Diet soda addict

I'm in exactly the same boat as you! I know soda is bad, but it will probably be the last unhealthy thing to go from my diet. It's not even the caffeine for me, so much as the sweetness and the fizz! My guess would be that tapering off might be easier -- just replace 1 of those 3-4 every day with tea or flavored water (the low-cal kind!), until you're down to just 1 or 2 a week. Allegedly, you won't even miss them after that! (I find that hard to believe, but many people swear by it!)

Hate to be brutal, but you've got to want this healthy lifestyle more than you want the diet soda. It's the only way addicts of any kind let go of the addiction. Whether you go cold turkey, or wean yourself off, whatever the reason you're doing it for has to be the most important thing....and you'll be able to do it.

I am addicted to Diet Pepsi. I drink alot as does my husband too. My husband and I were just talking today about giving it up but I especially enjoy it with a meal. I know that when I drink it without a meal it makes me want something to eat with it. They were on Dr. Phil saying that we need to keep hydrated and Diet Pop is not the way to do this. They mentioned water and adding flavor packets to it.(Crystal Light) I know we could save alot of $$ if we could break this habit. Anybody have any tips on breaking this habit?? We pretty much said to each other when it's gone , it's gone and don't buy any more.

If you read some of the medical concerns with diet sodas and the way it "plugs" your system, you won't want to drink it! I find that Crystal Light helps and adding fruits to my water does, also. I hope this helps.

Hey you are on a good start. I used to drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day, now I'm down to 2. Just keep up the good work. If Diet Dr Pepper is the worst thing you put into your body, you're already much healthier then many people out there.

I am starting the flat belly diet. They have sassy water. Its actually pretty tasty.
In a large pitcher
1 small thinly sliced cucumber-
1 lemon (sometimes I use a lime)
a few fresh mint leaves
1 tsp freshly ground ginger

Not only does it taste grate, but it also helps to clean out some of the waste/toxins in your body.

Hate to be brutal, but you've got to want this healthy lifestyle more than you want the diet soda. It's the only way addicts of any kind let go of the addiction. Whether you go cold turkey, or wean yourself off, whatever the reason you're doing it for has to be the most important thing....and you'll be able to do it.

I have had to quit a few things in my time....every time I did it cold turkey and I wanted something worse than I wanted what I was quiting........

I am addicted to Diet Pepsi. I drink alot as does my husband too. My husband and I were just talking today about giving it up but I especially enjoy it with a meal. I know that when I drink it without a meal it makes me want something to eat with it. They were on Dr. Phil saying that we need to keep hydrated and Diet Pop is not the way to do this. They mentioned water and adding flavor packets to it.(Crystal Light) I know we could save alot of $$ if we could break this habit. Anybody have any tips on breaking this habit?? We pretty much said to each other when it's gone , it's gone and don't buy any more.

I thought about doing the Crystal Light thing too -even tried it last summer. There was a previous topic on my fitness pal about how diet soft drinks are bad. Crystal Light has that same artificial sweetener. So I guess it's just as guilty as a Caffeine free Coke or Zero Diet Rite (Splenda.)

I was drinking a 2L bottle of Diet Cola per day about a month ago.
I stopped cold turkey but ...

started drinking Crystal Light singles instead. I don't think I'm doing myself any favours by doing this. I eat too much splenda as it is. I have 3 per day, each mixed in 32 oz of water. So I'm getting my water in no problem but it's definitely adulterated.
I'm addicted to the sweetness.

I have to say that when I drink pure water, my weight drops off faster than if I add the CL to it. I'm not sure why.

Go cold turkey and get rid of the taste altogether. It only hurts for a little while. :sad:

I've been a Coke, Dr. Pepper & Mountain Dew devotee for as long as I can remember. I discovered 7-11 Big Gulps at age 7, pretty hardcore.

I became very sick last year and couldn't stomach the flavor syrup in any sodas, not even ginger ale. So I started drinking sparkling water (like Perrier, La Croix and San Pellegrino) because it helped with the nausea.

After a few days, I realized it was the bubbles I was craving, not the soda itself. Now I drink sparkling water all the time and have totally broken my addiction to traditional sodas. It wasn't even difficult, so I didn't feel like I was doing anything "cold-turkey". I do have them once in a while, but they taste heavy and too sweet now to have much of it.

Sparkling water comes in a million flavors if you want them, but I generally prefer the straight stuff. Generics like the Kroger brand are just as good; it's not high in sodium like some others can be. Try it, you might be surprised.

Good luck

I just try to limit mine to meals. Lunch and dinner. I can drink it first thing in the am like others do coffee and tea. I find it easier to drink hot tea in the winter with our hot water tap. Cold tea is to long to make lol.

Cold turkey worked best for me. I quit both coffee and soda at the same time. I had headaches for about a week and eased it with herbal tea when the cravings got too bad. But my goal was also to increase my water intake and I couldn't do that drinking soda and coffee. The fact that soda is crap in a can was just added incentive. I try to drink water with meals. If I want flavor, I may add a bit of lemon or even a capful of natural apple cider vinegar.

Two things helped;
1. I simply stopped buying them. If it wasn't in the house, I wouldn't be tempted. The only beverages in the house are water, coconut water, rice or almond milk and occasionally fruit juice.
2. I increased my fruit intake and started juicing fruit & veg as well. I think my body was craving sweets and now that I get t from fruit and veg, the craving is not as bad

I know I should but I can't give it up. Something about the sweetness and the bubbles are soothing to my jangled nerves. I did go down to 1-2 a day when I used to drink much more. I still lost even with doing that.

I was just going to start a topic on this. I have ten cans of diet pepsi left in the house. After those are gone, I'm done. I don't eat out much anymore, so that shouldn't be a problem, and I really just have to give it up. I've been drinking it since I was 12. Part of the reason I'm giving it up is to see if it helps with my weight loss. I drink a ton of it - 8+ cans per day easy - and I've really been disappointed in my weight loss this new year. I've been perfect on my WW points for a month, did the Couch-to-5K for 4 weeks and I've only lost 6.4 pounds. And I'm a big girl, who needs to lose a lot of weight, so I just can't see how that's right.