Diet Soda Addiction - An American Epidemic!

I think there is an unspoken epidemic in this country and it's serious and unhealthy - addiction to diet soda.

Now, I can speak to this because I LOVE diet soda and I have family members that throw back a six pack a day...and literally, cannot break themselves of this habit.

People drink diet soda because they think they are making a healthy, non-caloric choice and the flavor lends a feeling of satiation.  And indeed, like all things in moderation, it is a beautiful thing.  But then there are those, and I suspect there are millions, who drink it like water...and actually drink it in lieu of water.  Thus, not only are they ingesting a ton of artificial chemicals, they are dehydrating themselves!

I'm curious if anyone else has noticed or has stories to share about a diet soda habit, maybe not detrimental, but at least noticeable.  I'm trying to get some research going on this.

Any stories, input, thoughts of any kind?

My son and his father drink diet coke instead of water - several cans a day. And both of them developed kidney stones - the doctor told each of them to either drink sugared soda or flavored water. (I tried to get them to drink water, and they didn't believe me.)

So yeah, I agree that diet soda is not good for you. Anymore, I mainly drink bottled water or milk.

Before June, I was drinking a ton of diet soda a day.  The convenience stores make it real easy with the 44 oz. cups for only 75 cents.  However, in June I went to water and 8th continent light chocolate soymilk only -- cold turkey off the diet soda.  Occasionally, I'll take a sip of a diet soda, and it's enough to remind me that I made the right decision.  I've started to add some hot tea (green and herbal) in now that the weather is turning cold, but not everyday.  I don't even like the flavored waters anymore.  Just give me good 'ol H20!

I'll be the first to admit....I am a diet coke-aholic.....can't (trying)  break the habit.  I quit smoking .... no real big problems.  This stuff...OMGosh. 

I have done a little research to find out what is in that stuff to cause me to be so addicted....I still can't find my answer.  I can have a cup or so of coffee in the morning..and if I don't have my Diet Coke by 10ish....I am freaking out.  The headache starts, I can literally feel the difference in my body.  I guess this is what's it like for smokers....shrug...

Now, I do drink water along with my DC so can you imagine how much I run to the bathroom?  I am working on cutting back but there are those days where I just have to have one more.  I drink about 32-48 oz a day of DC...and that's not nearly what it used to be.  Makes you wanna gag huh?

It's so funny - people knew I had a problem the same way one might know a drinker has a problem.

I was showing up to class at eight in the morning, drinking diet soda to start my day (I hate coffee so this was my caffeine fix).  So just like someone drinking liquor in the morning, this is what gave me away.

I live off Pepsi Jazz.  My absolute favorite thing is to have a cup of coffee, and then a glass of Jazz.  The black coffee makes the taste all that much sweeter.

The bad thing is that it's not just the caffeine in diet sodas which are addictive.  It's also the aspartame.  Even if I down a pot of coffee in the morning, I still have to have at least a little diet soda or I'll get a headache.

I know it's unhealthy, but it's my only vice, so I've accepted it for the moment.  I used to smoke a bit and drink (alcohol) like a fish, so I'll gladly accept a diet soda alternative.

yeah that stuff literally melts bones...it's really not much better for you than regular soda, it's just replacing calories and sugar with aspartame and other chemicals the body wasnt ever mean to take in. yuck...moderation is key, if at all

i didn't think i could ever quit diet coke and hated water...but i started reading about how terrible it is and how it makes you GAIN weight...so now i drink water and i have started to love it... weird (but i guess it can be done!)

I used to drink about 2 cans of diet pepsi a day. My fiance hated me drinking the soda b/c of the junk that is in it.  My rebuttal was it was calorie free. 

Since my diet, my fiance tried buying a NEW kind of diet soda.   We just moved to Albany, NY and they had a diet soda called WAIST WATCHER.  They sell it for .99 cents for a 2 liter.  It's zero carbs, sugar free, aspartame free, caffeine free, and sodium free.  It's made with Splenda. 

I tried it warm, I didn't like it- it didn't fizz in my mouth too much.  However, I tried it with ice later on.  It was good.  I could tell it was Splenda... but after like 2 days I got used to it. It's actually really good ice cold.  So- we only buy this brand now.  I feel better and don't get headaces anymore from the diet pepsi fix.  I only drink about a 6oz glass of my new soda a day (if that now).  It's a nice treat when I'm sick of water. 

See if you have any of this in your area.  I tried a diet pepsi the other day, and I got a headache after drinking it. And I didn't like the taste much anymore.

Go to http://www.adirondackbeverages.com/find_us/in dex.htm to find where the product is near you.  They carry it in 15 state stores and nation wide in Family Dollar Stores.

Good luck!

i dont know how you can drink the diet stuff.

i love coke and dr. pepper, but rarely drink it anymore. gave it up as a daily beverage several years ago. when i do drink it, its got to be with all the sugar and all the caffeine.

i drink one once every few weeks.

this addiction thing sounds pretty bad, i used to drink alot of diet drinks and stuff but recently i've gotten used to drinking water throughout the day and when it comes to lunch/dinner i have my can of diet pepsi...sometimes i drink one in lunch too if not juice but i honestly dont like drinking water while i eat, i prefer soda or juice....im so used to it lol

i'm a somewhat improved diet pepsi addict.  I used to drink it like water (and I drank enough water, so I was ingesting a lot of fluids!).  Now I have a can at lunch and a can in the evenings and I drink water for the rest of the day (juice or milk for breakfast, though).  I'm considering walking away from the soda entirely.  I don't get headaches or anything when I don't drink it, I just feel sluggish...but I think that might be a psychological effect....

I used to drink an entire 2 liter bottle (this of Wal-Mart's knock off of Dr. Pepper, Dr. Thunder) in one sitting over just 4 or so hours, sometimes I would do that twice a day on the weekends. I finally realized how unhealthy it was and I have since stopped drinking soda almost entirely. I still drink soda occasionaly, but its more like once or twice a month, if at all.

I'm pretty sure the reason you get the headaches... and stuff is because you are addicted to the caffeine... I admit I too am addicted to caffeine... but coffee... If I don't have coffee at some point within the first few hours of the day... i will get a massive headache... the second i drink some coffee... bye bye headache...
I don't drink soda personally. But i know that my mom and her boyfriend do... HUGE amounts... It's crazy... they have so many cases and cases and different varieties all the time... Never are they without their beloved soda.  I was never one for soda... I can't say i never drink it... I will sometimes.... few and far between, but I can't say that I drink it more than 5 times a year... It helps that I hate carbonation.... I drink water, coffee, and green tea... Sometimes chocolate/or original soy milk... thats it.... I'm weird... I know, but i don't like soda, and I don't like fruit juice, can't even stand flavored water.... grosses me out...

Plain water is what we should all be drinking.  People who say they just can't drink anything unless it's flavored have a problem.  Instead of looking for sweetened and flavored alternatives it would be better to gradually increase the amount of plain water they drink.  I know I'm being kind of harsh, but I really do believe it's a bad thing to always have to have things taste sweet.   If I could stop putting 4 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee and tea and give up soda and juice completely, then anybody can do it.

In the mornings I'll drink my pot of coffee hot and black.  I take a 64 oz bottle of water to work with me and drink it during the day but also drink my diet caffiene free sodas.  I switched to cafeine free diet sodas a few months ago.  I enjoy my sodas too much and if I had to give those up then dieting would be very hard cuz it would be too restrictive.  I mean we have to give ourselves some "rewards" otherwise we are destined to fail.  I mean if we cut out everything that we enjoy this journey would just be too difficult to keep up for any long period of time.

I'm not saying maybe some day I'll give up my beverages - but for now its small steps

I don't drink soda in any form. It just doesn't taste very good to me...i guess i don't like the fizz. I was drinking a can of diet soda every day for about a week for the caffiene buzz but when I gained five pounds, i stopped drinking it. Arificial sweetners make me gain weight the same as real sugar. I don't know why but it's true!

And again it's the HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP thing.....it's just plain BAD for your health.

I gave up soda years ago, because I figured that was what made me gain weight in college.  I was right.  As soon as I stopped drinking it, I started just maintaining rather than gaining.  I still have a Dr. Pepper maybe once a month, but I don't even enjoy it all that much anymore.  I was never able to drink diet cuz it tasted funny to me.

If you're looking to kick your soda habit, I suggest buying some really good sweet types of juices, like orange banana and things like that.  Then after a while, wean yourself off the sweetness to more water.  It's always good to have OJ in the fridge tho!

Does anyone actually have any scientific understanding of why diet soda would make you gain weight?? Other than the fact that it's liquid sitting in your body?  People here have said, and I have heard it to, that diet soda makes you gain weight.

But who knows the science behind this?  I just can't figure if it's true scientifically or not.  Please enlighten me someone!

i dont think diet soda really makes you gain weight, it just makes you retain water.  also, it dehydrates you, so your digestive system doesnt work as quickly, and you can become constipated.  the extra weight from water and food just stays with you longer, not necessarily becoming fat in your body.