Dry (soda) January - anyone in?

[rubytue]

Patsy Baloney, I love my soda stream! I get the little flavor squirts and just put in a dash. Not enough to *flavor* but just a hint.

Also, I just got some Mio Energy, which has caffeine. And a huge difference in my mental capacity this afternoon. I mean, that says something on its own, but I’ll take it. It’s much cheaper. And fewer cans.

[Deleted]

Jan 4, 2023 17:36:28 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Replacing soda is so hard. I’ve managed to replace much of my soda consumption with carbonated water (Bubly, LaCroix, whatever is on sale). I really hated it when I started, but it didn’t take long to acquire a taste for it.

And now I’ve just replaced alllll those diet soda cans with carbonated water cans.

I got a soda stream as a gift for Christmas, so here’s hoping I can save a little $$$.

You can buy the Bubbly flavor bottles at Target!

[aurora]

Jan 4, 2023 20:37:12 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Jan 4, 2023 17:36:28 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Replacing soda is so hard. I’ve managed to replace much of my soda consumption with carbonated water (Bubly, LaCroix, whatever is on sale). I really hated it when I started, but it didn’t take long to acquire a taste for it.

And now I’ve just replaced alllll those diet soda cans with carbonated water cans.

I got a soda stream as a gift for Christmas, so here’s hoping I can save a little $$$.

You can buy the Bubbly flavor bottles at Target!

I often just use a splash of lime or lemon juice in my soda stream water. Easy and very inexpensive!

[Patsy Baloney]

Jan 4, 2023 20:37:12 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Jan 4, 2023 17:36:28 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Replacing soda is so hard. I’ve managed to replace much of my soda consumption with carbonated water (Bubly, LaCroix, whatever is on sale). I really hated it when I started, but it didn’t take long to acquire a taste for it.

And now I’ve just replaced alllll those diet soda cans with carbonated water cans.

I got a soda stream as a gift for Christmas, so here’s hoping I can save a little $$$.

You can buy the Bubbly flavor bottles at Target!

Yes! I was so excited when I found out they had the Bubly flavors for SodaStream. I have a peach-raspberry concoction chilling in my fridge now!

[Michelle]

The only thing that has helped me get off soda is bariatric surgery. I can't drink it - carbonation makes me sick.

I am so impressed by those of you who can abstain without such an extreme intervention. Soda is SO addictive (for me). The rewarding feel of that burning carbonation... ahhhh ... it has been over a year since my last coke. I can only have sips of mildly carbonated beverages and allow those infrequently so I don't get my body used to sodas again.

[lilac05]

5 days down, and I’m surprised at how little I miss it. It has definitely helped that my H gave up Mt Dew, too.

I’m getting tired of plain water, but don’t like any Sparkling water stuff and don’t want to switch to a different soda. I had a Bai water yesterday that I really liked, but those are so expensive! (It was Kiwi Strawberry, and took me back to about 1992 when that felt like such an exotic/fancy thing! LOL)

[Jalapeñomel]

Jan 4, 2023 17:36:28 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Replacing soda is so hard. I’ve managed to replace much of my soda consumption with carbonated water (Bubly, LaCroix, whatever is on sale). I really hated it when I started, but it didn’t take long to acquire a taste for it.

And now I’ve just replaced alllll those diet soda cans with carbonated water cans.

I got a soda stream as a gift for Christmas, so here’s hoping I can save a little $$$.

Soda stream saved us so much money, that I bought one for work too.

[gardengal]

lilac05, what about iced tea? You can do fruity flavored ones (celestial seasonings has some berry teas that are good iced & almost like juice). Or black with mint & lemon.

I try to keep carbonated beverages to a minimum bc even seltzer isn’t great for your teeth enamel. I also don’t like drinking my calories, so I make iced tea.

[sent]

Almost a week! I had 1 bottle of seltzer yesterday at work to have with my lunch. I was definitely contemplating and very tempted to get a Diet Pepsi for the long drive home but I resisted. Besides that, I've been drinking hot water during the day when I WFH which has helped me not focus on what I'm missing.

[rubytue]

Jan 6, 2023 9:44:16 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Jan 4, 2023 17:36:28 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Replacing soda is so hard. I’ve managed to replace much of my soda consumption with carbonated water (Bubly, LaCroix, whatever is on sale). I really hated it when I started, but it didn’t take long to acquire a taste for it.

And now I’ve just replaced alllll those diet soda cans with carbonated water cans.

I got a soda stream as a gift for Christmas, so here’s hoping I can save a little $$$.

Soda stream saved us so much money, that I bought one for work too.

I avoided a soda stream for so long with excuses like I’m don’t want another appliance to store, we don’t have a free outlet, etc. well, turns out, they don’t require electricity and we use it so much it earned a spot on the counter. Next to the coffee pot, where we have set up a beverage station. Like a coffee bar, but other stuff too. Coffee pot, grinder, soda stream, and additives for everything. 

[lilac05]

Jan 6, 2023 9:45:09 GMT -5 gardengal said:

lilac05, what about iced tea? You can do fruity flavored ones (celestial seasonings has some berry teas that are good iced & almost like juice). Or black with mint & lemon.

I try to keep carbonated beverages to a minimum bc even seltzer isn’t great for your teeth enamel. I also don’t like drinking my calories, so I make iced tea.

Unfortunately, I don’t like tea (or coffee) of any kind. Maybe after awhile of no soda, I’ll feel differently if I try it again, though, I’ll keep that in mind!

[RockNVoll]

For Christmas my H got me a DrinkMate, which is like SodaStream but allows you to carbonate anything (SodaStream only does water). I only finally set it up yesterday and haven't actually tried it yet, but I'm kind of excited to test it on coconut water, juices, and who knows what else. One suggestion I've seen is wine, but I don't know how I feel about that. Coffee is another weird one, but I see some experimentation in my future!

[dcn]

Jan 6, 2023 8:16:47 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

5 days down, and I’m surprised at how little I miss it. It has definitely helped that my H gave up Mt Dew, too.

I’m getting tired of plain water, but don’t like any Sparkling water stuff and don’t want to switch to a different soda. I had a Bai water yesterday that I really liked, but those are so expensive! (It was Kiwi Strawberry, and took me back to about 1992 when that felt like such an exotic/fancy thing! LOL)

I add a splash of lemonade or juice to water. Or a nuun tablet. You could try crystal light?

[sent]

Jan 6, 2023 8:16:47 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

I’m getting tired of plain water, but don’t like any Sparkling water stuff and don’t want to switch to a different soda. I had a Bai water yesterday that I really liked, but those are so expensive! (It was Kiwi Strawberry, and took me back to about 1992 when that felt like such an exotic/fancy thing! LOL)

I've been drinking hot water in my Yeti. It sounds silly and so simple but it's different and gets me through the day. 

[StrawberryBlondie]

Jan 9, 2023 23:03:00 GMT -5 dcn said:

Jan 6, 2023 8:16:47 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

5 days down, and I’m surprised at how little I miss it. It has definitely helped that my H gave up Mt Dew, too.

I’m getting tired of plain water, but don’t like any Sparkling water stuff and don’t want to switch to a different soda. I had a Bai water yesterday that I really liked, but those are so expensive! (It was Kiwi Strawberry, and took me back to about 1992 when that felt like such an exotic/fancy thing! LOL)

I add a splash of lemonade or juice to water. Or a nuun tablet. You could try crystal light?

I second this. I've found that about half a crystal light on the go packet in 32 oz water is about perfect to stop !e from getting bored.

I have also discovered that I like kombucha.

[rubytue]

Wow, seeing this thread bumped made me realize it’s been a week since I had a DC. And only 2 cans in 2023. Once I solved the caffeinating thing, I’ve been fine. Maybe I’ll try to cut back the caffeine at some point, but right now, I’m satisfied just not having soda.

[sent]

How are we doing? I was at a conference this weekend with unlimited Diet Pepsi and I resisted. I drank coffee, tea and water. I had some alcoholic drinks in the evenings. Yesterday I kept having these headaches on and off all day and I wasn't sure it is was the lack of diet soda finally catching up to me or the change from the east coast to dry desert that was causing it.

I have probably been eating too much carbs instead to compensate. I need to greatly cut back carbs and sugar for my health but I need to overhaul one small step at a time. Next goal is to make it to 1 month.

[rubytue]

I had one for breakfast yesterday. We were out if milk, and I can’t do black coffee. But, it was still from the 4 we had left on Dec 31, so I haven’t bought any! And, it didn’t have that wonderful taste I remember. I have been wondering if I should dial down the caffeine at some point, but oh that is scary. The headaches, the lack of thinking. Not yet.

sent, so proud of having soda on tap and resisting!

[lilac05]

I’m still holding strong. I’ve got one last bottle in the garage I have told myself I can have at any time, but it’s still there. We went out for lunch at my favorite burger place today. I had been avoiding going there because I figured I’d really miss having a soda with my burger…but was surprised to find that I was perfectly fine with water.

I do miss the ritual of picking up gas station soda with my husband. We were working on a house project this weekend and made server Al trips out when we would usually get one. I didn’t necessarily miss the soda…just stopping to get a soda. And mostly, the ice.

It’s really helping us cut back on eating out. That’s been a surprise benefit! I’ve realized that most of the time I wanted to go out, it was for the fountain Diet Coke, not the actual food.

[StrawberryBlondie]

3 weeks in and generally good. Wit the exception of 2 separate weekend days, I've managed to limit myself to a max of 2 diet Cokes a day, usually only 1. I have had zero caffeine-related headaches and am generally drinking more water so so far so good. Plus it feels generally sustainable longer term.

One unexpected negative is that I've drank more alcohol than I do in a typical month but I think that's just a weird fluke with it being my birthday month and a couple birthday-specific nights out.

[sent]

I had so many days this past week where I really really wanted a Diet Pepsi but I resisted. Usually it was during very stressful moments. I admit, it was very hard. But week 3 done. Almost at a month.

[lilac05]

Jan 23, 2023 14:13:43 GMT -5 sent said:

I had so many days this past week where I really really wanted a Diet Pepsi but I resisted. Usually it was during very stressful moments. I admit, it was very hard. But week 3 done. Almost at a month.

Great job! I had a super stressful Saturday at work, and thought the same thing…but I didn’t have any.

I came home and had a margarita instead. So…I’m not sure I’m ahead there! But it didn’t restart a habit, so I consider it a win.

What’s everyone’s plan Feb 1? Continue without? Cut back? Back to original intake? I don’t want to go back to where I was, but I’m not sure that I’ll stick to nothing at all.

[fernweh]

Jan 23, 2023 15:26:27 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Jan 23, 2023 14:13:43 GMT -5 sent said:

I had so many days this past week where I really really wanted a Diet Pepsi but I resisted. Usually it was during very stressful moments. I admit, it was very hard. But week 3 done. Almost at a month.

Great job! I had a super stressful Saturday at work, and thought the same thing…but I didn’t have any.

I came home and had a margarita instead. So…I’m not sure I’m ahead there! But it didn’t restart a habit, so I consider it a win.

What’s everyone’s plan Feb 1? Continue without? Cut back? Back to original intake? I don’t want to go back to where I was, but I’m not sure that I’ll stick to nothing at all.

I plan to KOKO with not drinking it. I haven’t really missed it as much as I thought I would so I’ll keep going.

[aurora]

Jan 15, 2023 17:58:59 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I had one for breakfast yesterday. We were out if milk, and I can’t do black coffee. But, it was still from the 4 we had left on Dec 31, so I haven’t bought any! And, it didn’t have that wonderful taste I remember. I have been wondering if I should dial down the caffeine at some point, but oh that is scary. The headaches, the lack of thinking. Not yet.

sent, so proud of having soda on tap and resisting!

I gave up soda many years ago for a sporting event (to help my training at the time, I put myself on a nutrition kick for a couple of months), and discovered that after the big event I no longer liked it. Strange how tastes can be reshaped!

[sent]

Jan 23, 2023 15:26:27 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Jan 23, 2023 14:13:43 GMT -5 sent said:

What’s everyone’s plan Feb 1? Continue without? Cut back? Back to original intake? I don’t want to go back to where I was, but I’m not sure that I’ll stick to nothing at all.

I want to stay dry. I happened to recently tune into one of those radio infomercial things and the speaker was talking about addictions. She was saying how if you're going to give up an addiction, it's better to go cold turkey than to cut back. I've given up diet soda before, but I go back to one here, one there thinking I'm doing ok. Then I'm a little stressed and it becomes one a day, more stress and it's two a day, etc. I'm going to focus hard on this one thing now just to prove to myself that I can focus since it's been a crazy life for me over the last several years. 

[rubytue]

I think I’m planning on keeping to it. Or at least vastly limited. If for no other reason than the money saved.

[lilac05]

Jan 27, 2023 17:19:02 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I think I’m planning on keeping to it. Or at least vastly limited. If for no other reason than the money saved.

The money saved has blown my mind, especially since my H also quit drinking soda!

[rubytue]

Well, apparently Diet Coke is my comfort food. I’m
Isolated (covid) in a hotel in Miami. Feeling better, but lonely. So I’ve gotten a soda with my chipotle order both nights so far. Zero guilt. Maybe from here it’ll be like ice cream. Occasion treat, but not 6 servings a day.

[lilac05]

Jan 29, 2023 19:51:54 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Well, apparently Diet Coke is my comfort food. I’m
Isolated (covid) in a hotel in Miami. Feeling better, but lonely. So I’ve gotten a soda with my chipotle order both nights so far. Zero guilt. Maybe from here it’ll be like ice cream. Occasion treat, but not 6 servings a day.

Totally understandable. I would do the same in your situation. I hope you continue to feel well, and can get home soon.

I think that’s my plan moving forward, too. Occasional treat, not anywhere near daily. I rarely drink alcohol, don’t drink coffee or tea or any other soda, and really don’t care for “sparkling” anything else…so I like occasionally having something different to drink. My H and I were just talking about our plan forward today. I don’t want to give it up forever…but I think I could be happy with it being an occasional thing. We will see. I know my days of buying a case of bottles at Sam’s are over.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Now that it's Feb, a random update... I'm trying to make my low-soda intake a permanent thing, but over the weekend completely forgot to add beverages like water into the fold... So I felt like absolute crap all weekend and didn't figure out that it was probably because I was severely dehydrated until Monday night when I filled up my 32 oz tumbler at dinner and downed the entire thing before dinner was over.

So yeah. Drink water, folks.