Drinking too much soda?

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abbullar
abbullar Posts: 61
in Food and Nutrition
I drink on an average 2-4 cans of soda a day. Does anyone know how I can stop doing this? Any tips?
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Replies

  • jbretz
    jbretz Posts: 43
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    I stopped drinking all forms of caffeine on June 20th of this year. I haven't had anything but water since then. I used to drink 4-5 cans of soda a day, I was beyond addicted. The first four days were horrid, but afterwards the world became much sunnier.

    The best advice I have is to buy a Coleman gallon cooler and fill it with ice and water all the time. This is the best $6 investment I've ever made. I drink up to two gallons a day. I actually just filled it up a few minutes ago.

    I can't stress enough how awesome this change can be. The effects are incredible. Water is great. :)
  • ambrosia8
    ambrosia8 Posts: 12 Member
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    Have you tried cystal light instead?
  • glp724
    glp724 Posts: 48 Member
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    I've been successful in the past at dropping cutting back my soda intake by setting a rule - one soda/day. At lunch. Otherwise it's ONLY water.

    I did let myself off the hook on weekends & holidays so I had something to look forward to.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
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    Slowly cut it out little by little so the withdrawals aren't that bad. I don't drink caffeine every day anymore. I'll have a cup of coffee maybe once a week. Life is MUCH better without the caffeine, I promise! I have so much more energy now.
  • MissMandy1010
    MissMandy1010 Posts: 52 Member
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    i would say crystal light is a good transition, but don't JUST drink it. Its got aspartame, the same nasty, bad for you artificial sweetener thats in most diet sodas, so you really won't be doing much to help yourself. Id say go cold turkey. or try crsytal light pure, which is made with sugar and truvia. good luck!!! it will suck at first, but maybe you could wean yourself. I did that with mt dews. I drank them all the time and went to just one a day and then one a week. now I don't drink ANY soda. much better for you!!!!
  • dmbnj
    dmbnj Posts: 15 Member
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    Not to sound snarky, but just don't buy it. Originally i switched to flavored seltzer but then stopped buying that and now drink water or add some diet decaf iced tea mix to it.
  • Broken_
    Broken_ Posts: 172 Member
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    Water and unsweetened tea became my vice when I was trying to stop drinking soda.

    Also water with "Stevia" may be a good idea for you
  • Julijulz
    Julijulz Posts: 119 Member
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    If you absolutely can't cut soda out, cut it to only 1 soda a day. When you buy a case, write on it with a permanent marker when you should finish it by if you only drink 1 a day. DO NOT let yourself buy another case until that date. So that will hold you to only consuming 1 a day. :)
  • abbullar
    abbullar Posts: 61
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    I'm not a huge fan of crystal light, since I don't really like artificial fruit tastes. I have successfully gone cold turkey from soda before. I think I went a few days without one. But then I rewarded myself with one and then I was hooked again.
  • lucacrazymom
    lucacrazymom Posts: 2
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    I have the same issue me and my husband can go thru a 12 pack a day if we are both off this is my greatest struggle
  • musicmint
    musicmint Posts: 469
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    Do not stop cold turkey. Try drinking 1 less can of soda every few weeks or months, but the sooner the better. While doing this simply drink more water. As you get into this new habit it will be difficult at first, but eventually you will develop the appreciation for water and the benefits it brings.Over time you will begin to notice how soda is too sweet and the after affects it brings.
  • abbullar
    abbullar Posts: 61
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    That's an awesome idea! I will definitely try writing the date I should finish on the box!
  • MarieNevada
    MarieNevada Posts: 395 Member
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    i drank a gallon of diet coke a day. I quit cold turkey. took me two times to do it and the withdrawal is horrible. here's a little experiment to try if you're drinking regular soday. get 12 oz of water then add 1 oz (or 9 teaspoons) of sugar. mix it up and drink that. That's what you're drinking every time you drink a can of soday. That'll help you quit. but yeah, taper off if you can and then just bite the bullet and remind yourself that it will all be over in a few days. and dont substitute with fruit juice. drink water instead. use crystal light if you have to but that's a lot of chemicals. be strong. you can do it.
  • ljmeep
    ljmeep Posts: 29
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    I've had to gradually ween myself down. I was drinking close to a 6 pack a day. I started by limiting it to only a soda at meal times (3 a day). After a while I was able to cut it down to 2 and now I only allow myself 1 a day.

    By doing it gradually I allowed my body to adjust to less caffine and avoided the hellish with draws from it. There are some days now that I go without any soda at all. I eventually want to cut it back even more.... but for now I'm baby stepping my way to that goal.

    Good luck!
  • budkow
    budkow Posts: 39
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    I used to drink at least 128oz of Diet Coke a day, sometimes more. I managed to replace most of it with water and Mio (flavoring like Crystal Light). Personally I can't stand "plain" water and it just makes me more thirsty. I still drink ~64oz of Diet Coke at lunch, but darnit I can't give up everything! :-) What's odd is I have no effects one way or another by cutting down or drinking more caffeine. I think my body ignores it. :-)
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    Replace it with better drinks. 1 cup (8 oz) of 100% fruit juice a day is fine (I wouldn't go much over that) and water is the best replacement. But if you like something with flavor, look into Crystal Light or G2 (lower calorie/reduced sugar gatorade) or PowerAde (they also gave a low carb variety). I personally like the Crystal Light to go packs - I tend to dilute them more than suggested (about 20 oz of water per pack instead of 16) and ice water. Skim milk is also a great drink, it goes especially well with a meal - studies have found that women who drink at least 2 cups of skim milk daily have healthier weight than women who drink diet soda instead!

    Stop buying soda. Don't get the cases at the store, and avoid running by the convenience store for a quick fix. Also don't carry change that you can use to buy a can from vending machines at work, etc. Instead, throw your loose change into a giant pickle jar (empty of course, lol) and save it for something useful :wink:

    You can indulge once in a while in a soda - at a party, out to dinner, maybe at a movie. But once you replace soda with better drinks, you'll probably find you care much less for the taste!
  • la_nanita
    la_nanita Posts: 410 Member
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    I do grocery shopping on Saturdays and buy 2 2-liters of our favorite soda. With a family of 5 that only last 2 days = the weekend. The rest of the week it is only water, milk and juice. I bought a pitcher with a filter that I keep full so that when we eat the pitcher goes on the table with us.
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
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    4 cans of soda per day = 560 calories x 7 = 3920 or over 1 pound per week
    one pound per week is 52 lbs a year
    these are empty calories with NO nutritive quality at all and may actually harm your body in the long run
    Water has NO calories and your body needs it to function correctly - in fact, our bodies can't function properly w/o water, but surprisingly, they can w/o soda

    your call
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    I swapped out my diet coke for coffee... I'm not yet convince that caffiene is horrid, but pretty scared of all the artificial sweeteners.

    If you want to cut out caffiene too. I'd say first make the switch to coffee and then to water.

    Why go through all you withdrawals at once.
  • Jonicha26
    Jonicha26 Posts: 107 Member
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    I have been a Coca Cola addict my whole life. Love coke and I used to drink it all day long... it was such a thing for me that friends would buy me coke product gifts of all kinds. It was a joke that I never went anywhere without a coke in my purse. So, let me just say... I have been there. BUT... I am not there anymore. :) You can do it... it is possible.

    The first thing I did was go cold turkey... I made it a competition with myself to see how many days I could go without it. I did it for about a month and a half... at that point it got much better. Then... I felt like maybe I shouldn't stop drinking coke altogether because people just associated me with Coca Cola, but I knew that wasn't a good or real reason. I still wanted to drink some of it, but I started to scale back. One a day, then a couple a week, then one a week. It was hard, but when I started thinking about the empty calories and how bloated drinking so much soda made me feel it became easier to turn it down.

    Now, I hardly ever drink coke. It was a process, but I made it. I think it took me about a year to get to this point... so, don't get discouraged. I will still drink coke on occasion... only when I feel like it. But I don't crave it in the same way. It isn't something I need anymore. You can do this. It will be a process, but don't give up! Just take it one day at a time. :)

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