Giving up diet soda. So hard!

Lynette4321
Lynette4321 Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i gave up sweets and diet soda and it's the diet soda that I miss so badly! I was drinking soda that didn't even have caffeine, but I apparently have quite an addiction.

I don't like spring water and I'm sick of water. What am I going to drink with pizza? Any ideas?
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Replies

  • noexcusesjustresults2014
    noexcusesjustresults2014 Posts: 212 Member
    Why be a quitter? Don't give up diet soda. Its awesome
  • Lynette4321
    Lynette4321 Posts: 37 Member
    I don't feel good about all the chemicals. Also, it keeps the sweet tooth going and makes it hard to stay away from sweets.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Why are you giving up soda? If you like it, then drink it. No need to suffer without it. Besides we're talking DIET soda... isn't that zero calories? (I ask cuz I only drink regular Coke never diet, so I'm not sure.) If so, that most definitely fits into your daily calories. :flowerforyou:
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    People make it so much harder than it has to be.
  • LeenaGee
    LeenaGee Posts: 749 Member
    edited January 2015
    Lynette, here is a link to an article on MFP's Facebook page written by Elle Penner, M.P.H., R.D., who is the Registered Dietitian and Food & Nutrition Editor at MyFitnesssPal. It is called
    So You Want to Stop......Drinking Soda.
    https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/so-you-want-to-stop-drinking-soda/?utm_source=mfp&utm_medium=Facebook

    If you don't have FB, go to this link on this site and it is printed out for you.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10056168/mfp-facebook-page#latest

    And yes - definitely give up the soda as I have seen the dramatic change in a person from simply giving up her soda habit. She was drinking 3 or 4 per day, every day. You are right - who needs those chemicals and sugar.

    Good luck!! :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Laurend224 wrote: »
    People make it so much harder than it has to be.

    Agreed.

    But my answer is iced tea. I like chilling the herbal kind.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Laurend224 wrote: »
    People make it so much harder than it has to be.

    Agreed.

    But my answer is iced tea. I like chilling the herbal kind.
    Ditto. Iced, herbal tea.

    Keep going OP. It's a good thing to give up.
  • SteampunkSongbird
    SteampunkSongbird Posts: 826 Member
    Laurend224 wrote: »
    People make it so much harder than it has to be.

    So much this.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Lynette4321 wrote: »
    i gave up sweets and diet soda and it's the diet soda that I miss so badly! I was drinking soda that didn't even have caffeine, but I apparently have quite an addiction.

    I don't like spring water and I'm sick of water. What am I going to drink with pizza? Any ideas?

    Have you tried moderation?

    Why did you give up diet soda and sweets?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Lynette4321 wrote: »
    I don't feel good about all the chemicals. Also, it keeps the sweet tooth going and makes it hard to stay away from sweets.

    I see you already answered my questions. :)
  • thingofstuff
    thingofstuff Posts: 93 Member
    I agree with the home made ice tea, and just normal tea. I drink tea like breathing. Plus the warm water helps curb appetite.
  • LeenaGee
    LeenaGee Posts: 749 Member
    edited January 2015
    Seriously, how can giving the link to MFP's FB page be SPAM???? The article is written by MFP's own Registered Dietitian.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    LeenaGee wrote: »
    Seriously, how can giving the link to MFP's FB page be SPAM???? The article is written by MFP's own Registered Dietitian.

    Because it suggests giving up soda. :D This place is an asylum.
  • Cheriesaurus
    Cheriesaurus Posts: 92 Member
    Only reason I gave up diet soda was because it made me depressed/bloated for some reason, yet I loved it so now I have it once a week instead of every day. Lol.
  • Lynette4321
    Lynette4321 Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you LeenaGee and the rest who gave suggestions. Making some ice tea now
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited January 2015
    why do people need to defend diet soda as though it's a huge travesty to give it up? if she wants to give it up, it's her life. i gave it up. i think that water is better. might be a coincidence that i lost a lot of weight and kept it off for almost 2 years afterwards or it might have been the diet soda causing me to eat more. i don't know. all i know is that i lost a lot of weight and kept it off, whereas i never could before.

    i weened myself off of diet soda by drinking seltzer at first and then just got used to regular water eventually. sometimes still drink seltzer though.
  • LeenaGee
    LeenaGee Posts: 749 Member
    Lynette4321 wrote: »
    Thank you LeenaGee and the rest who gave suggestions. Making some ice tea now

    You're welcome and I'm off to make some ice tea as I know water is good for me but sometimes I just get sick of it.
  • victoriaalice40
    victoriaalice40 Posts: 68
    I still drink Diet Coke. I love it! But, I cut back to one a day (if that) I used to drink a 6 pack a day. I found that the Diet Coke made me crave sweets more, maybe it was mental I don't know. But when I really want a Diet Coke I have one. Moderation, but I agree that it is not good for you, but then again there is not a lot that is good for you.
    I like to drink the waters that have flavoring and carbonation. That helps sometimes. Oh, and with pizza, have a diet soda.
  • katekc22
    katekc22 Posts: 57 Member
    I gave up diet soda and haven't had one in over a year!! I had a serious diet soda addiction but tried my hardest to let it go so I know the struggle. I started drinking green tea, and flavoring my water with fruit and its sooo good! I miss diet soda sometimes but every now and then I'll treat myself to a regular root beer or ginger ale but not too often. Also I started making my own iced teas which are yummy too!
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    If you feel you need to give up soda, there's lots of alternatives. Instead of plain water, add some Mio liquid water enhancer (or Skinny Girl, or any of the other brands.) Or a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime. Or develop a tea addiction. Green tea has lots of antioxidants and is an appetite suppressor. Black tea has all sorts of good-for-you phytochemicals too.

    Make your drinking water cheaper and help save the planet by getting a Britta filter pitcher. It's about $25 for a big one, and you never have to worry about throwing those bottles away again.
  • AmandaHugginkiss
    AmandaHugginkiss Posts: 486 Member
    If you have an Asian market nearby, you can buy bottled green tea, unsweetened, and it is great to carry around like bottled water. I love that stuff. I still drink diet soda, but I don't drink it all the time. This is a good alternative and it is hydrating.
  • RNGRZulu
    RNGRZulu Posts: 3,964 Member
    Drink a gallon of water every day and you won't be thirsty. Drink two, and you won't have room for soda, diet or otherwise.
  • Lynette4321
    Lynette4321 Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you Aviva. I was a bit surprised to find myself on the defensive, lol. Thanks Victoria. I'm doing two weeks giving it up (let's call it a lent type thing). I might have it in moderation later but I feel like an alcoholic...not altogether sure I can drink in moderation. I have to keep it in the house because my husband refuses to give it up.
  • stephanieluvspb
    stephanieluvspb Posts: 997 Member
    Ok well at least you didn't give up pizza! I'm eating pepperoni pizza as I type and I'm drinking tea, I love tea! I might add that I did have a huge diet mt dew today though.....sorry ;)
  • Ulwaz
    Ulwaz Posts: 380 Member
    Ill never give up pepsi max! i used to drink coke 7 years ago and havent touched it since :)
    But i have cut down from what i used to drink in fizzy drinks, dont give up everything you enjoy you wont last long on an eating plan you dont enjoy, fact :)
  • beertrollruss
    beertrollruss Posts: 276 Member
    I just reached a year of no soda too. Before last January, I had at least one or two diet cokes a day without fail. I feel like it's one of the best things I did. I only drink water, tea and coffee now. Since I quit, I get fewer headaches. The first 3 or 4 weeks were tough, but I got used to it. I thought the movies would be the biggest challenge. I used to love popcorn and soda. Popcorn and water works just fine. Now I'm afraid I would get indigestion if I had a soda. I'm getting into different flavored teas. I refuse to do the UK thing and put cream in tea.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    why do people need to defend diet soda as though it's a huge travesty to give it up? if she wants to give it up, it's her life.

    I think if she wants to give it up she should. Some people probably feel better not drinking it, especially if they seem to drink it to the exclusion of everything else. I give up coffee from time to time since I can get into a pattern of going overboard with it (right now I'm trying not to drink coffee or caffeinated tea after noon and it's driving me a bit crazy, since I was overdoing it).

    However, sometimes people think they ought to give up something instead of really wanting to, and diet soda is one of those things where you hear that it's poison or making you fat or silly things that are not true. If people are giving it up for those reasons, and not more factual ones, they might want to know that it's not necessary--for example, that lots of people are able to drink it and lose or even find it helpful.

    I don't agree with the frequent advice that you should change your diet as little as possible when starting a weight loss plan, since for me it's motivating to see myself doing something positive, and some of the bigger changes go along with that, so I can see that side.

    But, on the other hand, if I had added on to my dietary changes when I started a requirement that I also drop coffee--which happens to be something I can use in place of how I used to use food, as a break, a relaxing taste treat, whatever--I would have made this harder for myself and deprived myself of something I enjoy, for no reason. I actually made the call when I started that I wasn't going to worry about coffee until I was really comfortable with my eating. (And now that I'm close to goal I'm messing with it and might drop it for a while.)

    Similarly, I like to give up foods as part of my Lent practices, usually meat plus sweets. This time I did not (I started losing weight last January, so was still somewhat in the early stages), in part because I don't want my practices to relate to weight loss efforts, but more because I thought adding things would make it more difficult than it needed to be when I mostly wanted my diet to feel natural and enjoyable. This year I might well go back to my usual.

    So I do think that sometimes newbies to MFP seem to be doing too much at once and adding difficulties that are not necessary (if you really miss diet coke and end up having more trouble not overeating cookies, that's not helpful). However, that's going to depend on the person, so I think it's both useful to present the "you don't have to" ideas to OP and challenge things like "aspartame will KILL you TOMORROW and make you FAT" (not said by OP, of course) and also to respect her decision and answer her question.
  • LeenaGee
    LeenaGee Posts: 749 Member
    edited January 2015
    Lynette, I think we may have created a monster here.lol Iced tea is great. I just had a Lemon Green Tea with real lemon. Loved it, I'd forgotten how good it tasted.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    I gave up regular Coke (cola) in 2008. I replaced it with unsweetened iced tea with lemon. It was very hard for about 2 weeks. But now I don't miss it all. I am addicted to tea now, though :).

    I don't do diet drinks because I really hate the taste. So I was never tempted to switch.
  • LeenaGee
    LeenaGee Posts: 749 Member
    Lemur, I enjoyed your post, you make a lot of sense. :)

    OP has already given up diet soda so at least for her the hard part is done so I think we should "respect her decision and answer her question."
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