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Day 1 of counting calories, it’s hell..
AMIE2881
Posts: 7 Member
Sugar is life!! I have had 1 soda today and I’m already over my 60grams of sugar. I normally drink like 6. Probably the reason I’m 20lbs over weight..lol, does anyone have a good replacement for soda?
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Replies
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Diet soda.43
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Some people like sparkling water. I still drink soda, but I limit it. The longer I've done this the more particular about how and where I "spend" my calories. Being over on your sugar doesn't matter unless you have a medical reason for watching it to begin with, calories are what matter for weight loss. As long as you track accurately going over on sugar won't hinder your loss.11
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Honestly, it starts feeling a lot easier after a few days. Just stay committed.3
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Sugar is life!! I have had 1 soda today and I’m already over my 60grams of sugar. I normally drink like 6. Probably the reason I’m 20lbs over weight..lol, does anyone have a good replacement for soda?
Turn that into a positive - it's quite possible all you have to do to lose weight is work on those liquid calories!
There are tons of different diet sodas (I'm partial to Coke Zero), and the flavors you can squirt into your water. Brew up a pot of flavored green tea at night (mint, citrus, berry, etc). Put it in a pitcher in the fridge overnight for 0 cal iced tea all day.
I don't pay attention to sugar, as long as I'm getting enough protein, fat, and fiber and my calories are in line, it's usually fine anyway.
Sugar in and of itself doesn't make you gain weight, but 6 cans of soda is like 900 cals. If you could cut out all or some of those, and log your food accurately on top of that, you could eat MORE than you are now and lose weight! Good luck :drinker:13 -
Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔
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Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. ]I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔
Don’t believe everything you hear. A few years ago, fat was supposed to be bad; now it’s been proved an important part of a healthy diet. There’s a good post in the forums about why aspartame (one of the sweeteners used in diet soda) isn’t scary- sorry, I don’t know how to add a link on my phone app.
I personally drink diet soda every day and find that it actually helps fill a gap, rather than making me hungrier!
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Leannep2201 wrote: »Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. ]I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔
Don’t believe everything you hear. A few years ago, fat was supposed to be bad; now it’s been proved an important part of a healthy diet. There’s a good post in the forums about why aspartame (one of the sweeteners used in diet soda) isn’t scary- sorry, I don’t know how to add a link on my phone app.
I personally drink diet soda every day and find that it actually helps fill a gap, rather than making me hungrier!
Me too! Whenever I'm "snacky" but not really hungry, diet soda always does the trick.11 -
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I broke down and I’m drinking another..lol, it’s not worth the caffeine headache. I just know myself, Pepsi is my crack. It’s a slippery slope. Sounds dumb but it’s hard for me.1
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Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔
It does seem to increase hunger in some people. It helps with hunger for others. Have you tried it? What does it do for you? That's the important thing.15 -
I've lost weight drinking diet soda. Give it a try 😊, then you can enjoy your drink without the calories.4
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It will take a few days to break the habit. Don’t stress if you go over your calorie goal a few days while you are learning how many calories are in your regular diet. You can make lower calorie substitutes one st a time. Drink lots of water too. I like to add a lime wedge to my water for extra flavor.1
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Sugar is life!! I have had 1 soda today and I’m already over my 60grams of sugar. I normally drink like 6. Probably the reason I’m 20lbs over weight..lol, does anyone have a good replacement for soda?
Drink diet soda. Frankly drinking 6 regular sodas a day surprised you're only 20 pounds overweight18 -
Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔
Pretty hard to beat a bad diet with exercise.8 -
Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔
As long as you meet your calorie goal, you will lose weight. I never pay attention to how much sugar I get.
According to Google (don't take this as gospel), 6 cans of Coke are about 840 calories. That is a lot of calories for drinks, in my opinion. Maybe you can cut back on that a little at a time and find other places in your diet to cut back on calories.2 -
Personally I think diet soda keeps me on my diet lol, not because I need soda that much but because whenever I want something sweet or a snack but I can’t fit it into my calories I just drink diet soda. If anything, it suppresses my appetite. Just try it out and see how you feel!Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔9 -
I broke down and I’m drinking another..lol, it’s not worth the caffeine headache. I just know myself, Pepsi is my crack. It’s a slippery slope. Sounds dumb but it’s hard for me.
I'm sure you know this but I will point it out anyway - there are other sources of caffeine. If you despise coffee and tea, there are caffeine pills.8 -
I switched to diet soda then iced tea. I do have regular coke even now and then. Nothing tastes better than a fountain coca cola. Good luck and keep at it.2
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Different people are different, but I think diet soda tastes like pond scum. Getting off soda completely was the best thing I ever did for myself. Took about two weeks to get over the cravings. I drink iced tea for caffeine and water for hydration, and eat fresh fruit for sweetness. It's remarkable how much better fruit tastes when your palate is not used to cola.18
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I broke down and I’m drinking another..lol, it’s not worth the caffeine headache. I just know myself, Pepsi is my crack. It’s a slippery slope. Sounds dumb but it’s hard for me.
Doesn't sound dumb to me. My crack was Coke. The soft drink of course. 5 cans a day on average. The full sugar stuff. I would eat salty snacks just to have something that would make it even better. When I decided to change my life and count calories, I just cut back. Then cut back a little more, and then a little more. But never completely. Lost my weight while tracking calories. Then when there was enough room to enjoy one a time to two per week, I did. And still do.
In the meantime, since I do like sweeter drinks, I use the water-additives. Quite a bit more than recommended probably, but I fill my 24 ounce Yeti (style) cup with ice, water and 7-8 quick shots (probably 3 times more than recommended), and my water tastes sweet like Kool-Aid. It's not Coke, but it's sweet - and easy on the calorie budget. And definitely satisfies my own personnel need for sweeter drinks.4 -
Sugar is my drug of choice too. Coke is like crack too. I keep one in the fridge and dare myself to not drink it. How long can I make it last? 2 weeks this time.
I can not do diet drinks, I get skin rash for about 1/2 hour after.
I did buy a Soda Stream adds bubbles to my water. I do not add the sugar to it. I like it best with Lemon. 1/8 slice in each glass of bubbly water. Lime good too.
I also make ice tea from real tea and no sugar.8 -
If you want to switch to lower calorie drinks you can start with replacing 1 a day instead of never having soda pop. Then after a a week or two replace another drink with a low calorie or no calorie option. Replacing just two of your six drinks might reduce your intake by 300 calories and be all you need to change. You don't have a lot to lose so you don't have to make massive changes.
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May I make a suggestion?
If you normally drink 6 or more sodas per day, don't try to go cold turkey. It'll be frustrating, it'll be painful, and the cravings will be insane. Instead, wean yourself off it gradually.
Check this out:- Drink your usual number of sodas (6?) for 6 days, then on the 7th day drink just one less soda than normal. Continue doing this for 1-2 weeks.
- When your 1-2 weeks is up, drink your usual number of sodas for 5 days, and choose TWO days to drink one less than normal. Again, do this for 1-2 weeks.
- 1-2 weeks later, again, your usual quantities for 4 days, then THREE days of drinking one less than usual.
- If you follow this pattern for 7 weeks, you will be down to 5 sodas per day instead of 6 (or however many you start with), reducing your soda intake by seven whole sodas each week!!
- Start the pattern over again. 5 sodas per day for six days, and on the 7th, just 4. By following a pattern of cutting just one soda each week, you can eliminate soda from your diet in under a year!!
If that is too gradual for you, you can try cutting more. But personally, I don't see why you should torture yourself like that. There's no reason to rush and make yourself feel like crap in the process (especially when caffeine withdrawal is involved, UGH). If you want to make this a permanent, long-term change, I think you should be patient with yourself and make changes gradually and gently for your body. You are already making other lifestyle changes on top of this, right? Let yourself have soda. Just a little bit less every day adds up a great deal over time
Just my 2 cents. Best wishes!!8 -
Dr Pepper is mine weakness. I caved today grocery shopping and grabbed a 20 oz bottle of sugar juice. I can't drink Diet Dr Pepper (although Diet Root Beer tastes fine? Diet colas are tolerable?), so it is just an occasional treat. Today was a mistake but you just keep right on going. I like Dr Pepper 10, but apparently since I like it no stores carry it. It's probably being discontinued. Those 10 sugar calories were enough to make Diet Dr Pepper taste enough like regular. *sigh*
I have replaced it with sparkling water, and plain water (luckily I love water). Sparkling water is quite the trend nowdays, and you can find all kinds. I got hooked on La Croix but I've switched to Bubbly because the cans are so much more aesthetically pleasing. I also found some at Target that are made with real fruit juice not "natural and artificial flavoring". Word of caution, one was horrible (it was pink) but I LOVE the lemon ones. Too bad they are more expensive than soda. That is what gets me, way less ingredients, but they are the same price for a 12 pack for an 8 pack. Grrr. There is literally nothing in them, ingredients wise.1 -
Diet soda is suppose to be bad and can up your appitite I hear. I don’t need to watch my sugar I’m just trying to go off what the app says. I just figerd that’s why my weight is up?? Empty calories in all the soda I drink. I don’t diet very well. Rather workout and eat whatever I want. Just slack on working out so long it caught up to me.😔
Even if I believed that diet soda was "bad" and increased your appetite, surely it can't be worse than six cans of Pepsi at 150 calories. If you maintain at 2000 calories that's almost half your calories in just drinks, and I don't think there's enough scientific evidence to convince me to believe either of those things.15 -
There's no reason you have to give up all your soda if that's how you want to get your calories. However, since soda isn't very filling, you're probably going to feel less hungry if you cut back on some of the soda so you can eat more food. Depending on your stats, soda is probably making up half of your day's calorie goal.
I think @MeganinVA has a pretty good plan. Even if you don't follow their steps exactly, try starting with just drinking five sodas a day. Then you can gradually go down to four, etc. You don't have to do it all at once.
Diet soda is not inherently bad or harmful. Some people (like me) don't like the taste, while others sometimes find that it doesn't satisfy their sugar cravings, but it's worth trying to see how you like it.
If you want caffeine, in addition to tea or coffee, you can also buy various low-calorie caffeinated water flavorings. Mio makes some caffeinated versions, for example, as do many other brands.8 -
Also, I just want to put a word in for Coke Zero. One of my friends who drank sugary sodas for years switched to it when he decided to lose weight. And he really likes it. I hate it; it's too sweet for me. But I adore unsweet tea and good ol' Diet Coke, so my taste buds are suspect, anyway.4
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Drink (& calories per 8oz)
* Powerade Zero (0)
* Rockstars/Monsters (look for 0-10 cal)
* Diet V8 Splash (10 cal-ish)
* Ocean Spray Diet Cran Grape (5 cal)
* Unsweetened herbal or fruit tea (brew yourself for 0 cal)3 -
Soda provides a lot of entertainment, no doubt. The fizz, the sugar, the caffeine, the bright shiny containers. That's how the corporations hook ya! Like Satan in a way, one might say.11
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Sugar is life!! I have had 1 soda today and I’m already over my 60grams of sugar. I normally drink like 6. Probably the reason I’m 20lbs over weight..lol, does anyone have a good replacement for soda?
Cool! 60*6 = 360 grams of sugar = roughly 1000 calories right there! You're on to something
See what you like: diet soda, tea, water (sparkling or non-sparkling), diet cordial in water, coffee, hey, what about no calorie fruit infusion teas cooled down and drank with ice cubes? Especially red fruits have a lot of taste.1
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