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How To Beat The Soda Pop Addiction
I used to be a heavy cola drinker (somewhere between 2 to 4 cans a day) and I decided that for me, cola was ok in moderation but drinking it daily in the amounts that I was just wasn’t a healthy habit.
I found the trick to kicking the soda pop addiction was finding a replacement beverage that satisfied both the convenience and taste factor.
What I most liked about drinking soda was that it was nice and cold, easy to grab and go and had some “texture” to it (the carbonated beverage). Although I like a bit of fruit juice, it was too “syrupy” for me to find it satisfying as a main beverage and plain water wasn’t doing it either. Here’s a replacement beverage that worked for me:
Healthy Soda Pop Replacement
- Keep a jug of water refrigerated at all times. It has to be prepared fresh daily or sealed well because once it tastes a bit stale, you’re turned off of it for awhile.
- Squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice in the water, as much as you like, tossing in the just squeezed fruit wedges too.
- When serving, pour over a full glass of crushed ice. The crushed ice added a bit of “texture” to the beverage that I felt was an acceptable replacement to the carbonated soda. It wasn’t carbonated, but the sensation was satisfying enough.
- I found keeping the water cold, always at the ready and lots of crushed ice on hand was key.
More Tips
- Don’t keep soda in the house, especially canned pop. When you open a can of pop, it’s too easy to feel obligated to drink the whole thing (otherwise it’s wasteful).
- If you find in the beginning that you just have to have some pop, keep a small bottle refrigerated. I found that giving myself a sip or two was enough to satisfy my craving. Just be careful to only take sips when you’re on the verge of guzzling a 2 Litre bottle of cola.
- Keep water bottles at the ready so you can just fill them up when you’re running out the door. You may have to pound the crushed ice a bit finer for it to scoop up nicely into the empty bottle.
If you give yourself a few days, you’ll find the craving won’t be that strong and that you’re satisfied with the citrus flavored water. For me, the crushed ice was a must have.
This is a great healthy alternative to drinking soda pop daily and it’s easy (and cheap) to maintain.
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We replaced bad pop with good pop – Seltzer water or club soda. It’s a bit of a financial savings (.50 per 2 liter bottle at our local Publix on sale or .79 regular price) and you can even get the lime or lemon thrown in for that price.
Same fizzyness, no sugar, caffeine or bad stuff. It’s also easy to make juice more interesting and less caloric.
Thanks for the tip!
There are narrow ice cube (tube) trays available to make ice that will fit through the narrow top of a water bottle. Not quite the texture of crushed ice but so convenient! Like Chris, I ALSO like to drink seltzer water as a soda pop substitute.
I’ve found that a little zest of lemon and/or lime spices up a plain bottle of water quite nicely.
Like Chris – seltzer or club soda is a good substitute especially with lemon or lime added.
If I want a sweet soda, I make my own italian sodas or ginger ale. They are very easy to make. For ginger ale, mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar. Add about 1/2 cup of roughly chopped ginger. Bring to a boil and then let steep and cool. Add a couple of tablespoons of the ginger to a glass. Add ice, some of the ginger slices and club soda.
You can also buy small 6 oz bottles and cans of some colas and sodas. This is a good and easy way to limit consumption – you only get a 6 oz serving.
Great tips. FYI- you got a mention on Lifehacker- CONGRATS! I am down to one or less sodas a day and replaced my addiction with a lot more water and a little more coffee
Coffee and iced tea are a lot cheaper than soda and I can get a lot more done than on just water 
I enjoy Metromint. It’s just water with mint. Available in most grocery stores.
Just a little FYI, Club Soda is Seltzer with Salt added. Seltzer is a better choice. Also avoid Tonic Water, its almost as bad as a diet soda.
Im still a teenager so the tempetation for pop is all around me but what happend to me was a few months ago my mom was diagnosed with diabetes so we basically got rid of all of the non diet pop and replaced it with diet, i hate the taste of diet so i switched it water… its a little extreme but it got the job done.
I used to drink 2 liters or more every day! First regular then diet. I replaced the pop with flavored seltzer (cherry’s my fav).
After having 2 babies in 1 year, I needed to get back into shape..fast. My original intent was to eat small portions, drink a ton of water, and work out. Well, the “ton” of water slowly got replaced with diet soda..After all, I had 2 little ones to chase after and my own business, I needed the caffiene! Before I knew it, I was drinking a minimum of 6 cans a day..sometimes more if I had an extra long day! The energy it gave me was great, but the sugar crashes..not so much! What worked for me was weaning myself from the pop and chewing on crushed ice; I realized that drinking so much soda was just a habit, and the ice kept me busy. I know that sounds stupid, but if it can help one person…
I found the easiest way to do this was to substitute the soft drink with a 50/50 mix of fruit juice (the type you buy in the supermarket fridge section) and soda water. You get the carbonation, coldness, and fructose hit without any of the hideous chemicals. No caffeine, but then I think you’re living your life poorly if you need caffeine (particularly with every drink).
Once I’d become accustomed to that, I simply swapped the soda water for filtered tap water (at home) or cooler water (at work). I keep the juice refrigerated which allows the water to be kept in the fridge or at room temperature.
I still do the juice/tap water mix 2 years on, and have a can of soft drink perhaps once or twice a week, if that.
I am trying this at home..
Question: This might sound a bit silly, but, how do you crush the ice? I’ve got ice trays in the refrigerator, but the blocks come out quite big of course. I don’t want to have to resort to getting the blender out everyday to crush the ice? Is there an easy way?
I don’t have an ice machine either, and like you, I didn’t want to have to drag out the blender each time either. I found a nice replacement was novelty ice cube trays. My local grocery store has them in the $1 section. The trays are about the same size as conventional ice cube trays but they make about 60 cubes a tray. The trays that make shaped cubes (i.e. starfish, flowers, etc.) tend to make smaller than conventional cubes as well. Hope it helps.
Good question..my fridge is a side by side that has a cubed or crushed ice dispenser..(best investment I ever made!) You could maybe crush a large amount of ice at a time with your blender and put it in a big tupperware container with a tight fitting lid, or even large freezer bags and keep it on hand in your freezer..you could probably crush enough at one time to last you a week..I think that some grocery stores and gas stations also sell huge bags of crushed ice..good luck:)
I cheat and just buy bags of crushed ice. It costs me about $5 a week, but for me it’s worthwhile. You could easily do as sara mentions above: crush up lots of ice at a time and keep in large sealed containers.
I hate to be so negative, but YUCK! I don’t like ice, I’m happy with room temprature pop. So ice cold anything isn’t going to help. I do not like coffee, tea, lemon, lime, or mint. I have never liked soda water. In order to drink water, I just chug it. I have given up pop before cold turkey. I stayed off of it for a year. Craved it every single day until I started drinking it again. I eventually got used to drinking water and stopped chugging and started drinking it normally, but giving up pop again, I would have to start chugging it again.
Although I do like juice. I might be able to drink the juice and soda water. So I thank Matt for the idea. I will try that.
Hi, Just wanted to interject that you are not supposed to reuse water bottles. Once they have been used and oxygen hits the inside the chemical compound of the plastic is released into the “new” liquid that you refill the bottle with. Thus, you are in essence poisoning your body as a result. It is recommended to buy containers, preferably recyclable #’s-2,3,4, & I’m not sure about #5, for refill purposes, like the sports bottles. There are also metal ones that are supposed to last longer and be better for the environment. As far as substituting soda, herbal tea is tasty and has many healthful benefits. I know there is no fizz, but you may find that you don’t always need the carbonation. Use natural sugar for energy and some are caffeinated, such as mate or green tea for the high that will get you through the day without compromising your health. My kids love it too & of course lemonade is another alternative. Bonne Sante! To your health!
I did find and buy a machine that shaves the ice, made by Breville. It’s more for slushie type things though, so might be too small a pieces. Couldn’t find a proper ice crusher.
I think a slush idea would work great Fletch, I hope it appeals to you and works out
.
Years ago when I was a kid, my mom purchased a “soda siphon”. It is a bottle that makes seltzer water. You purchase gas cartridges which make the seltzer in the bottle with plane tap or bottled water. At that time, I was still “hooked” on bottled soda, but still enjoyed the occasional home made soda….. 1/2 OJ and 1/2 seltzer.
As I grew up I found that I much preferred the “home made” soda. Soooo, as an adult, I purchased my own soda siphon. While some may use it for creating alcoholic drinks, I make my own soda. MUCH better – taste and health wise. I pour a 1/2 glass of healthy juice (grape, orange, etc) and fill the glass the rest of the way with my home made (from our water filter) seltzer. May not be a lot cheaper, but incredibly good, refreshing and much more healthful. I don’t drink bottled or canned sodas any longer, unless they are “natural” sodas. They taste sooooo much better and have some real health value.
Pop (soda, soft drinks) add 20-30 lbs. to my weight. I know, I’ve quit before. You quit, then you get it in your head that you “deserve” an indulgence. I drink 3-4 12oz. Cokes a day, sometimes less. I’ve been slugging down pop since a toddler (50 yrs). I’m getting worried headed for the type two diabetes age. So here we go again. Here’s what tastes good to me when I can behave. Try juices without fructose–fructose is in everything–liquid lab sugar. Juicy Juice maybe. A decent sugar replacement can be xylitol made from wood alcohol! (Coke doesn’t want to use it–I begged them
.)It’s good with cereal too. Seltzer will give you that important “burn” and you can add it to anything. In the restaurant get water, and ask for a lemon wedge or two, and you can add a half to one sugar packet and be satisfied. Lemon does work somehow. Want something thicker (texture) like Coke? Try pomegranate syrup from the Middle Eastern food section and add water and seltzer. I want to try the other Middle Eastern flavors that they drink instead of pop. It’s just distracting to make a “soft drink” every time you need especially when you are in a hurry.
If you consider that a Coke might have 15-17 tsp of sugar (fructose), you could have a tsp of sugar here or there and not even get in the same neighborhood as soft drink amounts. Your head is the barrier and that’s why I am reminding and trying to convince myself again to quit. It’s hard and truly an addiction.
Good info guys, thanks
.
Shemayah I do agree with you, if we can find a bigger payoff gained by quitting a bad habit (one that means something to us or that we truly value), half the battle is won.
great blog, but I’m so glad that I’m not a soda pop person!
drinking a flavored carbonated water drink such as talking rain is a great substitute for diet pop. diet pepsi max is even more addicting then regular diet pepsi..
I was understanding that it is possible to reuse water bottles, just not bottles or tupperware that have been exposed to heat or microwaves. This process is what “releases” the detrimental chemicals. I also understand that these chemicals released are cancer causing.
put rasberries blackberries and straw berries, and some ultra crushed ice in a mixer with some milk and a hint of vanilla. mix them well together. and in you cup you have a little piece of heaven. i first used to drink pop alot but then i read that pop only makes you more thirsty so i layed off the pop for i while until i couldnt bear it any more i needed it. then on mothers day i mayed that same smoothy with breakfast for my mom she loved i drank some and know i just hate pop compared to the ultra berry smoothy
Diet is more dangerous than the regular. It’s filled with more chemicals to replace the sugar but with the sweet taste.
I am so excited to see so many people giving up pop. I think it is one of the biggest contributors to America’s health problems. I had to give up caffeine because of acid reflex. My doctor at first just gave me a purple pill and told me it would take care of the problem. I am not good at taking pills on a regular basis so I set out to find an alternative. I found out that sugar is one of the major factors for acid reflex. There are also many other foods that are acid forming. Water has a perfect PH balance of 7.0 and so I can drink as much of it as I want. You could probably Google “acid forming foods” to find out what the other foods are. The opposite of acid forming foods are alkalinic foods. Alkalinic foods are the ones that are good for you like fresh fruits and vegetables, no processed foods. Go figure. So many people are eating processed foods which cause stomach problems, diabetes, obesity they also cost more.
I will get off of my soap box but I just think eating better could really help a lot of people out.
I do love water but for a special treat I go to our local convinience store and buy one of their 32oz cups which costs sixteen cents and then fill it with their crushed ice. I’m not sure if I can mention the name of the store so I won’t. If you take the cup in the next time you go the ice is FREE! It makes me feel like I am getting a real treat and I don’t even have to pay for it.
Wow.
2-4 cans is an addicting bad amount for you?
try..
i dk..
around 7-8+ cans a day, and a 20 oz bottle ..
then maybe you’ll see where im stuck at
I don’t drink soda much anymore. I buy juice and seltzer, pour a little juice, about 1/4 cup in a glass and the rest is seltzer. Tastes great and not that many calories. Also seltzer has no salt, club soda does.
I am everyones worst nightmare when it comes to drinking the most Diet Cokes per day. 4 or 5 44oz Diet Cokes has been my standard diet. I am fairly healthy although in the last few days I have been having issues with acid reflux. At 46 years old I run 3 miles per day and sport a 34 inch waist with very little fat on my body. I spend my work day on the road as a salesperson and am addicted to the caffeine and fix in Diet Coke.
My wife and kids know I am addicted and have been asking me to stop drinking the mix. I have decided in the last two days to kick my addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey starting. I am trying to find something with no calories that has some caffiene. I hate coffee. Any sugestions will be appreciated.
Wish me well.
For a caffeine fix, check out green tea (it can be served cold as well). It’s a much better alternative healthwise and I do find I get enough of a caffeine kick from it. See my guide on green tea here. If you buy commercially made iced green tea, watch the sugar content, some brands are pretty hefty!
Very good ideas. However, these do not help the problem of caffine withdrawal. I’ve been drinking diet coke for years & am up to about a 2 liter a day if I’m home all day. I try to use the packets to add flavor to water thru out the day to lessen the amount. I tell myself, that someday I’ll make a full day without the very bad headache the withdrawl causes. I’ve tried several times, but, the agravation it causes me & my family just isn’t worth it.
Any ideas would be wonderful.
I make watermelon juice. Just blend the melon part of a watermelon. Pick out the pits before blending. Then add a few ice cubes. This is more refreshing than soda and better for you!
The other day I mixed some brewed green tea with some light cranraspberry and 1/2 can diet 7-up. Tasted great and cut my consumption in 1/2. At least that’s better!!! And it was something different to drink.
Much ado about nothing. If a diet soda is your biggest vice you are doing OK.
I’m addicted to soda kinda and I was wondering if a healthy switch would be cold lemonade.
Hi Sam, lemonade has a lot of sugar in it so I’d try to find a better alternative.
I have given up Soda Pop. I don’t ever want to drink Soda Pop again. Soda Pop makes you gain weight. If you want to lose weight, don’t drink Soda Pop. Drink WATER !!!!!!! You can add some drink mix (without aspartame)in your water. Aspartame is in Soda Pop and it is BAD for you. I want to lose weight, I don’t want any health problems in my life. I am a 47 year old female, right now I weigh 162.0 lbs. Four years ago I was 197 lbs. My goal is 130.0 lbs. I know I will get there while drinking water instead of Soda Pop.
ALL SODA POP (Diet or Regular) is Bad for you. If you don’t believe it, look it up on the internet and you will see all the ingredients that are in Soda Pops. Drink Water you will lose weight, drink Soda Pop gain weight. Which would you want?