Getting off soda

I have had an addiction to soda for years sadly. That has drastically altered my life and my weight. I am one that does not have tons of energy because I have chronic fatigue. What do you use to help stay off soda and still have energy? I need some help with motivation and ideas to stay away from soda. Thank you!!
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Replies

  • lilac_bunny
    lilac_bunny Posts: 137 Member
    The easiest way in terms of weight loss would be to switch to diet soda. It is still addictive though. I find drinking herbal tea or sparkling flavoured water helps. I definately feel healthier when I am 'on the wagon' so to speak.
  • faith5x5nomore
    faith5x5nomore Posts: 7 Member
    I would strongly suggest staying away from diet soda. It's very unhealthy. I don't have a soda addiction but an ice tea addiction. I didn't want to quiet cold turkey because of headaches. I am doing a fasting approach and it seems to be helping. I started off by not drinking any after 7pm until 7 am. I slowly increased the times and only having 3 glasses a day from my normal gallon a day (aka addict). I have tried to quiet in the past and this has worked better then anything for me. Hope this helps.
  • Hallie82
    Hallie82 Posts: 38 Member
    I've been off soda for about a month. I've been drinking 0 calorie carbonated flavored water in replacement (I buy them in bulk at Costco) and for my caffeine fix I have coffee every morning with agave and soy milk. I used to also be addicted to the flavored creamers but quit that as well.
  • kclaar11
    kclaar11 Posts: 162 Member
    I would strongly suggest staying away from diet soda. It's very unhealthy. I don't have a soda addiction but an ice tea addiction. I didn't want to quiet cold turkey because of headaches. I am doing a fasting approach and it seems to be helping. I started off by not drinking any after 7pm until 7 am. I slowly increased the times and only having 3 glasses a day from my normal gallon a day (aka addict). I have tried to quiet in the past and this has worked better then anything for me. Hope this helps.

    There is nothing "unhealthy" about diet soda provided you drink it in moderation (like anything else). As far as energy OP, I am assuming it is caffeine that you are referring to. You can try tea (I enjoy Green Tea personally) or coffee. Again, all in moderation. From my personal experience, I actually found that decreasing my caffeine over time (to just two cups of coffee in the morning now) has actually given me more stable energy with less crashes. Obviously, we are all different and it may not work for you.
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    edited April 2017
    I was a soda Junkie!!! I now mostly drink water and coffee. As far as energy - the best thing would be SLEEP! However, I have low energy too and a high tolerance to caffeine - I only drink coffee because I like the taste, I can drink a whole pot and go to sleep. Some pre-workout powders help me. The 5 hour energy shot drinks help me, but I try to limit those. I only drink the 5 hour energies about maybe once every 2 months, when needed.

    I've tried the whole foods suggested to help with energy, obviously I've tried more coffee, even espresso, the only thing that phases me are the items I mentioned above. Good luck
  • saraonly9913
    saraonly9913 Posts: 469 Member
    Hasn't anyone seen the news on diet soda? It raises your stroke risk by 3X.
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    I got my whole family to quit soda (except for mixing into alcoholic drinks) by replacing it with each family member's favorite flavor of La Croix or Klarbrunn. It gives a calorie-free bubbly to sip on and not feel bad about with tons of flavors to mix it up! For the energy problem, I'd reccomend keeping a couple pieces of fruit around for that afternoon tiredness or even midmorning tiredness.
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
    Hasn't anyone seen the news on diet soda? It raises your stroke risk by 3X.

    No it doesn't.
  • gymzonian
    gymzonian Posts: 15 Member
    I know " some"people might say diet sodas are bad. I love them so I switched to diet version ones.
  • cardiacmommy
    cardiacmommy Posts: 52 Member
    I have fibromyalgia and debilitating fatigue. I think caffeine only makes it worse because it puts your​ body on a roller coaster. I quit soda 2.5 years ago. I realized it was a trigger item. I set a date to quit. I had a friend who had quit drugs and he said if he can quit drugs I can quit soda. About 1.5 years ago I quit sugar. I was getting stressed and binging on it. I have it a lot of thought for a few weeks. Then I installed an app designed for addicts that told me how many days clean. That really motivated me. 491 days now.
    I still get fatigued but don't sleep as much as I used to. And when I need it I nap. Try and stay hydrated and get rest. I am starting to increase exercise as I know that's helped me in the past. For me it really is easier to just abstain. I tell people.. Sorry I don't drink soda. Sorry I don't eat sweets. It makes grocery shopping simpler because I've already made the decision to avoid those foods. My hubby still buys sweets but they are easy for me to avoid now. I do still miss them occasionally but i can always have them later in life. They'll be there for me after I've met my goals.
  • mattcorbs
    mattcorbs Posts: 4 Member
    Diet Soda usually has Aspartame in which probably isn't great. Have carbonated water with fresh lime. 0 cals yet will feel like having soda so will calm your addiction. Ween yourself off, or mostly off, sugar and everything gets better bodywise:)
  • camschuckie
    camschuckie Posts: 12 Member
    kclaar11 wrote: »
    I would strongly suggest staying away from diet soda. It's very unhealthy. I don't have a soda addiction but an ice tea addiction. I didn't want to quiet cold turkey because of headaches. I am doing a fasting approach and it seems to be helping. I started off by not drinking any after 7pm until 7 am. I slowly increased the times and only having 3 glasses a day from my normal gallon a day (aka addict). I have tried to quiet in the past and this has worked better then anything for me. Hope this helps.

    There is nothing "unhealthy" about diet soda provided you drink it in moderation (like anything else). As far as energy OP, I am assuming it is caffeine that you are referring to. You can try tea (I enjoy Green Tea personally) or coffee. Again, all in moderation. From my personal experience, I actually found that decreasing my caffeine over time (to just two cups of coffee in the morning now) has actually given me more stable energy with less crashes. Obviously, we are all different and it may not work for you.

    Actually studies have shown that diet soda makes you hold on to your weight longer. She is better off with her regular soda and cut it down slowly.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    Start incorporating sparkling water into your diet. Start by replacing 1 soda a day with a sparkling water, then 2, etc. You'll probably miss that fizziness from the soda so this will help!
  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,568 Member
    kclaar11 wrote: »
    I would strongly suggest staying away from diet soda. It's very unhealthy. I don't have a soda addiction but an ice tea addiction. I didn't want to quiet cold turkey because of headaches. I am doing a fasting approach and it seems to be helping. I started off by not drinking any after 7pm until 7 am. I slowly increased the times and only having 3 glasses a day from my normal gallon a day (aka addict). I have tried to quiet in the past and this has worked better then anything for me. Hope this helps.

    There is nothing "unhealthy" about diet soda provided you drink it in moderation (like anything else). As far as energy OP, I am assuming it is caffeine that you are referring to. You can try tea (I enjoy Green Tea personally) or coffee. Again, all in moderation. From my personal experience, I actually found that decreasing my caffeine over time (to just two cups of coffee in the morning now) has actually given me more stable energy with less crashes. Obviously, we are all different and it may not work for you.

    Actually studies have shown that diet soda makes you hold on to your weight longer. She is better off with her regular soda and cut it down slowly.

    Correlation, not causation, in the ones I've seen. I know that one person doesn't count as an effective sample size, but I've been drinking diet soda quite happily all through my so-far-50-pound loss.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
    Diet soda. In addition I drink a ton of caffeine. I'm a mess. But there's nothing wrong with the diet soda.
  • LonniJay
    LonniJay Posts: 3,740 Member
    Diet Soda is no more healthy than regular soda. I drink green tea sweetened with stevia. There are an array of teas you could try with stevia and make it low sugar and low cal. I also love chai tea, homemade chocolate milk, and lemonade. You could also buy sparkling water and sweeten with fruit juice and stevia to imitate soda.

    Experiment until you find what you like. I haven't had a soda in months but certain ones feel like syrup sliding down my throat, yuk. I do have a weakness for orange crush and squirt though, and will drink about 8 oz if offered then stop.

    Good luck!
  • jen_bush
    jen_bush Posts: 679 Member
    I have san pellegrino sparkling water and sometimes add lemon to it. I was massively addicted to coke and this is the only thing that works for me x
  • KosmosKitten
    KosmosKitten Posts: 10,476 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    I drink 1 or 2 diet sodas everyday. Not addictive. For the rest of the day I'm drinking unsweetened iced tea. Both have caffeine....that's my energy boost.

    Unsweetened bubbly water.....LaCroix, Klarbrunn, LaVie, Poland Spring, Perrier, etc.

    This. I started actually noticing the scale move a bit more once I traded regular Mt. Dew for the diet version. It did take some getting used to the taste, but now that it's been more than a month, I honestly find it hard to switch back to the full calorie version (too sweet).

    I usually have two (sometimes three) 12 oz cans a day and subsist off of unsweet tea the rest of the time. I'm not a fan of the carbonated water, but to each their own.

    But honestly, no reason to give it up entirely if you can switch to the diet version. At some point, I will probably get down to drinking one diet can a day.. only because it does get expensive to keep buying this stuff when you drink two cans a day.
  • SuccessJMG
    SuccessJMG Posts: 6 Member
    Not that I am in any way an expert...
    As someone who has drank LOTS of diet soda for over 35 years, I never thought twice about the amount I was drinking. I am also morbidly obese. My doctor, who I respect greatly, suggested I try going without all artificial sweeteners citing studies that say for some people the ingestion of artificial sweeteners enhances cravings for sugar and carbs. I had nothing to lose (except lots of weight) so I gave it a try. Initially I was crabby and got headaches until I realuzed I was also withdrawing from the caffiene as well. Three weeks later I am sleeping better and I really don't crave the sweets like I had before. Maybe it's all psychological, but I'll take it!