Anyone Here Successfully Quit Drinking Soda?

[Tri4Cy]

I am absolutely addicted to Diet Mt Dew! I like other sodas but I don't crave them. I wish I could stop drinking DMD cold-turkey but it won't happen. Anyone here have any success quitting soda? Any advice on doing so? Something to help with the transition to...water? I am not someone who feels everything I put in my body needs to be the healthiest stuff ever...but I drink way too much DMD and that can't be good! Appreciate any advice/guidance IF I choose to go down this path! Thanks!

I was addicted to Mt. Dew. I realized I had a problem when I needed to have one before I went to bed so it would calm me down. I'm a pretty independent person, so when I recognized that I was "addicted" to something I quit just to prove I was in control. Yeah...I flexed on myself. I'm weird. Good luck!

 

[qwerty]

I am absolutely addicted to Diet Mt Dew! I like other sodas but I don't crave them. I wish I could stop drinking DMD cold-turkey but it won't happen. Anyone here have any success quitting soda? Any advice on doing so? Something to help with the transition to...water? I am not someone who feels everything I put in my body needs to be the healthiest stuff ever...but I drink way too much DMD and that can't be good! Appreciate any advice/guidance IF I choose to go down this path! Thanks!

I was a health conscience person until I started working insane hours in 1991. I began pounding soda. I switched to diet about 3 months in due to weight gain and have been on Diet Mt. Dew ever since. I always had to buy bottles/cans and at my highest consumption I was doing about two 2 liter bottles per day. Around 15 years ago my excessive consumption finally caught up and began to cause acid reflux and I both backed off slightly and began to mix in caffeine free.

About 13 years ago, my work put in free soda fountains with Diet Mt. Dew one of the choices. It got ugly early on, but the fountain has a much more pronounced impact to my acid reflux and general nerves/sleep/etc. and I backed off quickly. I began to mix caffeine free into the free fountain soda until it was 1/3 caffeine free. I then began to work in a little bit of water too. Over a couple of years I got to a 50% water, 25-30% Diet Dew and 20-25% caffeine free Diet Dew mix (I keep 2 liter bottles of caffeine free at my desk). That is what I currently consume. I also generally stop with soda around 1-2:00pm so caffeine is not as strong in my body come bedtime.

I now have done this long enough that I don't really like soda straight up (too strong). I also will occasionally do a "purge" and find that I can go a week without soda without much trouble. My acid reflux will flare up but not daily anymore (spicy food or beer cause it much worse).

I keep telling myself that I will fully kick it, but plain water just doesn't cut it in the morning (I don't drink coffee). Water is fine in the afternoon though. I will see where I go in 3-5 years when I retire and no longer get unlimited free soda. That will probably be an impetus to reduce it even more. My family thinks I am nuts because I mix up 2 liters at home to drink and they are the above concoction. On the plus side, I get four 2 liters to drink and it only costs me about $2 for all four.

Good Luck with your path!

 

[Gunnerclone]

Lost nothing when I quit drinking pop. It was diet pop so calories weren’t there but was told I should still drop 10-20 pounds.

I’ve also found this to be false. Didn’t drop a pound when I quit diet soda. It’s pretty simple math though. 0 calories is 0 calories.

 

[BoxsterCy]

 

[mynameisjonas]

I used to drink a lot of it, but then I decided to stop putting poison in my body.

 

[Rural]

I haven't quit (probably never will completely) but the obvious first step was not having it in the fridge.

 

[8bitnes]

I am absolutely addicted to Diet Mt Dew! I like other sodas but I don't crave them. I wish I could stop drinking DMD cold-turkey but it won't happen. Anyone here have any success quitting soda? Any advice on doing so? Something to help with the transition to...water? I am not someone who feels everything I put in my body needs to be the healthiest stuff ever...but I drink way too much DMD and that can't be good! Appreciate any advice/guidance IF I choose to go down this path! Thanks!

I was two cans of regular Mt Dew per day until high school. Then I cut the caffeine but continued with pop for about a year of drinking 7Up/Sprite. After that, I have been off pop for 20 years.

 

[im4cyclones]

If you are interested in change, check out the book Atomic Habits. Lots of great suggestions for how to start (or stop) a habit.

 

[CloneIce]

Yep. I’m my 20s I did. Switched to ice tea. And coffee in the morning. Dropped 15 lbs in a month. Pop is gross. The stuff is poison if you drink a lot of it.

Edit, I still love a good Fresca here and there.

 

[Die4Cy]

I am absolutely addicted to Diet Mt Dew! I like other sodas but I don't crave them. I wish I could stop drinking DMD cold-turkey but it won't happen. Anyone here have any success quitting soda? Any advice on doing so? Something to help with the transition to...water? I am not someone who feels everything I put in my body needs to be the healthiest stuff ever...but I drink way too much DMD and that can't be good! Appreciate any advice/guidance IF I choose to go down this path! Thanks!

Dude if you need a hit just say so. But Diet Mountain Dew Code Red is crack in a can.

 

[qwerty]

Dude if you need a hit just say so. But Diet Mountain Dew Code Red is crack in a can.

I started putting in splashes of Code Red (I have never seen Diet Code Red) into my mix but now prefer Voltage (blue Raspberry). Splash of blue in watered down Diet Dew is nectar. I call my watered down concoction HDewO and with Voltage it is Diet Dew-HNI (our company color is the bluegreen shade that is same as Voltage and Dew).

 

[clonehome]

Yes. Start by mixing a double shot of rum with each soda. Then you slowly reduce the amount of soda til it’s straight rum. Then you just sip the rum and problem solved.

 

[Die4Cy]

I started putting in splashes of Code Red (I have never seen Diet Code Red) into my mix but now prefer Voltage (blue Raspberry). Splash of blue in watered down Diet Dew is nectar. I call my watered down concoction HDewO and with Voltage it is Diet Dew-HNI (our company color is the bluegreen shade that is same as Voltage and Dew).

Freebasing.

I like it.

 

[CyState85]

I used to drink 6-8 cans of Diet Coke a day and it drove my wife nuts. When we got married, I made a deal with her to use the biggest bill in my wallet anytime I bought pop and she would get the change. For example, if I wanted a 20 ounce pop at Casey’s and I had a $20 bill, my wife would get the odd $18 or so. Over about 6 months, I went from 6-8 cans a day to nothing because I hated seeing my wife blow the pop cash on weird stuff.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

When I was 12,13, my Dad offered to give me$100 if I didn't drink pop for a year. I remember it being difficult because my mom always bought a few 12 packs every time we got groceries. But I persevered. Yeah yeah cool story, I know. Point is, ever since I've never really craved pop. I'll drink it on occasion, and especially enjoy it if I'm eating something spicy or salty, but it certainly isn't something I buy regularly or really ever have on hand. More of a drink it when I go out to eat or something. Maybe try to see if you can make it a year first, and assign a reward to it at the end and then go from there. Baby steps

 

[AgronAlum]

Billy likes to drink soda.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

I rarely drink soda anymore, switched to water, tea and Budweiser. I drank a couple when we were in Texas last weekend, but its been months before that. Right now I drink one tea a day, water and beer the rest of the day. Its nice to drink one every now and then, but do not miss it.

 

[kcbob79clone]

I am absolutely addicted to Diet Mt Dew! I like other sodas but I don't crave them. I wish I could stop drinking DMD cold-turkey but it won't happen. Anyone here have any success quitting soda? Any advice on doing so? Something to help with the transition to...water? I am not someone who feels everything I put in my body needs to be the healthiest stuff ever...but I drink way too much DMD and that can't be good! Appreciate any advice/guidance IF I choose to go down this path! Thanks!

There is hope, it can be done. I too was addicted to DMD. First is to reduce the number you have a day. I was 5-6 cans everyday. So I I cut it down to 3 MAX for a couple weeks. Then it was 2 (breakfast and lunch). By now you will have caffeine headaches (BTW my addiction was both caffeine and flavor). I recommend OTC migraine pills which have aspirin/Tylenol and a good amount of caffeine. The next trick is DMD Caffeine free (not truly zero caffeine but a lot lower). Sad news is that DMD Caffeine free is not available everywhere. Here is a website to check https://www.mountaindew.com/store-locator/

Now you will need replacement drinks because water alone won't cut it. Avoid any drink with the older artificial sweeteners like Equal, Splenda, etc. And only go with the new natural ones like Stevia, Allulose, Erythritol. The body handles these better than the older ones. If you can handle sparkling water there are some great flavored ones. HEB stores in Texas has there own brand. We also make a lot of Kool-aid (ironic I know for this football season but I am drinking a lot of Kool-aid) using granular sweetener like Swerve-Erythritol or Allulose which contains, you guessed it, allulose. You are going to have to read a lot of nutrition labels.

Bottom line is that you can do this.

 

[mramseyISU]

I haven’t completely quit but typically I just have one Dr Pepper a week. Other than that I mostly drink a coffee in the morning and ice water the rest of the day.

 

[kcbob79clone]

I’ve also found this to be false. Didn’t drop a pound when I quit diet soda. It’s pretty simple math though. 0 calories is 0 calories.

Simple math yes, but not that simple I'm afraid. The artificial sweeteners in diet drinks mess with your metabolism called insulin resistance. Cutting out aspartame and Splenda and the earlier artificial ones will make a difference weight wise. Use only natural sweeteners like Allulose or Stevia or Erythritol.