Diet drinks -- need help

Stop making excuses and stop drinking the soda. End of story. Drink water. You answered your own question when you said you were addicted. Sugar and caffine are like a drug, It will take time but if you stick with it you will do it.

I'd put more energy into switching to water. Honestly, drinking the 8 glasses a day is hard for me, but I've heard that drinking diet soda is just as bad as regular, because your body doesn't know the difference between regular and 'fake' sugar. It thinks it is getting sugar, but isn't, so you end up over eating because the body is looking for the calories it didn't get. Maybe if you dilute some 100% fruit juice with water it would go down easier? It would certainly have less calories and chemicals than regular soda.

Painful but true.."YOU HAVE TO JUST QUIT THE REGULAR SODAS" Make other things work. I drank 3 20oz Dr Peppers a day faithfully. 6 weeks ago I just stopped and said no more. It's all about how bad you want it.

Some diet sodas taste better than others. Coke Zero and Pepsi Max taste almost like regular soda. Diet Dr. Pepper is pretty good IMO. Also, sometimes you can find Diet Cherry Coke which isn't too bad. Also Diet Sprite is okay.

But, really, just stop drinking soda. Drink plain club soda instead. Add a splash of pure cranberry juice if you want some flavor. Just stop making excuses and do what you know is best for your health.

When I first made the switch from regular to diet I went to Diet Rite. Which is amazing but later just switched to coke zero since it tastes just like regular coke. I personally try to stay away from soda but lately drink Powerade ion4 that puts in what I lose through sweat. Another good idea is to do flavored water for awhile. They have packets in stores all over. That would help any soda cravings.

I don't drink any soda right now but years ago when I was trying to quit Pepsi and try diet I had to quit the soda altogether. Pepsi and I had an unhealthy relationship and I had to break it off. Then after a few months I tried a diet Rite and it wasn't so bad. Trying to go from a regular to a diet with no in between kind of sucks. I've been there. I also tried the sparkling water because a lot of the times I just wanted the "fizz" when I ate. Good luck.
shine

Have you tried Mio? It's delicious. I am not a big water drinker but this has helped big time!

Ask yourself one thing. What is more important to you? If you don't give up the coke and pepsi, you've decided, either consciously or subconsciously, that the soda's more important than the weight loss and your health. If someone put a gun to your head and said drink water instead of coke, you'd give up the coke easy enough.

I gave up a 1 gallon a day of diet coke habit. It took me several times because the withdrawals are horrid. But two weeks ago I woke up and thought "I want water". havent had anything but water to drink since then. I've done so much else to lose weight, I guess I finally decided it was more important than the fizzy brown stuff.

I'm sure you do everything you can to lose weight. You watch what you eat, you exercise, you make conscious decisions every minute of the day about what you put into your body and how you use your body to obtain your goals. Make one more decision because your goal is more important than some brown fizzy stuff. Brown fizzy stuff, by the way, that nobody knows is made with what. Coke's secret recipe? What exactly are we putting into our bodies when we drink that stuff. I choose to eat and drink healthy things that promote my well-being. Make that choice. Do everything you need to do to obtain your goal, because it is *that* important to you.

i, too, was addicted to sodas, and I quit. now i only drink water. I made up my mind that the six pack in the fridge was my last. when it was gone i was done, and it worked. 3 months later, i don't even miss it! i drink lots of waster, which i used to loathe, but now i love it! set your mind to it and just quit. decide why you are doing it and determine you will, because you are worth it! Then quit. plain and simple... no more sodas.

I was right there with you. I could drink 6 to 8 20 oz bottles diet cherry pepsi a day....granted i wasn't getting the calories, but soda in general is just horrible for you. I have given up soda many times until I finally said no more! I feel 100% better! You can do it! Totally agree with skinnypigeon.

There's this lovely thing called MiO Water Enhancer. You can often find it in the aisle where they carry flavored water at grocery stores. It has no sodium or sugar in it. They carry it in all flavors. Since it has no sodium and crazy additives, it's less harmful than diet sodas could ever dream of being. If you buy some sodium-free club soda and spritz some of the MiO in, its very similar to soda. Obviously drinking plain water is still better, but you could use this to help ease yourself onto it and away from those sodas!

The best advice I can give you on making the switch is to find a couple that you like. Cut out other sugar filled sweats to so you "forget" what sugar tastes like. I personally enjoy Diet Dr. Pepper (with or without cherry) and coke zero. It took a couple of weeks to get used to the switch, but honestly I drink about 1 soda every 2 weeks now. I started drinking diet green tea a month ago and now I'm just brewing green tea lately. Going from a 2 liter of Mdew a day to brewing green tea was about a 3 month process and to be honest, I don't really miss soda anymore. Cold turkey is an option too if that's what you choose. Best of luck to you either way.

I recommend finding a diet soda you can tolerate and then switching out all your regular sodas with it. Then also gradually increase the amount of water you drink at each meal to build your tolerance of drinking it. Eventually make water your #1 beverage and then have the occasional diet soda when you want.

One thing you can try is variety, and working slowly towards your goal of switching. Lets say starting with breakfast for example you make yourself a delish smoothie or even a green smoothie. Gradually you work to changing lunch over to some water with a small amount of juice added. Gradually as your taste buds adjust you can rid yourself of the juice all together. In the evening you can make a nice picture of iced tea. Green tea boosts metabolism too! If you need a tiny bit of sweetness until you adjust you could put a small amount of agave nectar or stevia in the iced tea. Over time, as you put the sugar down, you will find it easier to taste it in small doses and eventually you will not even need it. If you put it in a super fancy glass with a wedge of citrus or melon, it feels like a special treat, and the fact that its good for you will make you feel great!

Diet pop will just keep you addicted to the sweet flavor you are craving. Its hard, but in reality it will be easier for you and your body if you just put it down. You will be surprised how quickly you wont miss it.

Good luck!

I love regular soda, too. Have you tried vanilla flavored seltzer? It's not an exact substitute, but it's satisfying enough IMO.