Giving up diet fizzy drinks???

I've lost 54.5 pounds since January and I drink a lot of Diet Coke. I drink a couple 44 oz fountain sodas plus at least 2 cans. I feel like I have given up so much that I love and I just don't want to give up the Diet Coke. The thought of giving it up makes me really depressed actually. So I am not going to even attempt it.

I love anything with fizz. My take is that you can do everything in moderation.

There are only two ways I would cut it out completely. If were suffering from health issues and my doctor told me to stop drinking it, or if I was addicted to it. And I mean addicted, full blown 12-step-type addicted. Not, "I'm addicted to soda...teehee."

I find I feel better/do better without any type of fizzy drink. For one thing, it's hard to find one I like because the sugar substitute leaves a bad aftertaste. But even though it is diet, they do still carry A LOT of sodium, so they still make me feel like poo. I've been off sodas ever since a week or so into my diet change. Now, I don't even crave them, and when I attempt to drink one, the fizziness is too much for me. Water does wonders for your body and makes you feel a lot better. And another thing, you can't even count sodas (even diet) towards your daily water intake because of all the extra ingredients. So you'd be drinking that on top of your eight cups of water a day. Talk about bloated! This is just me, I feel that it's better for me to give up soda all together. So far, it's paid off!

Side note: when my father was diagnosed with diabetes, he dropped the sodas and went straight to drinking water like a fish. So far, he's lost about 23 pounds just with that lifestyle change ALONE! Plus, the artificial sweeteners make your body crave calories since there are no calories to accompany the sweet taste. So there really is nothing "diet" about it. That's just my opinion with the research studies I've read!

Actually, most diet sodas have little sodium and many have no sodium. When they were primarily sweetened with sodium saccarine they had a lot of sodium, but now, not so much. If you don't like the fizziness, that's great for you, but many people really like the fizziness, and it's really just impure water. "Pure" water, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist. Water is a nearly universal solvent, so any you encounter has stuff dissolved in it. Soda, juice, milk, coffee, tea, and everything else that is just impure water, plus the water in your food--and food is 60% - 80% water--counts toward your daily water intake. This is firmly established in medical science. Everything gets mixed up after you consume it, and that it's mixed before makes no difference what-so-ever. You don't need water on top of the diet soda. Really. Don't believe me, believe the Mayo Clinic.

"Everyone has heard the advice, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day." That's about 1.9 liters, which isn't that different from the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Although the "8 by 8" rule isn't supported by hard evidence, it remains popular because it's easy to remember. Just keep in mind that the rule should be reframed as: "Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," because all fluids count toward the daily total."

"So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day."

"Generally if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or light yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate."

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283/NSECTIONGROUP=2

I can honestly say I as addicted to them. Drinking as many as 8 or 10 in a day was quite the norm. I live in a very hot part of the world so you need to keep up the fluid intake, and my logic was why not 0 calories, I can’t be doing much harm. Then I was diagnosed with a liver problem, a big wakeup call especially as I drink very little alcohol. In my case the pain killers I needed for my back disorder and the soft drinks were killing me. The caramel colouring in the drinks, and the artificial sweeteners were all aiding my body into self destruct so I had to go cold turkey. I started making my own unsweetened iced tea, and adding a very small amount of fruit juice ( the lesser of two evils) Gradually the fruit juice has become less and a slice of lemon is just as nice. I also drink a lot of water both sparkling as well as still. In the beginning it was really, really hard, but became easier as time passed. Once my liver started improving (no medical proof yet but I feel so much better so it must be) things became easier still. It is still early days for me but I have had no fizzy pop for around 10 weeks, and I really no longer miss it. Do you body a favour, quit.

The pain medications, if they contain acetaminophen, surely were the culprit in your liver problems. Even low doses of APAP, taken regularly are know to cause liver damage. I'd need to see evidence that the diet soda contributes. I haven't seen any studies to that effect. Can you provide links to them?

I find I feel better/do better without any type of fizzy drink. For one thing, it's hard to find one I like because the sugar substitute leaves a bad aftertaste. But even though it is diet, they do still carry A LOT of sodium, so they still make me feel like poo. I've been off sodas ever since a week or so into my diet change. Now, I don't even crave them, and when I attempt to drink one, the fizziness is too much for me. Water does wonders for your body and makes you feel a lot better. And another thing, you can't even count sodas (even diet) towards your daily water intake because of all the extra ingredients. So you'd be drinking that on top of your eight cups of water a day. Talk about bloated! This is just me, I feel that it's better for me to give up soda all together. So far, it's paid off!

Side note: when my father was diagnosed with diabetes, he dropped the sodas and went straight to drinking water like a fish. So far, he's lost about 23 pounds just with that lifestyle change ALONE! Plus, the artificial sweeteners make your body crave calories since there are no calories to accompany the sweet taste. So there really is nothing "diet" about it. That's just my opinion with the research studies I've read!

Actually, most diet sodas have little sodium and many have no sodium. When they were primarily sweetened with sodium saccarine they had a lot of sodium, but now, not so much. If you don't like the fizziness, that's great for you, but many people really like the fizziness, and it's really just impure water. "Pure" water, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist. Water is a nearly universal solvent, so any you encounter has stuff dissolved in it. Soda, juice, milk, coffee, tea, and everything else that is just impure water, plus the water in your food--and food is 60% - 80% water--counts toward your daily water intake. This is firmly established in medical science. Everything gets mixed up after you consume it, and that it's mixed before makes no difference what-so-ever. You don't need water on top of the diet soda. Really. Don't believe me, believe the Mayo Clinic.

"Everyone has heard the advice, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day." That's about 1.9 liters, which isn't that different from the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Although the "8 by 8" rule isn't supported by hard evidence, it remains popular because it's easy to remember. Just keep in mind that the rule should be reframed as: "Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," because all fluids count toward the daily total."

"So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day."

"Generally if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or light yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate."

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283/NSECTIONGROUP=2

I've actually read this study. But speaking from a personal point of view, I get more hydrated by drinking water than I do from any type of other drink. And yes, diet sodas do contain a lot of sodium compared with other drinks. It may not be a lot from a daily intake perspective, but compared to teas and water of course, yes it does...for a drink.

On the other hand, your body needs that eight cups of water a day just to be sure you have enough to spare. There was a period of time where I didn't drink but one glass of something during the day, and trust me...it wasn't water. No, I wasn't dehydrated, and I didn't die, but from a physiology prosepctive, I wasn't getting enough for my body, even from my food. The truth is, personally, you don't know how much water you consume through foods anyway. You can't measure it. Another way you can tell is if your urine comes out clear. That means you actually have excess water in your system, therefore you can afford to release some. That only happens if you drink water. Not sodas, not teas, not even by eating fruits, which are mostly water. I think the eight cups a day is more of a "just in case" thing. Your body can absorb it better without all of the sugars and caffienes that most other drinks contain.

Not sure about your response. If it had .1% arsenic I'm pretty sure I'm dead. I'm saying the non-water content might be small but powerful. For sure the soda companies don't want us to stop. Making changes little by little in my life and maybe I'll try this one for awhile and see what happens. I don't buy the ones with caffeine in them so at least there is no withdrawal for me in that regard.

I like the iced tea with some fruit juice idea.. but then you get the caffeine with that again. hmmmm

I didn't read the post about the arsenic response, and I'm not sure if diet sodas pertain to this, but there was actually a study done on some fruit juices (particularly apple juice) by Dr. Mehmet Oz where he found juices that had arsenic above the legal limit of allowed arsenic in water. Apparently the legal limit is for water only, and not any other type of drink, so they're trying to bring it to the governments attention in order to get a legal limit set for juices, etc. It's not going to kill you because it's still tiny amounts that are in these drinks, but they did find cases where there were some mutations in cell structure, causing cancer, etc. Google it, and I'm sure you can find the study. I read it on MSN and saw it mentioned on CNN.

I drink caffeine free diet code everyday. 1-2 cans. I used to drink...probably 5, but I cut down. Besides the small amount of sodium they have, I'm not sure /what's/ in them that's so bad for you, but I wouldn't cut out soda completely. Not at all. Just moderate.

This topic reminded me of this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKG07305CBs

Hi I am stuck in a major rut at the moment & was wondering how have people cut out their fizzy diet drinks??

Sadly I do drink a lot of this

Thanks

I had a major Diet Dr. Pepper addiction goin on for years! When I wanted to try and cut down, I made a deal with myself. I can have ONE can after every liter of water that I drank. It worked out that I only got a soda about twice a day,. Usually lunch and dinner. If I wanted more, I had to drink another liter of water. So no matter how many sodas I tried to drink, I had to pound the water in order to get it and I was hydrating myself in between. The next thing I knew, I started losing interest in it all together. Now I'm a huge water drinker... I even find myself ordering it in restaurants, which I used to never understand restaurant water drinkers, but now I get it. First off, its a money saver whether you're at home or eating out, and most importantly, once your body becomes accustomed to being hydrated, other drinks do not seem to satisfy it. You WILL start to CRAVE water! I am amazed now how dehydrated I must have been all the time and the havoc that must have been wreaking on my body inside. If I can do it, anyone can. Now if I could just keep food under control..... lol

Oh, and reading through these posts, its amazing to me that people are actually defending soft drinks, Anything that can eat through metal or concrete or ANYTHING that contains Aspartame cannot be defended as okay for the human body....puhlease!

try exchanging for sparkling water with flavor. La Croix has some good ones, and theyre canned. I too love the carbonation, plus its filling. : ) good luck.

I didn't drink diet.I drank the real thing. I have not had one in over a year.

I just made up my mind that I wasn't going to drink anymore and went cold turkey. When you make the decision NOT to do it, it's easier...well, it is for me....If I say, Oh I'll just limit it or drink in moderation.....I can't do it...too easy to start drinking (eating) and then just give in and give in and give in.......when I made up my mind, it just stopped being an option. That is how I have to conisider things....its just NOT an option anymore......(works sometimes, sometimes not).

Good luck!!

Oh I'm with ya. I know those artifical sweetners are just chemicals, I know they still raise my insulin levels and make me crave sugar and store fat. But they just seem like a free sweet treat. I supose it really is true that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and you can't have your cake and eat it too.

My mom-in-law once gave me a bunch of cases of sparkling mineral water and I would guzzle that by the bottle, maybe with some lemon in it. When I had those around I wasn't interested in the diet pop, so I think that's what I'm going to start buying instead of diet pop. Give it a try. It doesnt even have to be Perrier to San Pelagrino, get sme cheapy soda water and pop some lemon juice in there.

I gave up soda and sweet tea 11 months ago and don't miss it at all. Now it's water or Crystal Light.

Oh, and reading through these posts, its amazing to me that people are actually defending soft drinks, Anything that can eat through metal or concrete or ANYTHING that contains Aspartame cannot be defended as okay for the human body....puhlease!

Care to provide expert sources, or are we to assume you are an expert? If so, what are your credentials?

Tomatoes can also eat through metals and concrete, etc, as can oranges, and pretty much any citrus fruits. They are all, like soda, acidic. Less acidic than the inside of you stomach though. Can we assume digestive juices are also bad for you? Please provide some actual evidence, rather than scare tactics.

Arg. Anyone who is reading current material on nutrition and health has read several studies that show how asparatame has negative health consequences and raises insulin levels (causing fat storage and sugar cravings among other things). As "pedestrians" of science we're not always writing down our sources for future reference, but reputable health magazines quote studies form universities etc. I don't let the results of a study into my memory until I've deamed it to be of a reputable source.

I do accept your point that there are other acidic foods out there that are good for us, but acid content is not the only con of soda. That reminds me, more studies have been done on the carsonogenic effects of the caramel colour in cola as well.