Frustrated

I am having the hardest time getting out of my junk food slump. Today is my new day and then i read stuff about diet pop, the aspartame is sooooo bad for you it is scary. i am a pop drinker and just cutting cold turkey seems really hard. I am thinking just trying to limit the diet pop for now to like 2 cans a day. Has anyone had this experience and been successful in cutting pop completly out or limilting it. I also read that microwave popcorn is bad, and I really rely on those 100 cal microwave popcorn packs..lol Maybe I am just scaring my self too much as an excuse not to start up with the healthy way again :(
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Replies

  • jhop4
    jhop4 Posts: 7 Member
    Hi Yes i also drink loads of diet pop but i have also just found out that it stops you from losing wieght as well so i have now stopped buying it and just drink water. finding really hard though as i used to drink about 5 cans a day.
  • I quit cold Turkey. Didn't have a choice it was making me sick and I can't drink diet. I have one every now and then. 1 per month or so
  • dmolinek
    dmolinek Posts: 6
    I started by adding those flavor packs to water. Once I got used to that, drinking just water alone was a lot easier.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I have lost 304 lbs. drinking 3 to 4 diet pepsi every single day, it doesn't cause me to have cravings, yada, yada, yada.... To each his own though I was eating over 8000 calories a day 34 months ago and I decided my diet pepsi was going to be my one vice through this weight loss.... Good luck to you....
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    It's definitely better to wean yourself off slowly. Especially if your drinks contain caffeine. Quick withdrawal can lead to headaches.

    There's really no nutritional value in those drinks, but if you enjoy them, I don't think two a day are going to pose any big problem.

    I completely stopped drinking pop. . . well, I have maybe two a month. Much better than the four a day habit I used to have.
  • start phasing it out of your diet until you are drinking water or fresh fruit juices only. Its much easier than going cold turkey.
  • Andrea681
    Andrea681 Posts: 178 Member
    I feel lucky that I never was a pop drinker. I only drink water with an occassional glass of red wine. I know it is hard, but you can do it. Just think about how much healthier you will be when you cut all that pop completely out of your life. It is so bad for you in so many ways. Keep up the good work. You can do it!
  • LifeOnMars_
    LifeOnMars_ Posts: 720 Member
    I drink diet pop daily.
  • I have a tough time with soda (pop) and any sweets. I have found that adding strawberries (fresh or frozen) and frozen fruit to plain water helps to sweeten it a bit for me and I don't crave Mountain Dew as much. Although I still had one today at lunch :(. Just remember to track each time you drink one and you will see how much of your caloric intake it equals. That is what helped me decide to limit it.
  • Josee76
    Josee76 Posts: 533 Member
    I have lost 304 lbs. drinking 3 to 4 diet pepsi every single day, it doesn't cause me to have cravings, yada, yada, yada.... To each his own though I was eating over 8000 calories a day 34 months ago and I decided my diet pepsi was going to be my one vice through this weight loss.... Good luck to you....

    This ^^^^^

    Do what works for you! If you need a diet pepsi and popcorn, have it! It's not the end of the world!
  • kkent89
    kkent89 Posts: 1
    I stopped buying it. If I don't have it around the house then I won't drink it. I carry water around with me everywhere I go.
  • bennyspokane
    bennyspokane Posts: 3 Member
    Hi i use to love drinking pop when i started my diet. I went from haveing a 6 pack of regular to 6 pack of diet a day. I loved my soda pop. What helped me quiting is every three day i would take a can away untill i was down to one a day. Hopefuly as it help me, it will help you. I dont drink pop no more good luck
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
    I quit cold turkey on March 2nd - haven't had a soda since March 1st after having a Mountain Dew and multiple Diet Cokes every day. The thing was - it was one of those things I knew I could NEVER have in moderation. I just can't do it. If I have one, I have more. It's my vice. I've had mostly water since then, with the occasional lemonade or hot chocolate thrown in there as well (maybe a total of a dozen non-water drinks last month. It's been interesting. I lost 9 lbs (though I also have been counting calories, eating better and walking more, so that's not just the soda), but I also never raid the candy bowl at work anymore either. Some of that is will power, and some is just I'm not craving it anymore. I always thought that the whole soda leads to cravings thing was BS, but for me, it turned out it was at least partially true. Anyway, I've been pretty successful with it, but I won't lie. I was HARD. I fought severe cravings for DAYS. And I had a low-grade headache for about 2 weeks. But it got easier. I mostly don't think about it now and it's only been a month.
  • Go slow, especially if you drink the caffeinated versions. I found it was the fizz I missed, not the taste, so try substituting fizzy water (mineral or seltzer). You can buy flavored or just buy plain and add a slice or two of lemon, lime or orange. Perrier makes a great pink grapefruit flavored mineral water.
  • bubsnoble
    bubsnoble Posts: 20 Member
    Thanks everyone... yes pop and chips are my vice I am not a smoker, or coffee drinker. I can substitute my chips easily and will start by limiting my diet pop. I also just read about a soda stream where you can make your own pop at home, sounds interesting.. oh I just cracked open a nice cold bottle of.. WATER lol
  • bubsnoble
    bubsnoble Posts: 20 Member
    hmm interesting it might be the fizz i want more then the actual flavour thanks
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 775 Member
    I have lost 304 lbs. drinking 3 to 4 diet pepsi every single day, it doesn't cause me to have cravings, yada, yada, yada.... To each his own though I was eating over 8000 calories a day 34 months ago and I decided my diet pepsi was going to be my one vice through this weight loss.... Good luck to you....


    304 lost .. that is so awesome :happy:


    to OP, i tried going cold turkey, i can't do it ..lol
    now i am just going to drink 1 soda a day (12 oz can, not bottles)
    (gotta start somewhere)
  • Like you I was TOTALLY Addicted to soda, I would drink soda from the minute I woke up till I went to bed, I would drink about the equivalent to a case of soda a day, sometimes more, Quiting cold turkey wasnt easy, the first week was the hardest, the headaches alone were painful, but each day got better, Iv been off soda for a little over a month now, and to be honest, the weight is dropping off, I still have a long was to go, but, I know that its the little hurdles that count, and taken one day at a time. I have found a product called Sparkling Ice, its flavored water, thats carbonated, with no sugar, no calories, no nothing, I even got my kids drinking them over soda. or other sweet drinks,

    BEST OF LUCK TO YOU.
  • gsrader
    gsrader Posts: 13 Member
    Artificial sweeteners are awful for you. Crystal Light has come out with a new product...Pure. It has Truvia and a bit of sugar. I tried several of the flavors and they're good! Pop in general, is bad for you, especially the diet stuff. That might be an alternative. Snacking...I'm there with you. I've had a terrible time with peanuts today! They just keep CALLING me!
  • I used to have to have the Diet Coke after lunch and one after supper daily - I just gradually added more wanter. Have you tried the sugar free Crystal Light packets you can add to bottled water? I have several boxes of those in my drawer at work and they only have 5 calories. As for the PC, I figure we need to have something snack-like and as long as it is not overdone or you don't have health issues that prohibit your eating it, go for it! You need to wean down the pop if you are going to try and get rid of it - it is probably too difficult to go cold turkey. Hope this helps!:smile:
  • Krisgren
    Krisgren Posts: 93 Member
    you can only do what you can do, habits take awhile to create so they are gonna take awhile to break, I've been working on my healthy eating and exercise and then I will slowly tackle quitting smoking, it's hard to do it all at once, take pride in small steps!!!
  • julieh1973
    julieh1973 Posts: 121 Member
    I have been addicted to aspertine in diet soda's for years. After reading so much about the side effects of aspertine (memory loss, increased appetite, breast cancer, etc.) I have given them up for three months now. Occassionally I crave my diet soda and I can not stand the taste of regular soda so I give in to maybe one on the weekend but I am seeking an alternative because the side effects scare me.
  • eriemer
    eriemer Posts: 197
    If it was so bad for you the FDA would not allow it to be sold and consumed. I like diet soda every once in a while...So I know that the fake sugar prob. gives lab rats cancer. I'm ready to take that risk. As for popcorn, if your so worried about the micropop stuff, purchase an air popper (they still sell them in stores, or check your local thrift shops/good will) and pop your own. Much, much cheaper and no additives. Some people choose to eat organic, but what they don't tell you about organic produce is it needs to be washed well because it often is fresh picked and comes in contact with bugs, animal feces, bacteria, paracites, and the ground it's grown in, most organic produce does not get prewashed or a cholrine dip like regular produce. So you maybe putting yourself at more risk for food poisoning or other infections.

    Stick with food that looks like food, is your best bet. You have to eat what is best for you, not what others think is best for you.
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
    only "take away" or "add" things to your life you can live with forever....

    if you can live without pop or diet pop forever than give it up - i personally can't - so i have limited my intake of diet soda....

    if you can make the gym 3hrs a day every day for the rest of your life than by all means get your *kitten* there - i work full time and have 2 kids so i schedule my workouts in advance so i know what i'm doing so that nothing gets neglected in my life including me and my workouts....

    my point is this....simply make changes to your life that you can DO....do NOT cut yourself off from the things you love and enjoy....make them a part of your life but in moderation.....

    i have had chinese takeout every thursday for the past 4+ years, i drink diet coke, i eat cake at bday parties, i eat pizza occasionally and i have lost about 80lbs doing all those things....i just dont eat a huge piece of cake, i dont eat a 1/2 a pizza, i dont get the fried saucy chinese....i make it work for me....i will not feel deprived or i will feel like i'm on a diet and then i will quit and essentially there is nothing to quit here if i make changes i can live with...

    move more and eat better....that is the best way to lose weight....good luck in your journey...denise
  • NoMoreFatTony
    NoMoreFatTony Posts: 22 Member
    I try to stick to one soda a day.

    But, used to drink a 2 liter a day!!!!!

    As for the popcorn, I make my own. Take 1/4 cup of regular popcorn and put it in a brown paper bag. Fold over the open end and microwave for 2 minutes. Add some spray butter and a little salt or whatever flavorings you like.
  • stephie4111
    stephie4111 Posts: 118
    I quit cold turkey last year late summer. have not missed it once.
  • Jnett92
    Jnett92 Posts: 2 Member
    Giving up diet soda is a challange but you can do it! I limited my soda to one a day until eventually I didn't want one. If you need a way to level off the caffine cravings, Crystal Light has a product that has caffine, "Energy" in a strawberry flavor. That helps a lot but it has the aspartame as well so it is not much better. Good Luck!
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
    If it was so bad for you the FDA would not allow it to be sold and consumed.

    That's not necessarily true. The FDA is a victim of political pressures and big business as any other government agency, and actually have a strict level of scientific proof necessary to "ban" things. But most of the studies aren't done on humans because the expense and length of time (likely decades) that would be necessary to complete clinical trials with sound science. So the studies are done on rats/mice at accelerated rates and aren't conclusive enough for bans in most cases. Doesn't mean it's good for you. And worse, it doesn't mean it isn't bad for you. I wouldn't use FDA approval as a benchmark for quality/health.
  • I'm allergic to aspartame so I was never able to have a Diet Coke.

    Then my husband and I saw the Soda Stream machines last fall. We tried it out and bought one immediately (we are suckers for live demos, lol) but the sodas you make at home are GOOD! The regular ones have less sugar than normal Cokes and they use cane sugar instead of corn syrup. The diet drinks use Splenda!

    I also really love Arnold Palmer instant teas. They use Splenda too and I probably mix up two of those every day.
  • YES!!!! You CAN dO it! I recently stopped drinking Diet Pepsi. My favorite thing in the world. I found it made me feel more hungry than when I have been having water. It's hard... But what's even better is knowing that you are doing something healthy for yourself! I feel better without it. It also doesn't taste as good after a few weeks. Slowly cut back and then take that final leap! You can do it!!!!