Weaning off soda - tips?

Water? And lots of it. I quit all sodas cold turkey in January and started drinking lots of water. I think this change contributed the most to my weight loss.

I'm stopping cold turkey. I committed to a Soda-Free September and I intend to kick the habit for good. It's hard because I don't really like water...but I know that if I keep drinking it, eventually I will.

A few years ago I broke my diet coke habit. It wasn't a bad habit to start with; maybe a couple of cans a day. But when I stopped cold turkey I ended up with a major caffiene headache that lasted for days. Eventually I had to cave and go back to having it.

So next I cut it down to 1 can a day only over a week, then the next week I did 1 of the mini cans a day, then the next week I did 1 mini can every other day, then stopped completely. it worked that time and I didn't end up with any headaches or other effects.

I used to LOVE soda, now I could care less but the big thing was years ago I stopped drinking it and the only Cafine I would have was Sweet Tea out at dinner so it was basically a treat. Eventually like anything it becomes a part of your routine and your life. I only buy water/milk/juice for my home and at work I make sure there are always 2 bottles of water on my desk.
You can do it!

I quit Soda cold turkey in February- and I think that's the only way I could have done it- it's a trigger food (drink) of mine and if I have one- I just don't stop.

But the initial withdraws only lasted a few days- and water with those little mix-ins was my life saver. I know those disposable waterbottles aren't good for the environment, but they were a life saver for me those first weeks- they were icecold in the fridge and it was satifying to twist off the lid (I am a tactile person and psychologically the twisting off the lid of soda was part of the enjoyment of drinking soda)

I still miss the bubbles- and I have had rootbeer float this summer, but otherwise I don't miss soda at all. Good luck!

Just be careful with seltzer. I mistakenly tried a berry flavored "beverage" which had sugar in it. Seltzer has no calories, sodium or sugar.

I quit in May of this year cold turkey. I don't regret it, and I don't miss it I drink lots of water and add fresh lemon or a wedge of orange sometimes.

You guys are/were so good compared to my diet soda habit! On a bad week, I can go through a 12 pack every other day (no lie). I don't even know how to begin weaning myself down or off of these things.

I think I mainly use them for the caffeine!! But I also love the carbonation.

I don't like coffee (unless it's a lot of soy milk with just a little bit of coffee) and tea is okay, but not as convenient as a can of diet soda.

Any suggestions for a hard-core diet soda addict like me?

I guess just tapering off... like 5 a day one week, 4 a day the next week, etc.

edited to add: I always make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of pure water every day, though. So this diet soda is ON TOP of all of that water! I drink a LOT apparently.

I drink a lot of sparkling water. I buy La Croix which has no calories/sodium and no sweeteners. The carbonation makes it a lot like soda so I substitute that most of the time.

I know people eat/drink for different reasons. But for me, dropping soda was easy.

I eat because I really, really like food ! And soda, even though it can sound tempting in the moment, really is pretty ho-hum as foods go. When was the last time you saw a friend and said " OMG ! I had this soda yesterday... It was SO amazing !"

I remember many years ago, David Letterman sent a staffer out to a McDonalds to buy a BigMac and bring it out to his desk. He just unwrapped it, opened it up, and held up the pieces and let the camera zoom in. "And they call this a Big Mac." Okay, so far kinda funny. But then he said something that stuck with me : " You know, when you think about having a Big Mac it seems so tempting. Then you smell the food cooking, and your mouth starts to water and get excited. Well what happens *after* you finish eating it ? You feel like crap inside. You wish you had never eaten the damn thing !"

Okay, probably not a direct quote, but that was the gist of it. In the case of soda, maybe its not as dramatic, but at least ask yourself afterwards : "Is my thirst *really* satisfied ?" For me it never is. That's why all the soda companies have been able to keep upping the serving size. Once you begin drinking a Coke, there's kind of this feeling 'I'm still thirsty, better take another sip/gulp."

When I was a kid (1970's) having a Coke was a special treat. Certainly not something you would expect to have at lunch or dinner at home. And nobody ever thought of asking mom for a *second* coke. And we're not talking austerity here, it was the free and easy "Me Generation" as they used to say. Anyway, do you know how big a bottle of coke was ? It was 6.5 oz. Of course, they introduced a larger one, called 'King Size". It was mostly for grown-ups. It was a whopping 10 oz.

Drink water. Or seltzer. Look up some videos of what soda does to a corroded car battery, and think of what it's doing to your body. That should do the trick

A few years ago I broke my diet coke habit. It wasn't a bad habit to start with; maybe a couple of cans a day. But when I stopped cold turkey I ended up with a major caffiene headache that lasted for days. Eventually I had to cave and go back to having it.

So next I cut it down to 1 can a day only over a week, then the next week I did 1 of the mini cans a day, then the next week I did 1 mini can every other day, then stopped completely. it worked that time and I didn't end up with any headaches or other effects.

Thats great advice. I am down to one diet can a day but I would get the same bad headaches. I will try the mini cans

Try drinking bottled water. Bad for enviorment but good for you.