Diet /sugar free drinks. Cutting back, has anyone else done it

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Ok i know its terrible but i drink a minimum of 6 cans a day its the 1st thing i drink when i wake up. I rarely drink anything else.
So diet lemonade, coke, dr pepper zero etc.

Its costing far to much ( around £40 a week as dh and teen drink it too) and ive decided not to have it in the house.

Now I'm wondering / hoping that although its sugar free. Whether id lose a bit of belly fat. I carry round the middle so wondered if that contributed, i do have pcos so sttuggle with weight anyway. But wishful thinking that it may help?

Have had the worse head all day. And barley function, because all that's on my mind is a cold can! Which is ridiculous.

I gave up regular Coke in January. I just pretend that it doesn't exist though recently I bought DH the odd small bottle for a day out etc. I've had some Appletizer or Sprite or juice but for the most part just stick to water now. I know that if I have Coke even just once I'll be back to it daily.

I'm sure the sweeteners are not good for you either!

I'm with you too! 6 cans of Diet Coke a day. I've tried a few times to give up and for a good week felt shocking. Are you going cold turkey or cutting down?

Good luck 🤞 I have 1 can in the house for the morning and will not buy anymore! X

I remember reading this article a while ago www.theguardian.com/food/2021/feb/02/the-real-thing-my-battle-to-beat-a-27-year-diet-coke-addiction

Those drinks are as bad as sugary drinks. Sooo bad for your teeth. It's been proven that when you drink them, the body is fooled into releasing insulin to counter the sugar rush. You'll then have low blood sugar and crave food. Consider them as spawn of the devil, try to cut down gradually, say to five cans daily for a week, then four, then three and so on.

What will you replace them with? Tea (or decaff tea) would be more affordable and wouldn't be fattening. Even hot water, which can feel quite filling and comforting on the cold days to come.

I have just decided to give them up this week. I have started drinking fizzy water instead. I realised that diet drinks were making me very irritable. I am also interested in seeing the effect on my waistline but not very hopeful.

Not cold turkey. But i would have no will power if it was in the house.
So ill get a can if out and about but that's it.
Will probably drink squash.
Today I was drinking flavour water as was at an event. Managed to avoid the fizz but im definitely feeling it!

To give yourself a visible incentive, each time you replace a can of drink with a tea or water, put the price of a can of drink into a pot and watch it mount up.

I gave them up in January 2020, cold turkey. Easier to go cold turkey in winter I should think. I initially drank very diluted orange juice, but now I'm happy with tap water at home (we have nice-tasting tap water in my region).

I very occasionally have one; e.g. meal out when I am not drinking alcohol, but since I am out of the habit now of drinking them at home, I no longer miss them.

I buy 2 large bottles of diet coke each week, 2 for £2.50. I drink tea and coffee daytime and have a large glass of diet coke with my evening meal, once it’s gone, I drink squash or water.

I gave up all drinks except water and tea for two weeks. What I noticed was that when I had a Diet Coke again it tasted vile. Just chemical. Same with sugar free vimto which was my usual drink

Wine however tasted just as good unfortunately

Years ago, I used to buy sparkling flavoured water from Tesco. I noticed I was buying more and more and had to have bottles at home and work. Then one day, I realised that I didn't have any in the car - I'd forgotten my water bottle. It really bothered me because I felt so thirsty. Then I realised, I was always thirsty.

Googling threw up some theories about aspartame driving the addiction, and I don't know if it was, but I stopped buying it. I would never buy fizzy drinks or squash with sweeteners in for my kids, so I don't know why I thought it was OK for me to be drinking a chemical concoction every day, but it definitely felt like an addiction.

Very occasionally, I'll have a slimline tonic or diet coke when out, but usually, I avoid all fizzy drinks now apart from (plain) sparkling water and don't miss them at all.