Kicking the soda habbit

[Tiffanie]

So it is officially time for me to try and kick this habbit, I've tried a few times before and always caved after a few days.... the cravings always get to me and usually the lack of sleep and wanting more caffeine for that extra boost.  Anyone have any tips on things I can try to help me stay on track and away from soda? I would do the whole just no buying it thing, but considering I'm not living alone at the moment and the others constantly keep it around/in the fridge it's just one of those things that's easy to snag and go. 

[Bear35]

Okay, so heres a tip for you.....when you want that pop (aka soda) start asking yourself why. Why do you need it? Why do you want it SO bad? Is it the taste, the sweetness, or maybe the fizziness? Then, here's what you do......find a way around that. If its the sweetness you miss, try having some fruit OR rather water with some lemon in it to sweeten it up. If you have no idea why you want it, drink water first and then see how you feel. If its the fiz, well, I think that there might be something called Croix? (I forget the name exactly, but its what my nutritionist told me to get......have never tried it to be honest, but she says it works). 

If that doesn't work, visualize sewage when you are wanting that pop.......its a can of sewage and its the nastiest thing on this Earth to drink. It worked for me, honestly! OH and also, you might want to look up the 20 uses for coke......did you know that you can clean your engine with coke? AND it will take the tarnish off a penny? Talk about nasty!! 

As for the easy snag-and-go......keep a water bottle filled with water with you ALL the time. Believe me, when you have water right there staring you in the face, its a life saver.

[Bear35]

Oh and I forgot......YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY you for kickin' that nasty habit!!! WOOO HOOO!! 🙂

[Jabrat]

@Very hard habit to kick - but I used to be a 2 liter of Diet Coke gal - I'm down to one every now and then - probably about once a week - better than the 2 liter - good luck to you @ Tiffanie

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@Tiffanie wrote:

So it is officially time for me to try and kick this habbit, I've tried a few times before and always caved after a few days.... the cravings always get to me and usually the lack of sleep and wanting more caffeine for that extra boost.  Anyone have any tips on things I can try to help me stay on track and away from soda? I would do the whole just no buying it thing, but considering I'm not living alone at the moment and the others constantly keep it around/in the fridge it's just one of those things that's easy to snag and go. 

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[Cycled]

Hi Tiffanie - I kicked the soda by starting tea, adding just a bit of soda on top (my preference is to add some Sprite on top).  Over time I found myself not even bothering with the soda anymore.  I'm attaching a picture.

This worked great for me.  Good luck - you can do it.

[Tiffanie]

I do love tea, give me a green tea with a bit of honey or I'm also a sucker for sweet tea though I've been trying to cut back on that too cause of all the sugar in it. I think it's just the sweetness, fizz, and the caffeine buzz... I've got two year old twins that still don't always sleep through the night. lol I'm doing well so far today though it's only going on 11 so far but it's a start. Had one cup of coffee with a splash of creamer and onto my second bottle of water.. Trying to keep my camelbak filled at all times, and I bought some of those "mios" with the energy and some of the other styles of those things. It's a small progress so far today, but I'll take even the small. 

[AngelajmRN]

I kicked the soda habit last August.  It was really tuff at first.  I would sneak in by my son and just take a swallow of his soda here and there.  I went for the sweet tea and now have backed off of that a bit too because of the sugar.  I made up a huge pitcher of water to leave in the fridge...with lemon, lime, and mint leaves.  We stopped buying soda at the house all together.  My youngest son gave it up with me and has been doing great.  My older son if he wants a soda he goes to the store and gets it himself and leaves it in his room.  As for my hubby....he doesn't drink it at home.  I feel better and have saved a lot of money.  I still get a craving once and awhile...especially when eating certain foods.  I think if I have one Diet Pepsi twice a month I am still ahead of the game. 

[Tiffanie]

Still haven't touched the soda! So far doing really well, though still craving coca cola like crazy. 

[Evelynp1503]

that  was the first think i kick was my pop addiction ( only think fitting to cal it in my mind )  i had been drinking about 2  510ml bottles every day  and i had cut it cold turkey . was one of the hardest things to do .  it took me a while  to brake the habit . and i believe i went true  withdrawals  because if it . not fun . but now i cant Handel a can of dark pop .   i can do  a can of ice tea or  a sprite  but   even then i feel  almost  sick  like having to much sugar .  it has helped me lot to start kicking the bad habits  Ive developed with eating over the years .  i  fell better then i have in a long time .  it has inspired me to become healthier   and that if i can kick that  then i can do any thing to get healthy 

[AshleyK]

Tiffanie!! I totally know the feeling of craving pop lol I have found that I crave the bubbles more than I do the actual caffeine itself so I bought sparkling water (la croiux) and then add mio or neuro to it! The orange mio tastes just like orange crush and the lemon mio tastes exactly like sprite. When I add my raspberry neuro and lemon neuro to it they taste like lemonades!! Let me know if that works for ya!

[chadwick]

I kicked sofa by just eating sweet fruits when I needed something sweet.  now as for chocolate chip cookies I can't shake those yet!

[jrobinson81]

This might be too small to see but it is an intresting read on how soda affects your health. Try putting crystal light into your water. I used to do that than eventually I  just drank water. I'm a coffee drinker myself and it's the cream I put in it that is bad for my diet plan. I have cut back or try to drink it black and then I don't want it as bad. You can do it and once you get in the habit of not drinking soda you won't even think about it or miss it! Just keep not having it and drinking as much water as you can! Wishing you the best!

[CharK]

I got lucky kicking my Dr. Pepper addiction.  (I'd have my coffee in the morning and be drinking DP from 11:30 until I went to bed - that's how much I drank everyday.)  I started an 8-week weight loss challenge at work and for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I cut out the pop and went to water.  On Thursday night I took my son to Subway and thought that a DP would be a nice 'treat' since I hadn't had one for three days.  Fortunately, the DP was horrible that night.  It was flat and tasted like sugar water.  I haven't craved it one time - and that was on November 7.

Maybe sabotage your pop if you crave it?  Water it down and see how nasty that tastes.

One thing I did learn on here is that a large Taco Bell DP (which I think is 32 ounces) has over 500 calories in it - that's over 5 miles I'd have to walk just to burn off the calories.  No thanks...  🙂

Good luck to kicking your habit!

[Tiffanie]

I caved once a few days ago and had some with dinner and totally regretted it the next day! Woke up to a super upset and sore bloated stomach.. haven't touched it again since. Still want it, a lot though, But, doing better and making sure to keep water at hand as much as I can. 

[jillyc]

I quit diet soda in April 2013 and have not had it since. I wanted to get away from all of the artificial sweeteners, which I believe are horrible for you.  I found flavored Stevia drops on Amazon and I love those. I put different flavors in my water and drink that all day. My absolute favorite is Root Beer, and I like Cola flavor too.  I put the Vanilla Creme in my coffee and eliminated creamer or sugar there too. Be careful and don't use too much. It gets too sweet and bitter if you do.  You can also get them at Natural food stores. I buy the Sweet Leaf brand because they don't have added ingredients.  

[t7399]

I too have continued to struggle quitting diet pop.  I have started drinking lots of iced tea mixed with a small bit of lemonade....have a wonderful gas station down the road with the best tea and lemonade ever.  For me, I think the biggest factor was being able to hold that foam cup in my hand with the straw.  I still drink a pop now and then, but I am no longer guzzling it like my life depended on it.  Good luck!

[RobPinder]

I started drinking coca-cola when I was 14 years old.  At the worst, I was probably drinking well over 2 liters per day.  Soon after breakfast, at least one can before lunch, one (or two) 16oz cups at lunch, 2 or so cans before dinner, 1 at dinner and one after dinner.  I exercised a lot, so did not gain a whole lot of weight.  About 5 years after graduate school, I switched to Diet Coke.  It took a while to switch, but did so to reduce calorie intake.  About 4 years ago, decided to reduce. drastically.  Down to 1 16 oz cup at lunch plus a refill.  It was not easy.  As others say, drank water, juice, chewed gum.  Then, about a month ago, I gave ut up all together.  I will not lie to you, it's tough.  Must be the same feeling that recovering alcoholics have.  I crave it.  I fight the craving by drinking a lot of water.  Some days, the craving is not there.  Other days, the craving is quite strong.  On those days, I will take a caffeine pill and it helps immensely.  I can only hope that the cravings fade away permanently.  But after drinking Cokes and Diet Cokes for over 36 years, I know it will take time...

[JINKS2008]

I’m with you I just kicked the habit in April by drinking Tea and Coffee. I'm 65 days sober I think it’s a harder habit to stop then smoking and drinking. I just carry tea bags with me and make it everywere i go now.

[voodoogmr]

I've been a Coke drinker since I was little. Drank it with every meal. I've tried quitting before, but it never lasted more than 2-3 weeks. Then last November, I decided to try again. This time, I started using water flavoring. I used the Kool-Aid liquid, which is a lot sweeter than other types I've tried. I then gradually weened myself off that too, and have been drinking just plain water most of the time since March.

My wife tried to quit, but she couldn't, so we still have Cokes in the pantry for her. However, my craving has completely gone away and I never even want to drink it. It tastes nasty to me now.

It was certainly a sruggle at first, but now that I'm exercising and eating right, I refuse to get back into the habit. Dropped over 35lbs and feel great. Blood pressure back to normal with no meds. Also sleeping much better!

[altaclip]

Great topic since many of us including me have been hooked on pop. Diet Pepsi (about 1L/day) and coffee (6+ cups/day) were my caffeine crutch and they greatly hampered my weight loss efforts despite reasonable eatinging & exercise.

Problem with that much non-water liquid is I'd never get enough water and had no desire to force myself to drink more water while craving my next hit of java/diet pepsi.

2 things helped me transition away from java/diet pepsi and I'm at the point now I can go weeks without any diet soda and 4-5 days without coffee. I feel much better, more energy, easily drink 7-10 cups of water per day and have dropped 10+ lbs in the past month.

1. About 2 months ago I made a deal with my self to have min 1:1 ratio water:caffeine drinks. i.e. I must drink a min 1 cup water before having that first cup of coffee in the morning. Keep at it and increase the ratio to 2:1 water/diet soda after a week or 2.

2. Find something healthier to mix with your water to get you liking it again. It might be lemon, lime, crystal light or anything that works for you. For me the perfect thing that got me drinking water and not diet soda was Ocean Spray low cal cranberry and/or low cal cran/rasp. Start 50/50 cranb/water and lower the cranb % every few days until a level that works for you. Eventually you'll crave water even without the juice. Remember to log the calories from the low cal juice.

Coffee was harder than the diet pepsi for me to give up / cut way back. I've saved a ton at Tim's and now enjoy coffee as more of a treat (with Bailey's on weekend for example) or only after I've had 4+ cups of water.

Hope that helps.