How did you quit diet soda and artificial sweeteners

[Z]

Originally Posted by DairyQueen

I love diet soda and don't need to give it up.

I absolutely support anyone who makes this leap, and I recognize the potential value of reducing one more non-nutritive thing from the diet.

That said, I've given up a lot in the last few months. Potatoes, sugar, wheat, oats, granola, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, fruit, pizza, particularly sugary vegetables, bread, rice, milk tomato sauce, all sauces, glazes, and condiments that I didn't make myself, chinese food, italian food, mexican food, food in cans, food in boxes, boxes of food in cans, beer, sugared drinks, juice, berries, , The International House of Pancakes, Waffle House, Roscoes Chicken and Waffles, plain doughnuts, glazed doughnuts, old-fashioned doughnuts, jelly doughnuts, Boston creme doughnuts, Bavarian cream filled doughnuts, Bismark doughnuts, double dog doughnuts, bacon doughnuts, maple bars, chocolate bars, custard filled maple and/or chocolate bars, doughnut holes, powdered doughnuts, zagnuts, beer nuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, Reese's peanut butter cups, peanut butter pie, banana cream pie, chocolate cream pie, pork pie, shepherd's pie, sugar beets, sugar cane, honey bears, honey beer, and tofu.

Probably didn't have to quit the tofu, but I figured I'd give up something I don't like or else it would be hard to sell the list to myself.

To be absolutely clear: I have only the utmost respect for those of you who are willing or able to give this up. But for me, making the switch TO diet soda was nothing short of a miracle, considering the 2-4 liters of fully sugared soda I was capping off in a single day, only a few months ago.

As for the Splenda in my coffee is non-negotiable. The way I see it, once I get down to sucralose being my biggest problem, I'll have made it down to small strokes indeed

[sbarr]

Diet sodas with aspertame are out for me - I don't like the taste any more and like the ingredient list less.

I have started making my own soda - I have a soda stream and after making the seltzer, I add a tiny amount of apple cider vinegar, ginger and liquid stevia - has a nice tang, a little bit sweet and tastes good (to me). I had found this combination at my local food co-op when I saw a similar drink in a bottle and realized what they're charging 2 dollars per bottle, I could make for a few cents with chilled water and still cheaply with home made seltzer.

Otherwise, I have a rare, maybe once a month or less - Zevia soda.

[Pompom2]

Ive never been a soda drinker. Always water for me so not much help there.

I do use splenda from time to time but usually use Sugar in the Raw for my sweet tooth. Ive tried Stevia so many ways and just cant stand the taste and I wont ever use saccharin or aspartame. Ive weaned my taste buds down to one packet or less of the sugar in the raw.

[LCJunkie]

I quit cold turkey. I was difficult at first because I sometimes wanted a sweet drink so I found one sweetened with Stevia instead that I drink occassionally when I want something sweet. I also gave it up in my coffee but to do so, I had to increase the cream a bit. It's been 3 years now and I rarely drink soda. I mostly drink water. I do have Zevia on hand and will order a diet coke sometimes when I go out to a restaurant. I also started drinking flavoured vodka with fresh lime and water.

[Trigger828]

I quit cold turkey BUT introduced a few back in every now and then for a taste change.

I drank TONS of diet soda. 2-3 litres per day sometimes. never water.

now I put the soda back where it belongs, as an occasional drink and water is key item first. Will I totally quit diet soda? probably. getting older and honestly the stuff is crappola so I think I will wean it out for good. I am a work in progress slowly changing all the chemical junk crap out of my life. no rush , but working on it. doing well also.

[SugarFreeSheila]

I allow diet sodas, but quit keeping them in my house altogether back in 2006. They aren't forbidden; just really limited.

[Avy]

I was never a big diet soda drinker, but I do like club soda with lemon or lime occasionally. I have gone back to limiting my artificial sweeteners almost completely. I don't know if it was the splenda, my laziness, or what, but for 3 months I had no desire to weigh, measure, or count anything I ate, I didn't gain, I stayed low carb, but I didn't lose and I was eating "a lot" more low carb treats, with artificial sweeteners, crystal light, MIO, etc. I also went on a break for 3 days over Christmas and ate carbs galore, which was good in a way, because everything was "not great", and gave me a renewed feeling for wanting to weigh and measure and lose again, not just maintain.

Now that I've cut out the sweeteners again, I don't want any of those treats, low carb or not, and I've dropped 7 lbs in 4 days, of mostly water weight I'm sure. My vote is, artificial sweeteners are a fat person's gateway drug to sugar! For me anyway. ;-)

[Trillex]

Originally Posted by Avy

Now that I've cut out the sweeteners again, I don't want any of those treats, low carb or not, and I've dropped 7 lbs in 4 days, of mostly water weight I'm sure. My vote is, artificial sweeteners are a fat person's gateway drug to sugar! For me anyway. ;-)

This struck a chord with me because what you've just said really captures where I'm *trying* to go with this process. As far as I can tell, different people gain excess weight for different reasons. *My* reasons for gaining 100 extra pounds were mental, not metabolic. I treated food as a sensual outlet -- I ate extraordinary quantities of food because I felt sustained pleasure while eating delicious things. I spent HOURS every day eating each meal: 4 crunchy taco supremes, 4 baja beef chalupas, and 4 volcano burritos for lunch; an extra-large Philly cheesesteak pizza, 14 chicken nuggets, three dipping sauces, and a pint of premium ice cream for dinner (sometimes with cinnastix). Everything I put into my mouth was about pleasure, while none of it was about nourishment.

When I realized that this was what I was doing to myself, I came to the conclusion that I need to change my mindset in order to change my body. I don't want to be "better than I was," I want to be a legitimately healthy person in body and mind and spirit. To me, applying the same mindset to a different type of food might cause me to lose pounds but I don't believe that approach would heal my underlying problem. I don't think I went from 125 pounds up to 235 pounds because "I love Taco Bell." I think I got there because I was using Taco Bell to serve a purpose that food *shouldn't* serve in my life. So when I started Atkins in May, I didn't allow myself to have any artificial drinks. I decided that I wasn't going to sit and feed myself *sweetness* the way that I used to feed myself pizza. Even if the sweetness was sugar free and *allowed* on my plan. Crystal Light, or whatever, might be *better* for me than what I was previously doing, but I don't believe it would be *healing*.

So changed the way that I had been feeding myself. I ate food when I was hungry and I drank water when I was thirsty. I won't lie to you, the first few months were incredibly emotionally difficult. But I photoshopped a phrase over a photo of myself at my starting weight, "You have to be willing to let go of who you are, in order to become the person you want to be." I can't remember where I originally heard that phrase, but I grabbed onto it like a liferaft. I printed that picture, hung it on my bedroom wall, and I looked at that little sign every time food felt like it was pushing to be more important to me than my desire for a strong, healthy body.

I don't know if this would work for anybody other than myself. And I don't believe everybody has to give up sweet drinks in order to be healthy. But I do believe that I desperately needed (and still need) to change my mindset about what I put into my body as fuel and be a lot more judicious about when I put fuel into myself. It's an ongoing battle. But I'm trying to be a good soldier.

[Avy]

Exactly, I know that I could sit an eat all day long, every day, constantly, even if it's low carb, just for the sake of eating. I have to consciously make a decision every day not to eat, and only eat when I'm actually hungry, and only eat enough to make the hunger go away. It's purely psychological for me, for whatever reasons, and the reason I have always been over weight. Not eating "sweet" at least helps in that I have no interest in the sweet stuff and don't have to use will power against carbs. The supplements I take help too, I'm sure. I still have to work meal to meal though, being aware that I don't "need" to eat, and then not eat. I find low carb "easy" as far as sticking to a plan and way of life, but breaking the stuffing my face habit not so much!

[sondre]

Originally Posted by Dredaye9

If you have how did you do it? Cold turkey? Did you ween off of it? I find it so hard to quit ! I know how bad it is for me ! Is splenda any better than aspartame? I can't stop drinking diet sodas!!!

Can someone help me out here please ?

What is diet soda ? ? ?

Soda water ? (water that is sparkling? / sparkling/fizzy water?)

[Avy]

Cola... Coke, Pepsi, etc.

[Trillex]

Originally Posted by Avy

Exactly, I know that I could sit an eat all day long, every day, constantly, even if it's low carb, just for the sake of eating. I have to consciously make a decision every day not to eat, and only eat when I'm actually hungry, and only eat enough to make the hunger go away. It's purely psychological for me, for whatever reasons, and the reason I have always been over weight. Not eating "sweet" at least helps in that I have no interest in the sweet stuff and don't have to use will power against carbs. The supplements I take help too, I'm sure. I still have to work meal to meal though, being aware that I don't "need" to eat, and then not eat. I find low carb "easy" as far as sticking to a plan and way of life, but breaking the stuffing my face habit not so much!

You are so totally talking about ME! I haven't eaten one single bite or beverage or even a taste of off plan food since I started Atkins back in May. But if I'd had to rely on "willpower" to stay on track, I don't believe I would have made it a single week. Because my problem has always been a mental desire to revel in food -- not at all physical, and I consciously knew/know that my physical body isn't hungry but that I'm being drawn by the *idea* of pleasure -- once I categorized certain foods into the category of "I don't eat that" then it became *easy* not to eat *those* foods. I've been to meetings and parties and all kinds of events full of pastries during my months on Atkins, but I've told myself and all of the people around me that "I don't eat" flour-based foods -- and I've somehow come to believe and accept that to be a fact of my life, and that has made it *easy* to stay on plan without even wanting a chocolate croissant.

However, my current struggle is with cheese. Because I'm on Atkins, "I do eat" cheese. And I have to pre-weigh brie and St Andre and Chaumes into induction-allotted daily portions when I bring them home from the market to keep myself from *pleasure-eating* enormous portions when I'm not hungry. I still find myself eating 2 ounces of brie in the evening to "unwind" and this ongoing struggle is what most concerns me about my future. I've stayed on plan. I've continued to lose pounds and inches. However, to me, the issue isn't whether or not I can eat cheese and lose pounds, but whether I will control my relationship with food or if I will let that relationship control me. I honestly feel like it's a form of mental illness.

I've read Stephan Guyenet's work on "highly-palatable" foods, and there is some evidence that there are biochemical neurotransmitter issues that might lead to this behavior in some people. But in Guyenet's studies, the physical body actually shuts down the signals for fullness and satiety. I feel the physical signals for fullness, quite strongly, so these signals aren't physically shut down in my body, but I still have to consciously stop myself from eating more of a food that I find delicious.

[BigRunner]

For me, the artificial sweeteners do act like a gateway back to overdoing LC sweets and eventually back to regular sugar sweets.

I am attempting once and for all to kill the sweet tooth. On day 3 of no sweeteners and no diet soda. So far it has been easier than I thought it would be.

[DD80]

Originally Posted by Westbrookj1

Newbie here; Is diet soda such a bad thing?! Enlighten me!

Amongst other things that have been mentioned, like increasing appetitie and being chock full of ingredients that no one can pronounce (and that cause cancer in laboratory animals), it leaches the calcium from your bones.

It's a once in a while thing for me, but I've never been to into soda in general. The above reasons make me more and more as the years go on, so I'm not sure if I'll ever have another one again. Iced green tea, hot tea, or sparkling water with an oz of pomegranate juice are my go to drinks if I *need* something besides water.

[DD80]

Originally Posted by Trillex

This struck a chord with me because what you've just said really captures where I'm *trying* to go with this process. As far as I can tell, different people gain excess weight for different reasons. *My* reasons for gaining 100 extra pounds were mental, not metabolic. I treated food as a sensual outlet -- I ate extraordinary quantities of food because I felt sustained pleasure while eating delicious things. I spent HOURS every day eating each meal: 4 crunchy taco supremes, 4 baja beef chalupas, and 4 volcano burritos for lunch; an extra-large Philly cheesesteak pizza, 14 chicken nuggets, three dipping sauces, and a pint of premium ice cream for dinner (sometimes with cinnastix). Everything I put into my mouth was about pleasure, while none of it was about nourishment.

When I realized that this was what I was doing to myself, I came to the conclusion that I need to change my mindset in order to change my body. I don't want to be "better than I was," I want to be a legitimately healthy person in body and mind and spirit. To me, applying the same mindset to a different type of food might cause me to lose pounds but I don't believe that approach would heal my underlying problem. I don't think I went from 125 pounds up to 235 pounds because "I love Taco Bell." I think I got there because I was using Taco Bell to serve a purpose that food *shouldn't* serve in my life. So when I started Atkins in May, I didn't allow myself to have any artificial drinks. I decided that I wasn't going to sit and feed myself *sweetness* the way that I used to feed myself pizza. Even if the sweetness was sugar free and *allowed* on my plan. Crystal Light, or whatever, might be *better* for me than what I was previously doing, but I don't believe it would be *healing*.

So changed the way that I had been feeding myself. I ate food when I was hungry and I drank water when I was thirsty. I won't lie to you, the first few months were incredibly emotionally difficult. But I photoshopped a phrase over a photo of myself at my starting weight, "You have to be willing to let go of who you are, in order to become the person you want to be." I can't remember where I originally heard that phrase, but I grabbed onto it like a liferaft. I printed that picture, hung it on my bedroom wall, and I looked at that little sign every time food felt like it was pushing to be more important to me than my desire for a strong, healthy body.

I don't know if this would work for anybody other than myself. And I don't believe everybody has to give up sweet drinks in order to be healthy. But I do believe that I desperately needed (and still need) to change my mindset about what I put into my body as fuel and be a lot more judicious about when I put fuel into myself. It's an ongoing battle. But I'm trying to be a good soldier.

Thank you for this! I always feel like I'm the only one that struggles with the "eating for pleasure" part of this. I also am so emotionally connected to food. I'm trying to figure out a) what the connection between food and happiness is for me, and b) how to develop better coping mechanisms. I actually had a bit of a breakthrough just yesterday while thinking about it - I realized that I've always followed the rules my whole life, so afraid to disappoint anyone. I've always been the perfectionist. But, food was the one thing that I could "rebel" with and while my mother made comments, she didn't take it as seriously as she did anything else. It also helped that I had a fantastic metabolism and was athletlic, so I didn't do any immediate damage. I was able to eat whatever and stay thin - oh how I miss those days!

Changing my diet has been helpful - also, as you did - changing my outlook in general. What does it mean *to me* to be healthy? At 32, my metabolism is not what it was - not even close. I have to take thyroid medication and have other autoimmune issues that make what I eat even more important. I need to let go fo the childish belief that I can eat anything and remain thin...(but man, has that been tough to let go of!) It is a slow process, but, building new habits is very difficult, especially when you are figuring things out as you go. I'm learning and moving forward almost every day. Any set back is minor - I can see the overall process.

[flappa1016]

I used to be a huge diet coke fiend - I'd go through at least a case a week. One day I tried the La Croix flavored waters and that was it for the diet coke. Turns out it was the carbonation I was craving, not the diet coke.

Santa brought me a sodastream this year, as well. La Croix is so darned expensive vs. the standard diet drinks (even when the La Croix is on sale!) so the sodastream was the gift at the top of my list. Since I was out of town over the holidays I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet. I'm going to open it up this weekend and start making my own flavored seltzers.

[svenskamae]

Originally Posted by Trillex

You are so totally talking about ME! I haven't eaten one single bite or beverage or even a taste of off plan food since I started Atkins back in May. But if I'd had to rely on "willpower" to stay on track, I don't believe I would have made it a single week. Because my problem has always been a mental desire to revel in food -- not at all physical, and I consciously knew/know that my physical body isn't hungry but that I'm being drawn by the *idea* of pleasure -- once I categorized certain foods into the category of "I don't eat that" then it became *easy* not to eat *those* foods. I've been to meetings and parties and all kinds of events full of pastries during my months on Atkins, but I've told myself and all of the people around me that "I don't eat" flour-based foods -- and I've somehow come to believe and accept that to be a fact of my life, and that has made it *easy* to stay on plan without even wanting a chocolate croissant.

However, my current struggle is with cheese. Because I'm on Atkins, "I do eat" cheese. And I have to pre-weigh brie and St Andre and Chaumes into induction-allotted daily portions when I bring them home from the market to keep myself from *pleasure-eating* enormous portions when I'm not hungry. I still find myself eating 2 ounces of brie in the evening to "unwind" and this ongoing struggle is what most concerns me about my future. I've stayed on plan. I've continued to lose pounds and inches. However, to me, the issue isn't whether or not I can eat cheese and lose pounds, but whether I will control my relationship with food or if I will let that relationship control me. I honestly feel like it's a form of mental illness.

I've read Stephan Guyenet's work on "highly-palatable" foods, and there is some evidence that there are biochemical neurotransmitter issues that might lead to this behavior in some people. But in Guyenet's studies, the physical body actually shuts down the signals for fullness and satiety. I feel the physical signals for fullness, quite strongly, so these signals aren't physically shut down in my body, but I still have to consciously stop myself from eating more of a food that I find delicious.

Trillex, have you considered trying a month or two of paleo, giving up dairy for a while and then going back to it (or not) afterward? Maybe in the context of doing a Whole30 challenge for yourself? It's a structured framework for focusing on food for health, and it seems like it might appeal to you. That said, I continue use triple cream cheese, HWC, etc. myself, but your post made me think that you might like to try this as an experiment.

[iakaren]

Originally Posted by BigRunner

For me, the artificial sweeteners do act like a gateway back to overdoing LC sweets and eventually back to regular sugar sweets.

I am attempting once and for all to kill the sweet tooth. On day 3 of no sweeteners and no diet soda. So far it has been easier than I thought it would be.

I need to follow that path....

[thealything]

Originally Posted by Z

I absolutely support anyone who makes this leap, and I recognize the potential value of reducing one more non-nutritive thing from the diet.

That said, I've given up a lot in the last few months. Potatoes, sugar, wheat, oats, granola, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, fruit, pizza, particularly sugary vegetables, bread, rice, milk tomato sauce, all sauces, glazes, and condiments that I didn't make myself, chinese food, italian food, mexican food, food in cans, food in boxes, boxes of food in cans, beer, sugared drinks, juice, berries, , The International House of Pancakes, Waffle House, Roscoes Chicken and Waffles, plain doughnuts, glazed doughnuts, old-fashioned doughnuts, jelly doughnuts, Boston creme doughnuts, Bavarian cream filled doughnuts, Bismark doughnuts, double dog doughnuts, bacon doughnuts, maple bars, chocolate bars, custard filled maple and/or chocolate bars, doughnut holes, powdered doughnuts, zagnuts, beer nuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, Reese's peanut butter cups, peanut butter pie, banana cream pie, chocolate cream pie, pork pie, shepherd's pie, sugar beets, sugar cane, honey bears, honey beer, and tofu.

Probably didn't have to quit the tofu, but I figured I'd give up something I don't like or else it would be hard to sell the list to myself.

To be absolutely clear: I have only the utmost respect for those of you who are willing or able to give this up. But for me, making the switch TO diet soda was nothing short of a miracle, considering the 2-4 liters of fully sugared soda I was capping off in a single day, only a few months ago.

As for the Splenda in my coffee is non-negotiable. The way I see it, once I get down to sucralose being my biggest problem, I'll have made it down to small strokes indeed

Z, this made me lol. Good call.

I personally find that AS make me crave sweet stuff. So I tried subbing Fresca with club soda and lime juice. But then I started over doing it on the lime juice...

I also realized that it was probably my several-coffees-a-day habit that was stalling me. I was taking in way more cream than I thought in my pursuit for a "sweet" hot drink. The cream, rather than the AS, was stalling me but the AS didn't help kill the cravings so I just ditched all of it.

[Trillex]

Originally Posted by svenskamae

Trillex, have you considered trying a month or two of paleo, giving up dairy for a while and then going back to it (or not) afterward? Maybe in the context of doing a Whole30 challenge for yourself? It's a structured framework for focusing on food for health, and it seems like it might appeal to you. That said, I continue use triple cream cheese, HWC, etc. myself, but your post made me think that you might like to try this as an experiment.

You've inspired me. I'm actually going to give up cheese for a while. Not for a weightloss purpose, but to see if the mental game changes. I currently allow myself to have nuts and cream only on Sundays, so I don't even consider eating those foods during the week. I will do the same with cheese to see where my mind goes.

[hockey_gal]

I don't have a problem with sweets - I don't have a sweet tooth. But I have always drank WAY too much pop for the caffeine rush. So I have switched to black coffee & green tea. I also enjoy all kinds of herbal teas and just plain hot water w/slice of lemon. I get very bored w/water and had surgery that destroyed one side of my taste sensation so I prefer anything to plain water now

My DH, has a very serious pop habit. He drinks 1-2 cans/day. I think that is outrageous. I think the soda stream idea is fantastic! I'm sure we could find some recipe he likes with it!

Good luck

[LowCarbRachel]

I did it cold turkey last February. Just stopped drinking it. Plain iced tea or iced herbal teas are good. So is plain sparkling water or club soda. And I'm a coffee drinker (black), so I still have my coffee.

I consider Splenda to be an artificial sweetener and won't use it, either.

[svenskamae]

Originally Posted by Trillex

You've inspired me. I'm actually going to give up cheese for a while. Not for a weightloss purpose, but to see if the mental game changes. I currently allow myself to have nuts and cream only on Sundays, so I don't even consider eating those foods during the week. I will do the same with cheese to see where my mind goes.

Good luck with that, Trillex. Let us know how it goes for you. You are clearly a very disciplined person, so I know you can do it.

[BigRunner]

Originally Posted by LowCarbRachel

I did it cold turkey last February. Just stopped drinking it. Plain iced tea or iced herbal teas are good. So is plain sparkling water or club soda. And I'm a coffee drinker (black), so I still have my coffee.

I consider Splenda to be an artificial sweetener and won't use it, either.

Congratulations on making the change and making it stick.

I am on day 5 and it has been pretty easy so far.
I was using probably six packets of Splenda per day and drinking 6 cans of diet soda. Still drinking coffee (no sweetener now) with my coconut milk creamer.

[lc-chica]

I gave up diet soda when I read the books Heal Your Headache-123 Approach and Excitotoxins-The Taste that Kills. I was trying to get rid of my migraines. Really, the latter book convinced me the most. I was literally scared to drink anything with aspartame ever again, and leery of any artificial sweeteners. So when I do drink soda, I drink regular... and obviously it's full of sugar and calories (and chemicals too) so that's a rare thing.

My migraines did not get better at that point, although they have now... and I cannot say for sure if aspartame is a migraine trigger or not because I literally have not touched it in 2 years, and am still scared to - for fear I will get the worst migraine of my life, LOL. Besides, it is horrible for the body/brain.

It was a little hard at first, but once I was off the soda for about 1 month, it became totally natural, and no cravings for it. I drink distilled water, which is the only thing that quenches my thirst. And when I want something bubbly I like plain seltzer or club soda.

[iakaren]

I have had 1 diet soda since January 1st. That was on a road trip, and the pop was easy to take a can and drink on the road.....

I have been drinking herbal tea with stevia. So far, easier than I thought, but no additional weight loss.....

[Blondie302]

I thought giving up regular cokes and sweet tea would be the hardest part of this WOE but for me, it was actually really easy. I cannot STAND the taste of artificial sweeteners - none of them, therefore I cannot stand diet cokes (sodas, Im from the South and everything is Coke here). Plus, I just dont think artificial sweeteners are good for the body, (like all this caffeine IS, but I figured one evil was better than two) though they are necessary in weight loss for those who still need that 'sweet' taste. I've tried them all and the aftertaste is just horrible to me.

I drank water and in my need for caffeine, I made some tea...iced tea. I didnt put any sweetener in it at all but got it really cold then gulped it down. It wasn't bad at all. I actually liked it because it tasted 'fresh' and 'natural'. I have been drinking unsweet tea ever since (with nothing but tea and water, no sweeteners of any kind) and now I LOVE it!

After doing that I did go back and try the diet cokes. Couldnt stand any of them except diet mt dew which I now occasionally have.

The main thing for me was about keeping caffeine in my body so I didnt get withdrawel headaches. The rest fell into place. Your tastes really do alter after about a week.

[jccj58]

Originally Posted by lc-chica

I gave up diet soda when I read the books Heal Your Headache-123 Approach and Excitotoxins-The Taste that Kills. I was trying to get rid of my migraines. Really, the latter book convinced me the most. I was literally scared to drink anything with aspartame ever again, and leery of any artificial sweeteners. So when I do drink soda, I drink regular... and obviously it's full of sugar and calories (and chemicals too) so that's a rare thing.

My migraines did not get better at that point, although they have now... and I cannot say for sure if aspartame is a migraine trigger or not because I literally have not touched it in 2 years, and am still scared to - for fear I will get the worst migraine of my life, LOL. Besides, it is horrible for the body/brain.

It was a little hard at first, but once I was off the soda for about 1 month, it became totally natural, and no cravings for it. I drink distilled water, which is the only thing that quenches my thirst. And when I want something bubbly I like plain seltzer or club soda.

It seems like I get bad headaches when I drink too much diet coke. I believe it is the aspartame. Today is the first day of many, I hope , of no diet soda of any kind.
Also noticed in the post above about drinking distilled water? I have always heard this is bad for you as distilled water is aggressive. Because it is distilled, it leaches minerals from your body. You may want to check on that.

John

[iakaren]

Originally Posted by jccj58

It seems like I get bad headaches when I drink too much diet coke. I believe it is the aspartame. Today is the first day of many, I hope , of no diet soda of any kind.
Also noticed in the post above about drinking distilled water? I have always heard this is bad for you as distilled water is aggressive. Because it is distilled, it leaches minerals from your body. You may want to check on that.

John

I did have diet pepsi today. That makes 2 since December 31st. The tea at Long John Silvers today was not to be recommended.........

[cantare]

Another vote for the sodastream seltzer makers... got one myself years ago and never looked back. You can make soda with their flavorings, or just learn to like plain seltzer...or put in an ounce or 2 of actual fruit juice for flavor. Any commercial soda now tastes so harshly chemical and artificial that I wonder how I ever liked the stuff.