I cannot seem to give up Soda, where do I even begin?

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  • FeelingAlive
    FeelingAlive Posts: 117 Member
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    I stopped drinking it cold turkey seven years ago. At first it was extremely difficult but the most important thing is determination. If your resolution to stop drinking it is set in stone then you can.

    If you want to reduce the amount you have but not stop entirely, I would suggest setting a daily limit. If you're having three cans a day now I would aim for doing two for a while, and then one.

    Also try and hold out longer each day before you have one: the earlier you have one, the stronger the cravings. I was quite addicted to candy but managed to limit my intake by not having anything during the day and treating myself with a very small portion after dinner. It's sustainable and in my calorie budget.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    @sathor, have you ever been tested for sleep apnea?
  • izzybelle2013
    izzybelle2013 Posts: 147 Member
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    I love, love, love Dr. Pepper. I used to drink 3, sometimes 4 a day. Hated water. But, I wanted to be healthy and lose my weight. So I forced myself to drink water, and cut my Dr. Pepper down to 1 can a day. When they came out with 7.5oz cans of Dr. Pepper, I could have 2 a day. But I have never cut it out completely. I have now lost 101 lbs, and am very healthy and active. And, now I drink at least 8-9 glasses of water everyday, voluntarily. You just have to force yourself to pick up a glass of water, instead of a soda. Do this until you no longer have to force yourself. That's how you can beat your addiction.
  • Wakx
    Wakx Posts: 105 Member
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    Soda addiction is perhaps a bit overrated, over-everything...

    If you want to lose weight, just dump soda from your diet. It is absurd to think you need to drink soda, from my perspective that is.

    Boil water. Make tea. Enjoy a cup of hot tea. Leave the tea bag in the pot and let it go cold. Eventually put the cold tea in the fridge. Let it go cold. Also ice a few cubes. Then drink it ice team, without any sense of guilt at any time of the day! If you still want sweetness, make tea of licorice root, fennel seeds and mint leaves. Or if you really need a fizzy drink, start a business to import this wonderful Dutch soda called Rivella, which is totally refreshing and has practically zero calories. Believe it or not, it is made of milk by-products.
  • girlonthego06
    girlonthego06 Posts: 8 Member
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    I drink La Croix. It's an acquired taste but helped me kick my coke habit (lol) completely. My favorite flavors are grapefruit, cherry lime (any of the mixed flavors), apricot, and Kroger's off brand mandarin orange. Has zero sweetener, zero calories and gives me the carbonation without the syrupy sugar. Now when I drink a coke I think it's too sweet. I also switched from coffee creamer to half and half because the French vanilla I loved before, now tastes too sugary. It takes time but if you cut back..it makes it much easier to cut it out altogether!!!
  • Heather4448
    Heather4448 Posts: 908 Member
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    OMG. I can’t get that info graphic!
    “THE GLOBE IS A LIE!”
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited October 2017
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    never mind

  • tayusuki
    tayusuki Posts: 194 Member
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    Try diet Pepsi.

    People who say it can't be addictive well...anything can be addictive. It can be hard to drop.

    I struggled getting rid of soda and it was hindering my weight loss. I also don't like the aspartame taste diet sodas have -- not everyone has a problem with it or can taste it though.

    If you're one of the people that notices the aftertaste, diet Pepsi is made without aspartame. :) I like the taste and the scale started moving again.
  • CoffeeandHumblePie
    CoffeeandHumblePie Posts: 122 Member
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    I love sparkling flavored waters like klarbrun lime or Perrier w/ grapefruit or strawberry. But the carbonation starts to mess with my gut. I recently started drinking kombucha, which is amazing for gut health and is naturally effervescent. I am addicted!! It’s delicious and low calorie. Synergy brand is my favorite.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    I think this thread's gotten hijacked by the whole "How addictive is X?" the difficulty to tease out physical and psychological addiction and the whole artificial sweetener debate.

    In the end, some habits are very very hard to break whatever the cause is.

    Following some of the tips and tricks found by people through the years and science can make it easier to replace old behavior patterns with new ones. There are differences between addiction to smoking, gambling, video games, heroin, hair twirling or excessive soda consumption... but some similarities exist as well.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Substitute with Zevia
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
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    I just gave it up cold turkey. It took me two weeks, and then the cravings and mood swings stopped. That was 2008, are I only very rarely will have a Coke.

    I think diet sodas are fine, but I cannot stand them. At all. My sister keeps telling me to try this and that because it is so great, and nope, it just isn't. I think I am one of those individuals who are very sensitive to the artificial sweeteners. But I really enjoy unsweetened iced tea with lemon, so that is ok :). I stay caffeinated and calorie free- drink wise at least.
  • erikfarrar
    erikfarrar Posts: 35 Member
    edited October 2017
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    girlonthego06 wrote: »
    I drink La Croix. It's an acquired taste but helped me kick my coke habit (lol) completely.

    I second getting sparkling water of some sort. You could easily sub one per day, then two, etc. LaCroix or store brands are fine, plain or "essenced." I found that a lot of the time I just wanted something fizzy -- people often discount the sensory/habit experience of food apart from the taste. (This is why there are food scientists that optimize potato chip crunchiness and such.) It may serve to trick your brain, at least in part.

    Another option is to get into a SodaStream or something. Add a squeeze of citrus and/or some cocktail bitters and you have a really pleasant soda alternative. Try: LaCroix/Kroger brand coconut sparkling water, a squeeze or more of lime juice, and a few dashes of Angostura bitters. It's like a magical mocktail.

    Granted, anything carbonated will be still be slightly more acidic than regular water. Make sure you're taking care of your teeth. ;)
  • kelsiestoner
    kelsiestoner Posts: 78 Member
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    I just cut soda out of my diet and it was easier than I thought because I weaned myself off of it slowly. I used to drink about 3 Monster energy drinks a day and maybe 60oz of soda on top of that. I stopped drinking energy drinks altogether on my doctor's orders, and cut the soda down slowly week by week until I was only drinking one 12oz can a day. I was still drinking one can a day up until the week before last, just because if I didn't drink one in the afternoon I would tend to get a headache. I fought through that for another week and now I don't crave it as much as I did before. I drank one the other night and I didn't even really enjoy it, it was too sweet for me all the sudden.

    Just take it one step at a time, that way it doesn't feel like you're giving up so much.
  • erikfarrar
    erikfarrar Posts: 35 Member
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    CoffeeandPie wrote: »
    I recently started drinking kombucha, which is amazing for gut health and is naturally effervescent. I am addicted!! It’s delicious and low calorie. Synergy brand is my favorite.

    Kombucha is really easy to make at home also -- and homemade will save you a ton of money. There are YouTube tutorials galore on how to do it.

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