Alternatives to Diet Pop

I have started buying flavored sparkling water for me and my kids. Walmart carries a large selection and they're pretty cheap. My kids call it "soda" because it has the same carbonation/bubble feel of soda. Some of the flavors even taste like soda. There's a Key Lime flavor that's very similar to Sprite and an Mandarin Orange that's just like Orange soda. My 3 year old is still young enough that he actually thinks he's getting soda with dinner. :-)

I'm not a big fan of plain water either so the flavored stuff really helps me. I know it has additives, for the flavoring, but its probably as good as I'm going to get. Also a plus, it doesn't have any calories or carbs!

Add a splash of fruit juice to club soda. It will give you the bubbles, a bit of flavor, very few calories, and none of that nasty Nutrasweet.

I hate diet sodas, but regular soda is my downfall. When I feel like soad is getting out of control I transition to water using flavored Propel Zero powder (I like grape). It gives me the sweetness I crave without the artificial sweetener flavor I hate (although it is artificial sweetener). I can control how much I add, and I try to add less and less with time. The recommended serving is actually too sweet for me. I hate the idea of the articial sweeteners at all, but it does the trick of getting me out of my sugar and caffenine additiction. And it it increases my water intake.

Oh, and I really like lemon-lime and raspberry lime seltzer.

I am with Leslie R. Try vitamin water. They have a zero calorie line with lots of flavors, also Costco has their own line called rain water, or something like that, that is sweetened with one of the newer no cal sweeteners like stevia. Some of those also have caffeine so you can still get a little. This is what we did to cut back on soda in my house and my husband doesn't drink soda at all anymore and I have an occasional diet, where we use to drink at least a 2 liter a day between the 2 of us.

Be careful with cutting out the caffeine. You are best weening yourself instead of going cold turkey. The headaches from withdrawal can be worse than migraines!

Have you seen the commercials for the new water flavors, called Mio?
They're AWESOME. You can add as much or as little flavor as you want.

I actually use these as "juice" for my kids. There's nothing in them - sugar, calories, etc... - nothing. If you make it strong, it tastes just like Cool Aid!

I have the strawberry pomegranite, berry (the purple one), and sweet tea. They're all really, really good.

I stopped drinking pop by using the water flavorings from Walmart. They have them with STEVIA instead of some of the other sweetners and they have CAFFIENE!! The Walmart verson (Great Value) has some decent tasting ones.

I have to admit, I'm back on the pop! :( Not a water drinker either, but the flavorings helped a lot!

Once you get a day or so in, it is easier. We moved a month ago and it was so much easier to grab a pop while out and about (and moving cross country) than buying a water bottle (for more than a pop!) and flavoring it.

GOOD LUCK!

Hello, my name is MommyR and I have an addiction to Diet Coke that I have been unable to break.

Seltzer or Sparkling water. I had an addiction to Diet coke. I realized that it was the seltzer I enjoyed more then the flavor, so I switched to the seltzer water ( sodium/caffeine free). It is all i drink now. You can add a little lime/lemon, or a bit of cranberry juice and it's really refreshing. Try it!!

Okay, I was a total pop addict until I started nursing my last baby...I mean, I'd drink pop all day long. I figured I should stop. I still have one can of caffeine free a day, but here's what I do now.

I buy a couple 32 oz bottles of gatorade (which I don't care for) just to have the bottles to reuse. Then I fill them up, and keep them in the fridge. When I want a drink, I take one out and put in a few shots of MiO. I particularly like the Sweet Tea. Yum. And no caffeine or sugar or calories!! :)

Before finding out my daughter has Celiac disease, I also really, REALLY enjoyed Hawaiian Punch sugar free individual water flavors. One packet is enough to really flavor a 32 oz bottle of water, and you can get a box of them for a dollar at WalMart. I really liked the LemonBerry and the LimeSomething flavors the best.

And this is coming from me, a certified Coca-Cola addict...I found two things to drink that I like. Unfortunately, the Haw.Punch is not gluten free, so now I'm stuck with just the MiO. I drink a lot of decaf coffee now.

Oh, and I ALSO (I see another mom does, as well) give MiO flavored water to my Celiac 16 month old instead of juice. She hates juice...loves the MiO.

Sugar free Kool aid, Crystal light, etc-- some of the Crystal lights (and the store brand knock offs) even have caffiene

My firend just gave me great idea..when I was talking to her about our bad soda addiction...

she had recommended doing sparkling water or seltzer with fresh fruit added to it...and then the water will take on some of the flavor from the fruit.

I am gonna try it on pay day to see how I like it:)

Once you get that nasty poison out of your system, the water will taste better to you. You actually develop a taste for the clean, pure stuff. You can add various fruit to it to make it a little sweeter. We were at a spa in Santa Fe not too long ago, and they had honeydew melon in their water. It was yummy.

Water with lemon juice added
Diet Snapple iced tea (they have a very yummy raspberry one)

I had the same problem. My kids were getting on me about how much Diet Dr. Pepper I drank. So I went cold turkey and switched to fruit flavored selzer water. (I think the difference between seltzer and club soda is sodium). No calories or frankly anything else but water and a little natural flavor. It's not sweet like some sparkling water. Check the label to see if it contains sweetener if you want that.

Jewel, Dominicks and Meijier all sell it in a variety of flavors. Target has some sparkling water but I haven't found the variety of flavored selzer water that the others have. The selzer satisfies my craving for bubbles which plain water doesn't. I haven't gone back in over a year.

Enjoy!

I was thinking in the same direction as Rae A. Have you identified what it is you like about it? If it's the fizz, go with sparklers. Is it the caffeine? Do you want something to bounce you off the walls? If so, maybe a little natural sugar would be good. One good helping, and you shouldn't have to have it all day. That stuff is designed to keep you chasing the dream all the time. Hit it, and quit it!

Club soda or seltzer with lemon or lime juice. This seems to be popular in different parts of the country- when we visited the east coast this summer and friends would ask what drink we wanted, canned seltzer was one of the choices they always offered. I tried to get my husband to buy some to bring home, but he didn't want to lose the bottle deposit.
I also like Metromint, but it's expensive. It has no carbonation or sweeteners, just mint flavor.
What about ice water with instant tea or coffee powder- it might not be as strong of a flavor as regular coffee or tea. Or other flavors of herbal tea, chai tea, or kombucha?

LaCroix is the best stuff ever. It's carbonated water, has zero calories, comes in several different flavors & you can find it just about anywhere. Love it!

I'm surprised nobody suggested Vitamin Water. I was a big pop drinker and a friend let me borrow a Vitamin Water about 6 months ago and now I am hooked! They have about 10 different flavors, but Squeezed is my favorite. Just make sure you buy the one indicating Vitamin Water Zero. There is the regular Vitamin Water, but it has calories whereas the zero one does not.

I by the cheep seltzer water at walmart and put a touch of grapejuice in it. This stuff has a lot of fizz. I do it for the sake of it being healthier for me. I started drinking this during pregnancies when i knew i shouldnt be having caffeine. It worked great. I let myself have caffeine on a certain day of the week. I also tried the seltzer water with gator aid powder mixed in......

I am the same way, and I really want to cut back, but it truly is an addiction! Try adding some flavor to your water with fresh fruits, or do lemonade or limeade. Good luck to you!

What you crave may be the caffeine. Come down off it gradually or you might get headaches from the withdrawal. I know folks who just "couldn't" give up caffeine because they felt lousy when they went off it cold turkey, but you really should get it out of your life. Caffeine can encourage formation of benign cysts in some women's breasts--as it does with me. Also, anything that gives people withdrawal symptoms when they stop it is something they shouldn't have, I think!

Another thing -- Diet Coke is very highly carbonated, much fizzier than many other sodas; it is making you feel very full all the time if you drink it all day. So, as you give it up you may find you feel hungrier throughout the day because you're no longer taking in all that carbonation that fills you up. Be prepared for this with plenty of healthy snacks and -- yes -- water. If you dope up the water with tons of chemical additives to make it taste like something sweet, you're defeating the purpose of getting healthier. Eat fruits and veg that are water-heavy (watermelon, other melons, etc.) to help hydrate yourself, as well.

You say you don't "like" water but what's not to like? There's no flavor.Consider this -- the problem for you with water may not be "I don't like water," it may actually be "I DO like sweet flavors." So get those from foods with water and fiber and other nutritional benefits in them, like fruit, rather than from more chemicals added to water.

I am glad you are trying to stop using diet additives, my friend nearly died due to drinking diet pop. Once she stopped using it and started drinking regular pop, in moderation of course, she has normal blood sugar and is not longer having to use her insulin pump. Her diabetes doc told her to do low carb and since she started that she is so much healthier. She eats real butter and regular sugared drinks and is so much better off.

Try sparkling water with root beer flavored stevia...that's what I do now! I love diet coke too =)

I get my stevia online or at super supplements...

Your brain is "set" to expect a certain experience when you drink, so, like anything at all that we become habituated to, it will take awhile to develop new preferences. The good news is, it can be done. About 25 years ago, I became very ill, and eventually discovered that I had become sensitized to just about every chemical known to man, AND many foods, as well.

I had to give up coffee and most teas, my go-to beverages. Surprisingly, I mourned for two weeks, then it was just not an issue any longer. I actually began to appreciate clean, fresh water. I got a really good reverse-osmosis filter and found out that water can actually taste good. Now it is almost all I ever choose to drink, although I did find a coffee substitute so I could enjoy one hot cup most mornings.

I never liked soda, never drank them, and I have heard that they can become a pretty compelling habit (though not nearly as tough to give up as cigarettes). But I've had a great deal of practice giving things up in my life, including food during periods of fasting. I can almost guarantee that if you want to give up coke, you can, and you won't feel the loss forever. But you have to want something else more than the coke. Health is a worthy replacement, especially when you begin to notice you are feeling better, your skin improves, you sleep better and have more energy! Good luck.

I have the exact same problem.....except it is regular coke. Started drinking it when I went to work at 16 and have been hooked ever since (now 48). I have tried to give it up with short term success, but always go backwards. Besides the calories, I thought it was what they put in it to make carbonation that was really bad for your bones.......

I've heard it is hard to stop drinking sodas. I am not a big soda fan and haven't had the issue.

However, I drink a ton of water. Flavor the water with something, lemon, orange, etc. I drink a lot of iced tea as well. I also like carbonated mineral water.

Maybe the carbonation of mineral water will help you.

Think about all the unecessary calories and sugar you are adding to your diet everytime you drink a Diet Coke.

Good luck!

My husband is diabetic and we drink cystal light lemonade....definately better than pop, which stains and rots your teeth.

Yes, I prefer seltzer to club soda, since seltzer has no added sodium.

I'm cutting down on my diet soda consumption. So I make myself drink more water. I may think it's "blah," but I drink it anyhow. I have cut down to one pop a day, but I drink it little by little, in a small glass, and before I can have the next bit of it, I require myself to drink some water. Trust me: you'll find that water tastes better when your brain finally considers it by itself and not in comparison to sweet soda.

I love La Croix. I'm not a huge pop drinker but my husband is and so sometimes I feel myself having more than I know I should! La Croix is just mineral water with flavoring, but no sugar, no sodium, no calories, and no caffeine, which may or may not be a deal breaker for you! It comes in different flavors and comes in cans or bottles. It's fizzy like pop and I find it refreshing!