Ha anyone here ever kicked a Cola habit?

[flopsy]

i'd say abstain from soda for a few weeks and see if you still crave it after that. if you're the kind of person who needs reinforcement tell a few friends or family members of your goal so they can give you helpful reminders if you ever have the desire to have or buy soda.

starting the first year of college my "diet" consisted mainly of soda and sugary blended starbucks drinks. what better thing was there to give up for Lent than caffeine? since Lent ended all those years ago i have not been able to stomach more than a sip of soda.

[thyme4change]

I was talking to a friend of my who does adrenaline sports. He said that he was spending hundreds of dollars in nutritional supplements that were specifically to reduce dehydration and cramping. But then he gave up Diet Coke and within 2 weeks he was able to give up all the other supplements and he felt better and had better results.

And then he just shrugged.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

I used to drink 40 - 60 oz of Pepsi per day. The HFCS in it shot my triglycerides through the roof, so I switched to diet. I found other diet colas I liked better, and have been drinking them several years now.
I don't know when my taste changed, but I accidentally bought a regular Pepsi maybe a year after switching to diet. It tasted awful!

[gooddecisions]

It used to be, if I drank anything, it was soda- any kind but diet. No water, no milk, no juice- if I was thirsty, I grabbed a soda. I've never been overweight for the calories to be an issue, but I didn't really like the idea of rotting out my teeth. The way I broke the habit was to stop stocking my fridge with soda. Filtered water through my fridge was much cheaper and less likely to rot my teeth. These days, I drink at least 80 oz of water a day and sometimes a glass of milk because it's all I have available.

10 years later, I still drink the occassional fountain drink soda and it still tastes great; but, it's just not convenient enough for me to have even once a month. I also don't stock up on junk food, ice cream, etc- if I must have it, I'm not going to make it easy for myself.

[bobosensei]

I was a total diet coke junkie in college. I mean I drank 6-10 cans per day easily. Now that we are living in Europe I barely drink coke at all. When you eat out the soda glasses are so tiny and you pay for each refill. It is cheaper to get a half liter of beer than to pay for 2 tiny glasses of soda. I don't know if that is better or worse to have swapped my coke addiction for espresso and wine or beer.

[constanz22]

I drink a ton of Diet Coke, probably average about 3 cans per day, maybe more. It used to be regular Coke, but about 15 years ago, I switched to Diet and I lost 10-15 lbs in a month! I'd like to cut back too, but, I crave it...I really do. I have my 2 cups of coffee in the morning, then it's Diet Coke the rest of the day. I don't really like water, and hardly drink it at all in the winter. I will drink it in the summer. I like the flavored waters like Sobe and Vitamin H2o, but, again, not really in the winter. I can't stand the flavor of tea, cold or hot, so, that's not an option. If you find what works for you, please let us know! I forget what medication it was, but I was on something several years ago...it may have been to prevent migraines, and I couldn't drink ANYTHING that was carbonated cuz it all tasted metallic and nasty! I switched to mainly water then, but didn't stay on that medication long and went right back to soda!

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

I really love the Crystal Lite powdered drink mixes. They even have a couple of varieties with caffeine.

[ty]

Wow, that's a lot of years there Waffle. I seldom even drink soda. Maybe once or twice a year I might, but I do drink a lot of milk, tea, kool-aide, and lemonade. Soda's for me are too sugary and sweet for my pallet. If you want to kick the habit, try subsituting sodas for lemonaide and drinks like that. Good luck.

[craig]

I can't tell you what will work for you but one time I tried to quit my soda of choice so I bought the nastiest soda I knew of and stocked that in the fridge. About 2-3 weeks later I realized I was starting to like the soda that I knew I couldn't stand earlier. So then I just went back to my favorite kind until about 2 years later when I realized I was drinking about 6-10 cans a day from morning until right before bed time. I had no trouble sleeping with all the caffeine in my system so I knew it wasn't the caffeine I was addicted to. I found out like J that it was the carbonation that I liked so much and decided to quit cold turkey since no other way had worked in the past. My first goal was to reach the 6 month mark, like you about a month or 2 was all I had made it before. I told myself that if I hit that goal I would "reward" myself with a soda. The funny thing was when I hit the 6 month mark I didn't want to give in just yet so I decided a year would be good. Well, a year went by without soda and I still didn't feel like giving in to the temptation and the guilt. It's now been almost 2.5 years and I haven't had a soda. I still think about it often and just so you know this thread didn't help:), but I learned to like water. I also have always been a milk drinker, but the funny thing was we are not saving money by not buying the soda because the juices I drink actually cost more then my old habit. I do feel better and it is good knowing I haven't started back to my old habits. So I wish you luck and if you need help or encouragement feel free to ask.

[kimber45]

I am definitely addicted to caffeine, can't get going in the morning without my coffee, but I switch to caffeine free diet coke in the pm's. I'm afraid that I would be the nastiest beotch without my caffeine and nicotine in the morning.

DH has cut out all caffeine and switched to diet 7up. Just the smallest amount of caffeine sets him on edge now.

[mizbear]

I went cold turkey on my coke habit years ago. Had a headache for 3 days. I am picky about coke- it has to be cold, in a can. I switched to water or tea. If I need/want a soda, I usually drink a sierra mist since I have gotten used to no caffeine.

[ihearyou2]

My one vice is one can of Coke a day and if I really lag then a DP in the afternoon. I've been weighing whether I should stop. For me its the sugar/caffeine hit that I need.

[azphx1972]

I quit soda and caffeine cold turkey about 10 years ago. My mom was in the hospital for medical issues, and I decided that I wanted to live as healthy as possible so that I wouldn't have to deal with health problems when I get older, so I just stopped drinking it. Now I drink primarily water, and occasionally 100% juice.