Wellness

[SewHappy2]

What is a good option for a life-long soda drinker trying to kick the habit? I don't like coffee, I prefer cold drinks. Any ideas?

[ccassaday]

I like the Crystal lite lemonade and pink lemonade packets. I also like Lipton pure leaf iced tea. They have a peach one with pretty low sugar.

[brii]

I like to drink sparking water. I like the fizz.

I gave up diet drinks a few years ago. It was the hardest thing to give up, but I feel and sleep so much better now.

[fancy pantsy]

when i was trying to give up soda and sweet tea, i tried lots of the flavored waters and lo cal squirt type, add- to- water substitutes. what i ended up liking better than anything was plain old lemon water. lots of ice, lots of lemon. i can hardly believe it, but i have grown to like it! good luck!

[Laurel013]

I dont drink sodas or diet drinkks as they defeat the purpose of my physical fitness goals but in the gym we drink lots of water. Tons of water but boring, right? I grow mint so i stick a bunch of mint leaves and squeeze lime juice into the bottle. Flavor, no calories!

[Suzeecat]

You might want to just go "cold turkey" and switch to plain water for a while, to get your palate off to a fresh start. Maybe add some lemon juice. I tried all the squirt-type solutions and they all upset my stomach. My chiropractor sells a fine powder, Optima Replenisher, that I buy in a large size from Amazon. I get the orange flavor, but it comes in other flavors. I find I drink more water if it has some flavor. The Optima Replenisher is the most cost-effective, healthy way that works for me.

All that being said, even after many years of giving up soda, I still get cravings and have one once or twice a year.

Best of luck in your soda detox! Diet cola is bad stuff and you are definitely doing the right thing!

[gazelle77]

I add flavored stevia drops to any water I drink. Stevita brand makes I think the best on the market.

I also decided to drink no caffeine herb tea.. I make enough for two days.. usually Chamomile and some other calming herb and sweeten it with stevia. I drink it both hot and cold.

I have not had any diet pop now for going on two years.... I use to drink over a six pack a day of the canned diet rite cola!

[gazelle77]

On 10/9/2014 ccassaday said: I like the Crystal lite lemonade and pink lemonade packets. I also like Lipton pure leaf iced tea. They have a peach one with pretty low sugar.

Crystal lite uses Splenda... that may also be something to stay away from with all the new info out on the dangers of artificial sweeteners....

[gardensla]

I'm addicted to Tazo's iced tea that comes in bags ideal for making a big pitcher. Love Passion which is herbal but also Blushberry Black which has caffeine.

I buy mine at Starbucks but you can find them online too.

ETA, I toss in a packet of Truvia for an entire pitcher and it's plenty sweet.

[expatgal]

First, you are making such a wise decision regarding your health! I firmly believe diet sodas are one of the worst things you can be hooked on. And yes ... they ARE addictive.

I made the decision to give them up about 15 years ago. And I was so hooked on Diet Pepsi that I had to grab one when I got out of bed!

The way I stopped was cold turkey. Trying to go from 6 to 4 to 1 ... didn't work with me. If I got a taste of one, I wanted 5 more throughout the day. What I finally found that worked was flavored Perrier fizzy water. It gave me the fizz I loved, the taste (I prefer LIME), and no artificial stuff. I still keep cases of the stuff in my pantry and always have some chilled.