Gonna attempt slowing down soda consumption

[LWK]

I am 27 now and for the first time I feel like I can't live this over drive life style. I must drink 5 cans of mt dew a day or less. Its unreal how unhealthy my living habit has become.
Its ridiculous. I tried quitting drinking coke before, but I really couldn't. So this time I am thinking of trying to slow my over all consumption. Any advice or information of similar experiences or health issues due to soda would be much appreciated, as I need a memory to keep the faith strong so to speak.

 

[Average Joe]

Soda is not a drug.

Boo this man!

 

[Phyeir]

You up in here cuz of Coca-Cola? COCA-COLA?!? Man, this is some bullshit!

I don't blame you for trying to stop it. Biggest key is to remember that there are other sources for caffiene that are much healthier for you than any soda, like black tea. What helped me stop drinking 4-6 cans a day was substituting with tea, especially in the morning when I would really want that bit of a boost. Granted, don't drink so much of it that your having so much damn caffiene that it's worse for you, also don't load the tea up with a shitload of sugar.

Me personally, I have maybe two 16 oz containers of Earl Grey Tea with no sugar each day (well, weekdays) and then only have soda now maybe if I'm out at a restaurant or stop at a fast food joint and they don't have anything else. It's still a hell of a lot better than 6 cans of soda a day like I used to do.

 

[-Hibikster-]

Keyword: Substitutes.

The more substitutes you have laying around, the less likely you'll drink Coke. Get yourself into a habit of drinking something equally as refreshing as Tropicana 100% OJ or something like that.

 

[Grandmaster]

for me it never was that hard to break away from soft drinks or soda because i really enjoy water and fruit juice, and those are much more healthy and they are refreshing and taste good. yes, water tastes good to me and better than any soda.

 

[Average Joe]

Keyword: Substitutes.

The more substitutes you have laying around, the less likely you'll drink Coke. Get yourself into a habit of drinking something equally as refreshing as Tropicana 100% OJ or something like that.

That's actually a bad idea if the guy wants to cut back on his weight as well as develop overall better dieting habits.

It's a healthier alternative for sure, but it's even more calorically-high than most sodas due to the pure carbohydrate nature of the juiced orange; so if he ends up drinking as much OJ as he did soda he could actually pack on a few more extra pounds rather quickly.

I'd personally just suggest water or even seltzer water.

I like Phyeir's idea of tea (I'd go with green though) as well as long as you go easy on the caffeine as he said.

I do decaff green tea and a little bit of honey twice a day myself.

I was never into soda but I was big on caffeine for a while.

 

[SonGohan]

Quit cold turkey. You'll have a caffeine headache for a couple days that'll seem almost unbearable, but once it's gone, it's gone. Drink water like it's going out of style, too. I've never been a fan of tea, so it was easy to switch to 100% water.

 

[GohanX]

Quitting soda is a bitch, but the benefits are great. I quit cold turkey one day, and after the second or third day I had headaches for a day or two, I assume from caffeine withdrawal. I kept a bottle of water around and drink plenty of it instead, and I ended up dropping 5 lbs a week for the next few weeks simply from not drinking soda.

I do drink some soda with meals now, I need to quit again.

 

[not sonic]

you caffeine pusses still blow my mind.

 

[RBjakeSpecial]

I quit cola by drinking water.

It's an awful habit. It fucks up your stomach, makes you fat and makes you consume WAY too much sugar.

Just get bottles of water. It's not that hard.

 

[genjiglove]

Funny you should mention this because I just decided to stop drinking soda myself a couple days ago. Going just fine so far, been drinking nothing but water for the most part and I don't plan on drinking anything but that and maybe a sweet ice tea if I go out for dinner or something.

 

[Arcademan]

I used to drink Diet Pepsi like it was going out of style but now I only drink maybe a glass with dinner. I never did develop a taste for tea but I drink PowerAde and water mostly, especially with the 110+ degree days we have now.

 

[Magician]

I am 27 now and for the first time I feel like I can't live this over drive life style. I must drink 5 cans of mt dew a day or less. Its unreal how unhealthy my living habit has become.
Its ridiculous. I tried quitting drinking coke before, but I really couldn't. So this time I am thinking of trying to slow my over all consumption. Any advice or information of similar experiences or health issues due to soda would be much appreciated, as I need a memory to keep the faith strong so to speak.

Treat soda as you would any other high-sugar item. It's dessert, try to restrict yourself to one can a day, max. If you can't drink just water try alternatives such as crystal light, propel (powder), coffee, tea...and then limit those to a cup or two a day. All in all, you really should be drinking 32oz (or more) of water every day.

Keyword: Substitutes.

The more substitutes you have laying around, the less likely you'll drink Coke. Get yourself into a habit of drinking something equally as refreshing as Tropicana 100% OJ or something like that.

Meh, most store-bought fruit juices have more sugar than soda does.

 

[WoodyXP]

+1 for drinking water. +1 for crystal lite

Just don't go overboard on the crystal lite, you'll start to smell like that shit. There was a time when the only thing I drank was crystal lite.. not good lol..

 

[Kiel]

Quit cold turkey. You'll have a caffeine headache for a couple days that'll seem almost unbearable, but once it's gone, it's gone. Drink water like it's going out of style, too. I've never been a fan of tea, so it was easy to switch to 100% water.

This. It's exactly what I did.

 

[OrochiEddie]

I used to drink 2 cans a day and I mostly just hated how it felt on my teeth. Once I stopped buying it I was drinking a lot less. I still have a soda here and there, and I do get mad cravings for it once in a while after so many years of soda drinking.

Just stop buying it. If its not regularly available you will consume it much less.

 

[Lagduf]

Soda tastes so fucking good, and then they add caffeine to it to get you even more addicted

I've been slowly working on cutting soda back in my diet, been drinking a lot of water.

 

[aria]

I don't mean this to be insulting, but this sounds sort of pathetic... just quit. I did in high school and now I maybe have the equivalent of 12-24 sodas a year --almost always in conjunction with certain restaurants (like Tommy's in LA) or mixed with rum or tequila. It didn't cause any withdrawals or anything. I had a similar experience when I quit coffee cold turkey a few years ago. Sure there were days where I'd feel more tired than usual --then you quickly realize it means you're not sleeping enough. Tea is where I go when I need caffeine now.

 

[Loopz]

Tea is your best friend. Step down from the caffeine that way, and if you absolutely need some sweet, throw down a tasty protein bar with a relatively low amount of sugar, just so you get something filling with some nutrition to sort of bridge the gap from all those empty calories. Tons of water too, as others have said here.

I have come a long way on this front in the last two years, having dropped about 85 pounds in that span, with regular exercise, karate, and much better eating habits. Pure soda should really be seen as candy or some sort of dessert item, it's certainly not a regular beverage anyone should drink.

 

[LWK]

Tea it is. I've always loved tea, but its been something i've neglected my entire life.

Boo this man!

Man I must have seen that movie 10 times.

 

[Average Joe]

I think the most important tip on how to give up something you're addicted to, or that you feel/know is bad for you, is having the honest desire to give it up.

A lot people half-ass their attempts not because they're lacking in willpower, but because a part of them doesn't want to give up *insert addicting/bad substance here* for whatever reason, rational or not, it may be.

I was like that with alcohol and caffeine a while ago but I finally hit a breaking point where both my mind and body had enough of what it realized was unnecessary substances being put into its system and straight-up rejected the desire to deal with them.

Now it's not even a struggle to avoid these things it's actually become truly enjoyable.

 

[GregN]

I don't keep it around the house, I just drink it when I go out. It's still too much.

I drink all water all day at work though.

 

[kernow]

Soda Consumer
Too much cold soda for you
Five cans wtf

 

[Rain]

Quit cold turkey. You'll have a caffeine headache for a couple days that'll seem almost unbearable, but once it's gone, it's gone. Drink water like it's going out of style, too. I've never been a fan of tea, so it was easy to switch to 100% water.

This. Did it myself after getting addicted to Coke Zero a couple of years ago, Haven't touched anything since Water since. Also when at work I quit bringing any extra money with me, Then I had to drink just Water or go thirsty all day

 

[HeartlessNinny]

I would evaluate my soda more seriously. For instance, I've noticed that Coke is about 0.02% more fizzy than Pepsi, but Pepsi is 0.0000003% more sweet. Those corn syrup sodas are bad, too. When they briefly released those Heritage sodas, it was literally the greatest event of my life.

P.S. I have never heard of Boylans.