Soda Addiction - looking for advice/motivation

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  • broseidonkingofbrocean
    broseidonkingofbrocean Posts: 180 Member
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    RelevantGains wrote: »
    Diet soda has 0 calories and will not impact your weight loss. May not be the most healthy thing, but the effects of artificial sweeteners is highly exaggerated, so probably not a huge deal.

    There are more impactful changes that you could make than cutting out diet soda, which won't really change anything. If you were drinking 2L of full sugar soda a day, then that would be a different story, as that is a significant amount of calories.

    This right here. There was a recent study done on sweetener disproving lots of the negatives that are commonly brought up with diet soda's. Like the aspartame somehow hindering weight loss(completely debunked btw). It was actually proven that it can have beneficial effects since it can satiate sugar cravings. Tomorrow I will try to find and link said study or you can try using googlefu yourself.

    If that is something your worried about there is "http://www.capellaflavors.com/flavors-with-stevia/" which are flavor drops at the fraction of mio and you can just drop these into seltzer water. More potent than MIO so a few drops will do you.
  • ConcordDiet
    ConcordDiet Posts: 26 Member
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    Aside from the sugar in regular soda and the usual suspects in artificial sweeteners, the phosphoric acid found in many sodas is very detrimental as it robs calcium from your system. It took me awhile but I finally moved to unsweetened ice tea with lemon.
  • Trish1c
    Trish1c Posts: 549 Member
    edited August 2016
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    I drank a lot of regular soda for years. About 10 years ago I started giving it up for Lent. It was always hard & I didn't always replace it with the best things -- usually sweet iced tea, or fruit juice mixed with seltzer. The only diet soda I can tolerate is Fresca so that got mixed in. Once Lent was over I was back on the soda / sugar / high empty calories. At 150 calories per can I was easily consuming 600 calories per day.

    When I finally made the commitment to really do this -- to lose weight & watch my calories -- I knew there was no room in 1200 calories per day for even one can of soda so I stopped cold turkey. I drink a lot of water now. I am in search of something with flavor / taste & still enjoy fruit juice.

    If you don't want to go cold turkey at least swap out -- have a soda, have a water. You will reduce your consumption by half. When you get comfy with that, drop more soda.

    It really is mind over matter but it's hard. Keep plugging away at it.

    As for the order in which you do things, tackling the soda addiction before you deal with portion control, it's a personal preference. Which way will enable you to make the long term change & incorporate the new behavior into the rest of your life? Personally I'd start with simple logging. Just track every thing that goes in your mouth for a week or so. You will be appalled. Having to log (write it down) so it's staring you in the face will help reduce consumption. After you get used to tracking, then you can start making changes. The bad habits didn't develop overnight & they won't go away that quickly either.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
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    Start by cutting back a little. If you drink caffeine prepare for headaches.

    While I don't think excessive amounts are good, buddy has chronic kidney stones and his docs claim it's from excessive soda. That said it's not meth or smack so find a happy medium.
  • AmandaISabo
    AmandaISabo Posts: 5 Member
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    Carbonated water. Either flavored or not.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
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    If your main concern is weight loss, I'd suggest to focus more on your calorie intake, weighing and logging your food for now, especially if you mostly drink diet. Diet soda has 0 calories, and focusing your effort into that is kind of putting the cart before the horse.
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
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    If the caffeine in soda is what you're looking for, without the actual soda, try caffeine pills. I take two in the mornings when I'm working out (with a glass of water), then one later in the day. On days I don't work out, I take 1/2 of a 200mg pill morning and immediately following lunch. I still have an occasional soda, but I get my caffeine without them. You can gradually make changes, maybe only eating one plate of food per meal, using a smaller plate, packing your lunch and leaving your debit/credit/cash at home so you can't buy any additional food.
  • heathbn
    heathbn Posts: 6 Member
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    Hey guys! Sorry I have been absent. I just wanted to thank everyone that took the time to respond to my post....it means a lot to me! :-)
  • juliebowman4
    juliebowman4 Posts: 784 Member
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    If you like coffee, drink a nice strong cup in the morning to help with the level of caffeine withdrawal.
    Hubby was a 10-15 cans a day of coke.
    He just cold turkey'd it.
    It was mild to moderately unpleasant for 2-3 weeks (headaches, mood disturbance) but the intensity of the withdrawal began to dissipate at the 7 day mark.

    As a replacement he tried carbonated waters with flavourings...but in the end, once he broke the habit of grabbing a can every hour or so, he found he just mostly drinks water.
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
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    That is a lot of soda. I loved my soda too. What helped was reviewing studies that showed the dangers of soda. I also did some experiments with Coke and saw how good of a cleaning agent it was. Once I saw it dissolve rust, I knew that I had to cut it almost entirely out of my life.

    Water is key and will be a huge jump start to your weight loss. Just one 2L bottle of water is over 8 cups. I believe your first few weeks of cutting soda out should be focused on water. Let it flush out the toxins in your body and rehydrate your body. This should help jumpstart your metabolism.

    Yes, water is bland and boring to drink for eternity. Diet green tea is a good low sugar low calorie drink. I am currently addicted to the BAI Coconut drinks which are tasty, 0 sugar, and extremely low calorie.

    Water though is key to the start of your success. Good luck to you.
  • carolinelanewa
    carolinelanewa Posts: 44 Member
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    If its the fizzy taste you like what about soda water with some fresh lemon. Ive never been a big fizzy drinker but when i feel like one this is what i have.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    If anything, I eat less when drinking diet soda because of the caffeine. I drink diet soda/energy drinks maybe 1-2 times a week now. In addition to coffee, I now primarily drink Amino Energy for a pick me up.
  • m98widow
    m98widow Posts: 3 Member
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    Seltzer! I grew up drinking regular, non-diet soda and could never get used to the taste of diet. But as someone who doesn't like very sweet things (ironic, given how much regular soda I used to drink), seltzer hits the spot for me. I generally like the citrus flavors better than the berry flavors, but I even like plain.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    qwikstreet wrote: »
    That is a lot of soda. I loved my soda too. What helped was reviewing studies that showed the dangers of soda. I also did some experiments with Coke and saw how good of a cleaning agent it was. Once I saw it dissolve rust, I knew that I had to cut it almost entirely out of my life.

    Water is key and will be a huge jump start to your weight loss. Just one 2L bottle of water is over 8 cups. I believe your first few weeks of cutting soda out should be focused on water. Let it flush out the toxins in your body and rehydrate your body. This should help jumpstart your metabolism.

    Yes, water is bland and boring to drink for eternity. Diet green tea is a good low sugar low calorie drink. I am currently addicted to the BAI Coconut drinks which are tasty, 0 sugar, and extremely low calorie.

    Water though is key to the start of your success. Good luck to you.

    Water erodes rock. Ever clean with vinegar?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    singingflutelady wrote: »
    qwikstreet wrote: »
    That is a lot of soda. I loved my soda too. What helped was reviewing studies that showed the dangers of soda. I also did some experiments with Coke and saw how good of a cleaning agent it was. Once I saw it dissolve rust, I knew that I had to cut it almost entirely out of my life.

    Water is key and will be a huge jump start to your weight loss. Just one 2L bottle of water is over 8 cups. I believe your first few weeks of cutting soda out should be focused on water. Let it flush out the toxins in your body and rehydrate your body. This should help jumpstart your metabolism.

    Yes, water is bland and boring to drink for eternity. Diet green tea is a good low sugar low calorie drink. I am currently addicted to the BAI Coconut drinks which are tasty, 0 sugar, and extremely low calorie.

    Water though is key to the start of your success. Good luck to you.

    Water erodes rock. Ever clean with vinegar?

    Yep - better avoid citrus too.
  • bbaugh2014
    bbaugh2014 Posts: 14 Member
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    Soda is so addicting!!! Its easy to fall into the habit of drinking soda regularly-- I'm so guilty.
    I think, the main thing here is to not punish yourself, but have will power.

    In my personal experience there are 3 things that drive the soda craving, (1) Fizzy bubbles (yes its true!) (2) Sugar, (3) caffeine.

    I'm almost 100% off soda (I treat myself to 1 can a week :) ) Here is how I kicked it, remember it takes time!

    I started off by switching out half of my soda with carbonated flavored water. Don't even think its the same, because it isn't--however, it will give your body the fizzy bubbles its craving. Try alternating, 1 water, then a soda.

    After a few days of that, I roughly estimated a shift to 1/4- regular H20. 1/2 sparkling water 1/4 Soda. If I wanted something bubbly, I needed to have some plain water first. If I wanted a soda, I needed to have plain water, then sparkling water before I could have a soda.

    How I finally quit the bubbling was switching my flavored sparking water to flavored sparkling mineral water. I don't care for the taste of mineral water.. but I wanted the bubbles and sweeter flavor compared to plain water. Eventually my dis-taste for mineral water won and I drink only plain water.

    I hope my experience can help you!
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    qwikstreet wrote: »
    That is a lot of soda. I loved my soda too. What helped was reviewing studies that showed the dangers of soda. I also did some experiments with Coke and saw how good of a cleaning agent it was. Once I saw it dissolve rust, I knew that I had to cut it almost entirely out of my life.

    We have a much stronger acid in our stomachs that basically neutralizes soda once the soda enters the stomach. Also, vinegar and baking soda are great for cleaning. We consume those on a regular basis, and a lot of the "health" advocates who warn us of the dangers of soda also recommend consuming ACV on a regular basis (which is not necessary, btw).

    I'd also be curious as to which studies you are referring.
    Water is key and will be a huge jump start to your weight loss. Just one 2L bottle of water is over 8 cups. I believe your first few weeks of cutting soda out should be focused on water. Let it flush out the toxins in your body and rehydrate your body. This should help jumpstart your metabolism.

    Our organs take care of any toxins that need to be metabolized and excreted.

    It is impossible to "jumpstart" your metabolism, and water has no metabolic effect.
    Yes, water is bland and boring to drink for eternity. Diet green tea is a good low sugar low calorie drink. I am currently addicted to the BAI Coconut drinks which are tasty, 0 sugar, and extremely low calorie.

    Water though is key to the start of your success. Good luck to you.

    Sure, water is great, but we also can hydrate through the water in our foods, milk, coffee, tea, and yes, even soda. If it contains water, your body uses that water.

    All of this.
    Also http://seriecientifica.org/sites/default/files/scl_enc_butchko.pdf
  • kristikitter
    kristikitter Posts: 602 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I'm into my third day of giving up soda cold turkey (the bloating I suffer from even one can of Diet Coke is quite painful and ridiculous) - I am consoling myself with the fact that it takes (on average) 66 days to form a new habit.

    Only 63 days to go... :worried:
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    cornysmall wrote: »
    @heathbn soda addiction boils down to sugar addiction.

    Probably not. It's usually about caffeine or just habit. (Indeed, lots of people struggle with cutting down on diet soda or find cutting down on sugary soda easy if they like and can sub diet.)

    I'm cutting down on coffee now (not a big soda drinker and it's always been diet), and it's pretty much the same.

    We get sugar in other parts of our diet, obviously, including from fruit and veg (I had 19 grams this morning from fruit and veg and plain greek yogurt).

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