Can't shake my soda craving!

[Streetcorner Philosopher]

This is hard for me! I lived (stupidly) on sodas for years. I could easily drink 8-10 full-sugar, full caffeine Dr peppers per day.

With this diet, and new way of life, I have virtually no cravings for junk foods or potato chips or ice cream, but WOW I just can't shake the soda thing. I can drink water throughout the day just fine, but when lunch or dinner comes around, water or unsweetened tea just doesn't sound good at all. Anyone else have this problem or is it just me. I also seem to need a softdrink in the evening.

By the way I do drink diet sodas occasionally, but I'm not convinced they are that much better health-wise. The jury is still out on the long-term effects of sugar substitutes.

Any other soda/caffeine addicts out there?

[sugarfreeone]

Hi,

I was totally addicted to Diet coke....I weaned myself off gradually and now I drink Perrier mineral water like it is going out of style.....To add flavor and variety I add slices of lemon or lime.

Now if I take a sip of soda it tastes so gross to me.

I know you started out drinking full sugar sodas....but maybe start off by drinking diet Dr. Pepper....unless it has nutrasweet...Nutrasweet will probably stop your weight loss....The diet coke stalled me every time I weakened and drank one.

Try Diet Rite cola...This is an atkins friendly cola sweetened with splenda....but do break the soda habit completely over time. Diet soda or regular..it does not matter it is all BAD for you.

Good luck :hug
Kat

[sugarfreeone]

Hi,

I was totally addicted to Diet coke....I weaned myself off gradually and now I drink Perrier mineral water like it is going out of style.....To add flavor and variety I add slices of lemon or lime.

Now if I take a sip of soda it tastes so gross to me.

I know you started out drinking full sugar sodas....but maybe start off by drinking diet Dr. Pepper....unless it has nutrasweet...Nutrasweet will probably stop your weight loss....The diet coke stalled me every time I weakened and drank one.

Try Diet Rite cola...This is an atkins friendly cola sweetened with splenda....but do break the soda habit completely over time. Diet soda or regular..it does not matter it is all BAD for you.

Good luck :hug
Kat

[ttdriver]

Have you tried the flavored seltzer waters? No sweeteners in them, just carbonated water and natural flavorings. Here, I can get them in 2 liter bottles in either raspberry or lemon-lime flavors. They give you the fizz without the sweetness .. worked well for me when I couldn't stand drinking plain water ..

Betty

[Isabeau]

I was a Diet Coke junkie not to mention coffee. I had to just go cold turkey. If I want something fizzy, I drink soda water with a tiny splash of lemon juice. Sodium can be a concern if you're drinking a lot of it but there are low sodium soda waters out there. For those of us that are chea....err...frugal, it costs a lot less than sparkling mineral waters.

[Moochiecat]

There are some folks on this board who have beaten some very hardcore soda/caffiene/sugar habits, so take heart and know that you can do it to!

A lot of what you are going through is a physical craving, but a lot of it is also mental. Like the drinker who has a beer when he comes home from work, or the smoker who lights up after a meal. It's a comfort thing and we all want our lives to feel normal as we are losing our weight.

It may help if you think nutritionally, and think about how little the soda contributes (if at all) to your whole body health. It sounds like you're already thinking along those lines, so keep reinforcing that thought when the cravings hit.
I had a lot of tense evenings here when I was dealing with not having chocolate anymore, and I'm SO glad I'm over that now.

Try all the suggestions and see what works for you.. :yes

[snorkelman]

I used to drink a liter of Pepsi every day. On Atkins I stopped cold turkey. Now I occasionally have a diet pepsi. Most diet drinks have zero calories but still have caffeine. However, if you look, you can find several diets with no caffeine.

I also like the flavored carbonated waters (Publix carried a few great ones called Crystal Bay - peach and grape are my favs).

A trick that I used to stop drinking the full sugar sodas was to drink an entire glass of water first before I ate. I'm not sure if that helped much, but it made me think that i was not thirsty and that i drank lots of water so i may have drinken less diet soda with my meal.

I would really try and focus on water as the sole drink if you can.

[bizzlekitty]

I used to drink 6-10 cans of diet coke a day... for many years.

Atkins has helped me kick the habit. It can be done, but you have to quit them altogether, no Diet Rite etc. Now I just drink water and unsweet tea.

I highly recommend switching to unsweet tea instead. I really think soda perpetuates the thirst/craving for it and the more you drink of it, the less water you are likely to drink/want.

I have maybe 1-2 glasses of tea instead. The caffeine doesn't seem to bother me too bad. I have recently even stopped using Splenda in it.

[cruiser gal]

My desire for soft drinks, seem to have diminished gradually over the last 2 1/2 months. I used to drink them at every meal, and during the evening. Now, when I take the occasional one, it tastes too sweet, and I prefer an ice cold, refreshing glass of water, or two

[hulagrl1120]

I had a horrible habit...my nickname was actually "Coca Cola". At work people would ask me if I had my soda first before telling me anything stressful. It took several attempts but I kicked the soda habit completely. For me, I had to switch to diet and then wean myself off of that. Now when I need the fizzy taste I drink seltzer. No, not the same I know but it helps me fight thru the urge. Just yesterday I had the meanest craving for a coke and almost pulled into McDonalds but I talked myself thru it and went home for my seltzer. I no longer rely on soda for a energy kick or stress relief and I feel so happy that I kicked my addiction.