Any Advice on How to Cut Back on Soda?

You say: "Really I don't want to change drinking a lot because I love it . . ." Change for the better doesn't happen for people who say they really don't want to change. If you really don't want to, you really won't. You are right about one thing, it definitely isn't good for you. Like another poster, I also knew someone (close friend) who drank soda like that. She isn't with us anymore either. Death by Diet Coke . . .

i worked so hard to force myself to like diet soda so i'd quit drinking all that sugar. then come the studies that show how awful artificial sweeteners are.
just another demonstration that the 'latest' research ain't always the best.
i drink one small glass of diet soda with dinner every day, and that satisfies me. but it took a long time to get here.
since it's the carbonation that fills the need in you, can you just get some seltzer water and flavor it how you like? i loathe flavored water, but some of the unsweetened flavored sparkling waters are actually pretty good. or add a little fruit juice. if you're still struggling, get the cola syrup and add just a little, and keep cutting back on it over a month or so.
i think getting a soda stream is a really bad idea. you'll just drink more, right?
i didn't used to like water, and i still don't get my 8 glasses a day in, but my system has really adjusted to it being my main drink and i always have it with me. keep on plugging.
khairete
S.

Perhaps the issue is you are used to drinking soda instead of eating so try eating more when you cut back. Being hungry can make you nauseous.

Well, having the motivation to change your habits is a great start, so good for you! I think what will work best is a gradual change. If you are drinking 6 cans/day now, try cutting one back & replacing with water. (I like to start the day with an 8oz glass of water with my morning medication/vitamins). Go for plain water, fresh out of the tap (or filtered if you prefer), not flavored. In your mind, picture healthy, fresh, refreshing, wet, thirst-quenching... put positive adjectives in your mind.

Do this for 3-4 days, or even a week, then think of another time that you can substitute a glass of water for a can of pop. Maybe during an afternoon snack - treat yourself to a cold iced tea (unsweetened, you don't want to exchange one habit for another). Or a cup of herbal tea at night to unwind, something you can look forward to.

I would say "no" to the soda stream - if you are trying to cut back/eliminate pop altogether, you don't want to have a device that makes it convenient to drink. Ration out your cans - set them out for the day, & what you have is what you get. Start with the 5 cans, then work your way down. Take as long as you need to be ready to eliminate the next can from your daily intake, but don't let yourself go up. So if that means you go from 6 cans to 5 cans, & stay there for a month, that's OK! Congratulate yourself on reducing your pop intake by over 15%!! Then when you are ready, take then next step.

There are a few things to be aware of that you will need to find ways to overcome - 1. caffeine 2. the enjoyment of the carbonation 3. the sugar - you will crave it & find other things less satisfying until you have reached a pivot point where you find enjoyment from other beverages

Because of the caffeine, I would take it slow on reducing, no more than 1 can/day reduction once a week - so it might take you 6 weeks to wean off pop, but you won't have the withdrawal headaches. To overcome the carbonation, you can try drinking seltzer water (Lacroix is a brand my sister drinks) but it is NOT sweet, so may not be as satisfying. This is where finding positive adjectives for what you are switching to will help - the power of positive thinking. The sugar can be overcome by eating something alternatively sweet, such as an orange or apple - natural sweetness.

On a personal note - I also worked to eliminate pop from my diet, & one of the more difficult areas was when I was out to eat, especially convenience food. When McDonalds says you can get a large pop for $1, with unlimited refills, it almost makes you feel like you SHOULD drink it, because it's such a bargain. So I tried to eat at different places that offered other options, such as Panera, where they had SoBe fruit drinks at the fountain, or where I was comfortable ordering just water (Some sit-down restaurants, like Olive Garden, charge $2.50 for the drink! A few times of drinking water instead, & I can treat myself to a new book). So really think through what other times you turn to pop for your beverage, & what you can do to avoid that temptation.

Good luck, you can do it!! T. :)

Consider using exedrin for withdrawal headaches. It has some caffeine in it and can help you keep the caffeine headaches at bay while you step away from soda. Consider it your methadone.

F. B.

Have you ever tried mixing seltzer or sparkling water with your favorite juice? That would give you your "bubbly" fix with fewer calories.
As far as caffeine what about cup or two of coffee or tea in the morning? That gives me my energy shot for the day.
Good luck, I swear I think soda is more addictive than cigarettes :-(

I love soda, too. I didn't start drinking soda waters until I was in my 20s, but got addicted to it very quickly. I am 42 now. I also drank a six pack a day. It took a long while for me to cut down. I tapered down slowly. I still drink soda once a week (just a bottle Coca-cola with real sugar not HFCS) What I did to cut back is instead of 6 sodas a day, I would drink 5 sodas a day and add a couple of glasses of water do that for a week or two. Then taper down with 4 sodas and 3 glasses of water, etc. For that jolt of caffeine, I'll either have coffee (black) or tea. When I would crave soda, I would drink a glass of water and distract myself with going outside, a walk, something to get my mind off the addiction. You are going to have to want to change though. It isn't going to be easy, but the rewards will be great. I wish you luck on your journey.

Well, E., I'll tell you that the Soda Stream will not get you anywhere close to your goal. Why you're asking how to slow down or stop and then in the same conversation asking about Soda Streams just means you aren't serious about stopping. So why on earth ask the question about stopping if you are this wishy-washy?

Do you know what you can clean an old car battery with to remove all the battery acid build up? COKE or PEPSI. Have you ever watched the coke dissolve the battery acid? It's astonishing to watch it. And THAT'S what we're putting in our stomachs.

I have a family member whose great-aunt only lived to be in her early 30's. She drank sodas non-stop - even for breakfast. She didn't eat much either. She was really skinny. She died of a bleeding ulcer. When I found out about that from the family, I wasn't surprised because of having actually seen the battery acid/coke.

Thing is, I drink soft drinks, too, so it's not like I'm a "soda teetotaler". I have cans of Coke in my frig. But I don't drink one every day and I've never drunk a six-pack ANY day. You know that you are addicted, but until you really decide that you aren't going to do this anymore, you're just going to waffle back and forth over whether to change or not. And yes, you're going to gain weight and you're going to hurt your health.

The headaches are caffeine withdrawal. That happens to me if I drink coffee everyday. Coffee has a lot more caffeine than soda. I only drink coffee every 3 days, if that. If my body gets used to it, I have headaches when I don't drink it. The best way you can deal with this is to wean yourself down to one can a day, and then one can every other day. Stretch out the amount of hours inbetween while you're weaning.

Do it because it's the right thing to do. So what if you like the taste! I love the taste of coffee, but good grief! I don't want something I drink to give me massive headaches if I miss a "dose"? That's just nuts! So I don't drink it regularly. And NO headaches...

You CAN do it. Decide and then stop buying the stuff.

We quit altogether and we feel marvelous!

Step 1: Add up what you spend on it per week, multiply by 52, and that's how much money you'd have in your pocket if you weren't buying it! That's how I quit smoking many years ago!

Step 2: Realize it's either all sugar (with regular soda, and corn syrup to boot), or a whole pile of aspartame or other chemical sweetener (for diet soda). Either one will cause you to gain weight.

Step 3: switch to seltzer - that's plain fizzy water, with a little flavoring if you want to buy the raspberry or lime or whatever version. Buy the 2 liter bottles - cheaper than cans, and only 1 container to recycle (vs. 6 cans). Add a splash of juice, a squeeze of lime/lemon, anything to make it feel like a special drink.

Step 4: You're substituting soda for food? You're gaining weight? You need to EAT! You need protein and some healthy fats or you will never lose weight. If you're hungry, have 15 almonds or a piece of fruit or some Greek yogurt or some celery with peanut butter in it. Your body is starving and it's slowing down its metabolism, conserving fat reserves because it thinks there's a famine going on! You need 5 small meals per day - a healthy breakfast (oatmeal and a handful of frozen berries takes 2 minutes to prepare), a snack (such as what I listed above), a sensible lunch (maybe tuna on a salad or at least a salad with protein in it, like walnuts or some lean turkey, with a little avocado or a dressing of olive oil for healthy fats, or lean turkey on whole wheat bread), a mid-afternoon snack (sunflower seeds on yogurt if you didn't already have yogurt that day, a handful of nuts, fruit), and a sensible dinner (lean chicken, baked sweet potato wedges, a steamed veggie like broccoli or asparagus). You're getting headaches from starvation and probably dehydration (since you are drinking caffeinated soda). You can have a glass of fizzy seltzer with meals and snacks if you want.

Step 5: Get out and walk! Do something besides putting a can of emptiness in your body. You need muscle to burn fat, and you need to get your system flowing to deal with the headaches.

Step 6: You will probably have some headaches from caffeine withdrawal. Power through them, and you'll be out the other side very soon.

I used to drink soda, but after learning more about how all that sugar is so bad for you (sugar causes your body to put on fat for one thing) I made the switch to water. I get terrible headaches from no caffeine. When I quit I did it cold turkey and yes, I felt awful. I think it took two weeks before I felt normal. I felt almost like someone beat me up...sore, tired achy, headaches and miserable. You just have to out-stubborn your body. Since you love the fizziness of soda why don't you first switch to soda water? At the same time you will need to eat good, healthy foods to help your body. And then you have to be very determined to get through the cravings and withdrawals from the sugar and caffeine. Sugar is an addiction...your body will not be getting it's sugar high and you will crave it terribly. But once you get through this you will feel so much better and will not have the craving. I have zero cravings now and am perfectly happy to drink water. It has been 15 years since I stopped drinking soda and if I have one now it just seems gross and too sweet. You can do it!! Just think of it as a boot camp and be strict with yourself!

Sounds like a great idea to cut down. It's so much sugar, or w diet, a substitute and is probably doing a job on your blood sugar, when then impacts weight.

Start with drinking five tomorrow and then in four days, go to four and so on and so forth. What about seltzer? Not the flavored kind, but add lemon or lime or fresh fruit yourself. Give your teeth a break from the soda too. Good luck!

Maybe try going to flavored seltzer water first. That way you can keep your fizzy drink while you get rid of the sugar/aspartame and caffeine. You can buy liter bottles inexpensively to try. Once you are away from the sugar/aspartame, then start replacing the seltzer water with something not carbonated.

Regardless of whether or not you manage to quit drinking soda, please stop substituting soda for food. That bothers me more in your post than anything else. Soda has no nutritional value at all. You are likely malnourished, despite gaining weight.

We don't have to tell you how bad sodas are for your health. They are linked to so many issues.

We don't drink sodas in our family but I do keep seltzer water around an drink it with lemon, juice or whatever flavor I want.

You have seen the footage of how coke is used in a car to rid rust, used in toilets etc due to the way it works. Think about what that is doing inside your body. That alone would keep me from drinking the sugary mix. The weight gain and health issues are all caused by the sodas.

If nothing else motivates you to stop, think of your children. They need you and the last thing I believe you want is to die from some illness that is a result of too much soda.

Well - are you tired of the habit (the need to drink soda) and do you want to be done with it from your life? Are you ready to be healthy? Because if so, it means eating well - not relying on the soda filling you up, and making a big change. Replacing it with a soda machine is like someone rolling their own cigarettes instead of buying them, or cutting back to light cigarettes, or light beer from regular.

When I've made serious changes to my life and quit a habit, I had to think big. I had to envision a life where I wasn't hooked on the thing - whether it be Diet Coke (that was me in college), smoking, etc.

The headaches are from withdrawal, as you know. So you can go cold turkey and just take ibuprofen until they pass. The headaches will cease in a day or two. It will just be unpleasant for a short while.

My personal experience is it's better for me to go cold turkey. Just make a clean break.

Healthier drinks would be just plain water. Find a bottle you like to drink from, and just keep it on you at all times. That will fill you up just as much as pop. If you're concerned about weight gain (I actually think you'll lose weight if you've been drinking regular soda), then drink an 8 oz glass of water before meals. Guarantee you, it will fill you up from overeating.

Good luck and keep us posted. Have a goal in mind of where you want to be - and treat yourself when you get there. It's a rough couple of days, but then when you've got it out of your system (the caffeine and sugar) you'll feel better. Flavored water makes me ill too. Stick to eating healthy and water.

I support your decision to make this change!

Some advice that my daughter has been given by her psychologist: don't think of it as "breaking a habit" or "quitting". Think of it as creating a new healthy life pattern. For example, when someone is trying to quit smoking. It's more helpful to say "I am going to enjoy an hour when my clothes smell good, I saved a few dollars and I'm breathing clean air" rather than "I went an hour without a cigarette". So you might try coming up with a phrase that means something to you that is positive. Don't tell yourself you're cutting back or quitting. Instead, create a helpful phrase. Suggestions: "today I'm going to treat my body well and fill it with healthy water" or "for the next two hours I'm going to breathe in and out and relax" or "today I saved $5 by not filling my body with something that harms it". Or "today I appreciated having clean water to drink and I offer a prayer (or healing thought or whatever) for all the mothers and children around the world who have no water to drink at all."

Then, about the flavored water. It is often just food coloring, and artificial sweeteners and highly processed substances intended to mask the flavor of water. Those artificial sweeteners can certainly make you feel ill.

About the caffeine: you're probably dependent on it, and you will definitely feel the effects of withdrawal. It will take a little time, but you might either talk to your doctor, or ask the pharmacist about how long it takes before the headaches will go away, and if they have any suggestions. Here's a website that talks about caffeine withdrawal.

http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-withdrawal-sympt...

The good news is, the effects WILL go away and you will get through getting all the caffeine out of your system.

So your goal should be to fill your body with real foods, real water, and to rid your body of the artificial things you've been filling it with. You will lose weight, you will get energy from real foods and not from an artificially colored and highly flavored beverage that is full of sugar and just making some company rich.

I know what you mean about the carbonation. Look for mineral water, sparkling water. You can add some lemon juice to it, or a little pure orange juice, or squeeze a lime into it. Somehow that makes it seem more like a nice drink than plain carbonated water.

The SodaStream ready-made mixes and flavors won't help with anything except maybe saving you some money. However, you can use the soda stream to carbonate plain water and then flavor it in amazing ways. Just never buy the pre-made flavorings.

http://www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Sparkling_Water

Check out that site for great homemade syrups, easy fruit add-ins, and how to use honey and other healthy real foods to add to simple carbonated plain water. It's a beautiful, simple way to sip a carbonated beverage.

Plus, making your own flavored carbonated water takes a little time. In that time, you tell yourself your healthy phrase, instead of just popping the top of a can and downing a ton of sugar and artificial colors.

You can do this and your health is worth it!

Drink something other than pop when you are thirsty. Try putting lemons, limes, strawberries or cucumbers in your plain water. Use ice cubes. If you need the fizz try sparkling mineral water. If you need caffeine drink coffee or tea. If you are hungry eat a piece of fruit. Part of this is a physical addiction to sugar and caffeine, but part of it is just making better choices.

I love cola. I'm not addicted, but I love it and have been trying to cut back. What I do is I have a 2 liter bottle of coke and a bunch of cans of club soda/seltzer in my fridge. Every afternoon I poor whole can of seltzer into glass and just top it off with Coke. I started this process with half and half ratio and have worked my way up to this. I love the carbonation and the little bit of Coke taste is perfect. Good luck!

We just stopped buying it. You lose the desire for sugar when you phase it out of your life. 6 a day is an incredible amount. Enlist the help of your family, reward yourself for reducing the amount you consume. I promise that when you get rid of it altogether you won't miss it.

my husband used to be just as bad, have you thought about juicing? a good dose of antioxidents will help with those headaches.

I gave up soda YEARS ago. I think January 2011, maybe 2012. I have some every now and then, but literally a sip if there is nothing else to drink (like when I take my kids to the movies). You just have to WANT to stop.

I was working from home last Thursday when the news told me my favorite drink from Starbucks was 75g of sugar. WHAT?!?! I haven't had coffee since then and I don't even want one. Just thinking of that sugar count made me sick to my stomach.

Think of soda as something like that - or just look at the nutrition facts and you'll see how bad it is for you. I drink a lot of iced tea, hot tea, and water. Every now and then I'll grab a small milkshake, but that's a rarity.

I don't know where my "what happens next button went", maybe it goes away really soon after you put your question in? I wanted to say thank you everyone for helping me. I don't want to cut back anymore. I'm just going to stop. I'm not going to stop cold turkey. I made a plan. It started 2 hours ago. No soda stream for me! Pop is scary to think about the really bad affects, even the worse case passing away. Thank you again!

I stopped drinking it a while ago and now if I even have a little bit I get a massive headache (all that sugar).

I recommend not buying it to keep at home. Get some seltzer and mix it with juice and use that. All soda is bad for you, regular soda is filled with sugar and chemicals and diet sodas are filled with fake cancer causing sugar and chemicals. The sugar is addictive and that could be why you got sick.

How would a soda stream be any different? Isn't it still flavored syrups with a shot of CO2?

Rather than trying to go cold turkey, try to cut back slowly. I'm assuming that when you say 6 pack you mean cans and not bottles. Instead of drinking 6-12 oz cans, switch to 2- 20 oz bottles per day. Then cut it down to one bottle. Or, instead of buying the 12 oz cans, buy the 8 oz or 6 oz cans. Every week drop one can until you are down to none. Another thing to try is to set limits for yourself. Tell yourself you can't drink any before lunch or after a certain time at night. Or you can only drink a can if it is poured in a glass over ice. Or you can't drink a can until after you have eaten a piece of fruit or had a full glass of water. Or you can only drink it when you are eating a meal (that includes at least veggies and protein) or you are out at a restaurant. You could also try scare tactics. Google "things Coke can do." Maybe the fact that you can use Coke to clean battery acid off a car battery will be enough to help you quit!

One thing I have done is to buy club soda and add it to a small amount of fruit juice. Grapefruit juice is my favorite to use with club soda. Sparkling water or sparkling tea is better than just flavored water in my opinion. I also drink iced tea. That gives me the caffeine kick that I feel I need. It isn't sweet, but I think it is more satisfying. I love the Lipton cold brew tea bags. I fill a water bottle with ice and water, add a tea bag and within 5-10 minutes the tea is at just the right strength.

It definitely could be adding to your weight. When I was in high school our biology teacher bet us that we could lose weight by just cutting out pop (we didn't call it soda!) I didn't believe him, but gave it a try. Without changing anything else except dropping the pop, I lost about 5 pounds in a week. Even diet sodas can cause weight gains if you are drinking enough of it.

Good luck! I've been trying to cut back too. It isn't easy!

It might have also been the sugars and additives and caffeine you were reacting to. Try it again, with replacing one can of soda a day with something healthier. Black coffee doesn't have many calories, and coffee or tea can vary in calories just by not using 15 sugars. Try other bubbly water options if you like carbonation. I try to drink one glass of really cold water (we have a thing at work) for every glass of coffee, and then I switch to herbal tea, no sugar, later in the day.

I know what you mean about the carbonation...I love it too, but I only drink seltzer now. I'm a coffee drinker so I get my caffeine fix from that. I did give up caffeine once for a 21 day program I was doing. I had a nasty headache for 3 days while I went through withdrawal.

Buy plain seltzer and add it to unsweetened iced tea with a splash of fruit juice. Less calories, you get the fizz and the caffeine.

If you want to cut back, you should probably do it gradually. I used to drink about a can of diet coke everyday. To cut back I started buying the six packs of bottled soda rather than cans. That way, I was able to drink sips or gulps as I craved it then come back for more as I wanted it. After doing this a while, I can now go days without a sip.

Another thing that could help is to figure out how many you want to limit yourself to per day then buying only that many for the week (or until the next time you'll be grocery shopping). For instance, if you want to limit yourself to just one per day and you go grocery shopping once a week, buy one six pack for the week and don't let yourself go to the store to buy more.

Good luck!

Good for you on your decision. Despite what people are saying here, you don't HAVE to make flavored drinks with the Soda Stream - just fizz the water and don't add flavoring. Drink it plain or add lemon/lime/whatever.

Caffeine withdrawal is often harder than sugar withdrawal. If you do feel sick while you're quitting soda, I really do recommend a little coffee or tea.

If the soda was supplying most of your fluid intake,you might also have been feeling sick from dehydration. Make sure you drink lots of water!

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Good for you on your decision. Despite what people are saying here, you don't HAVE to make flavored drinks with the Soda Stream - just fizz the water and don't add flavoring. Drink it plain or add lemon/lime/whatever.

Caffeine withdrawal is often harder than sugar withdrawal. If you do feel sick while you're quitting soda, I really do recommend a little coffee or tea.

If the soda was supplying most of your fluid intake,you might also have been feeling sick from dehydration. Make sure you drink lots of water!

Yes, pop has a lot of sugar in it so it does contribute to being overweight.

Soda Stream only makes more pop, why spend hundreds of dollars to buy a machine that makes what you already spend a small fortune for?

When I decided to stop drinking so much pop I would find other things to put in my cup. Healthier things but not great choices. I needed the flavor and it helped a lot.

I drank tea, Walmart brand Black Cherry Cranberry Juice, pop, and other flavored things. Some of them were plain water based drinks, some were juice, and some were pop.

I got my fix when I was most used to drinking that pop. I didn't drink one first thing but I did like one with my lunch and then after dinner when everyone else was in bed. Other than those 2 times I just didn't have a pop.

It will take time to lower your need of pop. Your body is addicted to the caffeine. Stopping cold turkey can have effects on your body. You might want to talk to your doc to see which way is better. I simply cut back and didn't allow myself to have the extra pop.

I like ice. I fill my cup with ice each and every time I drink anything. I can get a 32 ounce cup and fill it full of ice and an 8 ounce can of pop won't fit in my cup. I have to drink some of it to get it down to add the rest.

I like to drink a pop. I don't even drink a pop every day now. But it took time to break that habit.

drink le croix (helps replace the carbonated part).

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drink le croix (helps replace the carbonated part).

i have a soda machine and there is a great tasting line of flavors to add to the carbonated water. i only have pop once in a while anymore. and i drink regular tea sweetened with honey and flavored with lemon to intake caffiene when i need it.

Whoa! A six pack a day is a lot! You can't go cold turkey--you figured that out. Do 5 for a week, then 4, then 3, then two, etc. I don't drink soda, but if I'm looking for a 'soda-type' drink, I'll do 1/2 ginger ale and 1/2 cranberry juice. Good Luck!