I drink too much diet pop and I know its not good for me. I am trying to cut back gradually b/c I had such bad headaches going cold turkey. I don't drink coffee but drink a little green tea. I know it causes some of my cravings, but it has been my crutch for so long. I've tried substituting sparkling water with fruit juice, but it doesn't satisfy me. I do drink 7-8 glasses of water each day. I drink at least 5-6 cans a day and don't like the way I feel anymore.
Just need to share.
Heather

Up until 2 years ago I was drinking 5-6 cans a day of diet coke. And I didn't think I could ever stop. But as I started replacing everything with healthier stuff I realized I didn't need it so much. I went down to 2 cans a day and then just my morning can and then I got rid of it completely about a year ago. And I don't miss it. On New Year's eve I bought a bottle cause I wanted to have a drink and was going to use it for mix. I had a glass of just diet coke first and it tasted terrible. Stopping it has made no difference in my weight loss at all but I believe it helps with health.

I would not recommend going cold turkey on caffeine, so I would go ahead and try and swap out one can at a time with tea or another non-soda drink that does have caffeine. Once you've gotten off the soda, then you can work on cutting down the caffeine if that is also something you want to try to do.

Unlike Unicorn, Diet Coke still tastes great to me - I never seem to lose my taste for any of the bad foods! lol! I stopped buying cans to have at home or bring to work, but I enjoy it now as a treat when I go out to eat - maybe once a week or so. I am comfortable with having that limited amount rather than worrying about eliminating it 100%.

I was a Big Time regular soda drinker. I would drink soda over Eating!!!
Drinking a Fountain drink the best!
I have not had a Soda since end of June 2012 .
I think as much as I dearly loved my soda ...I needed to cut it out of my life like you would do with a Loser SO! We broke up and I found by new BFF Ideal Protein and we could not be happier!

I drank a lot of diet pepsi quite a few years back when I first started doing Weight Watchers. I was like, wow, miracle, I can drink as much as I want for zero points!

Then I decided to quit aspartame so I quit the diet pepsi. What I did was replace it with real pepsi. Now, this may seem like not the healthiest option, but because real pepsi counts for points, I found I drank way less of it, like half a glass or can, because I didn't want to use up the points. All of a sudden I realized that I wasn't really drinking pop anymore and quitting aspartame was the BEST thing I ever did.

If I want something pop-like I buy Perrier (grapefruit flavored) and add frozen grapefruit juice. Does the trick!

I was just coming to post this very thing. It must be a sign!

I have you all beat, I polish off a 12 pack of Diet Coke every day and have for years. YEARS. I've been drinking it since 4th grade when it came out. I love the way it tastes, I even like the smell.

It worries me that I need it so much because that can't be healthy, but I've also begun to worry about artificial sweeteners and carbonation. I worry less about the caffeine, but I know I'm dependent on it. When you start your day Drinking two cans of Diet Coke while you make the coffee, you know you have a problem.

Any time I've tried to give up Diet Coke, I've ended up with headaches and mood swings and by the third day, my husband is begging me to just go ahead and drink it already. I guess when your wife is on the floor sobbing at two in the afternoon for no good reason, it can be a little disturbing. I don't wan to ever, EVER go through that again.

So this is my plan - I'm going off the Diet Coke. I can't have just one. Out, with a meal or something I could probably limit myself to just (a big) one but at home, forget it. Caffeine actually has some health benefits so I'm going to allow myself to keep drinking (black, I love it) coffee and tea, just not more than I currently drink. The rest of the day I'm on unsweetened iced and hot green tea and water. In the past I've tried giving up everything at once and that hasn't worked yet, no reason to believe it will this time...so I'm changing my approach and leaving myself a (delicious black coffee) lifeline.

I am finally ready to give it up. If I can quit smoking, I can quit Diet Coke.

BTW, today is my first day. It's 1 pm and I haven't had a DC.

I used to be able to put away at least one 24 pack in about a day & a half. It wasn't so much the caffeine. It was the taste, the carbonation. Then I sat down one day & really looked at what was in the stuff. If I couldn't pronounce it, why was I willing to put it in my body? Sodium is one I never got. Sodium makes you thristy, so you drink more soda...it becomes a vicious cycle. Also it is believed to contribute to Type II diabetes which my hubby has so diet soda is basically a NO in my home.
I honestly didn't realize how much soda I was really putting away until I looked at my recycle bin. We could FILL 3 to 4 60 gallon bags in about a MONTH! NO LIE! (This is with crushed cans alone!!)

To help me get off of diet soda, here's what helped me. I think I've had maybe 4 sodas in the last 4 months.
1. Naturally flavored sparkling water. Can be found in any store. Get an assorted variety! Have fun with it! This gave me flavor, carbonation but no caffeine nor sodium.
2. If you really "need" it, try this. Drink 2 full glasses of water. Wait 20-30 mins. then ask yourself (outloud if necessary), "Do I really need this?"
**If the answer is yes, try splitting it with someone else. This should give you the "fix" you are looking for.
3. Save it for extra special occasions. If you are going to the movies, out to eat or a party.
4. If you are somewhere that has a self-serve soda fountain...between each soda have at least one glass of water. Kind of the same thing they say about alcoholic drinks...a H2O "spacer". This will help you curb your consumption.
5. Just say no to case/jumbo packs. How easy is it to buy those cases at Costco or some other discount store because they are "such a good buy"? Well, if there isn't TONS of it in your home. There won't be TONS of it going into your body. Makes sense, huh? This is what I do not only with soda, but snacks & goodies. If it comes in to my home, it's in small hand-able doses, not by the case or pallet load.
6. Make sure you are getting plenty of H2O. Just plain ole water. Diet soda & caffeine can deplete your hyrdation. If you like there is a hyration quiz available our there online just google how much water per day? It's short & adjusts for all kinds of things...weight, exercise, etc. I use it just as a guide.
7. Look for diet soda that is low in sodium...ginger ale, root beer for example. This can help kick the soda habit, too.

Good luck! Kicking the soda habit, being diet or not, is tough! But you'll feel better when you cut back & eventually delete it from your life. GO FOR IT!!!

Thanks for this! I should probably print it out and hang it on my fridge.

See if you can calculate what you were spending on the soda and put it aside for a reward for yourself instead.

natamars, you took that thought right out of my head! If you drink a case of soda a week...you are spending at least $20+ a month. What would happen if you put that money toward healthy fruits/veggies? Or if you saved it up to give yourself a spa day when you reached _____ goal. Use that money to buy new (smaller sized) clothes. I personally buy my clothes at thrift/second hand stores as I'm loosing weight. (It doesn't make sense to buy full price for clothes I'm only going to be in for a short time--hopefully) Buy that special piece of jewelry when you reach a part in your journey. Put it towards a vaca? It will all add up.

I am going to follow your advice. I am going to add up the money I save each week not buying diet pepsi/coke and save it for a special treat for myself. I will cut back gradually. Thanks for the support.
Heather

I used crystal light/store brand drink mix/iced tea to get off diet soda, now I don't tolerate the carbonation too well, so that keeps me away, too much burping...lol

Definitely be ready for withdrawal if you're drinking alot of caffeineited (I know I spelled that wrong ) beverages, whatever they are, but it is a good feeling to be in control of your body instead of the caffeine being in control.

WW used to recommend having water with your meal to get your water in, I got into that habit, DH thinks it's weird, he has to have something with taste, even if it's sierra mist free or something like that.

best of luck to you

Well these folks checked in months ago with their diet soda addiction. I'm dropping my Diet Mountain Dew addiction this summer. I drank a 2 liter a day then Diet A&W in the evening. I had major teeth issues as well as caffeine issues. I'm sure the sodium impacted me as well as all the other crap.

I did try going cold turkey but got headaches. I'm now stepping down more gradually. I think I'm going too slowly this week but it's just so hot. I've stopped all soda except the amount I'm drinking for Diet Mt. Dew. Now I'm at 2 small bottles (reduced from 74 ounces down 48 ounces).

Starting tomorrow, I'll try 24 ounces every other day and 48 ounces on the other for the week.

For taste, I've been drinking de-caf green tea with herbal peach or pineapple tea with stevia. Or there's a sparkling water (grapefruit flavor). However, I'm trying to move completely to either straight water or green tea.

Hope everyone else who were working on diet soda addiction earlier this year are doing well.

I'm usually in the minority on this, but I don't get any caffeine benefit from soda because I have to avoid caffeine. I just love it for the taste! My favorite is (caffeine free) Diet Coke.

I never thought I was a big soda drinker until I started dieting a few months ago. What I found out was, if soda is in the house, I will drink it until it is totally gone, with abandon : / can after can. Drinking soda caused big problems with how I ate because I basically offset the sweet taste of the soda with major portions of salty snacks. That was a multiple times a day habit.

When I started my diet, I restricted myself to 1 can of caffeine free Diet Coke per day max, with a goal of drinking zero. I usually average 1/2 can per day and toss whatever I don't drink out of the can. My will power blows, so I moved all sodas out of the house proper and into the garage refrigerator. Sometimes all I need is the momentary inconvenience of having to put on a pair of shoes to walk out into the garage, and I can win the battle of wills with cravings. Every little bit of strategy helps!

At this point, with so little soda in my life, it taste like a straight up dessert when I do have some soda every day or two (I eat very little sweets now,) and I'm trying to view it as a rare special treat rather than a bona fide beverage choice.

Good luck, everyone!

I think the idea of a small barrier like outside is a great idea. I've stopped buying a twelve pack but then I'm still buying two small bottles. I'm losing a bit on money but I know I'll totally drink the whole thing (no garage, unfortunately). Nice to know others out there are also working on this.