. All sodas will make you gain weight. I am down to one every couple of weeks. Yes, you could get headaches because your body is withdrawing from caffeine but stick to your plan and the headaches will stop.

Soda is definitely something that can cause someone to gain weight or have difficulty losing it. I used to drink 3-4 sodas a day to get through my day at work, thinking that I needed the sugar boost and the caffeine. I just gave up soda for lent (started March 4th in the evening) and I've already lost 9 lbs just by switching to water and making sure I get enough water every day. I did have headaches, but that's the caffeine withdrawal. I don't have caffeinated stuff at home because my husband can't have caffeine, and I don't like coffee, so it was really hard the first week when I really really just wanted a can of coke. BUT, now that it has been over 2 weeks since I had a soda, I feel better than I have in a long time and I really think it's because the soda isn't in my diet anymore and I replaced it with water. If I need something with flavor, I get a fruit juice or a vitamin water, but mostly I don't mind drinking water at my desk each day. I drink decaf tea at home and every now and then I reward myself with a McDonald's sweet tea because I do love sweet tea and still want a little caffeine here and there.

If someone like me who drank at least 3 sodas every day can quit cold turkey, I mean it when I say ANYONE can do it! Good luck!