How to deal with (diet) soda cravings?
Replies
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rheddmobile wrote: »Even diet drinks make you CRAVE sugar. The artificial sweeteners are even worse than sugar for stimulating the cravings. Have you considered buying a soda stream or buying carbonated waters. There are several that have no sugar and no salt - some are flavored, some aren't. You will find that once you can change to these waters and then just water - your thirst will be quenched so much better. Right now you aren't actually quenching your thirst - these drinks are making you even more thirsty. For every glass of soda that you drink - commit to drinking 1 glass of water (or carbonated water) first. You are brave to admit this addiction - I am sure that is your first step. Best of Luck to You. Yes You CAN!!!!!!
Everyone woo'd this, but it's backed up by hard science. Some artificial sweeteners have been proven to stimulate insulin secretion. Insulin is meant to move sugar out of your bloodstream. When there's nothing for it to do, you crave sugar. For a normal, healthy person this is a minor and unnoticeable thing. The OP, however, is a diabetic.
OP, have you tried drinking soda at different times and with different foods? There might be some combination which would work with the existing food you're eating and keep you from craving more.
Artificial sweeteners do not change the insulin production in the body. If they did they wouldn't be suitable for diabetics!
Do you know what happens to a diabetic that takes too much insulin? Hypoglycemia. That is an incredibly dangerous state to be in, left untreated you can die.
Diabetics, who already take medication to control their sugars, would go into hypoglycemia frequently after drinking diet soda, not crave sugar, and that never happens as a result of drinking diet soda. Even normal people would go into hypoglycemia if artificial sweeteners caused overproduction of insulin.
Your argument makes no logical sense if you understand the role of insulin in the body. Thus, woo.10 -
You may find this answer to be overly simple and therefore not of use but honest truth is you get over a habit same way you get over any habit, you ween yourself off of it. Commit yourself to drinking exactly one drink less a week week after week until you are off of it.2
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I have a habit of drinking too much diet mountain dew. However, it is my one an only "vice". I'm not convinced diet soda is bad for me, so I have no intention of stopping this habit. I've lost 75 pounds and have kept it off for about 6 months now. Drinking diet soda allows me a zero calorie enjoyment which I have no desire to stop.
My doctor said he isn't going to argue with success and has not advised me to stop. I think all the hype over diet soda being bad is just that, hype. No real hard scientific data exists that I've seen that suggest diet soda causes any specific harm to the body.
I'm in the best shape of my life and probably drink 6 or 7 cans of diet mountain dew per day.7 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Even diet drinks make you CRAVE sugar. The artificial sweeteners are even worse than sugar for stimulating the cravings. Have you considered buying a soda stream or buying carbonated waters. There are several that have no sugar and no salt - some are flavored, some aren't. You will find that once you can change to these waters and then just water - your thirst will be quenched so much better. Right now you aren't actually quenching your thirst - these drinks are making you even more thirsty. For every glass of soda that you drink - commit to drinking 1 glass of water (or carbonated water) first. You are brave to admit this addiction - I am sure that is your first step. Best of Luck to You. Yes You CAN!!!!!!
Everyone woo'd this, but it's backed up by hard science. Some artificial sweeteners have been proven to stimulate insulin secretion. Insulin is meant to move sugar out of your bloodstream. When there's nothing for it to do, you crave sugar. For a normal, healthy person this is a minor and unnoticeable thing. The OP, however, is a diabetic.
OP, have you tried drinking soda at different times and with different foods? There might be some combination which would work with the existing food you're eating and keep you from craving more.
Artificial sweeteners do not change the insulin production in the body. If they did they wouldn't be suitable for diabetics!
Do you know what happens to a diabetic that takes too much insulin? Hypoglycemia. That is an incredibly dangerous state to be in, left untreated you can die.
Diabetics, who already take medication to control their sugars, would go into hypoglycemia frequently after drinking diet soda, not crave sugar, and that never happens as a result of drinking diet soda. Even normal people would go into hypoglycemia if artificial sweeteners caused overproduction of insulin.
Your argument makes no logical sense if you understand the role of insulin in the body. Thus, woo.
The thing about science is it works even if you don't believe in it. Do some reading about the effects of aspartame on blood glucose. There's strong disagreement about whether artificial sweeteners are suitable for diabetics. Some have more of an effect than others.
Diabetics go hypo all the time - how many of them know exactly why they miscalculated this time?
Normal people have livers which release glycogen when they start to go low. Metformin prevents this.
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I wish I liked carbonated water. It just tastes salty to me.
I hope you've realized there are different types? Perhaps they do all taste salty for you, but the type makes a taste difference for me.
Oversimplifying the types:
Club soda usually contain some kind of sodium compound and these can have a slight salt taste to me (specific sodium compound may make a taste difference).
Sparkling water (sometimes under other names) is just water with carbon dioxide in it, and the taste will depend mostly on the water itself. Some of the common brands just taste like plain still water to me, but pleasantly fizzy. (Science seems to say CO2 has a slight sour flavor, though).
Naturally carbonated or fizzy mineral water varies widely in flavor depending on the specific mineral content.1 -
I wish I liked carbonated water. It just tastes salty to me.
I hope you've realized there are different types? Perhaps they do all taste salty for you, but the type makes a taste difference for me.
Oversimplifying the types:
Club soda usually contain some kind of sodium compound and these can have a slight salt taste to me (specific sodium compound may make a taste difference).
Sparkling water (sometimes under other names) is just water with carbon dioxide in it, and the taste will depend mostly on the water itself. Some of the common brands just taste like plain still water to me, but pleasantly fizzy. (Science seems to say CO2 has a slight sour flavor, though).
Naturally carbonated or fizzy mineral water varies widely in flavor depending on the specific mineral content.
What I'll do(as I mix up my drinking throughout the day, is if water is beginning to taste a little flat, I'll pick up some crystal light packs and when I get through about 3/4 liter of the still water, I'll add a crystal light single and then mix in the sparkling water(If you don't, you'll just end up wearing the sparkling water) I like the lemonade because the "16 oz sleeve" is more than enough for a liter of water.0 -
Instead of giving it up completely why not just try cutting back? Treat it like any other food, moderation. I have one diet coke a day so I know if I'm having pizza or something I usually drink soda with I'll save it for that meal and have water the rest of the day. I just had a diet coke with my lunch now so I know I have to drink water for dinner.1
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I gave up diet soda for a year and the first two weeks of going cold turkey SUCKED! But after two weeks I barely missed it. My first diet soda after cutting it out was on my wedding day and OMG it was delish! So now I limit myself to one diet soda a day at lunch and consider it my treat for the day.1
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rheddmobile wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Even diet drinks make you CRAVE sugar. The artificial sweeteners are even worse than sugar for stimulating the cravings. Have you considered buying a soda stream or buying carbonated waters. There are several that have no sugar and no salt - some are flavored, some aren't. You will find that once you can change to these waters and then just water - your thirst will be quenched so much better. Right now you aren't actually quenching your thirst - these drinks are making you even more thirsty. For every glass of soda that you drink - commit to drinking 1 glass of water (or carbonated water) first. You are brave to admit this addiction - I am sure that is your first step. Best of Luck to You. Yes You CAN!!!!!!
Everyone woo'd this, but it's backed up by hard science. Some artificial sweeteners have been proven to stimulate insulin secretion. Insulin is meant to move sugar out of your bloodstream. When there's nothing for it to do, you crave sugar. For a normal, healthy person this is a minor and unnoticeable thing. The OP, however, is a diabetic.
OP, have you tried drinking soda at different times and with different foods? There might be some combination which would work with the existing food you're eating and keep you from craving more.
Artificial sweeteners do not change the insulin production in the body. If they did they wouldn't be suitable for diabetics!
Do you know what happens to a diabetic that takes too much insulin? Hypoglycemia. That is an incredibly dangerous state to be in, left untreated you can die.
Diabetics, who already take medication to control their sugars, would go into hypoglycemia frequently after drinking diet soda, not crave sugar, and that never happens as a result of drinking diet soda. Even normal people would go into hypoglycemia if artificial sweeteners caused overproduction of insulin.
Your argument makes no logical sense if you understand the role of insulin in the body. Thus, woo.
The thing about science is it works even if you don't believe in it. Do some reading about the effects of aspartame on blood glucose. There's strong disagreement about whether artificial sweeteners are suitable for diabetics. Some have more of an effect than others.
Diabetics go hypo all the time - how many of them know exactly why they miscalculated this time?
Normal people have livers which release glycogen when they start to go low. Metformin prevents this.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2900484/
https://examine.com/nutrition/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin/7 -
I gave up soda for new years and haven't had one since. I was a hardcore diet mt. dew. I probably drank at least 2 litres a day of it!
I figured out my craving is for the carbonation. I've gotten used to the taste of plain water, but now I also buy a drink called Topo Chico...it's carbonated mineral water and it gives me the same feeling drinking a diet soda did.0 -
Going cold turkey is hard. We’ve tried it several times and failed. So instead, we switched to diet soda and have been buying sparkling water. Slowly it’s been working to reduce the household soda consumption.0
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rheddmobile wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Even diet drinks make you CRAVE sugar. The artificial sweeteners are even worse than sugar for stimulating the cravings. Have you considered buying a soda stream or buying carbonated waters. There are several that have no sugar and no salt - some are flavored, some aren't. You will find that once you can change to these waters and then just water - your thirst will be quenched so much better. Right now you aren't actually quenching your thirst - these drinks are making you even more thirsty. For every glass of soda that you drink - commit to drinking 1 glass of water (or carbonated water) first. You are brave to admit this addiction - I am sure that is your first step. Best of Luck to You. Yes You CAN!!!!!!
Everyone woo'd this, but it's backed up by hard science. Some artificial sweeteners have been proven to stimulate insulin secretion. Insulin is meant to move sugar out of your bloodstream. When there's nothing for it to do, you crave sugar. For a normal, healthy person this is a minor and unnoticeable thing. The OP, however, is a diabetic.
OP, have you tried drinking soda at different times and with different foods? There might be some combination which would work with the existing food you're eating and keep you from craving more.
Artificial sweeteners do not change the insulin production in the body. If they did they wouldn't be suitable for diabetics!
Do you know what happens to a diabetic that takes too much insulin? Hypoglycemia. That is an incredibly dangerous state to be in, left untreated you can die.
Diabetics, who already take medication to control their sugars, would go into hypoglycemia frequently after drinking diet soda, not crave sugar, and that never happens as a result of drinking diet soda. Even normal people would go into hypoglycemia if artificial sweeteners caused overproduction of insulin.
Your argument makes no logical sense if you understand the role of insulin in the body. Thus, woo.
The thing about science is it works even if you don't believe in it. Do some reading about the effects of aspartame on blood glucose. There's strong disagreement about whether artificial sweeteners are suitable for diabetics. Some have more of an effect than others.
Diabetics go hypo all the time - how many of them know exactly why they miscalculated this time?
Normal people have livers which release glycogen when they start to go low. Metformin prevents this.
http://www.joslin.org/info/correcting_internet_myths_about_aspartame.html7 -
3 weeks ago, I started trying to cut back on having so many food splurges. In the process, I started drinking diet coke. I drink about 40 ounces a day, but I also drink at least 80 ounces of water. I felt a little guilty at first about drinking that much diet coke, but I got over it. I really enjoy it and it helps me not to give in to my other cravings.8
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I have no answer for you but about 5 years ago, It got to the point where first thing i did in the morning (before brushing my teeth) was open up the fridge and have a nice cold bottle of coke. It made my mouth and brain feel good lmao. When I was in A-levels, I had a couple friends I would go to the gym with, i wasn't particularly fat (i think i'd look sort of fit to the avg person) but i realized it just was not good for me at alllll. I just thought about all that sugar and artificial crap i could avoid (from soda in general) so i sort of quit cold turkey, I can't remember how I weaned myself off of it but I did have a glass every once in a while (weekends with pizza, big meals etc). Now i just don't bother with it anymore since im really trying to lose fat (particularly around my belly).
I realllly do hope you come up with a solution. I just think, "is it really good for me?" then decide from there but sometimes its easy to relapse and you end up feeling super *kitten* lol. So yeah i hope you come up with a long time solution. GOODLUCK0 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Even diet drinks make you CRAVE sugar. The artificial sweeteners are even worse than sugar for stimulating the cravings. Have you considered buying a soda stream or buying carbonated waters. There are several that have no sugar and no salt - some are flavored, some aren't. You will find that once you can change to these waters and then just water - your thirst will be quenched so much better. Right now you aren't actually quenching your thirst - these drinks are making you even more thirsty. For every glass of soda that you drink - commit to drinking 1 glass of water (or carbonated water) first. You are brave to admit this addiction - I am sure that is your first step. Best of Luck to You. Yes You CAN!!!!!!
Everyone woo'd this, but it's backed up by hard science. Some artificial sweeteners have been proven to stimulate insulin secretion. Insulin is meant to move sugar out of your bloodstream. When there's nothing for it to do, you crave sugar. For a normal, healthy person this is a minor and unnoticeable thing. The OP, however, is a diabetic.
OP, have you tried drinking soda at different times and with different foods? There might be some combination which would work with the existing food you're eating and keep you from craving more.
Please give me aunk to a credable, peer reviewed study with a suitable sample size that backs up your claim.6 -
I haven’t had time to read all the comments on here, just wondering if anyone can tell me why it’s so important not to drink diet soda? I always thought it was fine to drink? I have a Diet Coke maybe once or twice a week so if it’s something I need to stop I’d like to know
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I used to drink a ton of sodas myself, regular, not diet. Throughout the day, 95% of what I would drink is that, the other 5% was coffee. That's right, I wouldn't drink much if any water at all.
I had a few co-workers with the same problem and they had started drinking sparkling water in place of sodas and it worked for them. It sounded extremely weird to me that sparkling water would do the trick, but let me tell you - I'm glad I tried it. The taste took a little getting used to, but truthfully I didn't care. What I cared about is getting off of that poison. It's been over a year and a half since I last had any soda at all, and I now 95% of my liquids throughout the day is plain water.
After the sparkling water eased me off of the sodas and I didn't need that carbonated feeling anymore (about 2-3 months), I took myself off of that as well. Easily top-5 best life decision I have ever made, to stop drinking sodas.
I get that most people don't like the taste of carbonated water (sparkling water) - myself included, but when you're trying to break a bad habit, sometimes you just have to do what you had to do - chances are, you're not going to find an easy solution, you're not going to find a solution that tastes just as good. I've personally tried it all and there wasn't any short cuts. It's either cold cutting completely, or finding a substitute (and it won't compare in flavor, you just have to deal).1 -
Even diet drinks make you CRAVE sugar. The artificial sweeteners are even worse than sugar for stimulating the cravings. Have you considered buying a soda stream or buying carbonated waters. There are several that have no sugar and no salt - some are flavored, some aren't. You will find that once you can change to these waters and then just water - your thirst will be quenched so much better. Right now you aren't actually quenching your thirst - these drinks are making you even more thirsty. For every glass of soda that you drink - commit to drinking 1 glass of water (or carbonated water) first. You are brave to admit this addiction - I am sure that is your first step. Best of Luck to You. Yes You CAN!!!!!!
^^ This. As I mentioned in my last post @jesslla, I come from the same background you describe if not worse (minus the hiding/stealing) and I can tell you from personal experience that what somrok is saying is accurate. The not-so-tasty carbonated water is what allowed me to stop drinking sodas and stop drinking sodas is what turned my life around.
Soda for breakfast, lunch, dinner, soda in my hand at any other point in the day. I'd wake up in the middle of the night thirsty and would drink a 20oz bottle in about 15 seconds. I hated when people would tell me that soda wasn't quenching my thirst. The flavor was too good and I couldn't go without that carbonated feeling - I couldn't eat anything without that carbonation.3 -
Coke zero and cherry coke zero for life.4
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If soda makes ypu bloated ao would aarkling water as the carbonation ia what causes gas etc
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...but when you're trying to break a bad habit, sometimes you just have to do what you had to do - chances are, you're not going to find an easy solution, you're not going to find a solution that tastes just as good. I've personally tried it all and there wasn't any short cuts. It's either cold cutting completely, or finding a substitute (and it won't compare in flavor, you just have to deal).
Agree, I was a soda addict at one point. I had to quit cold turkey for awhile in order to get a grip on it. It's a very cleverly crafted cocktail that screws with your taste buds and brain.
I had to get used to quenching my thirst with something other than soda. I also had to get used to the taste of food without a soda to go with it, because I thought it made food taste better.
Once my taste buds adapted, now I can actually keep soda in the house and not chain drink it until's gone in a few days.1 -
have you ever tried kombucha? it's more expensive than soda and it's not something you would want to guzzle but i find it a nice refreshing drink somewhat like a soda. it's full of probiotics and doesn't make you bloated, plus the probiotics may help reduce bloating. otherwise you can mix seltzer water with a big splash of fruit juice for a nice less sweet fizzy drink.0
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