Soda

Have you tried using crystal light?? there is also a flavor enhancer called Mio that is pretty good as well. Just remember to log in the calories that you drink from those as well.

I broke my soda habit cold turkey (making sure to replace the caffeine, in my case with black coffee).

I just went out and bought some lemon and lime juice (the kind that comes in the little bottles shaped like lemons and limes) and put a squeeze of one or the other (or both) into every glass of water to give it some flavor for a week or two. I intentionally avoided using anything sweet, because part of what I was trying to break was a psychological addiction to sweet taste.

For the first week, it was really hard.

For the second week, it got easier.

On the third week, I had used up all my lemon and lime juice and was OK with not buying any more because water tasted just fine.

I still occasionally have a soda, maybe 5-6 times a year. I prefer water. More importantly, I prefer how my body feels when I get most of my fluids in the form of water.

EDIT to add: I also had an almost immediate decrease in appetite due to not having so much wild variation in my blood sugar, and it got a lot easier to control cravings for sugar - something about tasting something sweet a bunch of times a day makes it hard for me to control my sugar cravings.

Arrowhead makes flavored sparkling waters that are delicious and not sweet. I like the Pomegranate flavor, but there's also Lemon, Lime, Orange, and Unflavored (so, just soda water) and you can usually find them on sale for like 75cents or so.

I like these because for me, drinking soda isn't always about sweet, but more that I like the way it feels in my mouth (the bubbles!), so sparkling water is a great substitute.

ETA: you can use the plain soda water and mix with crystal light (or other) flavor packets, if you do like the sweetness.

Full sugar soda is insanely addictive. It's not just the sugar, but the caffiene, the sodium and a bunch of other ingredients. Imo you're better off going cold turkey on it than trying to cut down.

I still drink diet sodas, and probably too much of them to be honest, but at least they don't add cals. Full sugar soda will generally negatively affect your weight loss attempts because they are empty cals, with little to no lasting satiety and a pretty shocking insulin response spike.

Maybe read this and post it on your refrigerator. Read before drinking soda!

Some of the awful effects of soda include:

1. Osteoporosis
2. Dehydration
3. Diabetes
4. Obesity
5. Tooth Decay

I find that it's the carbonation I like more than anything so I've been drinking the flavored carbonated waters...

Ya, soda equals belly fat, I stay away from any artificial sweetner too....you just gotta learn to love water, I know it's hard......

I drank so much soda for years... I had to finally just go cold turkey- NO SODAS. Now, I don't even really crave them. I'll have one here and there as a treat... but it's rare these days. I have never been a water drinker, and now I can't live with-out it!

I swapped the soda for unsweetened iced tea. If you get into brewing loose leaf tea, it can actually be a very relaxing hobby, plus there are tons of varieties so it doesn't get boring.

Hyvee and Walmart carry a generic mio that is cheaper and tastier than the name brand. I like grape and strawberry watermelon. I also found I like the lipton tea and honey drink mixes. Each poacket is 2 servings so when I use 2 packets in a big bottle of water its 20 calories. It gets me caffine. I gave up diet mt dew 5 months ago cold turkey after reading how bad diet pop is for you. I had an occasional one in the first 3 months but I am happy to report that its been over 2 months since I had a sip and I don't miss it.

:explode: Heres a thought that has stuck with me , i once read someplace that soda is the best toilet bowl cleaner you can buy. If you let the soda go flat and throw it in the toilet bowl for a few minutes and flush, it will leave your toilet bowl sparklling clean. It really does, i have tried it. If the acid in the soda cleans the toilet like this what must it be doing to our insides??

Okay, here's my experience: I struggled with dehydration after my last child was born. And ever since. I discovered that as I got more dehydrated, it actually seemed to knock out my thirst mechanism. What I mean is, even tho my body was dehydrated, I did not want to drink water!! Never had that problem before.

So here is what I say: Don't do the flavor packet stuff. For the next couple of days, use a glass or bottle, and totally keep track of water intake. Drink 8 -10 cups of water each day Minimum, and keep track! You will find that after a day or two of doing this you will start to get hydrated, and your thirst mechanism will kick back in...you will want water again. This is what happened to me.

I consume a lot of liquids through the day & the older I get the more I find that its soda not water. I've tried flavor packets for my water & even diet soda with no satisfaction. Any ideas?

Become less focused on getting some kind of flavor satisifaction on things. Water and food are fuel. Of the two I personally get more enjoyment out of food than poorly flavored sugar water.

Be a self controlling adult and make it happen.

I consume a lot of liquids through the day & the older I get the more I find that its soda not water. I've tried flavor packets for my water & even diet soda with no satisfaction. Any ideas?

Become less focused on getting some kind of flavor satisifaction on things. Water and food are fuel. Of the two I personally get more enjoyment out of food than poorly flavored sugar water.

Be a self controlling adult and make it happen.

^^^^^^^^^
THIS

When I started I simply forced myself to drink only water. It took a while, but now I've come to prefer it to anything else. Soda just makes you MORE thirsty, and diet soda doesn't do anything for me anymore. You gotta just agree to youself that you will and then follow that up with action. No other way.