Addicted to fizzy juice, want to stop. Has anyone done it?

[StormsDontLastForever]

Looking to see if anyone has been in the same position as me. I am addicted to fizzy juice, have been for years. Drink around 8-10 cans a day! I am overweight and feel the fizzy juice is also affecting my health. Has anyone ever been addicted and stopped taking it? Thinking about just starting tomorrow and drinking none, so no gradual reducing. Sounds silly to some but it is a thing that you can get really addicted to lol

My dh was obsessed with Coke. We bought a soda stream and he now drinks sugar free cordial made with fizzy water. He feels so much better for it.

Peach ice tea is a good alternative I think, I find that sometimes coke is the only thing that feels properly thirst quenching, and peach ice tea does too. But much lower calories!

It was real full fat cocaine cola with me. Drinking ridiculous amounts. I would panic if there was none in the house.
Joined Slimming World a year ago. Went cold turkey. It was horrendous. Headaches, dizzy, hangover feeling but it only lasted about 3 days and I've not had any since. I have the odd diet coke or diet irn bru but I'm not fussed. Lost 4 stone as well

I used to drink 6 Litres of Pepsi max a day. I'm down to 2-3 litres now. I really should stop too 🙈

That's a lot of sugar, the realisation of all the empty calories helped me to stop drinking them I actually really like fizzy water with a bit of lime or maybe some cordial.

On the plus side, the weight will fall off when you stop.

@gingerkittykat I was going to ask exactly the same question! It's such a Scottish thing to say - no-one here in England calls it fizzy juice, it's as mysterious as a long vodka

Yes - full fat, full caffeine coke. The most thirst-quenching drink ever.

I wouldn't say I've kicked the habit yet, but I have cut down and I did that by just not buying it. I used to buy 2 bottles "to last a week or two" and I would have guzzled them within two days. So I just stopped.

Also, warm, flat coke is disgusting. Drink some of that, then pour the rest away, don't have any in the house and anytime you are tempted, remind yourself of the warm, flat stuff

DH had a fifteen year coke habit. He broke it by going cold turkey. He was ill for about three days (the second day was the worst), but he managed it and has been coke free for over a decade.

The main thing he did was ensure that there was no coke around to tempt him - Never have fizzy drinks in the house, if you're in a shop, don't go down the fizzy drinks isle, literally don't let the stuff come anywhere near you! Also, be careful not to replace one bad habit with another.

It's hard but it is doable. Good luck!

Sorry to derail but I’m curious - what do the English call fizzy juice then?

@SlowTango

Sorry to derail but I’m curious - what do the English call fizzy juice then?

A Fizzy drink or by its brand name generally, some areas call it fizzy pop.

In England juice is fruit juice specifically, not any drink. I'm pretty addicted, but fizzy water with a drop of fruit juice helps a lot.

I drank alot of Coca Cola for decades despite it never agreeing with me. I finally just had to stop because it was making me so sick. It is hard because I really like it. I haven't had any at all for years. I drink lots of water and diluted high juice.

Alternatively, if you’re drinking soda pop. (Coke pepsi 7up Dr Pepper etc...) ... I would stop calling them fizzy juice cos there ain’t any juice in those drinks! Let’s not kid ourselves it’s anywhere near that healthy!!!

In Scotland we have fizzy juice, diluting juice (squash) and fruit juice, every cold soft non alcoholic drink is called juice. Nobody pretends for a second they are healthy, not that fruit juice is particularly good for you anyway.

Fizzy juice is also called ginger, mainly by the older generation. Just waiting for non Scots heads to explode at that one!

I was totally addicted to Diet Coke and other fizzy drinks. I decided one day to give it up and went completely cold turkey. I made sure I had nothing in the house that could encourage me to slip, and I only drank water and tea for about three months. After that, I allowed myself to have orange juice and I do now have a fizzy drink on very special occasions (but never Diet Coke as I know I will fall back into it if I have that). It was actually much much easier than I expected. Lock down helped. I haven’t had a Diet Coke since March.

My DP has done the same with Pepsi max. Her addiction was worse than mine, from first thing in the morning to last thing at night. She went cold turkey but got a soda stream for fizzy water as she missed the fizz. Again she hasn’t gone back to PM at all but does not have the occasional fizzy drink in addition to water and is managing ok.

Good luck OP. I am really proud of myself and feel a lot better for it.

I love fizzy drinks, drink 3-5 cans a day. Coke being my first choice, closely followed my Pepsi max. I went cold turkey on Sunday, as I know it must be wrecking my teeth. I used to feel ill when I woke up until I'd had my first can. I've just been downing water, defo not the same but for me it's all or nothing so cold turkey it has to be.

Yep cold turkey vote here. I used to addicted to coke cola -12 cans a day (including waking up at night, to drink a can then back to sleep) when I was a teen.

I've drank it for various times (not to that extent) through my adult hood and it soon goes back up to drinking 2ltr a day. So I just don't drink it at all now .
Yes it's awful, but once you do it it will be worth it x

I've switched to fizzy water and squash. I'm saving up for a soda stream to cut plastic waste. And I think its slightly cheaper.

Yes. Was totally addicted to Diet Coke. Then my husband died and I stopped eating or drinking anything and the habit was just broken. Now I only have it if I'm out (which, obviously, with lockdown is never).

@SlowTango

Sorry to derail but I’m curious - what do the English call fizzy juice then?

Ime people say the name of the drink they are referring to or maybe something fizzy or fizzy drink if they were asking someone what type of drink they wanted

Juice only means liquids that come from fruit or maybe vegetables, I don't hear it used other than in its correct meaning.

I have a Pepsi max addiction as well, prior to that it was Coca-Cola Zero and prior to that Dr. Pepper and prior to that Diet Coke.
I went cold turkey once. I developed a severe case of psychosis that took 3 years away from me and nearly killed me. I’m not saying don’t cut back - I am back in the same trap as before and should follow your lead. But it hugely concerned me that I developed psychosis a month after cutting it out cold turkey last time. Good luck!

What about like juice cordial (kept in the fridge) and fizzy water?? V v similar to fizzy cans but as like 1 calorie

Cold turkey gave up everything fizzy about 18 months ago.
Awful headaches and what felt like some kind of drug withdrawal for about 5 days.

Haven’t looked back.
Haven’t lost weight though.

I have water and a couple of glasses of squash a day.
Worst bit for me was missing it as mixers with alcohol on the rare times I drink. But looking back I really was addicted to it quite significantly.

You could go cold turkey or easier on your body is to reduce week by week. 6 max per day week 1, 5 week 2, 4 week 3, 3 week 4 then 2 weeks 5&6. Then try to have at least 2 days a week with none (max 2 per day still). Substitute with sparking or still water with slices of lemon, lime or orange, do not add other caffeinated drinks. Best of luck- you can do it!

(Same plan can work for most food addictions, I even know people who quit smoking and drinking by cutting back this way)

Or just a zero fizzy drink? It will still
Bloat you though

[quote AngelicaElizaAndPeggy]@gingerkittykat I was going to ask exactly the same question! It's such a Scottish thing to say - no-one here in England calls it fizzy juice, it's as mysterious as a long vodka [/quote]
I've not had a long vodka since my late teens/ early 20s party phase. Vodka, angostura bitters, lime and lemonade, good times!