Side effects of quitting diet soda...

michellemarie3434
michellemarie3434 Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone noticed any side effects of quitting diet soda? I have only had 2 in the past week after being a monster Diet Mt. Dew drinker for many years. My stomach/abdomen feels and looks bloated. Does this sound familiar? UGH!

Replies

  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    I never had any side effects to giving up Diet Coke. I'd been drinking at least one a day for probably a few years. Are you drinking enough water?
  • BuddhaB0y
    BuddhaB0y Posts: 199 Member
    I got bad headaches for a couple of days coming off the caffeine... Some OTC pain reliever and sleep helped that.

    But I also found I got really constipated after about two weeks. I wassnt replacing the water from the soda enough.

    Any reason why you are quitting? Nothing wrong with some diet pop here n there. I still drink it in moderation as I enjoy the bubbles.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    I use to find that coke zero had a laxative effect, so a sudden stop of it might block things up. It was the sweetener used in it.I like bubbles so for the most part I've swapped to mineral water which has helped keep my water intake up at night.
  • ladyv_39
    ladyv_39 Posts: 13 Member
    I'm highly sensitive to caffeine, so if I go for even one day without it, I get headaches. I've gone several days without soda on a number of occasions and the headaches stop after a day or two with a pain reliever. Caffeine is also a diuretic in that it takes away water from your system, which could explain the bloating. You may need to increase your water intake to replace lost fluids.
  • michellemarie3434
    michellemarie3434 Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks everyone! I will increase my water intake and see what happens. Also, maybe having almost none after so many years of too much is making my body freak out, LOL. Quitting in moderation?
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    My solution was to not quit drinking diet soda (in moderation, mind you). :D
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I predict the side effect of saving money, unless you replace it with even more expensive habits like seltzer water or special flavored waters.
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    I'm a monster with Diet Dr. Pepper. I could easily drink 2 liters (or more) a day. That's six to eight 12oz bottles a day (at .50 to .75 per bottle)

    I quit cold turkey on New Year's Day. Monster headache Jan 2nd. One swig and 10 minutes later cured.

    Now I have quit in moderation. I have two 12oz bottles a day. To save even more money, I take a 2 liter bottle and fill four 12oz bottles and make them last for two days. That's .25 to .30 per bottle. Costs $1.50 for 10oz out of the machine at work.
  • DoraGirl79
    DoraGirl79 Posts: 2 Member
    I quit diet soda cold turkey a year ago. I felt a bit "off" for a few weeks, but after that I felt SO fantastic, and my desire for sweetened foods all but disappeared! Good for you!
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
    I'd love to quit drinking only bc I feel it stains your teeth (unless its sprite zero or something). I usually drink one a day, I love my coke zero! I tried quitting many times but I never noticed a difference in teh scale or how I felt so.
  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    I cut down to 1 a day from 5-7. I had headaches for a few days after that. Assume it was caffeine related. Advil helped.
  • michellemarie3434
    michellemarie3434 Posts: 28 Member
    After lurking around the internet, I did run across a few blogs/posts/articles that reference this side effect. I would say that beginning or stopping any food or drink habit is likely to cause changes, especially if, like me, you had too much. In that case, to avoid or diminish the side effects, it seems a better idea to taper off rather than quit cold turkey.

    Thanks for all the input!
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    You can have my diet soda when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    I quit pop a little over a month ago just because I didn't like feeling addicted to something. I honestly didn't have any side effects really but, I drank loads and loads of water .
  • adamgheli
    adamgheli Posts: 15 Member
    michellemarie3434 wrote: »
    Has anyone noticed any side effects of quitting diet soda? I have only had 2 in the past week after being a monster Diet Mt. Dew drinker for many years. My stomach/abdomen feels and looks bloated. Does this sound familiar? UGH!

    I don't know anyone that drank more Diet Pepsi than myself. I drank about 8-9 cans each day for almost 12yrs. Was like a non-stop binge for a dozen years. I have however curbed it down to about 2 cans over the weekends only. No soda in the weekdays. I noticed that for some curbing down works well...for me it had to be cold turkey or I wouldn't be able to resist. Little bit meant just a little bit more. But No Means No!

    My side affects to quitting were not pretty. I'm talking nausea, headaches, irritability, gassy, bloating, but I quickly also noticed loss of appetite or should I reword it to amazing appetite control. All other affects faded away in about 3-4 weeks. I'm soda free, but I don't dare say it with pride yet because I do still get the hankering. Like the devil is whispering in my ear.
  • The_Ugly_One
    The_Ugly_One Posts: 23 Member
    Maybe we're thinking of different seltzer water. I dropped diet soda for seltzer water and it's been great. And at 64cents for a 1-liter bottle, it's less than half the price of soda. Seltzer water with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice is great.

    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vintage-Original-Seltzer-33.8-fl-oz/10448144#about

    tomteboda wrote: »
    I predict the side effect of saving money, unless you replace it with even more expensive habits like seltzer water or special flavored waters.

  • michellemarie3434
    michellemarie3434 Posts: 28 Member
    blues4miles wrote: »
    You can have my diet soda when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

    BAH~hahahahahahahahaha!!
  • michellemarie3434
    michellemarie3434 Posts: 28 Member
    deskjobguy wrote: »
    michellemarie3434 wrote: »
    Has anyone noticed any side effects of quitting diet soda? I have only had 2 in the past week after being a monster Diet Mt. Dew drinker for many years. My stomach/abdomen feels and looks bloated. Does this sound familiar? UGH!

    I don't know anyone that drank more Diet Pepsi than myself. I drank about 8-9 cans each day for almost 12yrs. Was like a non-stop binge for a dozen years. I have however curbed it down to about 2 cans over the weekends only. No soda in the weekdays. I noticed that for some curbing down works well...for me it had to be cold turkey or I wouldn't be able to resist. Little bit meant just a little bit more. But No Means No!

    My side affects to quitting were not pretty. I'm talking nausea, headaches, irritability, gassy, bloating, but I quickly also noticed loss of appetite or should I reword it to amazing appetite control. All other affects faded away in about 3-4 weeks. I'm soda free, but I don't dare say it with pride yet because I do still get the hankering. Like the devil is whispering in my ear.

    Devil whispering in my ear...SNORT. That is me with cake. And, my diet soda, too. I tried going to only water or unsweet tea. Can I say....YUCK!
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    I crave sweets less often, and sweet treats taste more sweet now.
  • michellemarie3434
    michellemarie3434 Posts: 28 Member
    Mavrick_RN wrote: »
    I'm a monster with Diet Dr. Pepper. I could easily drink 2 liters (or more) a day. That's six to eight 12oz bottles a day (at .50 to .75 per bottle)

    I quit cold turkey on New Year's Day. Monster headache Jan 2nd. One swig and 10 minutes later cured.

    Now I have quit in moderation. I have two 12oz bottles a day. To save even more money, I take a 2 liter bottle and fill four 12oz bottles and make them last for two days. That's .25 to .30 per bottle. Costs $1.50 for 10oz out of the machine at work.

    I really like your solution. Moderation, and saving money!!! No down side there!
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    blues4miles wrote: »
    You can have my diet soda when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

    Haha this is me with my Diet Coke. I drink 2 liters a day, if not more. I have also quit in the past for over a year and saw no true health benefits for me personally. I figure that everything is going to kill us these days, I might as well do what I enjoy.

    Anyways, when I do have random spurts of no soda, I do find that I get bad stress headaches that no amount of pain killer can fix. They only last for a day or so. Most was a week, but it wasn't anything unmanageable.
  • michellemarie3434
    michellemarie3434 Posts: 28 Member
    blues4miles wrote: »
    You can have my diet soda when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

    I. LAUGHED. OUT. LOUD.
    Thanks >:)

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