How to quit/wean yourself of pop/soda?

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  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    you're addicted to caffeine. Switch to tea or coffee. If you want to keep the calories really low, then have it black with no sugar. Although the calories in the amount of milk you add to tea or coffee is pretty low, so as long as you log them it's fine.

    Switching to diet pepsi/coke/whatever is another option.

    Caffeine does not interfere with weight loss - if anything it can help slightly. It's the sugar in pepsi/coke that's the problem (although if you log it all carefully, you can still lose weight - but if you're drinking a lot of it you'll be using up too many calories on it and you'll find it hard to get enough nutrition and enough food to satisfy you without going over your calorie goal)
  • AyaRowan
    AyaRowan Posts: 80 Member
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    In college I would hardly ever drink water, I would drink Dr. Pepper all the time. But when I got sick with intracranial hypertension (high pressure in the brain, a neurological condition), I switched to Sprite because caffine made my headaches worse. So for years I drank Sprite, several a day.

    But almost two years ago I kept having issues with UTI's, kept getting infections. So I had to stop drinking sodas and juices for a while and switch entirely to water. I kept getting them on and off for a few months so I never had a chance to start back to drinking soda again. By the time I was back in good health, whenever I tried to drink soda it tastes like syrup! I could only finish those tiny 8oz cans if I had soda, not the full 12oz ones.

    Eventually I just cut them out entirely when I started tracking calories because I would much rather eat the calories in soda than drink them. I drink pretty much all water now. Occasionally I have a Crystal Light Pure, the kind sweetened with stevia because artificial sugars bother my kidneys. I also love lemon cayenne water, I get a big 16-20oz glass of water and put in the juice of a lemon and a couple shakes of cayenne pepper. It's so good! But I love tart things.
  • KelseyBee2014
    KelseyBee2014 Posts: 188 Member
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    I've never been addicted to pop/soda (spent my entire childhood in California and Minnesota :) ) and I was never addicted to caffeine (I don't drink coffee, loved the pop without caffeine, i.e. sprite). But I believe I am addicted to the sugar. (I hate diet pop immensely. I hate artificial sugar overall.) Just about seven days ago I just stopped drinking it. It was the kind of thing where I realized I had only drank water in the last two days, so now it's almost a competition to see how long I can go with only drinking water. I work in a movie theater where I can drink as much pop as I want for free while I work... and that's so hard to resist.

    I've never cared for water unless I had just been really active or hot. It has to be really cold too. But...I'm getting over it. I don't love it, but I know I'll learn to love it eventually. I am craving soda, or gatorade, a ton, but I just think about home much calories are in those and pass. I really would prefer to eat my calories. It's more satisfying.

    Good luck!
  • thepandapost
    thepandapost Posts: 117 Member
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    I used to be crazed over diet soda until I realized how bad it was for me. In summer 2011 I decided to just stop (this also included any foods with aspartame). It was tough but each day I kept going it got a little easier. I stocked my fridge with water and unsweetened tea, I set myself up for success and haven't looked back since.
  • Turbooble
    Turbooble Posts: 16 Member
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    I'm 24 and I officially stopped drinking soda when I was 18. On my 17th birthday I decided I wanted to quit drinking soda and diet soda is worse than regular, so I decided to start slow and stopped drinking dark sodas first. After about a month we had a family outing and by habit I ordered a pepsi. When it arrived I decided to go ahead and drink it, but just the one. On my first drink I immediately regretted it. It tasted nasty and I felt sick to my stomach. The same thing happened to my dad and a few of my friends. To this day I can hardly stand the smell of some dark sodas.

    After a year of drinking light colored sodas I decided to quit altogether. It was a little more difficult than the dark sodas, because I needed something to replace it with. I was successful without a replacement for a few weeks, but at this time I got a soda stream and only made the ones that had zero calories and zero everything else. I also started drinking zero ultra monster, but that is another recent habit.

    Now I only drink one white Ultra calorie free Monster in the morning for breakfast (its like my coffee) and water the rest of the day. I have no urge to drink anything else.

    Good luck with your journey!
  • kashcopyright
    kashcopyright Posts: 21 Member
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    Sweet tea ftw!

    I drank Dr. Pepper since I was 5 but hated the taste it would leave in my mouth, though not as much as I hated plain water. Then my step-mom got me addicted to McDonald's fountain Coca Cola.
    Sweet tea (NOT from McDonald's) was a way better substitute.
    Plus you can put less and less sugar in it or try different leaves/flavors so it never gets mundane.
    Or, or those water flavors in the packet things.

    Some people have said on here that you shouldn't try to completely stop your self from having soda, and they are totally right. I found when I first wanted to stop drinking sodas that water just wasn't enough. My body was so used to the sodium and crap in sodas that water would do nothing for my thirst. And Gatorade would make my throat sticky yuk. But you probably knew all that because the post title includes wean..

    Eventually I got hooked on Ice Mountain water and still hate tap water. We are getting a house soon and there is a filter on the kitchen faucet so maybe that will help, too..
  • jagi410
    jagi410 Posts: 97 Member
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    March of 2013 I had my last Diet Coke. After a 4+ can a day Dr. Pepper habit for over 10 years, I switched to diet sodas when I noticed how fat I got/felt. Then one day I tried to read the can of diet coke in front of me. I could not pronounce half of the ingredients. So I decided that if I can't pronounce it, I shouldn't drink it. It's been over a year of black coffee, unsweetened tea, lots of water, and of course, beer. The only exception to the rule is "Emergen-C" or Airborne type drink mixes. The flavor and fizz still scratch the soda itch, but they are loaded with vitamins and more good things than bad.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    I won't quit soda, screw that. I just drink a lot less. It's more of a treat now.
  • CuracaoRunner
    CuracaoRunner Posts: 21 Member
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    I agree, the coconut LA Croix is the BEST, but I can't find it anymore!! Are you able to still purchase it?
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
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    (sigh) Ya just DO!
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I used to have an insane diet soda addiction. I love some fake sugar. I had to give it up when I was pregnant with my kids and figured if it's bad for a baby it's probably bad for me too. Now I drink a ton of unsweetened ice tea and seltzer when I get sick of water. The seltzer is nice for the fizz. Whats funny is that now anything with a lot of artificial sweetener or real sugar is usually super sugary tasting to me. It's ruined my morning yogurt because it tastes too sweet now.
  • Eoghann
    Eoghann Posts: 130 Member
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    What works for you will depend almost entirely on your personality.

    Some people are cold-turkey people. That's just how it works for them.
    Others will wean off something.
    Others will find a replacement.

    For myself I don't do diet sodas because of the aftertaste from the sweetener which just makes me shudder. So I simply replace some of my drinks with water. I still have sodas when I'm out at restaurants but rarely at home.
  • cryptonyt
    cryptonyt Posts: 85 Member
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    All depends on taste I guess, but I sometimes have a soda water with lime. I get the flavoured carbonated drink that i think I miss, and I am good to go.
  • sakuragreenlily
    sakuragreenlily Posts: 334 Member
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    I've never had an issue with sodas... I haven't drank soda or tea since I was 12 and I actually enjoy water... But I can empathize because I have a serious problem with cake of all forms (haha!) so I imagine if you have as much issue giving up soda as I do with not eating cake (which you probably have more trouble because there's no caffeine in cake!) then it's probably pretty hard.

    I think the best thing for me has been trying to eat as much natural sugar and natural foods as possible...

    On the rare occasion I do sip a soda it tastes WAY too sweet and it's not pleasant. Diet sodas and things with fake sugar taste unnaturally sweet as well. I steer clear of any "low carb" calorie savors like 0 calorie dressings, diet sodas, etc., because they are unnaturally sweet and don't give your taste buds a chance to adjust to the natural sweetness of fruits, pure syrups (such as maple), etc. I also eat real butter because the calories are worth it for the flavor, lol.

    I'm not a person who says "eat clean all the time!" I enjoy all kinds of things that wouldn't be considered "clean eating" but you'd be so surprised how your taste buds adjust if you avoid the fake sugar garbage.
  • Delquin
    Delquin Posts: 33 Member
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    We rarely have soda in our home now.

    When I was pregnant, I had gestational diabetes. When I went to the nutritionist, she showed me how much sugar was in a 2L of pop. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of what she showed me, but I think this image is pretty telling:

    http://i.imgur.com/pzqfmru.jpg?1

    We buy sparking water a lot now, and when we want some flavor, we buy those "water enhancers" - things like Mio. There are TONS of flavors, and yes, they've got chemicals in them that probably aren't the best for us, but it's a good next step in the transition away from soda.

    You can also add fruit to your water, or mint - or freeze some juice in ice cube and use that with the sparkling water.
  • BigMomma742
    BigMomma742 Posts: 46 Member
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    At first I was having Coke-Fridays and I would limit myself to one of a certain size. That gradually became Coke-Wednesday and Friday and I had a bad day so the largest size was okay. Finally , I made up my mind I was done with the stuff, and I knew it had to be completely gone or it would creep back in. I quit in April of 2013. Like I said I would drink it when I was stressed/depressed. My son was in a fatal car wreck in May 2013, and I STAYED OFF OF IT. Did I want it? Yes. Now, I have a regular size Dr. Pepper once a year on his birthday because that was his drink. I thought about having a Coke on my birthday but then this way I have chosen to honor him is de-valued. My advice is that you have to have it in your mind that you are done with it then up and quit. Quit in honor of somebody you love maybe let it signify something. All I drink is unsweetened tea and water and maybe once a month a bottle of juice. Sugar is the devil ;) I hope this helps you. Don't you think if I can quit anybody can? Best of luck, addicts ;)
  • jgoulet003
    jgoulet003 Posts: 12 Member
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    I just bought some of the water enhancers. I used those for like 3 days and just kept using less and less. Now all I drink is water. For me, it was more about my mind set. I couldn't just throw myself into a healthy lifestyle. One day, I woke up and I was done.
  • IchKomme
    IchKomme Posts: 1
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    Stress from school combined with a diet change had me sipping on RIPIT energy drinks every day around lunch when I just started to eat primarily vegetables and salad for that meal. All that fizz wasn't good for my teeth regardless if it was the blue "zero carb/sugar" version. Then on a whim I tried MiOENERGY.

    Its only 60mg Caffiene per 1/2tsp, and adding a couple squeezes to my water bottle helped me knock out my need to that energy drink. I don't even have to drink it constantly, just one while I'm at work. (26Oz bottle, 3 quick squeezes to change the water color).

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