So, I'm doing really really well on my diet. I've been managing about 1200 calories a day, i've cut my portions in half, and ive stopped eating/drinking all of the things i told myself i wouldnt eat/drink (beer, juice, red meat, fried foods, candy, and ice cream)... except for soda.

I have been drinking diet coke my whole life and it is my DOWNFALL. i just CANT stop drinking it! i love it so much!!!!!!!!!!!!

here's my questions: do you guys think that if i stop eating and drinking all of the things that I promised myself I would stop, and moderate my soda to a diet coke every other day or so that it will really effect my diet??? I know that diet coke is terrible for you ( I still dont understand why), but will it really destroy my diet that much?

Or, can anyone suggest any other tips on how to kick the soda habit?

Hey chicky

I still drink diet soda, but I only do it on my cheat days (a day I eat out).

My parents used to be addicted to diet pop, and now that they only drink it from time to time (down from a bottle a day almost) they've told me they feel a lot healthier.
It has a lot of sodium, caffeine among other things which aren't good for your body and can cause you to retain water.

My suggestion is cutt down your intake a little bit each day and see how you feel, maybe you will make the decision to stop drinking it altogether.

I used to be absolutely addicted to diet coke and diet mountain dew. But when I tried to start losing weight, I was following everything I needed to do and kept drinking soda and lost barely any weight. I decided to cut out soda completely and started losing weight like mad!!!

Skip to like 10 months later and I started drinking regular soda again. Once again I tried to stop and the minute I did it made a huge difference. Also, i've noticed that since I stopped drinking soda my sweet tooth has almost gone away. This makes it MUCH easier to not reach for the ice cream late at night.

So I would say do whatever works for you, but as someone who used to drink like 7 diet cokes a day, it is possible to stop drinking it!

But good luck whatever you decide to do!

I started by cutting back my diet soda a little here and there. After awhile I just stopped wanting it. I noticed I don't get as many headaches now also.

When I get a carbonation craving I get a flavored carbonated water or get some plain carbonated water and make 'bubbly tea'. But most of the time I don't even want it.

If you're not sensitive to artificial sweeteners, diet soda may not be as terrible as you might imagine. There's quite a wide range of opinions, even among the experts regarding how bad diet sodas actually are (or if they're bad at all). The most persuasive arguments (in my opinion), against diet sodas are the effects on teeth rather than overall health and/or weight loss.

I'm not saying that diet sodas are by any stretch of the imagination, healthy - but in the scheme of things, you've got to pick your battles.

I've dieted with out using artificial sweeteners, and I've dieted using them excessively (far more than I do now). Personally, I never saw a difference in the weight loss, but noticed they can increase my cravings for sweets (but much less so than true sugars do). I've also never experienced headaches or any of the other side effects that some people have reported with their use (obviously any substance that gives you a headache, is one you should avoid).

I do continue to drink diet soda, and use Splenda occasionally, though I've cut back on my use of both (more for economy that because I think either are terribly harmful).

I've lost all my weight while drinking diet Coke. I love it. One day I might consider giving it up (I drink an embarrassing amount), but I'm not ready yet. It's not going to hurt your efforts.

I think having a diet pop every other day won`t harm anything. It may not be a good drink, but as far as drinks go, it`s not a horrible one, either. I guess it depends on how your body reacts to it, but if you`re still seeing success after drinking the diet pop, you`ll do fine.

When I have access to diet pop, I can`t limit myself to one every other day, or even one per day. I`d have two or three a day, easily. So I`ve cut it completely. To my surprise, when I had some at Christmas, I didn`t enjoy it as much as I used to. It was okay, but not mouth-wateringly delicious like it used to be. If you end up feeling like you want to cut it completely, you might find it hard at first, but maybe your tastebuds will adjust and change like mine have.

I've heard both sides of this story. Some people swear by giving it up.

Personally I actually drink a little more now as I'm using caffeine as a partial supplement and I don't do coffee.

I has not seemed to impact my weight loss, nor have I noticed any connection with sweet cravings.

I will say that I am addicted to Coke Zero and it will probably take a scientific report guaranteeing that I'm going to die in <1 year to get me to stop

Only way you really know the impact it has on you would be to give it up for a while. Be prepared for a miserable week as you come off this drug though

Note that I also drink tons of water each day to, not sure if that changes the impact of the Coke Zero at all or not

I think if this post teaches you anything, its that you have to figure out how its going to work for you.

Personally, I have a diet coke a day, maybe a little bit more if I'm out and order it at a restaurant. The caffeine doesn't have a major impact on me and I'm ok with the artificial sweeteners. IMO, if you're having one every once in a while in combination with enough water, I think you'll be ok

I'll speak up for Diet Pepsi. I don't believe that drinking it moderately has affected my weight loss either way. I have a can in the afternoon, about two hours after lunch. Sometimes I'll have a second can later in the evening, this time of the caffeine-free Diet Pepsi -- more often in the summertime than during this cold weather. I drink it almost as a snack, rather than having it with any meal, since I find the strong taste & the bubbles clash with some foods.

I really don't see the problem. 0 calories is 0 calories, no matter which way you look at it.

Sodium retains water, but not fat... and if we're looking to lose fat, then I don't see the problem with diet soda.

So no, I don't think it's terrible, or even bad really.

Thank you, WV.

I am a caffeine-free Diet Coke drinker. I do drink water also, and herbal tea, and coffee, and other things. I know there are those who say I shouldn't, but I look at it this way. I've already quit drinking alcohol, and quit smoking cigarettes, and now I've quit eating sweets and starches. I *am* losing inches, if not weight--and I gotta have SOME vice!

phew! thats really a relief!!!! my boyfriend is so anti-soda he always tells me how much better ill feel if i stop drinking it. I did quit for a while but I really don't like unsweetened tea andafter so much water I just want a darn soda!!

I whole-heartedly agree. Let's have some fun in our lives. If your body tolerates a diet soft drink, and you enjoy drinking it, why not? There are many worse things in the world for you to eat and/or drink.

i looove my diet sodas.
And as someone else said, i take them more like a snack then a drink. Ive tried cutting out soda many times before but ive never found that it helps me lose any weight (which i was quite disappointed about, because i had myself quite convinced that cutting out the soda would give me some results, but it never did).
but what i have found is that i drink/eat more calories without my diet soda. when its the middle of the day, and im sick of water and i just want something, but i cant grab a soda, i grab food instead.
or in the morning, when i want something to wake me up, but i cant have soda, ill eat a bunch instead.
soda helps my food cravings to stay satisfied without the extra calories.

find what works for you. i would suggest stopping the soda for a couple weeks, and see if it makes a difference. If it does, congrats you just found an excellent way to improve your health and weight loss. If it doesnt make a difference, well grab a soda, its not like you were harmed by your no-soda-trial.