Giving it up (not just hiding my Diet Coke Habit)

Mirtri, I support you. I drink Diet Coke and I know that when I give it up, I feel better. If only I could stick with it. Maybe we should do the 30 day Soda challenge? Anyone up for it?

I stopped drinking sodas seven years ago. I always felt bloated and had a lot of uncomfortable gas. There are plenty of gas-free diet friendly cooldrinks out there. I am not big on drinking my calories and I found once I stopped with the sodas my cravings for sugar were reduced. The key for me is to not have anything sweet during the day, as the taste will trigger the cravings. It's as if my mind has forgotten how something has tasted if I go a long time without it, and therefore I don't want it. But once I give in, it's almost impossible to resist.

So if you want to cut diet coke out of your diet, I would say start slowly. Don't have any during the day, and half a glass at night. You can soon make it once every two, three, four...etc. nights. Soon enough you won't crave it as much, and dropping it all together would be very easy.

Disclaimer, I enjoy a diet soda here and there but do not drink them regularly.

I have done some research as well and I agree that there are conflicting messages that make it difficult to discern which is correct. A big thing to consider...note who is funding the study...

Also, I was listening to a podcast recently and they were explaining that the biggest issue with artificial sugars and diet foods is the gustatory effect - your body tasting intense sweetness and looking for nutrition where there isn't any..and thus sometimes creating cravings. Just sharing a thought, I have my own feelings on this with respect to weight loss/gain.

For every argument there will be a counterargument. You just have to decide which messages seem most important to you and go from there. Your reasoning is sound...for you, even the threat of those effects makes diet coke not worth it. Hey, can't go wrong there. Good luck with your journey!