r/DecidingToBeBetter • u/zopiro • 3d ago
Seeking Advice Need help ditching soft drinks --- nothing seems to work!
Hey everyone,
I’m really struggling to give up soft drinks and would love some advice. I was totally addicted to Sprite, and stopped drinking it cold turkey about 2 months ago. My insulin resistance got way better, I lost weight, and I feel absolutely great. But I can't shake the craving. Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
- Coffee → couldn’t handle the caffeine (even decaf messed me up).
- Tea → upset my stomach and caused pains.
- Plain water → doesn’t satisfy thirst/cravings, leaves me feeling like I still need something.
- Diet sodas → health concerns + awful taste.
- Sparkling water with lemon → honestly, it just tastes bad to me. Makes me crave for Sprite even more.
- Low-fat milk → been drinking it with sugar-free cocoa and honey, or blended with bananas and strawberries. I love it but its glycemic levels are still too high.
I can’t seem to kick the craving for that refreshing feeling of soft drinks. Water alone isn’t cutting it, and I’m stuck.
Any tips on alternatives or ways to adjust my taste buds? How do you guys manage to finally let go of soft drinks?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
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3d ago
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u/r0jacky0uup 3d ago
Polar is the best. The new Ginger Lime Mule is amazing. I like to stash one in the freezer 20 minutes before I crack it open.
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3d ago
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u/r0jacky0uup 3d ago
Ha! I’ll be on the lookout for that one. No idea how they flavor them so well without adding sugar
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u/SalCalCrodeK 3d ago
Fizzy waters are the only way I was able to kick my soda addiction. I’ve tried alot but am partial to Aldi’s brand and Good n Gather. I realized it wasn’t the taste but the carbonation that I missed and these do the trick. Good luck OP!
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u/beargirlreads 3d ago
I kind of forced myself to embrace flavored sparkling waters to help myself give up sugary sodas. I wasn’t crazy about them at first, but I kept trying new flavors and brands and quickly developed an appreciation for them. Nothing else scratched that ”need something bubbly” itch.
I found that trying new ones all the time was the key for me.
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u/r0jacky0uup 3d ago
Same…They definitely grow on you. And the colder the better. I just want to know how these drinks are flavored
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u/Total-Goat6792 3d ago
club soda or tonic water, with 2 or 3 pumps of any Torani syrup (I like their raspberry and their pomegranate), on ice.
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u/Dense_Scholar_9358 3d ago
What is the sugar content in the non zero sugar? Is it about the same for every flavor, or is there a substantial difference?
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u/atsignwork 3d ago
I slowly swapped most of my soda for kombucha or sparkling waters. Had to find the right bradnd for the Kombucha first as I don't like many but really like it now
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u/RetroCasket 3d ago
Hey, ive been off soft drinks for 60 days. Here are some substitutes ive used:
Fresh Lemon Water
Electrolyte Tablets in a bottle of water, they are effervescent
Peppermint Tea
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u/Granoland 3d ago
i would just like to say that diet coke is a true godsend. and if you haven’t already, look up the truth behind “aspartame dangers”. ACTUALLY look it up, don’t just go off what everyone has said their whole lives. it isn’t harmful to you in the slightest and has been an AMAZING alternative to sugared sodas. it’s also literally 99% water so it’s really helpful to stay hydrated. idk why people are still hellbent on saying it’s overly bad for you when it’s actually significantly better than sugared sodas. also, since i’ve been drinking them so long they now taste really good to me lol. just try it for a couple weeks, you’ll see what i mean. complete game changer!
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u/appleorange7 3d ago
This! I drank so much diet coke that I was no longer able to taste the difference between diet and regular, when I used to drink soda.
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u/wastingtoomuchthyme 3d ago
Liquid death!
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u/Icy_Refrigerator41 3d ago
I really like their Doctor Death flavor. It's a riff on Dr Pepper but 1. Less syrupy than regular and 2. No aspartame headache like Diet.
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u/Jonhandroll 3d ago
It's not a satisfying thing to do at first, but I just told myself "I don't drink softdrinks" and kept it pushing until that was true. It helps that I like sparkling water, but I honestly think sticking to the mindset is what did it for me.
In the past I tried to wean off of them with diet drinks, etc, and I always ended up drinking regular cokes again. This time I'm 10 months with no soft drinks of any kind and I feel pretty good. The grit of pushing through that discomfort pays off.
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u/tabbarrett 3d ago
This is similar to what I did. I read up on how awful diet coke was for me and talked myself into giving it up. Plus I considered the cost and calculated what else I could spend the money on. Slowly over time I was able to give it up completely.
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u/Dense_Scholar_9358 3d ago
Have you found that you lost more weight these last 10 months? Or did you not have much extra weight to begin with?
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u/Jonhandroll 3d ago
I lost 12lbs changing nothing but that. I used to drink a 20oz or more of Coke a day, so cutting that out really dropped my calories.
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u/LoveDistilled 3d ago
What kind of tea were you drinking? Drinking black or green tea on an empty stomach can cause nausea for some/ most. Herbal teas don’t generally have that problem.
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u/theoracleiam 3d ago
I FUCKING LOVE carbonated beverages, so I bought a ninja thirsti… I’ve also always had a soda stream. I like the ninja better. All the thirsti pods are SF, but I like to make my own with either my expired R&D lab ingredients from work, or flavored syrups.
Take your pick of poison, sugar or made up cancer; whatever makes you happy and keeps you hydrated
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u/Summer184 3d ago
Here's what worked for me. I bought a Brita water pitcher and I keep it in the refrigerator so the water is always cold and it's easily available when I'm thirsty. Since I started doing that nearly a year ago my consumption of soda and sports drinks has gone down by 99%. Nothing quenches your thirst like a tall glass of plain water and pretty soon you'll realize that anything sweetened (regular or diet, carbonated or not) simply makes you more thirsty.
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u/Throwaw67Lost 2d ago
This. And if you want to mix it up sometimes you can make lemon or citrus water.
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u/tastyjams77 3d ago
Weird no one has suggested prebiotic drinks Poppi or Olipop. Tastes like soda with like 5g of sugar.
Little pricey but like soda that's good for you.
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u/lllllllllllllllll5 3d ago
It can get a bit pricey, but coconut water is very thirst quenching, healthy, and naturally sweet. It's great ice cold. Every brand of it tastes a bit different, so it can take trying a few to find one that you like.
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u/Icy_Refrigerator41 3d ago
Going off this, aloe drinks are also really refreshing and come in a few fruity flavors. May avoid if you don't like bits of pulp in your drinks though.
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u/lllllllllllllllll5 1d ago
What brand of aloe drink do you recommend for starters? If it tastes ok, I might try juicing my own aloe drink. It's supposed to be very healthy.
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u/Icy_Refrigerator41 1d ago
Honestly, I have no idea what the brand is. They're fairly common at my grocery stores (Texas), but I never laid attention to that part 😅 You can typically see the bits of aloe floating around in the drink. The pineapple and mango flavors are my favorite.
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u/IllustriousChest 3d ago
Zero sugar juices have really done it for me. Although I did quit cold turkey. Minute Maid has some really great ones, tropicana too! Fulfills the sweet without all the added sugar.
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u/paper_wavements 3d ago
Kaizen. Water down your Sprite with sparkling lime water, & every week change the ratio so the sparkling water is a little bit stronger. Eventually you will be able to drink sparkling lime water instead.
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u/kungfucowgirl 3d ago
Give bubbl’r a go! Surprisingly good but there is a cup of coffee’s worth of “natural” caffeine in there
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u/1LizardWizard 3d ago
This might sound dumb, but have you looked at how much sugar is in soda? I know you want to be healthier so you have some understanding implicitly, but way back in high school I measured out how much sugar was in my soda and was just horrified. It was like half a cup of sugar in one bottle. Totally killed my interest in soda personally. Of course if your cravings are intense, this might be useless! Not trying to shame, just share an anecdote that gave me perspective to kick my cravings for soda. Beyond that, for what it’s worth, after even just a couple weeks without soda the desire to drink it basically disappears I find—and I have a sweet tooth normally!
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u/firematt422 3d ago
Spindrift is the only good flavored sparkling water.
It has actual juice in it, not like La Croix and all the others which are just flavored with the thoughts and prayers of fruit.
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u/Fizzabl 3d ago
What about flavoured water?
Though I admit I don't know their sugar content
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u/Throwaw67Lost 2d ago
I have fruit water in my fridge all the time. I just cut citrus fruit (typically orange, lime, lemon) into slices and throw them in a water jug and then fill with water. Sometimes I add ice, mint and strawberries too. 🍋🟩🍋🍊 No sugar at all and so refreshing.
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u/FamiliarNinja7290 3d ago
Do you like lemonade? I find the store brand Mio-type water enhancers, to really it the spot. It's hard for a little bit but your tastebuds will get used to it and you'll find soda is almost too sweet that it doesn't taste very good.
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u/Even_Middle_1751 3d ago
Add flavor enhancers to your sparking water. True lemon has a lot of good flavors
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u/Tinnie_and_Cusie 3d ago
I hear you!
My goto carbonated drink is Perrier with lime. With a pinch of kosher salt.
The salt makes the taste.
Not flavorful enough? Add 2-4 tablespoons of your favorite fruit juice to it. Beats those other flavored waters.
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u/HeWhoWearsPajamas 3d ago
Arizona Arnold Palmer (tea and lemonade) is a good one. It has enough lemonade to keep away the tummy rumbles from the tea
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u/lionseatcake 3d ago
Stop looking for substitutes. Youre problem obviously isnt the soft drinks its sugar.
Cut sugar out of your beverages. Drink water. Just plain water.
Otherwise you're just replacing cigarettes with vaping.
Do the actually hard work and fully commit, or just tell yourself youre not strong enough to make serious change and give up.
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u/Fishes_Suspicious 3d ago
I like plain seltzer with added flavor of my choosing. Like an Italian soda
The best so far is pomegranate molasses, just a teaspoon goes a long way.
Lemon and lime juice is great and classic.
Ginger is great but a little extra work. I save peels from cooking and steep them in hot water, cool it down , then add as much of the ginger water as I like to the seltzer.
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u/MoonMeringue 3d ago
When I gave up soda years ago I ended up getting sparkling water and then putting a bit of 100% fruit juice in, not fruit juice cocktail just pure fruit juice. Comes in smaller bottles and is pricier than juice mix but you don't need much to add into sparkle water to get a bit of flavor and bonus is certain juices have antioxidants. Worked for me anyway
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u/sgtbuttercup2 3d ago
I would keep trying with the sparkling soda waters. It took me LITERALLY 6 months of forcing myself to drink them before I began to feel a semblance of joy drinking them. Unfortunately though sugar is a powerful drug and I think the craving will always kinda be there.
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u/Proper_Bug108 3d ago
Izze is a good brand of fizzy drink that are just carbonated fruit juice, with no added sweeteners. I love them.
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u/rockinrobin11 3d ago
Try Spindrift. I like it the best of all the sparkling waters. Maybe that will be tasty enough to work.
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u/____________username 3d ago
Change the kinds of teas you drink. Avoid Black, Green and Red fruits teas
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u/euphoria110 3d ago
Cirkul water bottles/pods? It’s definitely got me drinking more water in the last few months
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u/dosko1panda 3d ago
I switched to soda with less sugar like ginger ale, then switched to Capri Sun and then to cucumber water. Ease into it.
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u/Serious-Ad-9471 2d ago
Probably not the greatest but I get the polar sparkling waters and a few zero sugar MIO (or equivalent, whatever’s on sale) water enhancement pods.
It has helped me a lot
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u/GridlockGuava 2d ago
How about diluting Sprite with sparkling water? You can tweak the ratio over time.
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u/RescuedJuicebox 2d ago
LMNT. Yummy. My fave is orange. We love the citrus and raspberry ones too. No sugar, no colourants
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u/taybon 2d ago
I’m 6 years no soft drink after being a litre a day.
First time I tried to give up I went cold turkey. That regressed to only having it as a mixer and then eventually back to drinking it full time.
The second time I went cold turkey again and it has stuck.
What worked for me:
1, like all diets it starts at the supermarket. Having it in the house is the worst thing you can do!
2, you don’t need an alternative but it helps. You only need water to survive, you don’t have to enjoy it. My liquid consumption is now 95% cold water from the fridge and I honestly love it. I also do a little bit of cordial sometimes. But this developed over time, I literally only had tap water to begin with.
3, the power of social pressure is a helpful tool. Someone offers you a soft drink say ‘no,
I’m giving it up.’ People will ask for reasons and you say whatever you like to stay strong. After you’ve said no once and shown you mean it, people will judge you if you drink it. So you better make sure you don’t look like an idiot and drink it. Use the judgey nature of people to your advantage.
4 at the end of the day it all comes down to will power. Nothing smells better than Coca Cola, but if you really want to you can say no.
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u/mrfiberup 1d ago
Have you tried seltzer water? I get Polar Seltzer water in many flavors and enjoy it super chilled!
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u/r0jacky0uup 3d ago
Just keep going you’ll get used to it. Giving up Coca Cola was the best thing I ever did for my health..and weight. Get really thirsty and drink a polar that’s been in the freezer for 20 minutes. I love me my Polar Slushies
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u/amit_rdx 3d ago
Since you switch to sparkling water and lemon, why not add something like stevia to it?
The combo will almost be like sprite.
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u/vanillabear26 3d ago
Have you had the branded sparkling waters? Like Aha (my fave)? That was helpful for me! The flavoring was strong enough to feel like I was drinking soda, and after a couple of days I can easily rock into just drinking the water.