addicted to diet coke - help

i love the taste of diet coke, but i know it's bad for you. so i'm trying to quit cause when i do drink it then i want cookies and junk food to go with it. it was posted here before about what is bad about soda in general.  i need to know everything bad so that i won't want to drink it.   does anybody know why this stuff is bad?    - thanks

the worst thing about diet coke is what you said- you want to eat cookies and chips with it.

Stop buying it and bring your own water bottle with you everywhere you go.

There is no SOLID evidence that says Diet Coke is "BAD." People have mixed feelings about it and you will see a ton of stuff online that claims it is detrimental but tons of others that say that it is harmless. What ricen said about the wanting to eat cookies and sweets after has been shown in some research but the studies were not that compelling. Additionally the anti artificial sweetener people will say the asparame is poisonous....Anyway, so the way I see it is if it does not make you crave sweets (or if it does and you can deny them), it does not give you headaches or any other benign ailment, maybe just cut your consumption down. Instead of going cold turkey, just slowly get to where you are drinking maybe 2 to 3 a week. The other times, do as ricen says, and drink water!

 

 

I was exactly the same -  I drank NOTHING BUT diet sodas, all day long - like 2-4 liters, almost no water or any other drinks.  And I craved sweets.  Then I read some articles online about "excitotoxins" and aspartame, and how in many people the aspartame in large amounts seemed to make carb/sweets cravings much worse.  It made sense to me because I never had such an insane sweet tooth before starting with the diet sodas.

 So in November 2005, the same time I started counting and tracking, I quit them cold turkey, and replaced them with tea, coffee and water for the most part.  I drink tea unsweetened, and I put a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee, but that's not really anything compared to the 12 tsp in a can of Coke.

 

So anyway, I've lost 80 lbs since then and am convinced that a large part of it is due to kicking diet drinks.  Go for it!

I still drink 2-4 liters a day, on top of 2 liters of water. The Diet Coke actually kills any cravings for food I have. The problem is when I eat, I crave Diet Coke, and that's the only time I drink it.

Another thing to think about when drinking sodas (diet or otherwise) is the damage to your teeth. Not just staining but damage to your teeth enamel. 

I have not had a soda in gosh knows when. And in June when I started my lifestyle change I cut tea, caffeine, etc out of my diet. I feel so much better without it and now I go to bed at a better time (9-10pm opposed to 1-2am) and its easier to get up in the morning (6am most mornings). I say if you wanna kick the diet soda and/or caffeine addiction go for it. It will be a bear for about 2 weeks but then its easy. I have not had caffeine in like 6mths. 

 

I don't believe the aspartame boogey-man stories, but after years of having a scary Diet Coke addiction I'm convinced that **** is poison. I stopped cold turkey 9/1 of this year and have not had caffeine or a Diet Coke since. I feel a million times better. I sleep better, my head aches are gone and I don't have ups and downs with my energy.

i'm addicted to coke zero and diet a&w. i drink at least a 591 mL bottle a day usually around 3 plus a couple cans. it doesn't make me crave sugar and stuff though. i actally, crave the coke.

if it makes you eat poorly or binge, your only option really, is to stop drinking it. sorry.

I have the occasional diet coke when I'm really in a pinch, like on a road trip where I need caffeine but can't bring myself to drink gas station coffee.  I'm talking maybe once a month.  Maybe.  I've heard from people that it can hinder weight loss, and what was said above: it's bad for your teeth, the fact that aspartame might be toxic, etc.

If you're wanting to cut down, I've known people who've substituted cans or bottles of flavored sparkling water instead of diet sodas, so that might be worth a try.  There are some really good flavors out there.  And they have no calories, nothing but water and flavor.

The sodium in Diet Coke is a killer.  It's not something you think about either, salt in a sweet thing?  It makes you retain water etc. (as well as drink more diet coke because you are thirsty) Caffine makes you pee a lot, so the body's reaction is to retain even more water.  It's double trouble. 

But yeah, cutting caffiene cold turkey is hard.  I never kicked that addiction.  Worse than alcohol, for me.  I replaced sodas with coffee and iced teas.

I was really sick for three days when I cut out all caffeine. Previous to that I was drinking about 5 Diet Cokes a day, at least. I feel 100% better now and it was worth three days of laying in bed with migraines. I really do feel that much better.

The only bad thing about diet coke or any other drink is the sodium, remember that too much sodium retain water weight wich mean you may bloated and gain some weight because that, I used to drink a lot of diet coke, and worst as you say I was craving on sweet candys, cakes, junk food, etc, so I stoped and now I drink around 3 L of water a day, plus from veggies, fruit..... it may help you to loose more weight because you need to clean you sistem from the sodium not with artificial drinks I guees.... that is what I think and well if is hard for you, (it was for me)

try to drink it along with a glass of water you may feel full

Original Post by spirochete:

I was really sick for three days when I cut out all caffeine. Previous to that I was drinking about 5 Diet Cokes a day, at least. I feel 100% better now and it was worth three days of laying in bed with migraines. I really do feel that much better.

 I agree when I quit I had at least a mild headache every day for like 2 weeks.But I never gave in to the crave to have any caffeine. And in the end I feel so much better without it.

On the sodium keep an eye on whats in your bottle water. Some of them have sodium in them as well. There is one brand I know has sodium in it and every time  I drink that brand I feel more thirsty after it then before. 

 

thanks guys,     i've quit before without a problem, i just like the taste. 

If you can't break your habit, try having a big glass of water in between each soda. It will lessen the amount your dirinking and get you to drink more water.

Maybe it will help if you look into the facts about aspartame and artificial sweeteners? When I was deciding weather I should switch to diet, or keep drinking regular pop only less often, some of the things I  read about diet pop horrified me! When your stomach breaks down the aspartame in your diet sodas, one of it's by-products is formaldehyde. You know. The stuff in jars that held pickled specimens in science class. I don't know about anyone else here, but I didn't really want to be consuming something you could embalm something with. Other than the formaldehyde, if you drink alot of diet pop, the aspartame can cause liver dammage, kidney problems, and bladder cancer.

Oh god me too, it is so terrible for you and it makes your bones weak as it uses up your calcium but it is SO good and stops you eating more...I drink far too much and try to use diet cordials instead.

thanks --mary--    that is what i wanted to know, just what is it that makes it bad for you    i didn't know about formaldehyde.  i think i'll let the diet coke here on my desk continue to sit on my desk. 

oops , double post  sorry

;) glad it helped

I hate it when I come across something that I just love so much I can't let it go! I just wish there were some terrible facts out there about some of the things I like too much.... and too often....

diet soda is not full of sodium  30 mg per 8 oz compared to 200 mg in a cup of cheerios and a cup of whole milk has about 120mg of sodium