how to effectively cut out soda?

I'm not the best authority since I haven't successfully done it more than 4-5 months. However, I did want to share what HAS worked for me.

First, are you drinking your 2 liters of water? That will cut out a lot of soda since you can't be too thirsty when having to guzzle all that water.

Secondly, I allowed myself to be me...sounds new-agey, but I couldn't quit. My husband drinks Coca-Cola like an addict and watching that is so hard for me. So I bought some Diet Rite (it's made with Splenda, and I steer clear of aspartame. Splenda might not be better but it's a risk I'm willing to take). I didn't like it at first, but poured over ice, it became an acceptable substitute. After a few nights, it was enough to satisfy a hard-core cola lover like me.

So that's my routine. Drink all my water during the day, and allow myself one Diet Rite every evening. No caffeine to keep me awake, and a nice treat to look forward to. For me, it totally keeps the temptation at bay. At restaurants I am able to order water without feeling deprived knowing I'll come home to my cola before bed.

I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do. I know giving it up totally is very laudable and a worthy goal. I just decided that for me, it was something I needed to have leniency on.

My husband gave it up and he was a freak about soda. he would drink it with breakfast. He wanted to give it up so I stopped buying it. Now he drinks these all natural energy drinks by nestle. They are called Nestles Jamba. They have a lot of sugars because its made with fruit juice, but there is no added sugar, its just natural. They are pretty good. Its hard to do, but if you really want to do it, you just have to stick to it. Kind of like losing weight.

I was a 1 soda a day soda hard core addict. Heres what I did: I got mad when the scale didn't move as fast as I wanted. I did everything right except the soda. I thought about how hard I was working in the gym then thought about what I was doing - I was drinking some of my daily calories. Basically, I was undoing some of my hard work just for a soda. I thought about it for a while longer, then finally decided to try giving it up for one week. I lost 3# that week. I started to feel even better me weight loss happened faster and I realized that by not drinking my cals I was optimizing my workouts.

I haven't had a regular pop in about.3 months. Some days I miss it, but I don't miss those extra cals and sugar. Good luck - it can be done!

Way (WAY) back in college, I worked at a Coca-Cola bottling plant, and one of the perks was two cases of 6-packs a week. Yeah: that's 48 12-oz cans EVERY WEEK. It wasn't hard to get hooked on the stuff, and I absolutely did -- and on the real thing, not diet. I drank liters (plural) of it every day for years and years ... which explains a lot about why I've still a long way to go to reach my goals. (But don't worry: I'm SO gonna get there.)

I halfheartedly quit drinking coke once or twice, I think, and finally kicked the habit for good about three years ago. I moved on to Diet Green Tea with Citrus for a year or so, thinking it was better -- and it was, calories-wise. But it still has caffeine and those nasty "bad sugars" that made me hungry (or so I believe) and did nothing for me nutritionally. Now all I drink is water and occasionally, a glass of tea.

Once I got past the no-caffeine headaches (ibuprofen made that relatively easy), it was all about having something to drink within arm's reach. I now keep about 20 plastic bottles, ranging from 16.9 oz. to 1 liter, full of filtered tap water in my fridge all the time, so it's incredibly easy to go grab a bottle of ice cold water. I occasionally do the Crystal Light thing just for something different, but usually, it's just water.

All of this is simply to say that you might think about whether you're addicted to drinking SODA -- or whether part of the issue is that you're just in the habit of reaching for something to drink. If the latter plays into it -- well, that's an easy fix, and you can start making a change there like, today.

I agree with others here to a great extent: a whole lot of it is in your head (as it was mine). Once I got my head around the fact that I could choose to drink pop or not, it became a bit easier to take control. I love a good challenge, and I won that one.

One last thing: I had an opportunity to taste Coke not long ago and boy -- it was nasty. WAY too sweet. I was glad I did it, as it confirmed for me that that habit is long gone.

So hang in there -- you can do it. A few months from now, it'll be hard to believe you were ever hooked -- I swear.

I cut it cold turkey in March. But if that's not working, try cutting down. Depending on what you're drinking daily, try cutting that in half for a week. Then the next week, half of that. Until you're done. Good luck!

Everytime you want a soda cut off a finger. Eventually you'll stop if you want to keep your fingers.

I'd first think of what it is you miss about it. If you were drinking cola, you might miss the caffeine. If so, try iced coffee or tea. If it the carbination, try carbinated water with a little fruit/fruit juice for taste.

It's really hard, isn't it? I tried to quit several times in the past, and I could never manage to do it long-term. In 2011, I said my New Year's Resolution was no more soda... The first 2 months were a killer, the next 2 weren't great either, and now I still get a craving every now and then... But it's July 25, and I haven't had a soda since December 29, 2010. You CAN do it. I know it's hard. I drank a LOT of coffee the first few months. Then a lot of sweet tea... Not I barely drink anything but water. There's no magical way to get through it, but I swear, once you make it through the first few weeks, it gets a lot easier.

Everytime you want a soda cut off a finger. Eventually you'll stop if you want to keep your fingers.

probably the best and worst idea ever.

I say drink it warm, and then see how much you still enjoy it.