Argh! This is the biggest struggle for me every time I face weight loss.

Sweeteners give me migraines, so I have to swear off pop completely. I can't just have a can of Coke. If I have one today, it's the beginning of a downward spiral.

I haven't had any pop since 11/9, but when I feel sickish, like I do today, it's all I want! Water tastes terrible.

Blah!!

....whine over.

Aww, Eliana... I don't get headaches from Diet Coke or Coke Zero or such... but I can never be satisfied with drinking that stuff. It just doesn't taste the same. But keep reminding yourself that actual coke might as well be poison for you. If I feel like having one I somehow manage to convince myself that I don't want all that sugar in my body anyway, bringing me one step closer to continuing obesity and problems like diabetes in the future. It helps to think long-term.

Would you like long-term health or short-time instant gratfication that can prove disastrous in the long run?

Thank you. It does help to think of it as poison, and with my having PCOS, it kind of is. So that's a great way to look at it.

Also, if I opt for a can of pop, I have to opt out of lunch and I'm hungry!

200 calories of pop? Or 200 calories of lunch? Hmmm...

Lunch always sounds good

Make a nice cup of tea. Very comforting when you are feeling sickish.

Sorry to hear that - I am sure in the long run it will be better! Hang in there! Huggles

I try and stay away from pop. At restaurants I either get water with lemon, or unsweetened ice tea (or a mix of sweet and unsweet). If for some reason I am getting fast food, I generally opt for a diet soda if I get a meal of sorts, though it's pretty much terrible. The only one I like is Fresca, and I have yet to find a restaurant that serves it. Every now and then I will have a pop, or I will just take a sip from hubby's. I haven't been a huge soda drinker since high school where I had at least 1 can of mt. dew a day. After high school I quit drinking soda for over a year, and then adopted it back in my diet slowly. Awhile ago I found myself drinking it almost every day just because it was there, but since then have made a conscious effort to stay away. I don't even like it that much, to be honest. I drink mostly water every day. Some people find it boring, but I have always found it to be quite refreshing and thirst-quenching. Sweet drinks tend to leave a cloying aftertaste in your mouth that I just don't like.

Mmm, see, I love pop. I most love the carbonation. I don't drink juice at all. I like orange juice, but it isn't worth the calories and it gives me terrible heart burn. I can do with out. I've never been big on hi-C or Kool Aid, and I can pass up lemonade. But passing up pop is difficult for me. Some people look forward to an ice-cold beer...I look forward to an ice-cold Coke. It's a major craving, right up with there with popcorn and chocolate!

I don't want to switch from pop to juice, because juice is really just non-fizzy pop. So I'm left with water. Most days water is great. I think it's refreshing and free! It's just when I'm sick that I really want the carbonation. It feels good on my throat. Somehow water tastes different when I'm sick. I don't know why.

I used to always drink ginger ale when I was sick, it seemed to help an upset tummy. I think most ginger ale is made with real ginger, and it has far less sugar than most sodas (and less calories too). Maybe you could try some of that instead? Maybe even mix a diet ginger ale and a non-diet ginger ale to cut it down even more?

I do love ginerale! I'll have to look at the calories, but I think I'll try to stick it out with just water. I can't mix it with diet without a migraine.

The ginger in ginger ale is what soothes an upset tummy. Ginger is also good to prevent/cure motion sickness. I also like 7-up or sprite when I'm sick. Sometimes if I'm not feeling well, I allow myself a glass or two of "real" soda to soothe my tummy. It does seem to help.

have you tried sparkling water? It sparkles and bubbles like soda, but it doesn't have any calories. I'm trying not to drink as much either, so the sparkling water helps.

Awwww. I love pop too. Nutrasweet doesn't bother me but I gave up diet pop a year ago because I don't want the fake chemical food in my body. I switched over to coffee which isn't perfect and am weaning myself off coffee now and slowly replacing it with green tea. For me it was the caffeine I wanted not the carbonation. I wonder if some of those seltzer style waters or even tonic water mixed with iced tea or a small bit of juice might do the trick? Fuze(I think that is the name) makes a sparkling juice that they sell at meijers and krogers. I don't know that it is low cal though. They also make sparkling juice in a bottle as an alternative to champagne. Hope you feel better soon.

Soda has got to be one of the biggest waste of calories on this planet. ZERO nutrition, ZERO filling power - LOADED with sugar. No redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Ginger ale is about 85 calories for 8 oz. No great shakes there either.

How about seltzer? They've got plain and flavored.

How about a nice cup of hot tea? Or chicken soup? or chicken broth or any other soup?

Get past this. I know you're used to doing things one way, but you've got to get past this and master a new skill - wanting something and not having it - especially given that you're "sick-ish" and this is a prime example of when you would have that soda. You don't want to start that downward spiral. DON'T TAKE THE CHANCE. You don't need it. It won't/can't cure anything. You're a mature, rational adult - you must make mature rational decisions.

Hang tough. You will be thrilled with yourself for not giving in.

Feel better.

Once in a while I treat myself to Nestea's 1/2 sugar iced tea mix, it's not bad at all! and there's NO artificial sweetener in it, it's just less sugar - it's still a bit sweet for my liking so i mix it with cold plain tea with lots of ice and it's super yummy!