soft drinks

Hairhacker
Hairhacker Posts: 174 Member
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
Anybody else out there addicted to regular soft drinks?? I cannot seem to stop drinking them and HATE wasteing my calories on them. I hate diet and have tried them many many times, plus they aren't good for you either. I drink alot of water too but really need to find a way to cut out my Pepsi and Mt. Dew.

Replies

  • catusha
    catusha Posts: 11
    I loved my ice tea and was rather fond of coke. Its all a question of how much you want it - if you really want to lose weight AND change your lifestyle then its cold turkey. For me the first week or so was the hardest and even after a couple of months I still crave these drinks. Sometimes I allow myself a glass of diet coke or a small glass of ice tea (the rest of the time its water, water, water and an occasional regular tea )
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
    Have you tried seltzer?
  • Hairhacker
    Hairhacker Posts: 174 Member
    Never tried seltzer.. do you just drink it plain or do you flavor it ?
  • JunkFoodJane
    JunkFoodJane Posts: 150 Member
    I love flavored colas. I've reduced my intake from 2 liters a day to a can (8-12 oz, just depends on what I buy).

    I realized a couple of years ago I was always getting hooked on soda again when I'd eat out, so I rarely do that anymore and no longer have the intense cravings. Took a little time and effort but I'm happy with my current level of intake.
  • Mmmary212
    Mmmary212 Posts: 410 Member
    Quitting soda is going to be a decision you'll just have to make. If you can tolerate an alternative (besides diet, since you said you dont like it), then it's a battle you'll either win or lose.

    I refuse to drink regular soda because I don't want to waste my carbs on them (and sugar, and calories, but I'm not counting calories, but it all goes hand in hand with soda)...and I hated diet forever and swore I'd never drink it, but I weighed the pro's and con's and I've adapted tothe taste and now I prefer diet. The regular is way too sweet and sticky.

    Instead of going cold turkey, drink half regular half diet (if you want to try the diet route, or if you dont, disregard me lol)...that'll cut your calories in half and still taste good.

    Or buy carbonated water and add crystal light or some other calorie free beverage and make your own soda, if you need that fizz.
  • fitaliciag
    fitaliciag Posts: 373
    You really have to cut them out, even diet soda if you want big changes. the calories are emtpy and all sugar, not good. i LOVE my Pepsi and it does suck, but trust me, once you stop it and go back.....YOU FEEL the difference. soda is just not good for you
  • kevanos
    kevanos Posts: 304 Member
    Soda addiction is like a smoking addiction.

    You know its bad for you in long run but it makes you happy short term. A quick fix for pleasure.

    Take the time to set yourself some goals and objectives. Actually take out a pen and paper and write things down that you want to acheive in the next week, month, year, 5 years.

    Once you do that, ask yourself if continuing to drink soda will help you reach those objectives.
  • Lpfeifer419
    Lpfeifer419 Posts: 82
    Like any other addiction, you can't stop until you're ready for a change.

    My husband and I were drinking 3 cans of Mt. Dew a day, each (this was about 6 months ago). We just decided one day that enough was enough and quit soda cold turkey. For about 2 weeks we were both crabby messes. I "relapsed" and started ordering soda when we went out, but I am happy to say that I haven't had a soda in about 2 months.

    Because of this journey to get healthy, soda is simply not an option for me. If I really need that fiz, I'll get carbonated water (plain).

    There will come a time that you realize that soda is harming your efforts.
  • Hairhacker
    Hairhacker Posts: 174 Member
    Thank you so much for all the replies. It truly is an addiction, and like any other i guess you just have to make the choice to stop. It's one thing that I truly enjoy but soooo many calories. I will have to try the half diet and half regular thing, never thought of that. Maybe I will be able to fully stop altogether, I stopped smoking 16 years ago and it just takes wanting to more than the pleasure you get from doing it. I guess I'm not there yet with the soda. Thanks again you all are great!! I'm new to this site and ya'll have made me feel so welcome.
  • ♥AngelKisses♥
    ♥AngelKisses♥ Posts: 86
    I was ADDICTED to Mt dew. I slowly cut down but only ordering when I went out to dinner (which is once a week). It made it easier but just not buying it for the house that way the temptation isn't there. Then when I got used to that I told myself that the only way that I was able to get a soda when going out to dinner was if I had already had all 8 cups of water that day (I hate water so that is difficult for me.) Now I order water with lemon when at dinner and if I need something sweet I add 1 packet of Splenda to my water with lemon. Hope that helps.
  • bethany41h
    bethany41h Posts: 218
    I am all too familiar with a soda addiction. I mentioned this on another post that I came from a home where if there was no soda in the fridge, mom thought we had nothing to drink. So we were serious soda people. I grew up thinking soda was the only beverage out there. So I had to make a decision to cut regular soda out. You will find that diet soda starts to taste much better once you kick the sugary devil you've been drinking. Now I am a mostly water girl and I've cut carbs and sugars and I get a sugar fix from a diet soda. At this point, diet soda tastes like a sugar cube lol You just have to hang it up. Sugar detox! :) Good luck!
  • KitKB
    KitKB Posts: 45 Member
    I love regular soda and I hate diet. To make it a little better for me, I usually try to drink imported Coca cola from Mexico, since it uses real sugar, rather than HFCS. They also sell soda at passover that has real sugar. (Of course, this is a whole different topic ;) )

    Anyway, I've gotten to where I see soda as a treat. It's the same to me as ice cream or cake. I treat myself to one every now and then and I enjoy it. But it is definitely not an option to drink it at every meal, or even every day. A soda is a snack, a dessert, a treat.
  • akp090909
    akp090909 Posts: 5
    Im in the same boat! When you look at what I am eating, I should be losing serious weight, but once you add the soda in, It's very easy to see why I am not! I've tried the 1/2 diet 1/2 regular thing and I can still taste it! It's the biggest thing I have to work on! Good Luck! :)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    You really shouldn't drink your calories, as I'm sure you know.

    You might try an Italian Soda using sugar free syrups. I first had one of these at a coffee shop. It's basically just carbonated water and the same flavored syrups people put into their coffee. There are many flavors of the syrups that come sugar free. You can find some flavors at the grocery store in the same aisle as coffee and tea but stores like Cost Plus World Market usually carry a much larger selection. Torani is usually the brand I see out there: http://www.torani.com/

    This is their list of sugar free flavors:

    * Sugar Free Black Cherry syrup
    * Sugar Free Coffee syrup
    * Sugar Free French Vanilla syrup
    * Sugar Free Lemon syrup
    * Sugar Free Lime syrup
    * Sugar Free Mango syrup
    * Sugar Free Orange syrup
    * Sugar Free Peach syrup
    * Sugar Free Raspberry syrup
    * Sugar Free Strawberry syrup
    * Sugar Free Sweetener syrup
    * Sugar Free Vanilla Bean syrup
    * Sugar Free Vanilla syrup
    * Sugar Free Watermelon syrup
  • hill2302
    hill2302 Posts: 139 Member
    I thought I would never be able to give up regular sodas. I hated the taste of diet drinks.

    Then we took a camping trip and just packed Coke Zero for the trip. So for a week it was Coke Zero and Water and nothing else. By the end of the week, I had gotten used to and actually started liking the taste of the Coke Zero. I then tried a regular Diet Coke and was surprised to find that I didn't hate it. The bad aftertaste had gone. Now I can drink diet drinks without problem and have no craving whatsoever for a regular soda. I took a drink of a regular soda once and could tell right away it wasn't a diet. It tasted SOOOOO sweet. Tooo sweet now.

    You just gotta make the decision to drop it. You will adjust, you just gotta give it enough time to do so.

    I will tell you that lbs started dropping like crazy the moment I stopped wasting my calories of sodas!!! I can't imagine drinking a meal's worth of calories like I used too.
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