I am addicted to diet coke and scared of giving it up. Help!!

I feel your pain and am with you 100%. It has been a very difficult thing to get down to one a day. Then one every other day. Now, every once in a while. There is no substitute. As a former smoker, I think the Diet Coke habit is harder to quit.

My addiction was diet Pepsi. The thing that I finally was able to kick it with was orange flavored stevia drink mix mixed with about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. It actually does taste good and I think it gave me that sweet-tart and crisp feeling that the soda did. Interestingly I read that back in the day they used to use apple cider vinegar to help alcoholics kick.

I start my two week pre-surgery all clear liquids tomorrow. I didn't have time to wean off the DC. I am determined to do this so I will try the apple cider vinegar to see if that helps. Thank you for the help!

Hi, my name is Angie and I am a recovering Diet Dr Pepper addict.

I quit sodas and energy drinks by making myself addicted to mineral water. I know eventually I will have to give this up as well, but having the bubbly water made it easier to stop sodas. Now I drink regular water all day and reward myself with the bubbly water in the evening so that should make it easy when it comes to the time that I need to give it up

Mine wasn't soda, but caffeinated coffee. I tried to stop cold turkey - I wouldn't advise that.

I ended up slowing cutting back over the course of two weeks. It was much easier and I didn't get the bad headaches.

Best of luck!

I was able to quit sodas by swapping my drink of choice in the same cup, so instead of a big Diet Dr. Pepper from Sonic, I started getting a big unsweet Raspberry Iced Tea from Sonic. The flavoring added sweetness to the tea (they have several sugar-free options), but the sensation of a sweet drink from the big cup was the same, and it felt very satisfying to drink. That transitioned to a Route 44 ice water with fresh lemon or lime. Same sensation, still satisfying. The straw will (or might be) a problem post-op, but maybe it will help you wean off the Cokes right now.

Hi all. I saw Diet Coke and knew I had to reply. Pre-surgery I LOVED Diet Coke. Infact, back in Feb I broke my ankle and had to have it surgically repaired. I was so thirsty before the surgery, and as soon as I was in recovery, the first thing I said was "diet cooooke!" And they did give me one soon after that.

So getting ready for my sleeve, which was on October 21st, I felt like it would be terrible to have to give it up.

What I can tell you about my experience is this: I have had a remarkably easy recovery, no problems at all and very little if no pain. BUT what I did have alot of was gas - lots and lots of burping in the days following the surgery, and if you don't expel it, it will hurt your new stomach. Therefore I have not had a single craving for diect coke or anything with carbonation, at all. Can't even imagine drinking it.

Will that last forever? I don't know, but the habit gets broken for you - just like alot of other bad food habits, once you are post surgery.

And that is the beauty of the sleeve. You start your relationship with food over - a clean slate.

Good Luck !!

Thanks for all the advice! I'm 24 hours without DC and the worst part has been the headache. So I gave in at about 3 pm and had tea with caffeine. It helped a lot but can only do that for 2 more days. Also I just happened to come across a caffeine e-cigarette. No nicotine and no tobacco. Only caffeine and it bypasses the liver, goes straight to the brain. I do not think I'll try it but found it quite tempting when my head was hurting this afternoon.

I gave up my diet coke and switched to a product called avitae. It's caffeinated Water. Tastes just like plain water but you can add flavor to is if you want. I get it by the case from Office Depot online. I work overnight so I didn't give up my caffeine but this works for me

I felt thr same way! 16 weeks out and haven't had any carbonated drinks..and don't care to...don't crave it...don't want it.

All I ever drank was diet pepsi. All day, every day. Since I'm not much of a take it slowly, little by little kind of girl I quit ev everything cold turkey. The first few days really sucked but then it was done, over. My favorite addiction now is sweet drops, flavored stevia drops. Don't think I can live without them.

I used to drink at least a 2 liter if Coke a day.. I wonder why I am 250 # over weight ...

It was a hard habit to break

I'm almost 96 hours or 4 full days of no diet coke. If I was eating then I might miss the diet coke, but since all I do is drink liquid shakes and eat jello, I'm not craving diet coke. I have a little hot tea to help with the caffeine withdrawal and a little pink lemonade ice tea mixed in for sweetness and sour.

I put off getting the surgery for years because I didn't want to give up the diet coke( or fizzy water). I start my pre-op diet on Tuesday so I guess I will be giving it up then. Im so scared!! Here in Cali, McDonald's has any size soft drink for 1.00. I usually get 1 every day. MY wallet is going to like me a lot more too : )