One Year Without Diet Soda: Tips for Kicking the Habit
It’s been one year since I had my last diet soda. And I don’t miss it at all.
While I didn’t consume insane amounts of diet pop, I probably had about one can a day. More if I was eating Mexican food or pizza. And although I knew it wasn’t good for me – and although I wasn’t drinking too much – I just couldn’t give it up. The caffeine, fizziness, and sweetness was just too good.
I had tried to stop several times, cutting way back while still allowing myself to drink diet soda with certain types of foods. This would work for a couple of weeks, but I kept going back.
Finally, in March of 2012, I decided to quit cold turkey. I was sick of letting the diet soda – the aspartame, the caramel color, the phosphoric acid – win.
Tips for Quitting Your Diet Soda Habit
Quitting diet pop isn’t easy. What works for one person might not work for another. Here are some tips that worked for me:
- Go cold turkey. I tried many times to gradually cut down or to only drink diet soda with certain types of foods. But this didn’t work for me. I kept going back. If you’re struggling with the same problem, try giving it up completely.
- Push yourself through the first few days. The first few days without diet soda might be a little rough, especially if you drink a lot of it. But push yourself through the first few weeks. It will get much easier, and your body will gradually adjust.
- Find a tasty substitute. Think about why you drink diet soda. If it’s for the caffeine, try substituting iced tea. If you like the fizziness, try carbonated water. If you like the sweetness, try infused water or a natural soda like Izze or Joia. Just be careful not to swap one addiction for another. You don’t want to become hooked on something else when trying to give up diet pop.
- Think about the health benefits. What ultimately did it for me was reading report after report about the dangers and side effects of diet soda consumption. Diet soda has been linked to diabetes, heart and kidney problems, stroke, depression, weight gain, and a whole host of other health problems. I’m trying to live a healthier lifestyle, and diet soda has no place in it.
One anticipated consequence of quitting diet soda: I’ve saved quite a bit of money over the past year. I estimate $6 a week, or $312 over the course of a year. Not bad, especially since I plan on never drinking the stuff again.
Have you successfully quit diet soda? Please share your tips below!
You are my role model. Like you even though I don’t drink much, none would be much better. I just have to come to terms with saying goodbye to my beloved diet Dr. Pepper.
Thanks Karen 🙂
Way to go! I gave up regular pop about 10 years ago. I too just quit cold turkey, but what helped me was setting mini-milestones for myself. Could I get through this week? The next? A whole month? Six months? And here it is, a bunch of years later. Once in a while now, I’ll treat myself to a root beer or sierra mist, but I do a lot of sparkling water…I don’t find myself really ever even craving pop anymore.
Setting goals is a great way to go – with anything, really!
I, too, drink a lot of sparkling water. That really satisfies my craving for something cold and fizzy.
I’ve been drinking pop my whole life and finally like you decided to go cold turkey in October. I think my upcoming 35th birthday had something to do with it, but I finally just said enough and quit. The first week was hell but after that it got a bit easier. I do miss it but I know I’m better off without it. It’s weird having no caffeine anymore because I don’t like coffee or tea so that by far was the biggest adjustment. Congrats on kicking the habit!
Good for you!! It’s not an easy thing to do, but as you and I seemed to have experienced, it gets so much easier 🙂