Pop

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wean. Cold turkey, the first week is the roughest... It gets easier after that.

I gradually switched drinking pop for club soda with frozen fruit. Or you can add fresh lemon and lime juice to it.

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Set small goals that progress over time.

Today you've had 1000 calories in pop alone... 6 pops. If you do 12, it'll be 2000.

So set a goal. Tomorrow, you have to have at least 1 less than you did today. For a couple days, maintain that -- your goal is no more than you had on that day. (So if that's 11, 11 or less. If it's 5, 5 or less.) When you're feeling like you can push, start again. The next day has to be at least another 1 down, then maintain that.

Or you can schedule your pop. One before lunch, one with lunch, one before dinner, one with dinner, one after dinner -- that alone would knock you down to 5. Then when you're ready, eliminate one. Repeat until you get to 0, or to whatever number you're going for.

Or however you would like to wean it. There is no program, no best way. It's just whatever way will work for you.

For motivation, you can think of whatever you like. Think of all the food you could have if you weren't drinking 2000 calories! Or all the extra nutrition you'll be getting, once you're no longer having 2000 calories of pure sugar. Or the money you'll save when you're not buying a 12-pack a day, and what you could do with that money. How much money do you probably spend on soda in a year, say? What percentage of your income is that? What else could you do with it? Or whatever it is YOU care about -- pick something motivating, that feels like a positive angle for you. (Not the thing that makes you feel bad. Life's too short for that.)

And hey, you could pick snacks to have instead. If you're having the calories anyway, think about what you ARE replacing it with, today. Then it isn't so much that you are taking away something, as that you're choosing a different thing. Have some treats. Have fun with it. It's all choices, so what do you want in its place?

Think of an end goal, too. What role would you like pop to have in your life? Gone forever? Special occasions only? Special occasions and restaurants only? One or a couple/few a day?

And do note that if you drink caffeinated soda and are reducing that, you will be reducing your caffeine also. You can choose to replace it with coffee or tea (though it wouldn't be 1:1, as soda has less caffeine than coffee, I think) or not. But if not, be prepared for possible headaches and other symptoms of caffeine withdrawal.

I will never give up my diet Mt. Dew. Never. If the aspartame kills me, then it kills me. I used to drink a lot, but now I limit myself to one can a day in the morning to wake up. I drink my one can then I'm chugging water the rest of the day. I usually drink between 80-100 ounces a day.