How do I give up soft drinks?

[Blueeyesangel18]

I just did a little research about coca-cola and was horrified about the info I found, I drink this almost everyday I seriously never drink water and in the past few months I have put on two stone, I'm always tired and I look so bloated and awful so I want to give up all soft drinks but this one especially but trouble is I am actually addicted to it I get headaches whenever I don't have any this also happens to me with tea so I'm guessing it may be the caffeine. Does anyone have any advice on how I can opt for more water in my diet, I do like orange juice but that also makes me bloated funnily enough

 

[TISH1124]

I gave up soda 3 months ago...I started just buying water and putting those flavored pkgs in it...drinking lots of tea with splenda or equal...I lost a lot of weight just giving up the death in a can..I did get terrible headaches at first from caffeine withdrawal...but they eventually went away

If I try to drink a soda now the tastes makes me sick...amazing because I was HOOKED!

 

[kdemers1221]

I would slowly limit the amount you drink. like if you drink 3 cans a day start limiting it to 2 a day and drink water in between. slowly dwindle that number down till your not drinking any at all. water is the best thing you can drink. I drink about 8 glasses of water a day and I honestly feel better. i still drink my 1 diet coke a day but the majority of my beverage intake is water. I pee a lot because of it but my skin has gotten clearer, im less bloated, i eat a lot less because water fills you up. if you try to go cold turkey the headaches you get will be enough to make you drink it again.
if you have a hard time drinking straight water like tish said buy the crystal light packets or something to make it taste better but not add a ton of calories.

 

[zipperfire]

You have to go cold turkey--I mean, put a turkey in a blender, ice it up, drink cold...nahh, just kidding.

What you do is stop--and not let yourself drink it except on rare occasions. Substitute something like cold green tea, water, etc. I found by carrying a large water container, I got off soda. The only problem are fast food meals--but they have iced tea, so get that. It is good not to drink that stuff. Nothing good in it.

 

[Simply Elegant]

You just have to stop and put your health first. It's hard at first, but eventually you'll get used to it and they won't seem that appealing or taste that good.

 

[ClaireAvril]

just have the willpower and give it up. I gave up drinking pop for lent back in highschool and I don't really like pop anymore.. makes me too gassy.
Though I do like the odd gingerale now and then.
Drink water.. i guess your body will go through some withdrawl.. but the knowledge that you're becoming healthier should be enough motivation.
Don't replace pop with other sugar-filled drinks.. like most of the ones you find in the drink cooler - and some of those powdered flavourings that say no sugar have aspartame in it which isn't good for you either. You can also try herbal teas.. I try to have a couple cups of green tea every day. Your body will eventually get used to the change just start and stick with it!

 

[Babylard]

Hm... I think I would second the "weening" method where you slowly decrease the amount of soda you consume. If you keep gettign headaches, consult your family doctor. I'm sure they have a good solution for u

I think a good alternative would be those Arizona Iced Teas for 99 cents or fruit juices. I happen to love cranberry juice by ocean spray and those sunrype ones that come in many flavours and they don't seem to be THAT bad for you. The less ingredients on the label, the better. =)

I don't see why orange juice should make u bloated, have you tried tropicana?

 

[IheartCosmetics]

what did you find out? I drink a 12 oz bottle of Coke everyday. I used to be bad and drink like 3! I really enjoy it though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueeyesangel18 I just did a little research about coca-cola and was horrified about the info I found, I drink this almost everyday I seriously never drink water and in the past few months I have put on two stone, I'm always tired and I look so bloated and awful so I want to give up all soft drinks but this one especially but trouble is I am actually addicted to it I get headaches whenever I don't have any this also happens to me with tea so I'm guessing it may be the caffeine. Does anyone have any advice on how I can opt for more water in my diet, I do like orange juice but that also makes me bloated funnily enough

 

[X_cinderella_X]

Have you tried drinking mineral water with a dash of juice in it? Pineapple works really well. It tastes like soft drink but its not bad for you at all! Also maybe try a dash of lime? What about sugar free cordial? It's really good for drinking water, and tastes nice!

 

[Septemba]

Weaning off was easiest for me, I went from regular Coke to Diet and then switched to cordial. I still drink it, but I'm not miserable when I can't have it because I just push water/cordial and other drinks. Coke is so addictive! I'd be the size of a house if I didn't drink the Diet stuff.

 

[anita22]

I have also suffered from caffeine withdrawal a number of times due to the amount of coffee I drink at certain times (especially if I'm busy or stressed). It's best to wean yourself off over a couple of weeks by gradually lowering your consumption, and carry around some aspirin!

If you're finding it hard to switch to plain water, try sparkling water or herbal tea (look for sugarless varieties). Green tea does contain caffeine so don't use that as a substitute if you are trying to reduce your caffeine intake.

Also - just regarding the orange juice - definitely a great option, since 250ml of 100% juice counts as one serving of fruit However I would only have one glass a day as juice does naturally contain sugar due to the fruit, so you will need to drink other things besides!

 

[ohnna-lee]

Be careful what orange juices you ingest because they can have just as much sugar in them. You want natural sugars so look for a real orange juice.

I drink Vitamin Waters and regular waters like a fish all day long, I get the occassional soda if I have In N Out but typically I stay away from the sugary and diet stuff. I stopped drinking Gatorade because of the sugar content... never realized all the sugar in there

I drink lots of green tea when I do sushi, which is an antioxidant.

 

[user79]

Switch to the zero calorie soda first, like Coke Zero, then slowly wean yourself off. If you must drink soda, at least get the kind that is sugar free. Soda is basically just liquid sugar aka liquid calories aka liquid fat-maker lol.

Oh and switching to fruit juice isn't much better, fruit juice contains almost as much sugar as a soda, so stick to water. If you like the fizziness of soda, try a sparkling water and add some lemon to it for a bit of flavor.

 

[jaclynashley]

Start limiting yourself to less than a full can everyday.
Start with 3/4 of the can and work yourself down and drink water.
I know exactly how you feel about being tired,perhaps try Vitamin Water?

 

[ohnna-lee]

Perrier Lime and Lemon are pretty darn yummy too

 

[MissResha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TISH1127 I gave up soda 3 months ago...I started just buying water and putting those flavored pkgs in it...drinking lots of tea with splenda or equal...I lost a lot of weight just giving up the death in a can..I did get terrible headaches at first from caffeine withdrawal...but they eventually went away If I try to drink a soda now the tastes makes me sick...amazing because I was HOOKED!

holy sheepshit batman! this saaaaame exact thing happened to me LOL! I gave up soda like a lil over a year ago. Went thru the headaches n shit. it was bad. But to wean myself off, I too put splenda and other flavorings in plain water, and then built a taste for regular water and now all i drink is apple juice, tea and water. it was easier than i thought. i didnt lose any weight though because my soda withdrawls made me crave other shit, like cookies...and other things bad for my health....and MAC

 

[Blueeyesangel18]

Quote:

what did you find out? I drink a 12 oz bottle of Coke everyday. I used to be bad and drink like 3! I really enjoy it though.

Here is a link to some of the info I found out it is to big too quote here: The unauthorized history of Coca-Cola (satire)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, today so far I had 2 pint glasses of water with slice of lemon and a glass of orange juice, being doing good so far no headaches as of yet. I hope to keep this up but if my body craves then I will have a small bit of coke zero to ease it

 

[spectrolite]

I was hooked on coke at one stage while I was at uni. I would drink a 3+ bottles a day usually with a whole packet of SweeTTarts but that's a story for another day haha...

In the end I decided it wasn't good for me and I didn't need any more cavities so I just stopped buying it. When I went to the store I'd avoid the soft drink section, when I went out to eat I'd get juice instead etc.. I pretty much went cold turkey. Now I hardly drink soft drinks at all. I'll have one occasionally as a treat or socially but that's it.

Just make the decision that it's what you WANT for yourself and kick the habbit. The withdrawal symptoms will pass and your body will be grateful.

 

[MACLovin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissResha But to wean myself off, I too put splenda and other flavorings in plain water, and then built a taste for regular water and now all i drink is apple juice, tea and water. it was easier than i thought. i didnt lose any weight though because my soda withdrawls made me crave other shit, like cookies...and other things bad for my health....and MAC

In a cruel twist of fate, it's not actually the soda withdrawals that made you crave cookies and bad shit, it's the damn splenda and other artificial sweeteners! Mother-effer. It's like...shit, i'm trying to be good and not drink all this sugar, and now the damn splenda is making me crave junk food.

So now basically I stick to iced/green tea and water, and if I'm reeeeally dying for a soda I'll have a regular sprite and deal with the serving of sugar, and just plan the rest of my sugar consumption accordingly (which I aim for none, but that usually doesn't happen, ha.)

 

[anita22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaclynashley Start limiting yourself to less than a full can everyday. Start with 3/4 of the can and work yourself down and drink water. I know exactly how you feel about being tired,perhaps try Vitamin Water?

Vitamin Water is loaded with sugar (well, unless you happen to have a sugarfree version in the US which we don't have available here), so not such a great susbtitute.