Pepsi Habit

[Scole]

Any help or suggestions with helping to kick a bad Pepsi habit.  I have been working out with a personal trainer for nine months, haven't lost a pound, and I know if I could get rid of this silly habit I could start loosing.  Any help or suggestions would be really appreciated.

[SunsetRunner]

Here's what got me off Diet Coke. It may help you with your Pepsi habit. I started researching some of the ingredients in soda pop. It was pretty scary. For example, do you know that Pepsi can clean rust off a bolt? (Imagine what it does to your stomach!)

Here are a few links to get you started on your research. Print some of the articles and tape them to your bathroom mirror, your fridge door, the cupboard where you keep your glasses, etc.

- Here is what Colgate says it does to your teeth: http://www.colgate.com/app/CP/US/EN/OC/Information/Articles/Oral-and-Dental-Health-Basics/Oral-Hygie...

- LiverSupport.com tells us how soda (or pop as we call it in Michigan) can damage your liver: http://www.liversupport.com/wordpress/2007/04/soda-and-your-liver/

- WebMD talks about the connection between Soda and osteoporosis Here is the link: http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/soda-osteoporosis

It goes on and on. Do the research. it may scare you off Pepsi. It worked for me. Eventually ice cold water or a nice hot green tea became my drinks of choice.

[HeidiM]

I was a die hard Pepsi drinker, key word-was. That is until I went to the doctor and found out I was pre-diabetic and told I HAD to lower my sugar intake & loose the extra weight or I would be on medicine for the diabetes. 

Drinking any kind of soda is a habit more then anything, for me it was at least. I just stopped buying it. I had bad headaches for about a week but I noticed the more water I drank the less of a headache I had. I stopped drinking the Pepsi and low and behold I started dropping pounds and inches without making any other changes in my diet really.

When I am absolutley craving a Pepsi now I choose a small 8oz glass and allow myself ONE.

I remind myself what I am trying to accomplish and repeat over and over and over sometimes-that Pepsi is NOT worth the extra time on the treadmill or the track or any other exercise lol. 

I know this is cliche but it is true-if you really, really want to do something, you will. Good luck you can do this.

[ejm]

I'd find a substitute for Pepsi. Something that quenches your thirst, but with no calories. You could infuse water with lemon, cucumbers, strawberries. You could drink Crystal Light. I know the sweetener isn't that great for you, but it's probably the lesser evil. 

I'd also keep track of the times you wanted a pepsi and made the choice not to have one. It's all a choice. I choose to be healthy. I choose to drink healthy. Make a goal, ie. if you sub something else for Pepsi 10x, you can have a pepsi. And, reward yourself.  You can do it.

I lost 10 pounds immediately after I cut out soda. Now, since I love soda, I have it everyonce in awhile. It can be hard, but so worth it! 

[sruthp]

I used to drink Dr Pepper like crazy and I actually switched to Izze and lemon water. I also drink tea instead. I only drink soda once a month now.

[heather7131]

It took me about 4 years to stop my Mountain Dew addiction.  I guess I can thank my husband for it.  Everytime I would pick one up, he would nag me.  Telling me how gross they were and all the terrible things it was doing to my insides.  He would tell me that if I stopped drinking them I could loose weight (like I had been saying I wanted to but never could).  So, to not have to hear his mouth, I stopped buying them when I grocery store.  Then I just slowing weaned myself off of them; one per day, then every other day, and so forth. Sheer determination.  Like I said, it took 4+ years.  I just bought one the other day.  It was probably the first one I've had all year and I couldn't drink it.  The taste was repulsive.  I will allow myself to have one Coca-Cola or pepsi per week at dinner or something like that but that's all.  The hubs still nags me but not as much b/c he knows how long it took for me to quit.  

Good luck!!!

[Kyteach01]

A few years ago I had to have out patient surgery but was told to get off caffeine as quick as possible because I could not have any for several days before the surgery.  I drank Pepsi all of the time.  The nurse told me to eat apples, so I drank my water and ate apples and I did not crave it any longer.  Unfortunately, I got hooked several months later but I know that the apples helped.

[PastaLuver14]

If you like the Fizz/carbonation part then try sparkling water. I love Crystal Guyser brand the best of all. You can even get some flavor ones like berry, lemon or orange ones.

[Ukase]

Up until last January, I was probably drinking 6 to 10 cans of Diet Coke a day. I joke about this - but it may very well be true.

A friend who is a fitness trainer asked me how much water I drank each day, when we were discussing my desire to lose some weight. I told him, quite honestly, that I don't remember ever drinking water - except when I was a kid in high school and we were trying to drink all 5 gallons from the Abita Springs water cooler on New Year's Eve. (Hey, I was a geeky teenager and wasn't old enough to drink.)

The phone was silent for a moment, as if he couldn't believe it. I'm 47 now, so it had easily been 30 years since I drank pure water, or any other kind of water. I don't think Diet Coke had been invented yet, so I was probably drinking Diet Pepsi - because that's what my mother bought.

Well, that night, after I drank a glass of water as a personal favor to my friend, I woke up in the middle of the night with a dull throb in my stomach. At least, I thought it was my stomach.

Long story short, my gall bladder was making a slew of gall stones - which supposedly stressed my body and that triggered stomach ulcers. When I'd drink a Diet Coke, my stomach would bother me - so, I stopped drinking them. I wanted to drink them, trust me! But, that bothersome feeling in my stomach conditioned me to stop.

So - my gall bladder is out, my stomach ulcers have vanished and now I drink water - a lot more than I ever thought. Probably 100 ounces a day. I think when I drank that water, my body went into toxic shock, triggering all those symptoms! But, then again, maybe the water kept it from killing me. Who can really say?

All I can suggest is for you to realize that sodas are expensive! Just think about how much money you can save just in a month if you weren't buying them, and buying yourself some new clothes instead. (or some other treat, like a night at the movies or something)

[Zirallan]

My favourite method to get off soda is to simply not buy it. Easier said than done when you live in a house with multiple people.. I drink a LOT no matter what I'm drinking so I can easily put away 6 to 10 cans a day as well. I try not to bring things into the house that I like to drink.  Or sodas that I only really drink when having an alcoholic drink. It's a lot easier for me to say no to a Diet Pepsi than it is to a Root Beer or Dr. Pepper. I still drink probably 2 or 3 sodas a week but that's a lot better than drinking several every day.

Another thing is not keeping soda in the fridge. If it's not cold, I don't want it near as much. I don't like ice in my drinks (sensitive teeth) and there's no real convenient way to get any so it's a decent deterent. It's amazing how many times just thinking about how long it'd take that soda to get cold has stopped me from even bothering to get up to put on in the fridge even though the soda litteraly sits next to the fridge. Especially when there is already cold water in there.

[Brandywinegirl]

 I used to drink 1-2 liters of Diet Cherry Coke every day. Two years ago I stopped because of everything I had read about what it does to your body. I drink 96 ounces or more of water daily and infuse it with pineapple and mint when I want a treat. Once you stop cold turkey, you won't miss it and you will be so much healthier for it!!

Spoiler

[Lauran]

I read the book "Skinny Bitch". I haven't touched soda of any kind since. Drinking only water takes some getting used to, but it's been about 5 years for me and I don't even think about it anymore... 

And I agree with you - if you can drink pepsi and not gain weight, you can probably lose quite a bit if you kick that stuff!

[runnergirl318]

Ask yourself if the RIGHT NOW soda is more important to you than the FUTURE BODY you're working towards.  I bet if you gained 3 lbs every time you drank a soda it would be easy to give up.  Have those kinds of instant gratification conversations with yourself.  

[macindc]

I went to the doctor back in DC feeling bloated and lethargic.  My doctor inquired abouto my eating habits and suggested that maybe my REGULAR (at least one a day, sometimes 3) consumption of diet sodas could be the problem.  She told me to cut back and see if it had any effect on the bloating.  In three days of no diet sodas, I amazingly saw my stomach decrease. That was the ONLY thing I did differently.  I then did research to figure out what was in the drink that could cause that type of bloating.  When I learned info, I stopped - cold turkey.  That was December 4, 2013, and I haven't drank any diet soda since.  I've been doing more water, including carbonated water and herbal teas.  Good luck!

[KelZ96]

I get were your coming from. My soda was mountaindew. And i loved sweet tea. I had at least one of each everyday and on most days, around 3 of each. By the end of decemeber 2013, I weight myself. I sas 159.9. I could not believe it. I decided to have my new years resoultion to lose weight by mainly be healthy. January 1st I cut it out. I have lost 20 pounds but I also eat better and workout. If i am extremley craving one, i have a tea. I had one in January but thats it. I can say that not having soda and tea has made me feel sooo much better. Im more engergized and I can tell the difference with my body. Trust me its hard! What i do is flavored water. I like regular water but not all the time. You will notice a difference trust me!

[wijody]

What worked for me was drinking lemon water.  First I was drinking it with "Real Lemon" from the grocery store until I realized that has preservatives.  Now I use True Lemon, which is a powder and tastes GREAT in good filtered ice water.  Also I use a GLASS water bottle and keep it with me at all times.  The glass bottle is huge because any plastic water bottle will start to change the taste of the lemon water over time.  If you keep this with you ALL the time and drink it all day, you will be less likely to want the Pepsi because you won't be thirsty.  If you allow yourself to get thirsty, then the Pepsi craving will be much harder to resist.  Also, I second what someone else said - google "Pepsi Cancer" and read about the issues they have and the cancer-causing caramel color, etc.  That might also help.

[mistymo]

I drink a meal replacement shake for breakfast that cuts my cravings for most things that are bad for me and drink at least 64oz of water daily.  I only drank 3-4 sodas a day, mostly Dr Pepper, but the shake has been amazing at cutting cravings for things.

[steff]

Here's is one more of those "what worked for me" ideas.  I stopped drinking soda as a thirst quencher.  I drank green tea with mint and water.  The mint was a great taste replacement that worked for me.  But, I made soda a treat!  I made the rule that there would be no more than one a day.  At first, I could hardly wait to have my soda, but eventually, I was able to not obsess over it.  That's when I started going a couple days without soda, then a week, and now weeks at a time without it. 

Another good substitute is a Soda Stream if it's just the bubbles!  You can add Crystal Light or whatever and make your own customized drink for that once a day treat!

[tallson]

Nothing you can drink can make you feel as good as being slim.

[WOLFMAN225]

Hi, SCOLE.

Here's what I did.  I got into drinking Mountain Dew when I began driving truck long haul (coast to coast).  I discovered that I didn't tolerate coffee, but often needed the caffeine "kick" to help me with the early mornings/late nights.

I started keeping one liter bottles of water (Dasani is my favorite) in the cup holder instead of the Dew during the day, adding either some low cal flavoring (usually lemon) or just drinking it "straight", and only buying a bottle of soda when I knew my schedule would require me either to get up early (before 0400) or run late into the night (later than 0100).

Surprisingly, it only took a couple weeks before the "cravings" faded.  I also noticed something else I thought was curious.  I found that when I ate, I felt "full" earlier in the course of the meal. 

Now, I'm not any kind of scientist, but I have read a lot about the issues with High Fructose Corn Syrup and its effects.  My hypothesis is that HFCS can somehow negate the effect of the body's hormones that send the signal to the brain that you're full, or sated, leading you to remain under the influence of your taste buds and to keep eating until you are literally "stuffed".  Over the years I had come to realize that I rarely, if ever, felt either "hungry" or "full".  I ate because the food smelled/tasted good and stopped when I simply couldn't eat any more.  Once I cut out the soda, those signals started to return.  I hope this helps.

Larry