How to Break Your Soda Habit TODAY

I only ever drank Coke with Rye. I got fat by being lazy and drinking too much beer. I have never understood why people drink so much of the stuff. It must be terribly addictive for some.

Dr. Steve, I say Tax soda like smokes and beer and give the money to the hospitals... just proding you.

cheers,

I gotta say, these tips are pretty snazzy. One of the FIRST things I tell clients is to get rid of pop/cola/sugary juices from their houses. Immediately!

The amount of sugar you'll reduce daily is significant... and you'll be THAT much closer to your goal. Huzzah!

P.S- Oh and if you need extreme measures, you could always tell your best friend to slap you across the face every time you go near that stuff. Or... how about a shock collar. (yeah, my imagination runs wild)

Hi, Mike. I'm a full-time hospitalist, so I should get some of that soda tax money you're sending to the hospitals. Sounds good to me!

-Steve

The pop habit was something I kicked at the same time I kicked my junk food habit.

Basically, I got it all out of the house and made a rule.

If I wanted that crap, I had to WALK the 6 blocks to the convenience store to buy it, and I was only allowed to buy ONE individual portion of whatever it was I wanted.

Definitely would not burn off the calories in a coke or a bag of chips by walking 12 blocks, but it gave me a moment to pause and decide if I REALLY wanted it or not. Usually, I didn't want it.

I guess I lucked out with this one. My high school track and field coach didn't allow us to drink soda at all. If we were caught with a soda, we would get one warning, and if it happened again we'd get kicked off the team.

That broke my 2 a day Mountain dew and Dr. Pepper habit, and I haven't gone back ever since.

Wow! 3 to 7 litres?! That's not a spelling mistake, that's how we spell litres in Canada just so I don't look dumb! ;) That's a lot of empty, useless calories! I guess it must be addictive just like anything else. I have a cousin that used to drink 2 litres (or more)of Pepsi every day and when he finally quit he dropped 40 pounds in a few months.

Amazing how much soda some people drink but I have read plenty of weight loss stories where the calories from soda where huge! I used to drink diet but had some work stress a few years back & my stomach could not handle it. I stopped then & never went back! I drink water, the no calorie flavored water & my beloved flavored coffee (in the morn or a treat on the weekends if I am out & about).

I think the baby steps is a good point since caffeine is addictive.

I really like those no calorie flavored waters that all the supermarkets have.. their own brand. I wait for them to be on sale & buy more then. It is like a treat for me & I drink plain water the rest of the day & maybe sip thru a flavored one thru the day.

For me, soda is a comfort food... I'm usually good at kicking it for months at a time, but when a high-stress deadline comes up it will start sneaking back into my life.

Now is one of those times. I'm trying to keep soda out and try coffee instead - still high in caffeine but less sugar / calories. I also find I drink less of it in one day / want less of it than with soda. So all in all, it saves a lot of calories!

SEVEN liters of soda per DAY?? Pregnant? OMG! I'm 18 weeks pregnant, and have a can of soda maybe every 2 weeks, and I feel really guilty when I do it. LOL. Wow.

Pop a potassium pill. Done.

Don't buy flavoured drinks and just stick to water. Sometimes my husband buys Coke and brings it home to the fridge. I just tip it down the sink! He is starting to get the point that soda drinks are banned in our house. :)

My husband and I quit nearly 2 years ago after we found out it might cause metabolic syndrome. I had already tapered off to 1 non-caffeinated diet soda every couple of weeks, but my husband was drinking a couple of sodas each day. He went cold turkey so I decided to as well to support him. My husband now drinks unsweetened tea and I drink mostly water, although sometimes I will splurge with a carbonated water with lemon to get that fizzy feeling.

It wasn't a horrible transition as one might think, but there are still occasions where we think a soda would hit the spot. But after two years of "sobriety", it would seem foolish to drink something now.

I really need to kick my diet soda habit, but I really love Diet Coke. I suppose it's better than regular soda, but it's still soda and it's probably not great for me. I've cut back on it, but I really should just start drinking water and tea exclusively and just cut out the soda.

"There's nothing smart about not drinking soda"

... I stand un-corrected! Yeah, it's sugar water, but its the DOSE. The amount of sugar in one can is ridiculous.

You know what "I" won't stand for Mr.intelligent person? Calling someone's healthier efforts "sad".

"I don't fall victim to the dietary zealotry so prevalent on the internet."

Haha, a classic case of some fruit-cup thinking that I (and a few others) live robotic health-FREAK lives. Trust me, I enjoy my food, and there is NEVER a reason to consume soda.

I just drink a diet soda when I feel like it. I have transferred some of my cravings for other things onto diet soda, and it hasn't kept me from loosing weight yet.

I buy a 12 pack of cans and it last me nearly 2 weeks. I am most likely to have 1 a day, sometimes 2 a day , and rarely 3 a day.

I have sinus problems, especially when I wake up in the moring and that cold fizzy rush clears my head and make me feel better than coffee. Soda is also th e only thing that relieves nausea for me. I guess I could try a flavored seltzer, but don't even the diet ones have calories?

There are good reasons to cut back on drinking several liters of soda a day, and as someone who drinks a couple of cans a day on average I would like to cut back a little. However, I don't see a need to completely eliminate soda. Like cake, cookies, candy, and ice cream, it's a nice treat that won't sabotage your overall diet if enjoyed in moderation.

I went straight from soda to water, nothing in between. I noticed an immediate difference in my skin and joints. I used to drink Pepsi day & night, about a 2-liter a day, never thinking about how many liquid calories and sugar I was consuming. I now drink water, tea or coffee in the morning, red wine & beer.

I stopped drinking soda, went cold turkey 3 weeks ago. Wasn't hard a first but am really missing the caffeine today.

When I was at my heaviest, I drank around 64 ounces of regular Coke a day! My husband (and trying to lose weight) convinced me to switch to diet. I would literally drink about a gallon of Diet Pepsi in a day! Then a friend challenged me to give up the soda and I decided I would. Now I drink mostly water. If I do drink caffieneated soda, I end up with a UTI. So not worth it!