I can't get over my diet soda addiction. Im not sure what to do, I drink diet soda a lot. I love how it makes me feel. Part of it is the caffeine and part of it is that wonderful bubbly taste. Carbonated flavored water is ok but it doesn't have that same joy effect that diet soda gives me.

I went for my yearly the other day and the dr said that keytones was detected in my urine (Im on low carb so that's understandable) and that I need to drink more water. How do I do it? The most I made it till was 2 weeks of no diet soda then I caved. I was going to try to make November a diet soda free month but I just can't do it. It hasn't affected my weight loss but I am sure I would have better results,if not, be healthier, if I just drank water.

any encouragement or advice?

Oh snowflakes, I feel your pain! I was really truly addicted to nutrasweet. My withdrawal was real and I was actually having dreams about having Diet Coke. I'd hear that unmistakable pop and then I'd pour the beautiful fizz into my glass, take a drink, and I'd think, "Ahhhh, this is what I've wanted." And then I'd wake up. It took me two months to get past that feeling.

So how did I do it? In the morning I substituted plain green tea with lemon. When I wanted a blood sugar rush (which I did as I think that was part of nutrasweet's charm for me) I actually ate some real sugar. Sorry. I know that's not what you wanted to hear. The good news is that once I was past the nutrasweet withdrawal I was able to cut out the real sugar very quickly. It was a year in August since I've had any nutrasweet or any other artificial sweeteners at all. I cold turkeyed all soda at the same time, but I don't think that carbonation was ever a huge thing for me.

I could NEVER have done a low carb diet while I was on Diet Coke. It made me too hungry. My guess is you're going to have to find your own way. Sorry, I wish I could be more help. I just wanted to let you know that I know the addiction is real and I understand what you're going through AND that if I could give up my 2 liter a day Diet Coke habit, you can too!

Hi Snowflakes, I have not been addicted diet sodas, rather I became hooked on Mio flavor-enhanced water while on a low carb, low calorie diet. I could not have gotten in my 2 L of daily water without flavoring. In fact, the slightly sweet aftertaste helped me to tolerate hunger and reach my goal. I had a lot of weight to lose, so no regrets. After 2 years of dealing with sweet cravings since reaching my goal, I decided to cut out the Mio and other sucralose-sweetened foods. It made a huge difference in quieting down those cravings.

My go-to water flavoring now is dilute herbal tea. I make a strong cup of tea with 1 teabag and dilute it to 2 qts. And a little Stevia for sweetener. It's fun to try out new flavors, & I have a few I love. To be clear, they are caffeine free. (I drink coffee for caffeine).

My advice is to do whatever you need to get in your water. It flushes your kidneys, which is important on low carb & weight loss in general. It also keeps appetite in check. Maybe start out by focusing on drinking at least the minimum requirement of water, in addition to diet coke, so at least you will be well hydrated.

Good luck to you!

I have found my 40oz hydroflask is my BFF. It is much easier to stay hydrated in the solid walled flask with a straw than drinking individual glasses. I also use very diluted crystal lite or Mio drops. very diluted... Good luck!

Hi. I agree with what people said. Especially Sundove re: making sure you do get fluid. I can tell you how I handled this. I got unsweetened cranberry juice. The one I bought is called "Just Cranberry". By a company called Knudsen. I added a bit of it to water. I also added some good quality stevia. Not the kind grocery stores sell. That is unhealthy. I use kal organic stevia. Because many people find that the taste of that brand is less bitter. It can be bought online, if you are interested. My tastebuds acclimated to any adverse taste. I don't know if this helps. But it was the healthy answer for me.
Wishing you best

thank you for the advice everyone! It was really helpful! I did buy a bottle of diet soda again today and I am actually drinking it as I type this, but you all gave good advice so I think what I will do is take the ideas given and use it this month, and dump the diet soda. I can't totally stop drinking it forever but I think I will try to limit it once in a while as a treat. Thanks again!!

I used to drink a butt load of diet Pepsi. Love the stuff. Finally decided, it was out of hand.

I had a chat with myself, and said "self this is crazy!"

So, I limited myself to 2 cans a day, and made a pact to drink more water.

What I did with the water was get a couple of empty poweraid bottles, fill about 25% with water, freeze, and then top off with cold water, so I had really cold water.

It took awhile to get used to, but I have to say, I much prefer the cold water over the diet soda now.

I am addicted to Diet Coke, but I make myself drink water. I buy bottled water because I find that I am more inclined to drink it than water from the faucet. Over time I am getting used to it and am starting to feel so much better after drinking it. They sell so many interesting bottles that measure how much you are drinking. Try one of them! Make it fun! Make up a challenge for yourself.

How much soda do you drink? Remember just as in everything else you have to take small reasonable steps so if you drink 3 cans of diet soda, try to say, I'm only going to drink 2 or 1. The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas have the same effects on your brain as sugar (which has the same effects as cocaine).....just think about it this way, at least sugar is natural. I get the bubbly thing. I love seltzer water. Maybe try infusing yourself and get a soda stream. Sometimes when there is more novelty to drinking the water, you'll be more likely to drink it. I was listening to health podcast the other day and this woman talked about getting in enough water and she said a good start is pour a cup and put it near your bedside (cover it if you have cats) and when you wake up in morning drink that right away. It'll be a good kickstart and also help things get moving in the rear dept if you know what I mean. She was big into poop, as am I, being a medical professional. She also gave lots of out of the box ideas for infusing or flavoring water that we don't necessarily think of. We think wedge of lemon or lime. But she said think of it as you being a bartender and making yourself the sexiest cocktail. muddle fresh herbs like basil or mint. muddle berries to get more sweetness out of it than just putting them in whole. go savory with tomato or ginger or cinnamon. I drink a lot of water and have a soda stream, but I am so excited to be more creative with my water. Hopefully this will help you too. If all else fails, just remember than diet soda(all soda) is sorta like poison. full of chemicals and serves your body no actual functional purpose.

Do you have to stop all together, or just up your water?

I've found it helps to require yourself to drink a bottle of water before you have your soda. Don't know what your "weapon of choice" is, but if you normally drink a 20oz, if you drink a bottle of water first, you'll probably only need a 12oz, and you'll feel just a full up and satisfied. Also, a straw can help get the water down if you just don't like it. You drink more when you have a straw.

Diet soda isn't all that bad ya know! If it keeps your sweet tooth under control, at the end of the day it is 0 calories, and the artificial sweeteners will just come out the other end since your body can't process them.

My recommendation if you looking for something different is to turn to coffee, its very low calorie and acts as a mild appetite suppressant. Otherwise, those 0 calorie Monster energy drinks are great too!

That's certainly true for a lot of people, including my husband, but for me, oh my goodness, Diet Coke is the devil! Turns out, nutrasweet gets my blood sugar going, gives me headaches, makes me hungry, makes me want to eat pretzels, and on and on. Giving up nutrasweet has been the single most important step I've taken on my weight loss journey and I'm not exaggerating.

It is always so hard to give up things we crave and love, even if it is temporary. I have only been back on my journey since Mid October and gave up alcohol...that may not be a big deal for most but to me it was and is just as addicting as diet coke. The worst times are the weekends which was typically a time when my spouse and I would go out for a 'beer' or two. We have since had to find alternative activities. It is not easy. Like you I hope the journey is worth it? So far I am not seeing any benefits in terms of weight loss but I am feeling better about myself and self control

<- Ex-diet soda addict here! I tried to ease into quitting diet soda for years. It turns out there is no such thing. It has to be quit and you have to allow your body the chance to get used to water or sparkling water. Nobody hates water. You think you hate water but water is essential for humans to live so it's one of those things where you have to just deal with it until your body gets used to it again. It took months of missing diet soda and HATING seltzer but I just kept doing it until it wasn't hard anymore. I don't know what else to say. It becomes easier and I have no need for soda.

I would describe my relationship with beverages as very easy now. Being addicted to artificial sweeteners was a real thing for me and I had the headaches and cravings to prove it. I don't have those issues anymore and headaches are a rarity for me now. I drink my coffee unsweetened, I cannot tolerate any beverage that is sweet anymore. Except margaritas lol but those are a rare exception. Now I do drink diet soda but only if I'm out having dinner at a restaurant and even then it's only sometimes. I don't have sodas at home. I bought a seltzer maker which I use but I'm now more into regular water.

It's habit!

Hi Snowflake,

Kiwi is spot on here. Tiny changes, a bit at a time.

It's worth tracking how much diet soda you actually drink over a couple of days, just to get an idea. The problem is that if you've been doing this for years then this is a habit. Whenever you get thirsty, or see soda, or some other trigger you start thinking about soda. If you just try and stop cold turkey you're going to be ignoring your base cravings.

It's like a carrot dangling on the end of a stick that you can never reach (or in this case, a can of soda on the end of the stick). At first, you could resist, but it's gonna be eating away at you, sapping at your willpower until you finally give in.

Think about it like this. If you drink 5 cans a day, for example, then switch out just one for another drink. That way, you're not ignoring your cravings, you're still having 4 a day. Do this just one or two days a week to begin with. Then, once that feel comfortable, switch another one, or do it on another day.

Eventually, over the course of a couple of months you'll suddenly find you've switched out quite a high number of cans - and this can only be having a positive effect.

Better to do a bit at a time and in a few months have permanently cut your intake rather than cutting it all now, letting the cravings build until your start drinking just as much again.

Hope this helps!