I drink a lot of soda. Anyone have any suggestions to help cut the soda out??
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I always hated the taste of diet soda, but I realized I really needed to stop drinking the regular stuff because holy crap all that sugar. I took a chance with cherry Coke Zero figuring the cherry flavor might help mask the weirdness of diet cola a bit and what do you know, it did. It's my go-to, but I like a lot more diet soda now (like Dr. Pepper and A&W Root Beer, Mt. Dew is alright) and can't drink the regular kind anymore.0
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jilleebee77 wrote: »Cold turkey for 6-8 weeks. After I did that, I found I just couldn't stomach the stuff anymore. It was undrinkable.
I used to drink coke A LOT. I am not a very religious person, but had some religious friends that asked 16 years ago "what are you going to give up for Lent?" I told them I was un aware of what that was (at the time) and what it meant. They explained and I said "why not, I will join in the giving up of something" I chose to give up soda. I did not have it for the entire duration of Lent. Yes it sucks at first, the headaches/withdrawals. I compensated here and there with coffee. I made it through and to this day I still rarely drink any soda, I can't stand the taste of it anymore. If I do its usually sprite or orange soda (no caffeine). I drink TONS of water now, iced tea (no sugar), coffee. That's about it. No juice, soda, sugary drinks often at all. You CAN do this! You need to be firm with yourself. You don't have to give it ALL up either, you can cut way back, a glass a day/serving size a day. Some will say diet sodas, but in my opinion that has a lot in it that can cause harm to your body over long periods of time.
You get to choose for you, what ever will work, if you want to, or not.
A third of my family is Catholic and every Lent, they all give up Coke (and sometimes beer and chocolate) for the duration of the 40 days. They are a rather unpleasant group of people for those 40 days, lol. Your story reminded me that it's that time of year and here in a couple of days, they'll all be able to get their fix again. :P1 -
PowerliftingMom wrote: »I cut out soda cold turkey in 2014. The only time I drink soda now is when we go out to a restaurant. Even then, I will share one with hubby and only take a few sips. Honestly, you won't miss it! Occasionally I have a craving. Then when I do get one, I take a couple of sips then don't want it any longer. I drink mostly water, no milk or juice. About once/week I will have an espresso or green tea the days leading up to my powerlifting meet.
This is me. I gave it up for lent about 5 years ago. now I only have a soda when we go out for burgers (rare) or on Fridays when we have pizza I will sometimes have one. but I buy just a can or bottle so there's no "extra"
I only drink water and black coffee now. it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to give it up wither. I for sure thought after lent I would be craving it and turned out I didn't, its been 5 years now.
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Packerjohn wrote: »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.pdf
4-5 cans a day of cherry coke zero is 136-170mg of caffeine per day total, so quite a bit lower than 400mg. 4 cans a day x2 people (with the occasional 5 cans), is 2 cases of soda around every 3 days, which is why we were buying 4-5 cases a week (plus his generic red bulls-i don't have the caffeine on those since he doesn't drink them anymore). Now I'm drinking 3 cups of coffee a day, which is around 285mg of caffeine total (plus 34mg from one can of diet yet). So, my caffeine intake has about doubled since I've cut out most of the soda and switched to coffee. But, still under the recommended 400mg.0 -
MalkinMagic71 wrote: »Coke zero for life.
Coke Zero or Pepsi Max0 -
Thanks - I may try the grapefruit next time. Stevia still has an aftertaste to me, but it goes well with citrus. And I like grapefruit. I don't drink a lot of soda, but I'd like a few options for what to keep in the fridge. Fwiw, I don't think stevia is necessarily healthier or that artificial sweeteners are necessarily unhealthy, but I know people who can't or won't use them. Having an alternative available makes it easier for me too.RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
I've seen this in stores but never tried it. I didn't want to buy a 60-pack only to discover I hate it. Any recommendations on flavors?RaeBeeBaby wrote: »Have you tried Zevia? I don't drink much soda, but once in awhile I'll have a Zevia (zero calorie) soda. They're sweetened with stevia which I think is better for you than the artificial sweeteners. The cola ones have caffeine. My husband was a die-hard Mt. Dew fan and he's made the switch.
I like the grapefruit the best because it seems less sweet to me. My husband likes the root beer, cream soda, and one called mountain (like Mt. Dew). There's about a dozen flavors I believe. It is a little pricey compared to the big brands, but I'll pay the extra for a healthier option.
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My one addition is you can get a soda stream or similar and make your own carbonated beverages, may be helpful if you really like the carbonation.
Honestly these things are easy to say and come up with. The hard thing is believing they work and committing to doing them and sticking to that trust or determination when your brain is screaming at you for a hit of sugar or caffeine. And if you do break down and have a soda, getting back on the horse and resisting again the next time instead of having the second soda. You have to use your intelligence and determination to see what's behind cravings and headaches and overrule what your dumb animal/chemical body wants.0 -
Black coffee. Get used to the taste in a week and avoid the headaches of caffeine withdrawal.0
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I drink different flavors when I drink diet so I'm not doing a straight comparison. Cherry Coke Zero is my favorite but I normally drink Pepsi if I'm drinking regular pop.0
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I am was a Coke girl so I cam sympathize. I don't drink coffee so coke was my caffeine. I am talking about 3 large cokes from McD per day, or the equivalent. It was tough to cut out. I made the decision to do it gradually. I eliminated refills first. Then I cut it by one per day. Then I increased the ice in the cup. More ice is less soda and no refill. Then I cut it to one and then tapered it off until I was down to a cup a day. I stopped keeping coke at home so that I had to go out to get one. One day it would have required a special trip to go get a coke and it just wasn't worth it so I skipped it. That was it. I craved it off an on for another week, but now, 2 months later, I have no interest in soda at all, even when handed to me. All I drink is water. Good luck!0
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Today I had only 1 MtDew and I feel pretty good about it. I been sober 3 years and if I can stay clean each day, then I can cut down my soda intake. I think my biggest thing is the caffeine because I drink tea, coffee and juice. I just battle with narcolepsy badly and I'm switching meds and have been really tired. Thank you so much for your feedback. It means alot. Oh yeah and how do you reply to comments?8
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Caffeine isn't the enemy. The enemy is the sugar in the drinks.2
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davisfanny wrote: »Today I had only 1 MtDew and I feel pretty good about it. I been sober 3 years and if I can stay clean each day, then I can cut down my soda intake. I think my biggest thing is the caffeine because I drink tea, coffee and juice. I just battle with narcolepsy badly and I'm switching meds and have been really tired. Thank you so much for your feedback. It means alot. Oh yeah and how do you reply to comments?
You can press the "Quote" button.0 -
Hang out with the guy who's bothering the OP in the "what's your best comeback" thread?1
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You can keep trying flavors & brands of diet soda until you find one you like. I dont like most, but discovered I liked the new diet pepsi without aspartame, (it uses sucralose) I just like it better, to me it doesnt have that nasty diet after taste. (The diet caffeine free version is horrible though.)
My husband and I both like diet Sunkist as well. It has caffeine.
I also like Canada Dry's Diet ginger ale (no caffeine) even though it's aspartame. {shrug} I tried a house brand of diet ginger ale and it was awful.
Drink tea, coffee, or even a cup of cocoa for caffeine if you want. You wont get a headache if you cut down the caffeine a little at a time, or if you stop cold turkey, after a day or so they'll stop. Take a little tylenol, youll get thru it.
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I gave up caffeine completely a few months ago. If you really have trouble with headaches, or any kind of withdrawal you can switch to caffeine free Diet Pepsi and start mixing that with regular Diet Pepsi and bring it down slowly. Now drink mostly herbal tea. Some flavors I put a packet of Splenda in, other flavors don't need it. I love Celestial Seasons cinnamon apple spice. The heat of the tea in a reusable sip cup helps me to drink it slowly and enjoyed the flavors more. I tend to drink cold beverages more quickly. I also use Celestial's extra sleepy time tea at night. It's very calming. I was drinking a lot of coffee and caffeinated sodas. Oh, like a full pot by myself every morning. I didn't have any withdrawal, but I can see how some people might.0
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OP do you want to give up soda just because of the calories, or for health reasons too? If you feel like you are "addicted" or totally reliant on soda, then swapping from regular to diet is just swapping one vice for another one.
I'm probably projecting here, but I've had addiction problems in the past.. and being completely reliant on something just to get through the day just rubs me up the wrong way. It's akin to liquid handcuffs, I just hate the thought of HAVING to have something every single day.
I know everyone needs there little slice of enjoyment every day, but if you feel like you can't live without it, then that's another issue.2 -
I just finished a book called "Mini Habits For Weight Loss". I highly recommend. Some suggestions to help let go of soda would be:
1) agree to drink a glass of water first
2) put off getting the soda for 10 minutes
3) think to yourself "I'll have water now, and have one tomorrow instead" (and then be OK with yourself if you have one)
I had a major Dr. Pepper/ Pibb addiction at one time. Funny that now I can't tell you the last time I had a soda. I started by substituting sweet tea, then unsweet tea, then water. I got a 30oz tumbler for my birthday in January, and I keep it filled with water now-- I'm never without it. I hit a gallon/day this week.2 -
Well, if you have five a day each week, then you have four a day the next week, then three, and so on until you eventually stop. I used to have one or two a day, but I simply stopped. I wouldn't recommend diet soda because the body doesn't recognize artificial sweetener and will make you bloated worse than actual soda. Anything that bloats you is a bad sign and shouldn't be consumed. Or you can just have soda on the weekend, but only one or two. Sugar is highly addictive so that's why you may feel ill and have headaches... it's like stopping heroin after decades of using.0
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Sugar is highly addictive so that's why you may feel ill and have headaches... it's like stopping heroin after decades of using.
Oh no - you didn't!!?!!0
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