Quitting Diet Coke

I am looking at doing a gradual reduction of Diet Coke and coffee, and I know it's going to be bad.

I already ordered bottles of mineral water to take into my office next week (and keep refilling from the tap throughout the day) and have switched to peppermint tea (caffeine free) in the afternoons. I just haven't fully transitioned to cold turkey yet.

I did the same...I quit drinking Diet Coke and soda in general. Replaced it with water and now, I hardly ever have soda. Not only do I feel better, but my dentist comment on how my teeth seem healthier!

I was thiniing of quitting diet coke too. Just going to have to drink my JD neat from now on.

What? No ice? :P

I long subscribed to the "Aspartame is harmless" theory.

Late 2009 I started getting blisters on my face, then scalp, then mouth and throat. They were painful and embarrassing. I often had fevers from them, and could barely talk or swallow a lot of the time (which led to slurpees and ice cream). I was getting dizzy (vertigo) from blisters creating excess fluid in my ear drums. I couldn't drive because of it, and working was tough. I saw my doctor who gave me some prescriptions, and referred me to a dermatologist. After a few months of biopsies I was diagnosed with a very rare immune disorder called Becets. After being referred to a rheumatologist, they ruled out Becets and were considering Lupus. I was told to stay out of the sun and avoid stress. I was in so much pain I couldn't stand being touched, I had little bald spots because of scars, and my skin looked so awful I couldn't stand being out in public. My nose is still scarred and as soon as I get any sun on it, it turns bright red, as well as a large scarred area of my forehead.

I was told over the course of a year and a half by several doctors that it could not possibly be anything in my environment, it was in my blood.

When I started to eat healthier, soda was one of the last changes I made. I decided to replace diet coke with green tea or water. Within days my blisters began to clear up. I couldn't put my finger on what was fixing it at first, but started to pay close attention to when I got them. It was always after an evening out for dinner with friends (the only time I would allow myself diet coke). I thought it couldn't be possible, but experimented. I wouldn't drink it for three weeks, and then let myself have it once (doing nothing else differently) and I would get blisters again.

I still allow myself to have the occasional one on a night out, but I always deal with the consequences the next day. There is very little doubt that's the cause. I can have regular coke, I can have diet sodas made with Splenda, but nothing with Aspartame. Take it for what it is, my experience. The point of sharing my story isn't even to scare anyone, just to say people are affected by everything differently, and don't expect any one persons reaction or experience to be the same as yours. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt, and pay attention to your own body's signals. Find what makes sense for YOU!

Edit - typing this from my phone. Hopefully I caught all the little mistakes.

I have a Soda Stream and if I'm dying for a soda I can make a lot of interesting concoctions with it, like Italian cream sodas and green tea sodas and sparkling juices. It's more work (and less soda, since it's mixed with other things) than popping open a can so I tend to be fine with just one. If I have a 12-pack of diet cola around, I just keep grabbing them.

I've been a heavy soda drinker for so long I know it has no effect on my tooth enamel but I don't think it does any favors for my heartburn I tend to have when I'm more than 10 lbs. overweight.

Diet Coke = Kris's Crack = the reason for living

I love it so much but truly limit myself to a can or two a day. It's the sodium that I don't want, but dang I love this stuff

When I went on my diet they told me the only "diet" drink I could have was Vitamin Water Zero because it does NOT have artificial sweeteners. Now, other than water, it's all I drink (and I used to have diet coke flowing in my veins). Might be a good alternative choice for anyone who wants a "sweet" drink, but not the aspertame and other stuff. The "squeezed" flavor is the best - Just like lemonade.

I cut out all pop and only have it on occasion. If I can help it, I ask for water. For me it was the fizz, so I drink seltzer water and sparkling fruit juice when I need something fizzy. I used to be addicted to Mt. Dew for a while. Screwed up my body something awful. When I cut it from my diet, the headaches and sickness were almost unbearable. Just goes to show what it will do to your body. Water and tea for me now! Nothing else!

Try green tea! I do the kind with lemon in it so it gives it a little bit of the sweet taste. After a month of not drinking diet coke, my mom lost 10 pounds! And thats not with one bit of exercise or diet changes! The green tea is known to help with cholesterol, gives you a little bit of caffine for energy, and is a good antioxident! It also is thought to help with your metabolism! I take green tea supplements daily and drink one cup in the morning!

I'm a huge Diet Dr. Pepper fan, but I dropped my consumption way back last week. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I was pretty tired, but not too grumpy.

I just stopped buying 6 packs for home. I used to bring two 20 oz bottles to work every day... one for mid-morning, one for mid-afternoon. If I want one now, I have to make myself go buy it, which isn't easy at work. Have only had 1 in the last 10 days.

And I'm with you... that stuff is addicting.

I know that it's FDA approved and technically we don't know if it's harmful or not, but I to eat as few processed foods as I can, so it just doesn't make sense to be drinking artificial sugar, in my mind.

Good luck! Stick with it :-)
Jen

Lots of bad info on the free web. Try snopes.com to debunk some urban legends.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp

Aspartame is harmless. Which should be intuitive, since it's been in general use for so long and is FDA approved.

Just because it is on Snopes, does not mean it is true my friend. The FDA will approve anything for a buck. Look up the history on aspartame and you will be amazed on why it was approved. It should never have been