Why is it so hard for me to give up my soda?

[mominwestlake]

Well, I am glad that I'm not alone in my soda addiction! I have never liked diet and I really don't even want to try it again. I am so proud of myself that I only had 2 cokes yesterday even though evening was tough and I really wanted a 3rd. I have told my kids about my goal and they won't let me cheat! Whenever I am stressed I reach for a coke and I have the type of personality that stresses very easily.

 

[MushyMushy]

I used to be like this with Pepsi and had to give it up cold turkey because I'd developed a nasty ulcer. That was 20 years ago. It took me a week or two to get it out of my system. I was having some irritability and headaches and having a hard time sleeping, but that all went away.

I say if you're serious about it, just give it up completely and get it out of the house. Only have a few healthy things available, like water, flavored water, juice, milk, etc. That was the only thing that worked for me.

I'm to the point where 20 years later a Pepsi is a nice treat, but the carbonation is almost too strong.

 

[Sgt Mickey]

You can do it
About 8 years ago I gave up reg soda and started to drink diet soda. SO I was like you drinking about 5 diet dr peppers a day. Sometimes more. So I want to say about 3 months ago I gave it all up. Not that I don't ever drink soda cause I occasionally have a ginger ale or cherry 7 upbut I don't feel the need to drink it all day. I have occasionally had a diet dr pepper but now I can't even finish one. When I first gave it up I wouldn't drink it all so I wouldn't go back to my old ways and when I finally did I have lost the craving and can't even drink cokes or pepsi anymore. I started with just having water with me all the time. The first week or two was hard but stick with it no matter how much you want one.

 

[taylor3297]

I used to drink 5 to 6 cans of Pepsi a day. For the last 12 years I drink one a day and it is in the morning. I can't stand coffee. It has been great that Pepsi throwback has been back for awhile. We stocked up a the store while it was still stocked. Soda made with natural sugar tastes so much better.

The way I cut back was cold turkey.

 

[MarilIncredible]

I gave up soda when I finished my last 12-pack back in October or November. I used to drink 1 or 2 diet sodas each day, but just didn't find a good enough sale so I ran out. Now I drink mostly water. It really wasn't that hard for me at all.

Quitting coffee wasn't hard for me, either, and I used to drink 3 big mugs of that every day.

 

[Nette]

In the case of Diet Coke it's definitely not the caffeine, I think there's something else in the aspartame that affects the addictive quality. Soda has a fraction of the caffeine of coffee.

I keep hearing this...but why is diet 'worse'? I've never seen this explained.

I really believe this is true too... I had a friend who was so addicted to Diet Coke that all day long she would open a new one as soon as the old was empty. One morning, she woke up blind in her left eye. After many many tests and scans, she was diagnosed with MS. I'm not sure what led her to do it, but she quit the diet coke cold turkey, and a few days later her sight started to return. I'm not saying that the two are related at all... but there are starting to be some studies showing associations between aspartame and MS.

Oddly enough, the same week she quit diet coke we were on a disney cruise. I did the body mass thing at the spa because I'd been having a lot of trouble losing about 15 lbs. I'd been exercising like crazy and eating about 1500 cal/day, and not losing weight. I was also drinking 3-4 diet cokes per day. Again, not saying there is any relation, but when I told him I was drinking diet soda he asked me why... and I, of course, said because it has no calories. He gently reminded me that soda (any soda) is just a bunch of chemicals. He also said (and I"ll NEVER forget this) "No one ever got skinny from drinking diet coke". That's probably not 100% true. I had lost over 40 lbs about 8 years prior when I changed my eating habits -- which also included switching coke to diet coke... Anyway, right then and there I quit drinking diet coke. Done.

I've never looked back. I'll still have the occasional (like 1 per month max!) Coke... And dang if this baby doesn't make me crave soda, so I've been drinking a couple of soda's (sprite or caffeine free root beer) per week... but mostly I drink fizzy water (we call it red neck perrier because we buy the generic store brand! ) or plain water w/ lemon when we go out.

Good luck to all you quitters! I really do believe something about soda is addictive.

 

[merekc]

it will boost your will-power.

My 9-year-old and I both gave up soda for Lent. He's been sticking to it, so I can't very well cheat! It's definitely been a motivator.

I also think the gum idea someone mentioned sounds smart.

This is pretty much what I was going to say. My DS7 is very prone to cavities so our family decided to give up pop. We gave it up cold turkey in January. Our plan is this that pop is going to become a once a week treat, not something we drink everyday. To jumpstart us we did a competition to see who could go the longest without having one at all (this was my sneaky way to make it a habit to not have it). The incentive was a $10 bill to the person who gave it up completely the longest. My DS4 even turned down pop at a birthday party that I wasn't at. It has been a really good life change for our family.

Next obstacle for us will be fast food and then eating out.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

the first thing you should do is switch to caffine free. you're most likely addicted to the caffine in it, i was at one point. if you switch, then you can eventually cut down a lot.

 

[merekc]

I'm sure you know this, but for others...watch out for root beers! Not all are caffeine-free. Barqs, for instance, most definitely has caffeine. I had NO idea.


QUOTE]

Orange Soda also. I thought they were all caffeine free and I believe it is Sunkist that is not.

 

[charming23]

I made the decision back in January to start drastically cutting back on pop. The first week I tried going cold turkey and ended up with such bad migraines (from lack of caffiene) that I changed my approach and cut down to one can a day and I am now only having a can every once in awhile. I usually stick with water, either plain or flavored with half a packet of kool-aid singles.

It is so hard to do and people kept telling me to switch to diet but I have an intolerence for artifiical sweetners in large amounts (A stick of sugarfee gum has no effect).

 

[dzorn]

My mom nags at me about the same thing all the time as well. I do drink quite a bit of Diet Pepsi each day and frankly don't plan on quitting anytime soon. I do make sure I take in enough calcium (mainly through food sources, but also with a supplement), as well as Vitamin D and magnesium every day to help compensate.

I just thank goodness it's diet soda that I drink. I'd be the size of a mature water buffalo if I drank the same amount of regular soda every day.

Just so you know some studies would not agree with this. Diet drinks do change blood sugar levels because they cause your body to release insulin which results in lower blood sugar levels which cause you to eat more.

I am trying to cut the caffine habit also. Just trying to eat healthier and lose a little weight. Try to drink water and milk now. If I have a soda now I drink small glass of water first and use a lot of ice in my glass with the soda. For me I found 2 L easier becasue often with the water followed with the soda and ice would would not use a full can.

Denise in MI

Good luck OP!

 

[dzorn]

I made the decision back in January to start drastically cutting back on pop. The first week I tried going cold turkey and ended up with such bad migraines (from lack of caffiene) that I changed my approach and cut down to one can a day and I am now only having a can every once in awhile. I usually stick with water, either plain or flavored with half a packet of kool-aid singles.

It is so hard to do and people kept telling me to switch to diet but I have an intolerence for artifiical sweetners in large amounts (A stick of sugarfee gum has no effect).

If you are doing it for health reasons diet is not the way to go anyway!

Stay strong!

Denise in MI

 

[AKL_Megs]

Also, about the Diet Coke addiction... diet cola actually has MORE caffeine than regular cola....

A 12oz Diet Coke has 45.6mg of caffeine...

A Coke has 34mg of caffeine...

And a typical drip coffee has 115-175mg of caffeine.

 

[Darsa]

I've got to say, when I stopped drinking all the Diet Coke I was drinking, the caffeine withdrawal headaches were KILLER!!! Luckily it didn't take long to get rid of them (about a half a bottle of Advil's worth of time, lol) and now my one can's enough for me

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Another Coke addict here!! I used to only drink coke, nothing else. Yuck!!

I gave up Coke for lent and have been doing great. I have also manged to save a bit of money because I was spending so much even with great sales.

I did give it up cold turkey, and I did have a few headaches. But for me there really was no other way. I did not have the will power to drink a little less each week. I guess I am an all or nothing kind of gal.

Now I drink a lot of water or watered down juice. I don't like coffee but will ocassionally have a hot tea.

I do like, but am trying to stay away from for the most part, iced tea. I don't want to replace one bad drink with another.

Its hard but except for one day my cravings for it have been nonexistent.

 

[Magix]

I'm sure you know this, but for others...watch out for root beers! Not all are caffeine-free. Barqs, for instance, most definitely has caffeine. I had NO idea.

Orange Soda also. I thought they were all caffeine free and I believe it is Sunkist that is not.

Oh yes, I know. When Barq's first came out, I was half-way through a can when I looked at the ingredients and thought OMG caffeine!! That's when I realized what "Barq's has bite" meant. Now I figure waitresses think I'm insane when I ask "What brand of root beer do you have?" Like I'm some kind of root beer connoisseur. Even with little craft brew root beers, I won't buy them if it doesn't clearly say "Caffeine Free" on the bottle or box.

And I rarely have an orange soda, especially at fountains, since I can never remember which one has caffeine. Best to play it safe.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I drank a Red Bull or some other super caffeinated energy drink, after all these years without caffeine. I'd probably go ballistic.

 

[cdepauli]

I have been drinking 5 Cokes a day for quite awhile now. I am trying to cut down to 2 a day. It is hard! I want to lose a little weight (5 lbs), set a good example for my kids, and be healthier. Anyone else trying to give up sodas? Can we start a support group? I am trying to drink water instead but I keep thinking about my Coke.

Why don't you first try substituting in caffeine free Coke - like ratio of 2/3, then move to 3/2 etc. - until you kick the caffeine addiction. Then start switching to Sprite/Sierra Mist.

At least the Sprite/Sierra Mist do not have the phosphoric acid (which is suspected to contribute to bone loss) like colas and others do and they're caffeine free. That way you still get the carbonation but without the caffeine and phosphoric acid. You just have to have the HFCS.

And don't switch to diet. Aspartame is soooo terrible for you.

 

[pigletgirl]

The Sprite however kills your teeth enamel. Its best to switch to a non-carbonated beverage.

 

[angelmav]

For years I have been a soda pop addict and drank multiple sodas a day. I still drink it but about six months ago found a shop that sells only cane sugar soda's in the bottle. For me, a real soda is more like a treat and 1 will solve my craving for the day. Call me crazy, but corn sweetened soda's just dont trigger that off switch. Plus they have all the nostalgic brands, Ne-hi, Green River, Faygo, so I get a kick out of mixing and matching a case that will last me a month, as opposed to 3 or 4 times that amount before.