soda

[allina]

I drink a ton of soda (pop for some of you ) Very often I will have 5 cans of Coke Zero a day, it's almost like an addiction. I have several unhealthy habits, I drink alcohol (in moderation) I smoke about a pack a month, usually less, but soda seems to be the one that would be hardest to quit. I think I may be crazy but I've smoked lightly for years now and I could drop smoking no problem but I gotta have my diet coke. Recently I've heard so much from people about how horrible diet sodas are for you so I decided to cut back and go a few days without. I'm on day 3 and I seriously feel like I'm trying to kick an addiction, it's hard. Should I just go back to my soda drinking habits or is this a habit worth kicking?

[EricOnTheWeb]

I know what you mean,I'm drinking a full octane pepsi right now,and its about the 4th one I had today. My main soda is DR.Pepper.

I think ALL of us drink more Pop because we live fast paced lives and just picking up a can of soda is convient,taste good,and cheap.

 

Certainly drinking soda is better than smoking,but try having just a couple of sodas a day for now....I find that excess soda everyday makes me tired as hell. I do swear soda is just as addicting as Tobacco..

 

Use willpower,and kick it girl......I should do the same,but it is hard I know...good luck.

[Pyro]

I drink a ton of soda (pop for some of you ) Very often I will have 5 cans of Coke Zero a day, it's almost like an addiction. I have several unhealthy habits, I drink alcohol (in moderation) I smoke about a pack a month, usually less, but soda seems to be the one that would be hardest to quit. I think I may be crazy but I've smoked lightly for years now and I could drop smoking no problem but I gotta have my diet coke. Recently I've heard so much from people about how horrible diet sodas are for you so I decided to cut back and go a few days without. I'm on day 3 and I seriously feel like I'm trying to kick an addiction, it's hard. Should I just go back to my soda drinking habits or is this a habit worth kicking?

 

I am in the same boat as you, but I have been drinking more water as of late. All that sugar can't possibly be good for you. Don't quit all together. Knock it down to a certain number a week.

[allina]

All that sugar can't possibly be good for you. Don't quit all together. Knock it down to a certain number a week.

 

Thank you Eric and Rid. Rid, diet soda is sugar free no? So sugar isnt the issue I just keep hearing about how bad ever diet soda is for you, and it freaked me out to realize how much of it I drank.

[johan]

An aunt of mine developed throat problems from years of drinking too much Pepsi. I don't remember exactly what the issue was. It was something to do with her esophagus. It's not easy on your system.

 

I go through little streaks where I'll drink one a day. But for weeks at a time, I won't have any at all unless I go to a restaurant.

 

By the way, I got up early this morning, ran 4 miles, got to work early, worked over 9 hours, I'm drinking carrot juice right now with my vegetarian Chipotle burrito, I never smoke, but I do like Guinness. That was all just to make whoever read it feel guilty, because I'm so healthy. Healthy and great. Suck it up!

 

Thank you Eric and Rid. Rid, diet soda is sugar free no? So sugar isnt the issue I just keep hearing about how bad ever diet soda is for you, and it freaked me out to realize how much of it I drank.

[My Fair Katie]

I just keep hearing about how bad ever diet soda is for you, and it freaked me out to realize how much of it I drank.

 

Soda's bad for women. It can lower your bone density.

 

It's also bad for *everyone's* teeth. Not just the sugar in regular soda, but the acidity in both soda and diet sodas.

 

Caffeine is a direutic (spelling--aww crap, it's the word that means "makes you pee") and can dehydrate you. And of course dehydration can lead to headaches and generally feeling of "blahness." Also, the caffeine can actually lead to you feeling more tired in general (after the initial rush).

 

Everything in moderation. Try 2 a day and drink LOTS of water between (6-8 8 oz glasses of water). Also, as far as the teeth use a straw.

 

I hate colas myself. Love gin though. We all have our vices.

[allina]

 

By the way, I got up early this morning, ran 4 miles, got to work early, worked over 9 hours, I'm drinking carrot juice right now with my vegetarian Chipotle burrito, I never smoke, but I do like Guinness. That was all just to make whoever read it feel guilty, because I'm so healthy. Healthy and great. Suck it up!

 

It's okay, this morning I rode my bike to the gym, got an amazing workout there, rode back, I also ate very healthy all day. I'll probably have a beer later this evening but I'm feeling healthy and buff.

[burning 4 revenge]

take up coffee. i dont drink much soda anymore, because i drink coffee.

[PWSX3]

If you feel you are drinking to much and you want to do something about it that is the first step. It will make it a lot easier when you want to do something instead of having to do it.

Cut back one a day & do that for a week or two. Then cut back another one and do that for a week or two.

 

I read you shouldn't just stop all together, but to start drinking water to replace it so when you are drinking more water then you do pop the water won't taste so bad.

 

I can't remember the last time I had a pop/soda. What I did was started to drink the Minute Maid Light Lemonade and water. then once I wasn't drinking pop I started to not drink the lemonade and now its about 95% water and then a few fruit juices.

[EricOnTheWeb]

It's okay, this morning I rode my bike to the gym, got an amazing workout there, rode back, I also ate very healthy all day. I'll probably have a beer later this evening but I'm feeling healthy and buff.

 

 

All this talk about soda makes it seem really bad,and yeah I drink WAYYY too much,just like you.

I guess I drink alot of soda cause it's like a security blanket or something like that to me.. I'm really bad with the soda for the last year or so because of my anxietiy and depression BS.

 

Someone said something about it making you tired,yeah I get tired alot,must be the soda.

Trouble is,I'll quit for about a week or two,then start right back up.

Allina FYI....I was working on my race car today and I had one of those "burp pukes":sick: it tasted like pepsi and doritos:sick:

[Pyro]

Thank you Eric and Rid. Rid, diet soda is sugar free no? So sugar isnt the issue I just keep hearing about how bad ever diet soda is for you, and it freaked me out to realize how much of it I drank.

 

Oops, I should have known that. There is something bad about it but MFK made some good points.

 

My GF is a dietetics major. I am going to ask her.

[My Fair Katie]

I'm really bad with the soda for the last year or so because of my anxietiy and depression BS.

 

Eric,

 

Caffeine has been known to add to depression and anxiety.

 

Also, if you have not already, go see your doctor for a depression screening. I saw a therapist for about a year, did nothing. Saw my doctor and tried a few different SSRI drugs and it's like night and day.

[EricOnTheWeb]

Eric,

 

Caffeine has been known to add to depression and anxiety.

 

Also, if you have not already, go see your doctor for a depression screening. I saw a therapist for about a year, did nothing. Saw my doctor and tried a few different SSRI drugs and it's like night and day.

 

 

I'm in therapy now for things,but haven't really told anyone here of what happened to me or anything,just not ready or don't know if I want to bother. This is allina's thread,so I don't want to jack it,but thanks for telling me that.

 

(Eric)

[allina]

Soda's bad for women. It can lower your bone density.

 

It's also bad for *everyone's* teeth. Not just the sugar in regular soda, but the acidity in both soda and diet sodas.

 

Caffeine is a direutic (spelling--aww crap, it's the word that means "makes you pee") and can dehydrate you. And of course dehydration can lead to headaches and generally feeling of "blahness."

 

The bone density is something my mom tells me a lot about. She's a chemist and on my case a lot about the soda thing. Though I dont feel tired and drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration I worry about other side effects of soda and the diet soda sweeteners side effects.

 

Eric, I don't mind if you talk about yourself on here and "hijack" my thread, you are welcome to.

[nittygritty]

It was easier for me to quit drinking pop by switching to brewed weak unsweetened ice tea. Along with drinking several glasses of ice water with fresh squeezed lemon throughout the day.

 

Going cold turkey off diet pop made me really feel blah!!!

 

The weak unsweetened tea was just enough caffeine to keep me going so that I didn't really notice any withdrawal from the pop.

 

Drinking water with extra vitamin C helps me

justify the caffeine in the tea .

[EricOnTheWeb]

Eric, I don't mind if you talk about yourself on here and "hijack" my thread, you are welcome to.

 

It's ok,thanks for letting me if I wanted to though...

 

*cracks open another Pepsi*

[Trialbyfire]

Here's a link about the sugar content per soft drink. Hope it helps to dissuade some of you from indulging too often.

 

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/scripts/popreslt.pl

[johan]

Eric, I don't mind if you talk about yourself on here and "hijack" my thread, you are welcome to.

 

Why just Eric? What if I also have some things I need to get off my chest?

[Enema]

I would love to see some solid research on the effects of diet soda on your body.

 

I always believed the only "really" bad thing about soda was the sugar. Looking at the "nutritional" information on the back of Coke Zero for example shows practically nothing.

[dropdeadlegs]

allina,

 

I have heard from a dietician that the phosphoric acid in colas, whether containing sugar or not, is what is bad for you. that may account for the bone density loss that has been spoken of.

 

I do think that cutting back over a period of time is the right way to go about reducing your intake.

 

Oh, and you and Johan have made me feel like a slug. I can't thank you both enough for that.

[Starry-eyed]

Man, I drink waaay too much pop every day, too! But I love it! I usually prefer Diet Coke, but Diet Pepsi is good too, as long as it's got lots of nice carbonation! Oh, that flavor and sparklyness! It's so good in the morning or with lunch or salty snacks or when you're doing housework or just got home from work!

 

I'm going through so much in my life right now that my diet pop addiction is one of the least of my worries. Later on I may try to cut back, but for now I need that familiarity and comfort and routine.

 

allina, I am totally impressed that you could go three days without. That is amazing. Have you noticed any physical changes? Did you get caffeine headaches?

[Quinch]

I haven't had a coke/pepsi in almost a year. I just drink a lot of coffee or water now. I didn't consciously decide to quit but I know the last time was at a KFC just before my last birthday. I have recently been thinking about getting a coke but this thread has made me think twice.

[alphamale]

i don't see anything wrong with diet soda. but you could save a lot of $$ by drinking more water.

 

regular soda, thats another matter

[boshemia]

I was a heavy diet soda drinker for years... about a six pack a day until I got sick. Everyone I knew was sending me articles on the dangers of aspartame poisoning... I didn't listen, because Snopes debunked it, and several other sites have done the same...

 

No, I will admit that excessive stress played a role in my illness, but I've talked to quite a few other people with my symptoms on forums, and while we are all in diagnosis limbo... diet soda, and diet foods were a major part of our diets.

 

The chronic fatigue and random joint pain had been present for a few years. They tested me for juvenile arthritis, thyroid, diabetes, everything you could imagine... nothing could be found.

 

One day I went to work in the family store and by noon I couldn't walk without holding on to something. It felt like someone had just drained the energy out of my legs. It was hard for me to stand up without help, and I had to walk with a cane. Even with the cane, at my worst I could barely manage a shuffle.

 

The mental symptoms were the most disturbing for me, normally I am a fairly articulate person, I have a decent vocabulary and excellent reading comprehension. Suddenly I couldn't read a menu in a restaurant... I would read it fine, not stumbling over the words, but seconds later I couldn't remember what I had just written. I kept "losing" words, simple words, like shoe, or foot, and I suddenly couldn't remember what I was trying to say or why I was trying to say it.

 

I went to half a dozen doctors, and they seemed to agree it was multiple sclerosis. I was sent for a CAT scan last year, but they found no lesions on my brain. so the Doctor said we were "calling it" Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue for now. They will keep retesting until they can confirm or exclude the diagnosis... and I'm just sort of waiting.

 

The pain got worse, and I was unable to keep any food down for most of the summer. Everything came right back up... I quit drinking diet soda in April of last year...

 

I'm still unable to work, and the pain comes and goes. Most of it is centered in my upper body now... my ribs constantly feel swollen, like I got kicked in the ribs by a mule...

 

However... I haven't had to use a cane to walk since my Aunts wedding in June, the pain is letting up, my joints no longer ache constantly. I can keep food down, and I feel so much better than I did last year.

 

I know they say that Aspartame has been ruled out as the cause of this mystery illness so many people are coming up with these days, but the tests that were done by the FDA were for a period of four months, I spent 10 years drinking diet soda before I got sick, and I've since met many, many people with similar unexplained symptoms and we all have one thing in common... excessive consumption of Aspartame.

 

So I don't know if that will help you quit or not... but hopefully it helps.

[EricOnTheWeb]

It's 3:30 in the morning,and I just cracked open another soda. I'm about to leave for an 85 mile trip into work:rolleyes: WTF?