Replace soda

[JOYLEE]

I drink a lot of Coke and have not found anything yet that I can replace it with.

Like water really cold but do not like putting any of the flavor thing in it.

Most of the drinks have a horrible after taste.

I do add lemon and other things to water but think I miss the flavor and carbonation

Any suggestions

[WendyB]

Have you tried Sparkling water? It has carbonation

I get crystal geyser. They do have an unflavored one. But there are many different ones out there

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community forums @JOYLEE! 

It's very hard to find something that will taste and feel exactly like soda, but I've seen a few brands offering sparkling water with fruit taste and zero calories. 

Another option would be to drastically reduce the amount of soda you're drinking, but this would depend on your own goals and personal discipline. I was able to resolve this by drinking soda only once a week, so I don't have to cut it off completely from my diet, but for some people this will not work and they need to remove it completely so they don't feel tempted to drink more.  

[AmandaGeorge]

Maybe use a combination of the previous two suggestions and get yourself bottles of sparkling water so that you get the fizziness of Coke but restrict yourself to only having a couple of Cokes a week as a reward? 

Maybe set yourself a mini fitness goal at the start of each week and promise yourself that if you hit that goal for at least 5 days, you'll reward yourself with a Coke?  They don't have to be huge challenges, at least to start with, but an extra 25 steps a day or an additional steps blob or an extra length at the swimming pool or whatever, will soon add up and it'll give you something to aim for so that you can have your reward at the end of those 7 days.  As you become used to the new mini challenges, increase them ever so slightly before you're allowed your next Coke.

Don't deny yourself 'cos you'll end up craving it even more, just give yourself something to aim for and use your weekly Coke as a reward rather than a standard drink.

[cathm]

Hi @JOYLEE 

I was a huge diet soda fan.  I do not like drinking plain water.  The only thing I have found to keep me away from soda while still being satisfied is Transform Boost Shot.  My favorite flavors are Strawberry Lemonade, Black Cherry and Peach Mango.  I find one scoop in about 32 ounces of water gives it plenty of flavor.  

[DavideFitbit]

Great suggestion @AmandaGeorge! 

This happened to me last week 😅, I wanted to drink some soda and tried to resist for several weeks without drinking any, but ended up craving it even more! Next time I'll just drink a little bit on that same day 😎

[AmandaGeorge]

Thank you @DavideFitbit - use it as a reward rather than giving in to cravings, so set yourself a goal and promise yourself that when you achieve it, you can have that glass of pop.  I'm like that with bars of chocolate... I've always been a chocaholic so promised myself that the first time I reached 30k steps in a day I was allowed a sharing block of chocolate all to myself.  I achieved it a few weeks ago and it tasted even better than I remembered because I'd not had chocolate for so long!

Set yourself a little challenge that you have to achieve before you have your next reward  😉

[EmeraldDove]

I agree with Amanda!  I LOVE coke, and Coke slushies. I found that cutting them out made me "relapse" super hard and I would binge them. I told myself that I can always get a slushie on Mondays, and if I go to the gym at least three times, I can get a second for that week. Also special events, like birthdays, parties, camping... I allow myself a coke. 🙂 

I supplement with sparkling waters and some iced teas (be careful, they still have lots of cals and caffeine) I try to hit my water goal each day too even though it sucks sometimes. 

[AmandaGeorge]

Welcome to the world of Fitbit, @EmeraldDove!  It's great that you are using the gym as motivation for having your slushie, but I'm wondering if you could do something to 'earn' your Monday Coke slushie?  It doesn't have to be anything major, but reaching a certain number of steps or as your reward for hitting your water target every day of the previous week or something like that?  It doesn't have to be fitness related, but it does need to be a reward to inspire you to earn your gym slushie.  Same with the special events slushies... don't deny yourself them, but you will hopefully be more motivated if they are only rewards, as opposed to just being what you've always done.

I take part in NaNo and JanNo every year (both are writing challenges so really not health or fitness related at all) and the only times during the year that I allow myself to have a J2O and only if I write at least 5,000 words of my novel a day... if I write 4,999 then I'm not allowed it lol  Just knowing that I can potentially have 20 J2O's in 2 months gives me something to look forward to for the rest of the year.  Is there anything like that you could try to get your Monday slushie as a reward?

[EmeraldDove]

Hey!  I have been on fitbit for a few years now. Not sure why it is making me start at the bottom. This is my first time using the desktop version, I always use the app. 

And nope! I just get the monday slush. That seems to work for me... Ive lost 6 pounds in the last three weeks... so its working. The whole idea of having to earn EVERYTHING was so exhausting to me, and it was making me more anxious for whatever reason, and more likely to binge. So I just get a slush because its Monday. The other one I have to earn,but that's fine. 
I find that I am making overall better choices now. Ive been counting those calories and doing my three days at the gym... and sporadic walks. Pilates on Mondays. 

I finally feel more relaxed and have been seeing progress! 

[AmandaGeorge]

It's great that you feel you're making progress, @EmeraldDove! 

Just a thought, but how about making your Monday slushy a reward for your Pilates session so that you're still getting it on a Monday, but you have earnt it at the same time without really changing anything other than the time of day you get it?  You don't have to earn everything, just your slushies  😉

[EmeraldDove]

No. That is the one thing I dont have to earn. One drink on a Monday. 

[AmandaGeorge]

Okey dokes   🙂

[Baltoscott]

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@EmeraldDove wrote:

No. That is the one thing I dont have to earn. One drink on a Monday. 

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I like this approach — scheduling rather than eliminating or ‘earning’ certain foods. Every week you’ve got your Monday slushy to look forward to. That’s kind of nice and it doesn’t require unlimited willpower to achieve. You get a craving on Friday, you just tell yourself, ‘self, it’s just a couple of days away, suck it up!” Then you’ve got a couple days to look forward to it and come Monday you can really enjoy it without any guilt because its in the plan.

[MsFinnegan]

I have an "EatWhatIWant" day. One day a week [eventually I've reduced to every 2 weeks], on a Saturday I eat and drink whatever I want for that 24 hour period, then back to counting calories and intake. I despise the feeling of being deprived and I think the brain-association with unhealthy rewards is a bad idea. If I'm craving a certain food or drink or sweets or anything that I can't fit into my regular daily diet I save it for my EatWhatIWant day. Another benefit is I can go to dinner and cocktails with my friends and not have to abstain from any delicacies! I've been doing this for a few years now and little by little I'm not craving crap anymore. I found my body doesn't tolerate fried or fatty food as easily as it once did. The Sunday after feels almost like a hangover if I made really bad choices. I replaced caffeinated soda with water flavor packets with caffeine but drastically diluted. 

_________________________

Always seeking motivation, because sometimes later becomes never.

[DavideFitbit]

I've been experiencing something similar @MsFinnegan, I noticed my body doesn't tolerate certain types of foods anymore, and this actually makes it easier for me, because that eliminates the desire to eat unhealthy food almost completely for me. 

I was doing the "EatWhatIWant" day once a week, but I think I'll try it once every two weeks and see how it goes for me. I think it's a good idea! 😎