I drink a lot of soda. Anyone have any suggestions to help cut the soda out??
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Diet Dr. Pepper was my go-to for something that tasted more like real soda. And it has more caffeine than Mt. Dew.
You can also start by buying both a Diet Mt. Dew and a regular, and mixing 1/2 and 1/2 together until you can bear the taste, and going more towards Diet slowly. Water is the goal though.3 -
I'm leery of some of the ingredients sodas, diet or otherwise. I drink 2 cups of black coffee every morning to get my caffeine fix. Then it's water, lemon water, unsweetened ginger or green tea. We all know sugar and too much fructose is not health food and has been linked to all sorts of ailments from gout to fatty liver. There was an article in the National Kidney Foundation website linking more than one diet soda per day with kidney failure. Whether it's true or not, it gave me pause and was the final straw that had me just saying no to all sodas. Added sugars are not in my Mediterranean eating plan. They add calories without nutritional benefits. I know sodas are popular and I'm not standing in judgement and I'm not speaking from a high horse. All I know is that I'm losing weight and feeling good. I wish for you that you meet your goals in the best way that makes sense for you.2
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Packerjohn wrote: »crazyycatlady1 wrote: »no need to give up caffeine, switch to coffee and tea.
Or drink water and take caffeine pills, very cheap and a tablet is same as a cup of coffee.
Between my husband and I we were drinking 4-5 cases of diet soda a week, plus he was drinking 2-4pks of generic Red Bulls. A few weeks ago we both decided to cut it mostly out, (me for teeth issues and him because his doctor thought it was triggering his IBS.) I switched to coffee and he went the caffeine pills route. Both of us had no problem cutting out the diet soda, (I'm down to one can a day and he's pretty much quit all together).
Crap surprised your hearts didn't explode with all the caffeine.
A can of coke zero (what we mostly drank) has quite a bit less caffeine than a cup of coffee. Now that I've switched my caffeine intake is actually higher. Same with my husband and the caffeine pills vs diet soda.2 -
Mountain Dew is my all time FAVORITE and I understand your addiction to it. I was drinking a can or two a day at one point as well. I can't do Diet Dew as it's just plain out gross. I switched to flavored, fizzy waters and Minute Maid Light Pink Lemonade. I still allow myself ONE Mt. Dew every week but work it in my calories usually on the weekend. Good luck - I know it's difficult to cut back!1
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crazyycatlady1 wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »crazyycatlady1 wrote: »no need to give up caffeine, switch to coffee and tea.
Or drink water and take caffeine pills, very cheap and a tablet is same as a cup of coffee.
Between my husband and I we were drinking 4-5 cases of diet soda a week, plus he was drinking 2-4pks of generic Red Bulls. A few weeks ago we both decided to cut it mostly out, (me for teeth issues and him because his doctor thought it was triggering his IBS.) I switched to coffee and he went the caffeine pills route. Both of us had no problem cutting out the diet soda, (I'm down to one can a day and he's pretty much quit all together).
Crap surprised your hearts didn't explode with all the caffeine.
A can of coke zero (what we mostly drank) has quite a bit less caffeine than a cup of coffee. Now that I've switched my caffeine intake is actually higher. Same with my husband and the caffeine pills vs diet soda.
You had mentioned 4-5 cases of diet soda a week, plus Red Bull. Even though the Coke Zero is lower per serving 4-5 cases a week for 2 people would get you a pretty high dose.
From what I've seen medical authorities recommend 400 mg a day as safe for most adults.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678
https://www.fda.gov/downloads/ucm200805.pdf3 -
Did you know if you drink one can of pop at 160 calories x 365 days = 58,400 calories? That's over 16 pounds!6
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A cup of coffee or an 8-oz. glass of brewed iced tea has more caffeine, ounce for ounce than Mountain Dew. Try diet soda or go completely soda free and drink a cup of coffee or tea when the caffeine headache strikes. I had to give up coffee recently because of my acid reflux and now drink a cup of very strong hot tea with Splenda and a small spoonful of honey in the mornings. Gives me the same pick up without all of the acid. The real issue is psychological. The taste and smell of coffee was something I really enjoyed. Now I am trying different flavors of tea. Change is difficult but it's the only truly lasting answer to losing weight and keeping off, the willingness to change your lifestyle.1
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My hubby would never drink diet coke or pepsi but I got him to try Coke Life (the green can) which does still have calories but much less and he liked it. Maybe if nothing else it would be a good transition from regular to diet as an in between step.1
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I was drinking two 48 ounce pots of coffee per day, and have cut down to two 8 ounce cups. Can't be much difference in breaking the addiction.
Here is the way I did it: I was drinking coffee four times per day using a HUGE cup that would hold 24 ounces, and just sort of sipping on it all day.
I kept drinking my four cups, but decreased the size of the cup by 2 ounces per week. (24 to 22, 22-20 etc.) Bought a nice thermos water bottle. So, each time I finished the cup of coffee, I had water to drink instead.
This method got me down to 8 ounce cups over about a 8 week period without caffeine withdrawal headache.
Then I made a decision to cut the afternoon coffee a cup at a time, replacing it with water.
Hope this helps.6 -
I have been drinking diet Coke for nearly 16 years.
Regular Coke tastes really weird to me.2 -
Juggernautpint wrote: »Did you know if you drink one can of pop at 160 calories x 365 days = 58,400 calories? That's over 16 pounds!
Like I said...quitting soda is the easiest 20lbs you'll ever lose
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Coke zero for life.7
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Not always but most often the headaches come from caffeine withdrawal, after a short period of time it will go away. And there is always coffee and diet sodas.1
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I am addicted to the carbonation, not the caffeine so if I ever feel like I REALLY need it then I drink those American clean waters.
I still try to stay away from it as much as possible tho.0 -
I have a lot of friends who drink flavored sparkling water to try to cut out soda Coffee is a great replacement to ween off of the caffeine because you can just drink a little bit less each day. Even if you can't drink black coffee and add sugar, it doesn't have to be a permanent part of your routine if you're just trying to get off coffee. I get headaches from lack of caffeine too so I know its a huge problem
my issue though is that I drink black coffee as a "snack" to hold off hunger for a bit to help me get used to not eating such a large amount. So definitely not ideal... but at least no calories haha. 1 -
I used the Mio Energy "liquid water enhancer" to get my caffeine without the sugar and calories from mountain dew (generic brands have some decent flavors too). I get too much of the artificial taste from most diet sodas, but not so much with these. Sometimes I'll flavor the water and then add half a can of sprite zero (or similar) to get the fizzy fix, but the artificial sweetener doesn't come through quite as much (to me). I still drink Mountain Dew occasionally, but went from a time of a 20 oz bottle a day to a few cans a week (and never more than one can in a day). Definitely easier to manage calories when you're not drinking a quarter or more of them. Good luck.1
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davisfanny wrote: »Right. I just can't do it. I'm trying hard just to cut down to one a day and trying hard to increase my water intake.
Okay, so I had the EXACT same issue. Mt. Dew is just super satisfying. I drank quite a bit a day. Earlier this year, I just sucked it up and made the switch from regular to diet. Yes, it takes some getting used to, but once you drink it for a day or so, you really don't notice much of a difference.
What I've enjoyed about this is that I can still drink two cans a day (I was drinking way more before), not have headaches (what you are complaining about) and have those calories free to eat something else I want to eat!
The upside is that since I switched, the pounds are starting to slide off waaaaaay faster than they were when I was being stubborn and not making the switch.
The other effect (for me) is that I noticed I stopped eating a lot of the sweeter things I used to crave on regular sodas. I still eat sugar (and treats), but it's far less often than I used to. Also, I still occasionally have a full calorie soda, but it's not often and it's usually only an 8 oz serving or so.
Mileage may vary, but it's really improved things for me and I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of something I really enjoy.2 -
davisfanny wrote: »Most my calories come from drinking soda. MT Dew is my biggest issue. I get headaches from lack of caffeine....
Diet Pop1 -
I second @dfwesq post about tea. There are soooo many choices. I like to make my tea iced, brew half of the cup with hot water, then add your cold water. I just brewed a cup of black tea w/ golden kiwi!
If you go to Starbucks, get an iced tea and try it unsweetened or ask for less sugar (they count the pumps of syrup).
The other thing you can try to drink more water are the stevia water drops. I get a strawberry kiwi flavor and use it when I just want a little something more than water.
Hope this helps! Just give it time, you will be over MT Dew soon!!0 -
Try Coke Zero or Pepsi Zero, taste is pretty good. I tend to drink mostly water, but I do like soda from time to time as a diversion. In the evenings I'll drink Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free to keep it from keeping me awake all night lol. There are some newer soda's out there using less sugar, but for the most part they all are calorie bombs unless you drink diet.0
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