I’ve never been prone to physical addictions. Never smoked, have no desire to drink much at all, never touched drugs. My one vice has always been soda. When I was younger I drank it with lunch and dinner and in between. In my late 20s I cut it back to just one with lunch. Now I’m ditching that, and I’m telling everyone as an incentive for me to stay with it.
No more empty calories from soda, no more big sugar intake. I’m effectively quitting caffeine too because I don’t drink coffee.
On day three right now and doing OK until I think about going out to lunch. I just LOVE my soda with sushi or nursing one as I read. But today it’s going to be water. Some time in the future I can see having a soda occasionally as a rare treat, but not now.
What have others done to fill the soda void? Maybe tea?
I switched to zero calorie soda. I’d like to ditch the caffeine, but so far I haven’t been able to convince them to make Caffeine Free Cherry Coke Zero, so I still get some caffeine every day.
I have not drunk sugared soda for decades now. My diet soda consumption has substantially dropped the last few years also. Any more, I really can’t stand sweeter beverages of any kind as the summer temperatures go up. For the most part, I drink iced tea, sometimes with a splash of lemonade. My sister keeps trying to get me stared on soda water, usually plain, sometimes with citrus. It just doesn’t work for me though.
I make cinnamon iced tea, and that’s what I drink at home, if not beer. At work I’ll get a soda at lunch on Mondays, and that one 20 oz. bottle will usually last me at least the entire week.
On the rare occasions I need some carbonation, I’ll drink a La Croix. Other than that, I’m perfectly happy with water and coffee as my two forms of liquid refreshment.
I thought of quitting my Diet Coke, but I usually only have one per day at lunchtime unless I eat something for supper that must be accompanied by a Diet Coke like pizza. I’ve tried the flavored carbonated waters, plain lemon water, etc. but I’ve never found anything that I really like to take the place of my Diet Coke. The rest of the day I usually have ice water or low-calorie lemonade.
I quit diet coke. I only drink unsweetened ice tea and water now. And of course black coffee. In the south drinking a coke is as normal as drinking water. Very small kids are given coke as often as juice or milk. It’s slowly shifting, from my own observations.
Water is all I need any more when it comes to drinks, and really like it a lot. Occasionally, I’ll have it with a lemon. I gave up cola’s a little over five years ago at age 54. Gave up milk a little over a year ago, except a rare chocolate milk. Never was a coffee drinker, and haven’t had tea in years either. This year, I haven’t had any alcohol, hadn’t even planned on quitting, think I will save that for special occasions though.
After a few months the craving will pass entirely. I needed about five months before I finally lost all interest in Coke. It’s not really all that bad even after a few weeks, but you will probably still be tempted then. Get you a filtered water pitcher, and keep it cool in your refrigerator. Restaurants and fast food places are more than accomadating on letting you have water, never had any charge for it either. I’ve saved thousands since I’ve quit.
Once you take this route, be prepared for weight loss, and other health benefits provided you’re not getting a lot of your calories through heavily processed foods and other drinks.
I gave up soda back in 1985. It wasn’t that difficult for me, since the carbonation always caused me stomach problems. Since then I’ve gone through various substitutes including iced tea and multiple flavors of Snapple. Currently I drink Minute Maid Light Lemonade, Vitaminwater Zero and decaffeinated hot tea. I’ve never been a big fan of plain water, but some of those little flavor enhancers for water (Mio and a host of imitations) are not bad.
Filled the soda void with sparkling water. For some reason Perrier always makes me gassy and bloated, to an uncomfortable degree, but San Pellegrino does not, and it’s usually cheaper.
One of my sons has a Sodastream thing, and it is perfectly great at making sparkling water as well.
I also kind of filled the gap by drinking more coffee. Someday I may have to deal with this caffeine addiction, but not yet!
I never considered enjoying soft drinks an addiction. It can develop into a habit.
I packed a lunch for high school and college. Always a sandwich, chips, fruit, and soda. The cold soda helped keep the sandwich chilled in my insulated lunch bag. Bringing a different beverage never occurred to me.
I switched to ice tea many years ago. Soda is an occasional treat on a hot summer day.
I drink tons of Polar Seltzer, which might not be available in your region. Occasionally I’ll add a bit of lime juice or rose water to kick up the flavors. They also come out with specialized flavors for the summer and winter.
Kroger sells plain and flavored seltzer water under its own brand, a good bit cheaper than La Croix. So do other grocery chains. I only drink plain seltzer water now, no more sodas. It still gives the carbonation of a soda, but with none of the calories. I can’t do club soda due to the sodium in it.