I’m always jealous of these people who were mindlessly drinking gallons of highly calorific soda, as they all had such a quick and obvious fix for their weight problem!
Meanwhile I’m sitting here on My Fitness Pal trying to eek out the calories to compensate for my general greed for literally everything.
Tbf, it wasn’t just that. I just think it was the biggest single factor. I also started exercising, started avoiding added sugars, cooked more food myself at home and cooked from base ingredients rather than packaged meals, and in general did my best to avoid processed food. I largely stopped playing video games and watching tv, and spent a lot more time having fun outside, meeting new people, and hanging out with friends. And in general, I adopted a mindset that I was a happy, healthy person, and so it was only natural I would do the things a happy, healthy person would do, and would spend time with other happy, healthy people
I will also say that I don’t think your current mindset/strategies are serving you very well. Personally, I just don’t think counting calories is a great strategy for almost anyone. But more broadly, you describe yourself as “greedy”, which is a sin, which implies some level of self-hatred - and this sort of motivation tends to result in binge-purge (or binge-binge) cycles. I think a better strategy is to find some kind of exercise you find fun and do it with other people, and make very tasty food that is still healthy
This is my biggest thing I need to change in my life currently. I’ve been told so many times now that the weight I’m holding on to is most likely still due to the soft drinks and sugary energy drinks I consume way too much of
Try to replace it with black coffee or tea of some sort. There’s a nice bulk store near me that sells really cheap but delicious instant coffee by the gram. IIRC sodas have caffeine in them which makes them ab it addictive, withdrawals only last a few days though.
I was able to stop sodas a number of years ago, and now the thought of drinking one makes me nauseous. A helpful crutch are those Ciao San Pellegrino’s, they have a tiny bit of sugar that makes them immensely more satisfying than other flavored sparkling waters. I keep my fridge stocked with the cherry and blood orange
I have tried that a few times, but can never make it last. Sparkling water doesn’t do it for me and sugar-free gives me gastro issues. I think I accidently made cokes my emotional support food. Does anyone have any tips?
Coffee or tea? For me the caffeine addiction was a big part of it and I couldn’t kick both the caffeine and sugar at the same time. Coffee or tea are less problematic, as long as you don’t put too much cream or sugar.
Never buy soda bottles even though they’re much cheaper. Cans are smaller, pre-portioned. If I buy a bottle, I’m going to finish it, but if I buy a can then finishing it is a moderate amount.
Now I’m in a better spot where my caffeine comes from coffee, black, and my soda is one can of diet (except recently I’m discovering all these interesting sodas from other places.)
For me the caffeine addiction was a big part of it and I couldn’t kick both the caffeine and sugar at the same time
I never was a soda drinker but I did pick up a nasty caffeine addition via overdrinking coffee when I was a young adult that I spent several years architecting my quit.
I spent about 2 years reducing how much coffee I drank each day until I was down to about 8oz of coffee a day, then I got a nasty stomach bug and went 3 days without drinking coffee because I wasn’t confident I could keep water down, and on the 4th day I decided “I’m already 3 days into quitting, so I’m already halfway through the week that the internet says it takes, so let’s just power through the last 4 days” it took more like 2-3 weeks to fully feel like I’d kicked the habit (and some of that time might have simply been relearning how to wake up in the morning rather than actual withdrawal symptoms)
Now I only drink really good coffees on rare occasions as a treat and struggle to drink more than a couple of ounces, but most importantly, I can get up, take a big gulp of water and get on with my day without having to spend 10 minutes with the coffee maker each morning (which with the amount of chaos kids introduce into just getting out the door in the morning is a ton of time saved and added flexibility!)
I like the other suggestions people are making. Another tip is to keep the sodas not always easily accessible. So if you tend to drink them at work, keep them at home, or if at home, at work.
But I think more importantly, I suggest making a habit of taking 10 breaths each time before you open a can. This isn’t an exercise in willpower, where you try to wrestle the can out of your hand. Instead, you are simply taking ten breaths, and noticing whatever feelings or emotions are present around the desire to drink a soda or the anticipation of drinking it, or whatever else comes into your awareness. If you want to drink the soda after 10 breaths, drink it. If you no longer feel the need, then don’t. And if you discovered a really interesting feeling, you can take another 10 breaths before deciding. It is all about noticing and becoming familiar with and accepting the feelings and emotions that are creating the impulse to drink soda. You noted that coke is your emotional support food, and I totally get that - so the way to improve is probably going to be by becoming deeply familiar with the emotions driving you to seek cokes, which will release their power over you.
Another suggestion I would make is to use ✨The Power of Friendship✨. Talk to friends, family, or partners about your goal of quitting sodas. They might have even better tips than we do. But more importantly, they can help you in ways we can’t. For example, if you struggle with having soda at home, you will need a partner’s agreement to remove it from home (assuming they also drink soda). They can be a sounding board for both your practical ideas and emotional struggles through the process. And they can act as accountability partners - one of the most powerful things you can do to break bad habits is to have a friend on speed dial so you can call them and say “hey, I’m really craving that third soda right now. Can we talk?”
Another suggestion - this may sound a bit dickish, but it would probably help if you just improved your life in general. Coke is your emotional support food - so it would be easier to give up if you needed less emotional support. What are the things in your life which are driving you to drink coke? Stressful job? Find ways to make it less stressful, or find a less stressful job. Hate commuting? Move closer to work. Financial trouble? Find a way to make more or spend less. I’m rattling these off like they are nothing, and they aren’t - these could be some big hairy beasts of goals in your life. But you eat an elephant one bite at a time, and if these problems are causing you to be more stressed and drink more coke, it is worth getting started on them now, so that your life will be better later - even if later is a few years from now.
One final thought - I don’t think giving up vices should ever be the top most important goal in your life. One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard about kicking bad habits was to try your best to fill your life up with good habits instead. If you are spending your time chasing after goals that inspire you, hanging out with good friends and meeting new people, having fun doing things you enjoy, then you will may find that the impulse you had to drink coke simply evaporates since you were always focused on something else that was more fun or interesting.
Thanks for the elaborate response. I’m finishing up my doctoral thesis at the moment and hopefully when that is done the main stressor in my life is gone. I’ve tried many of your tips about including others and keeping them out of the house, but somehow I always find an excuse to get them again.
I started alternating between coke and water. Now on 2 glasses of water for each glass of coke. Hoping to get that down to 1 glass a day, then nothing, but it still seems I’m far off :)
Ahh stuck. I can understand that. I’m having trouble picturing skipping that first glass in the morning, as it clears the awful sleep-taste out of my mouth, something which water cannot seem to do. Probably just a mental thing (I hope).
I’ll assume you brush your teeth at night, that helps a lot.
If you also brush your teeth first thing in the morning, the taste will be gone.
A mouthwash might also do the trick if you don’t want to brush immediately.
When I was reducing my coffee intake with the intent to quit one of the things I’d do is put a nice bottle of ice cold water right next to the coffee mug. Every time I’d go to reach for the coffee, I’d first redirect my hand to the water and drink that, then if I still really needed that coffee then I’d drink it.
This method alone was extremely effective at reducing my coffee intake, and I went from about 24oz of coffee a day down to about 8-10oz per day just with doing this. I also had the added bonus of drinking less sugary creamer and therefore getting my body used to a lot less sugar, so when I quit coffee completely I was already so used to water and drank so little sugar I basically switched to only drinking water
The important part is ice cold water. That sensational shock of the ice cold water makes it an easier transition
Stopped drinking soda. The weight just fell off
I’m always jealous of these people who were mindlessly drinking gallons of highly calorific soda, as they all had such a quick and obvious fix for their weight problem!
Meanwhile I’m sitting here on My Fitness Pal trying to eek out the calories to compensate for my general greed for literally everything.
Tbf, it wasn’t just that. I just think it was the biggest single factor. I also started exercising, started avoiding added sugars, cooked more food myself at home and cooked from base ingredients rather than packaged meals, and in general did my best to avoid processed food. I largely stopped playing video games and watching tv, and spent a lot more time having fun outside, meeting new people, and hanging out with friends. And in general, I adopted a mindset that I was a happy, healthy person, and so it was only natural I would do the things a happy, healthy person would do, and would spend time with other happy, healthy people
I will also say that I don’t think your current mindset/strategies are serving you very well. Personally, I just don’t think counting calories is a great strategy for almost anyone. But more broadly, you describe yourself as “greedy”, which is a sin, which implies some level of self-hatred - and this sort of motivation tends to result in binge-purge (or binge-binge) cycles. I think a better strategy is to find some kind of exercise you find fun and do it with other people, and make very tasty food that is still healthy
This is my biggest thing I need to change in my life currently. I’ve been told so many times now that the weight I’m holding on to is most likely still due to the soft drinks and sugary energy drinks I consume way too much of
I went cold turkey and just started drinking only water. But if thats not an option for you, you could also just switch to sugar free.
sparkling water, i mostly drink that or unsweetened teas.
Try to replace it with black coffee or tea of some sort. There’s a nice bulk store near me that sells really cheap but delicious instant coffee by the gram. IIRC sodas have caffeine in them which makes them ab it addictive, withdrawals only last a few days though.
I was able to stop sodas a number of years ago, and now the thought of drinking one makes me nauseous. A helpful crutch are those Ciao San Pellegrino’s, they have a tiny bit of sugar that makes them immensely more satisfying than other flavored sparkling waters. I keep my fridge stocked with the cherry and blood orange
same here with soda, just the sickly sweet taste of soda is overpowering.
What if you put fiber in your soda?
I just crave the carbonation. Zero sugar or even just sparkling water is good by me.
Yeah, sparkling water with a dash of lemon juice is great for me. Very refreshing and basically no sugar or calories.
i buy different flavored ones from different brands. alot of the times they have sales on most of them
Same, but with beer. Lost nearly 15kg+ in a year without even trying.
beer has sugar in it, im not surprised. also it does something wierd with your liver and insulin as well(the alcohol.)
Not only sugar, alcohol itself has significant amounts of calories.
I have tried that a few times, but can never make it last. Sparkling water doesn’t do it for me and sugar-free gives me gastro issues. I think I accidently made cokes my emotional support food. Does anyone have any tips?
Coffee or tea? For me the caffeine addiction was a big part of it and I couldn’t kick both the caffeine and sugar at the same time. Coffee or tea are less problematic, as long as you don’t put too much cream or sugar.
Never buy soda bottles even though they’re much cheaper. Cans are smaller, pre-portioned. If I buy a bottle, I’m going to finish it, but if I buy a can then finishing it is a moderate amount.
Now I’m in a better spot where my caffeine comes from coffee, black, and my soda is one can of diet (except recently I’m discovering all these interesting sodas from other places.)
I never was a soda drinker but I did pick up a nasty caffeine addition via overdrinking coffee when I was a young adult that I spent several years architecting my quit.
I spent about 2 years reducing how much coffee I drank each day until I was down to about 8oz of coffee a day, then I got a nasty stomach bug and went 3 days without drinking coffee because I wasn’t confident I could keep water down, and on the 4th day I decided “I’m already 3 days into quitting, so I’m already halfway through the week that the internet says it takes, so let’s just power through the last 4 days” it took more like 2-3 weeks to fully feel like I’d kicked the habit (and some of that time might have simply been relearning how to wake up in the morning rather than actual withdrawal symptoms)
Now I only drink really good coffees on rare occasions as a treat and struggle to drink more than a couple of ounces, but most importantly, I can get up, take a big gulp of water and get on with my day without having to spend 10 minutes with the coffee maker each morning (which with the amount of chaos kids introduce into just getting out the door in the morning is a ton of time saved and added flexibility!)
I like the other suggestions people are making. Another tip is to keep the sodas not always easily accessible. So if you tend to drink them at work, keep them at home, or if at home, at work.
But I think more importantly, I suggest making a habit of taking 10 breaths each time before you open a can. This isn’t an exercise in willpower, where you try to wrestle the can out of your hand. Instead, you are simply taking ten breaths, and noticing whatever feelings or emotions are present around the desire to drink a soda or the anticipation of drinking it, or whatever else comes into your awareness. If you want to drink the soda after 10 breaths, drink it. If you no longer feel the need, then don’t. And if you discovered a really interesting feeling, you can take another 10 breaths before deciding. It is all about noticing and becoming familiar with and accepting the feelings and emotions that are creating the impulse to drink soda. You noted that coke is your emotional support food, and I totally get that - so the way to improve is probably going to be by becoming deeply familiar with the emotions driving you to seek cokes, which will release their power over you.
Another suggestion I would make is to use ✨The Power of Friendship✨. Talk to friends, family, or partners about your goal of quitting sodas. They might have even better tips than we do. But more importantly, they can help you in ways we can’t. For example, if you struggle with having soda at home, you will need a partner’s agreement to remove it from home (assuming they also drink soda). They can be a sounding board for both your practical ideas and emotional struggles through the process. And they can act as accountability partners - one of the most powerful things you can do to break bad habits is to have a friend on speed dial so you can call them and say “hey, I’m really craving that third soda right now. Can we talk?”
Another suggestion - this may sound a bit dickish, but it would probably help if you just improved your life in general. Coke is your emotional support food - so it would be easier to give up if you needed less emotional support. What are the things in your life which are driving you to drink coke? Stressful job? Find ways to make it less stressful, or find a less stressful job. Hate commuting? Move closer to work. Financial trouble? Find a way to make more or spend less. I’m rattling these off like they are nothing, and they aren’t - these could be some big hairy beasts of goals in your life. But you eat an elephant one bite at a time, and if these problems are causing you to be more stressed and drink more coke, it is worth getting started on them now, so that your life will be better later - even if later is a few years from now.
One final thought - I don’t think giving up vices should ever be the top most important goal in your life. One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard about kicking bad habits was to try your best to fill your life up with good habits instead. If you are spending your time chasing after goals that inspire you, hanging out with good friends and meeting new people, having fun doing things you enjoy, then you will may find that the impulse you had to drink coke simply evaporates since you were always focused on something else that was more fun or interesting.
Thanks for the elaborate response. I’m finishing up my doctoral thesis at the moment and hopefully when that is done the main stressor in my life is gone. I’ve tried many of your tips about including others and keeping them out of the house, but somehow I always find an excuse to get them again.
I started alternating between coke and water. Now on 2 glasses of water for each glass of coke. Hoping to get that down to 1 glass a day, then nothing, but it still seems I’m far off :)
I’m stuck on two cans a day, with bad days going up to 4 cans. I do drink loads of water in between.
Ahh stuck. I can understand that. I’m having trouble picturing skipping that first glass in the morning, as it clears the awful sleep-taste out of my mouth, something which water cannot seem to do. Probably just a mental thing (I hope).
I’ll assume you brush your teeth at night, that helps a lot. If you also brush your teeth first thing in the morning, the taste will be gone. A mouthwash might also do the trick if you don’t want to brush immediately.
Or eat a fruit or something.
Indeed, coke comes between waking up and brushing teeth, I wake up slowly so this will need some training on my part. Good advice, thanks!
When I was reducing my coffee intake with the intent to quit one of the things I’d do is put a nice bottle of ice cold water right next to the coffee mug. Every time I’d go to reach for the coffee, I’d first redirect my hand to the water and drink that, then if I still really needed that coffee then I’d drink it.
This method alone was extremely effective at reducing my coffee intake, and I went from about 24oz of coffee a day down to about 8-10oz per day just with doing this. I also had the added bonus of drinking less sugary creamer and therefore getting my body used to a lot less sugar, so when I quit coffee completely I was already so used to water and drank so little sugar I basically switched to only drinking water
The important part is ice cold water. That sensational shock of the ice cold water makes it an easier transition
Oof, I hate ice cold water. I always drink room temp or slightly cooled… but I like your idea. Perhaps I’ll give sparkling water another try.
Yep. Did away with sweetened beverages, junk/fried foods, and feel better for it, too.