Soda! Help!

I have a Red Bull Zero every day

Pepsi Next! 40 calories per 8 ounces. No fake sugar just less sugar.

I don't know if you're trying to avoid sugar for sugar's sake or if you're trying to cut calories, but, as others have suggested, switch to a diet or zero-cal pop. Also my local grocery store (Kroger) has water flavor packets with caffeine in them. They come in all sorts of fruit flavors and you just add them to a bottle of water. Most of those are 10 calories/packet.

Soda is my problem. I've been drinking water and coffee (with milk and sugar) or flavoured tea, but there's a Coke-shaped hole in my soul.

I was a big pop/soda drinker, this is my first week going cold turkey!..suffered a bad headache the first day..I've started drinking green tea, headaches have stopped and found and sleeping a lot better and earlier..could never sleep until about 2am (with 2 small children this is no fun) went bed at 10pm last night for the first time in years! Give it a go! But if you find that too difficult diet sodas a great alternative! I drank Pepsi max daily when I lost 4 stone a few years ago x

nekoface wrote: »

Soda is my problem. I've been drinking water and coffee (with milk and sugar) or flavoured tea, but there's a Coke-shaped hole in my soul.

Are you from the southern US? I find my southern friends were raised on Coke and associate it with all kinds of warm childhood memories.

Nevermind - you're from England, lol.

Tea. There are so many favors to choose from.

jpaulie wrote: »

Woodspoon wrote: »

ToniaH75 wrote: »

I always heard Diet soda is just as bad for you as regular soda...

It's an urban myth
You're more likely to drown from drinking too much of the water thats in it before anything else has an effect.

dunno, brain does funny things to you when you try to trick it into thinking it is getting sugar when it is not

Good thing your digestive system knows the difference.

I thought I needed caffeine as well. Turns out I didn't. I started drinking water, had a bit of a headache for a few days, but otherwise I haven't really noticed a difference.

Back when I lost weight a few years ago, I drank diet soda and still lost weight. I'm healthy all around except I gained 30lbs back (so that is why I am back). I am now drinking 1 or 2 cans of dr pepper ten a day. That satisfies my soda craving and I am still losing weight.

But it is all up to you, what you are comfortable with. Once people start talking about diet pop on here mass hysteria is created between the two extremist sides haha.

Their is nothing wrong with soda/diet soda or coffee so drink what ever you want as long as you count the calories in what you drink. The only reason I will advise you to cut soda out if you can't learn to limit the amount you drink or it causes you to binge on other food causing you to lose your deficit.

I had a real issue with diet coke and would drink them one after the other during the day. I never drank water and if I had something else to drink it was usually sweet tea (the sweeter the better). Then I made the decision that I needed to cut way back on the sugar and unhealthy choices and went cold turkey on the diet coke. I also cut out the sweet tea and decided to suck it up and do unsweet tea to keep the caffeine headaches away. I NEVER liked or wanted unsweet tea but made myself drink it to keep the headaches away. It didn't take long for my taste to change because now if someone hands me a sweet tea I can't stand to drink it and will have to throw it out. I didn't allow anyone to bring home soda of any kind and keep at home so my options of what to drink were limited. Now I have several glasses of water during the day and usually one glass of unsweet tea. Good luck!

ardenspark wrote: »

If you really *need* caffeine, pop a caffeine pill. When I gave up Diet Coke, I was looking for a source of caffeine and this works as well as coffee or soda. Diet Coke withdrawal was the worst (not the caffeine but the aspartame) but I've been "clean" for 7 months.

I know the scientific jury is still out on weather or not diet soda is bad for you - but I made the choice to cut it out to see what happened.

I was a terrible diet coke addict - 3 or 4 a day, at least a 2liter on weekends. No calories, no problems right?

I went through awful migraines for almost 2 weeks. Worse than quitting smoking. But it has been two months and I dont have any cravings for sweet stuff. I even gave all my flavored greek yogurts to my fiancee because they were too sweet for me. I just now put a salad away because I was full enough.

The biggest benefit by far has been taste for me. I gained more taste when I removed artificial sweeteners even more than when I quit smoking. If I really want a soda, Ill have a regular coke - but I find I don't really crave it anymore. But when I do have it, I can taste all sorts of flavors I never was able to pick up before (orange, anise, clove)

While diet coke doesn't add to your calorie count - I have found that it makes it MUCH easier to diet without it. I will never touch the stuff again.

I would give caffeine pills a shot if you need the caffeine ( I slowly worked myself to black coffee, so I am not without - but I know that many people just hate it)

fenderman9 wrote: »

It's best not to bring up the artificial sweetener health risk concerns on MFP. There is some huge debates already running on that subject, and it seems like the proponents for Diet Pop are very vocal, almost zealots.
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You have that completely backwards. Those of us that like diet sodas don't care one way or the other if anyone else likes them or drinks them. It is those that are "against" drinking diet sodas that consistently spout off misinformation.

Too many people relying on feelings & anecdotal evidence here!

Look at the science! Diet soda is FINE.

http://examine.com/topics/Diet+Soda/