Giving up fizzy drinks?

hev_2

I can't believe that so many other people have had problems with Diet Coke. It is like an alcoholic realising that others have problems with drink.

I am going cold turkey now (see sig). I was easily downing four litres of Diet Coke a day and could manage eight litres without a problem.

I blame some of my health problems on the Diet Coke, including aching joints and extremely iffy stomach.

BTW Diet Coke is a laxative, and I have now realised that what I was considering normal can be considered a symptom of extreme bowel disease. I expect that to settle down once I have got over the Diet Coke (aspartame can take 6 months to get out of the system).

It is not just the caffeine that is addictive, but the aspartame as well, and all the other 'goodies' in there. Full fat coke just does not do it for me.

Wow, I am not alone!

Hev

fizzel81

i am a huge diet coke drinker
have tried cold turkey but get headcahes and swear i crave diet coke
any tips

hev_2

Well, I am on day two, so I am not an expert.

But...

If I manage one week I get some really nice teabags
If I manage two weeks I get a really nice jar to keep them in
If I manage three weeks I get a top up of teabags and a nice mug
If I manage four weeks then I get a book that I really don't need but would really, really like. After that, I should be okay.

Fingers crossed...

I am relying on tea which I like and which I drank before I got onto the diet coke.

Let me know how you get on. I could do with ideas.

Hev

recovering_spendaholic

mumoftwo wrote: »

I wanted to bump this thread as I am concerned about my kids drinking juice with aspartame and I am a bit of a diet coke junkie. We have been talking about it a bit on the flylady forum and by reading the links people have posted I found out it can actually make you fat! Well, I am what the medical profession call obese (I hate that word), and I am worried about my kids, diluting juice, yoghurts, it is hard to get away from the stuff.

So my question is, What do you give your kids to drink? Fruit juices are fine but contain a lot of sugar, not too good for their teeth. My teenage DD loves water with ice, but the younger one would rather drink fresh orange all day. Do you think if I diluted it with sparkling mineral water it would be better?

What do you all think?

I have the same problem. There is aspartame or other artificial sweetner in so much stuff - from squash, fizzies, yoghurts, tinned beans, ketchup etc - it's also in the non diet versions of stuff. I am also medically obese and I was told by a doctor that when you eat something with artificial sweetner in it your brain thinks that it is getting something with sugar in it - it then sends a message to your endocrine system to expect sugar and so release the appropriate insulin and whatever else to deal with it. When your system realises that there is no energy in what you have ingested it sends a message back to your brain to say that there wasn't any sugar and this can mean that you then release hunger signals so in the long run you want to eat more, which, in certain people, can trigger cravings, overeating and even bingeing or just irritability. I know that since I have tried to eliminate all fizzy drinks and stuff with sweetner I seem to be able to stick to an eating plan more easily. Getting the kids to give it up is a nightmare though. I never buy DC or any pop now, but last weekend I got some in as DD1 was having a party (she's 17) and for 2 days until it was used up it was all she and DD2(9) would drink - DD2 got in a right strop if I tried to offer her her usual water, juice or milk.

onredbull

mumoftwo wrote: »

I wanted to bump this thread as I am concerned about my kids drinking juice with aspartame and I am a bit of a diet coke junkie. We have been talking about it a bit on the flylady forum and by reading the links people have posted I found out it can actually make you fat! Well, I am what the medical profession call obese (I hate that word), and I am worried about my kids, diluting juice, yoghurts, it is hard to get away from the stuff.
So my question is, What do you give your kids to drink? Fruit juices are fine but contain a lot of sugar, not too good for their teeth. My teenage DD loves water with ice, but the younger one would rather drink fresh orange all day. Do you think if I diluted it with sparkling mineral water it would be better?
What do you all think?

Hiya Mumoftwo & Everyone,
:wave:
I would like to add what i have done/do.

Firstly I would like to state "I am not perfect and I'm also on the big side."
My biggest fear is that my children will end up like me, and even though I try to do my best - I know it is not good enough.

These are my tips ( some good and some bad)

1. When they were younger - I gave them fizzy peach water and told them it was lemonade and 5 years on, they always ask for lemonade when we see peach water.

2. The bags of dried fruit (strawberry) and raisens, I have always said that these are sweets and they have one or other every couple of days and think they are having a treat.

3. I always (get my fixes) eat chocolate/crisp when they are in bed so they dont see me eating these bad foods. (good 4 them & bad 4 me)

4. When they were teething - i gave them 1/2 a cucumber to hold and chew on/suck and was the best thing i could have done said my health visitor, as it is cold from fridge and made of water. They still love eating whole cucumber - many times there is bite marks in cucumber.

I would love to join in this thread or start a thread if this is the wrong place, and would be interested in helping and swapping each others ideas and tips on bringing up healthy children in larger families/parent. I also have the unfortunate factor of living in flats on main road with no garden/play area in sight.
Im sorry, I know I need to stop making up so many excuses.:wall:

loopyloulou_3

Lillibet,

I was exactly the same, I was totally addicted to the evil DC, drinking about 4 cans (it HAD to be cans for some reason- tastes different!) a day at least and even driving to the shop at 11 oclock at night to get a can when i craved it!

I went cold turkey in Feb and havent had one can since. It was really hard, but I started seeing if I could give it up for a week and went from there. I tasted it the other day and really dont like it that much now, and wouldnt buy it ever! I must admit tho when i went out it seemed everyone was drinking DC everywhere i looked and I could have snatched a can out of someones hand when I saw them with it! SO bad!

I am a remformed DC addict!

You can do it! It will save you a fortune! and it better for your health :-)

loopyloulou_3

and any side effects you get (i didnt really get any) go after a while so stick it out!

I must admit i get SOOOOO many less headaches since I gave up and I am convinced it was the DC.

onredbull

I did a quick search and found this:-

Water or Coke?
To clean corrosion from car battery terminals : pur a can of Coke-Cola over the terminals to .... They aren't "bad chemicals" in any way shape or form. ...
www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=120185 - 38k - cached - related

Hope the link works and im sure there are loads of websites, that may help put you off coke, Good Luck.

Penelope_Penguin

Hi, all. Fizzy drinks are also linked to bone disease. See this link from Times Online.

The fizziness is achieved by adding carbon dioxide, which creates acidity in the bloodstream. This acidity is then neutralised by reacting with calcium, the chemical which builds bones.

Penny. x

Justamum

hev wrote: »

I blame some of my health problems on the Diet Coke, including aching joints and extremely iffy stomach.

BTW Diet Coke is a laxative, and I have now realised that what I was considering normal can be considered a symptom of extreme bowel disease. I expect that to settle down once I have got over the Diet Coke (aspartame can take 6 months to get out of the system).

Has it just got aspartame in or does it have saccharin too? I know saccharin can cause stomach problems. I remember as a child when there was a sugar shortage my mum put saccharin in our tea instead of sugar. I ended up with a chronic runny stomach from it. And it tastes awful anyway.