Alternatives to diet pepsi

[womblesofwestminster]

Aside from being bloody expensive I suspect my addiction to diet pepsi (I'm talking approx 7 cans per day) is increasing my appetite and triggering binges.

So, I'm looking for a replacement which can deliver the following hits:

Caffeinne.
Bloated tummy (makes me feel full).

Currently diet pepsi is the only thing that gets me through fast days, but I feel it could be counter-productive in the long term :( Help!

Sparkling water and black coffee? Separately that is.

Wow, 7 cans a day must be costing you a fortune, plus it's really bad for your teeth (acid and staining), and you're correct in that it will trigger sugar cravings.

Would recommend fizzy water with a dash of lemon juice or lime juice, and good coffee for the caffeine hit.

7 cans of Diet Pepsi a day? That's ridiculous! But so is eating a 4 pack of Twirls in a oner and heaven knows I've done that often enough!

Starting tomorrow limit yourself to 2 cans a day. Black unsweetened coffee (bleurgh, I know, but it'll give you the caffeine hit you crave) and lots and lots of water, til you're fit to burst! And I really mean burst.

It's a terrible habit, but you can break it. I'm in my first week of only drinking black coffee, herbal tea and water i.e. no diluting juice, no tonic water, no sparkling water, no fizzy drinks. It's been tough, but I reckon by week 2 I won't have any more cravings (hopefully!). Good luck.

By the way, my diet Pepsi intake went through the roof when I started this WOL, especially on my FD. My calorie intake on my NFD also increased. However, I've gradually managed to cut out all crappy artificial drinks and keep calories under control my NFD. If I can do it, you can.

What could I put in the sparkling water?

Are soda steams any good?

A 500 ml screw top plastic bottle of pepsi would be better than a can. You could pour out a small glass twice per day.

Soda streams will have crappy added stuff, just like pepsi.
Anything sweet will have sugar or artificial sweetener, so try to get away from that in your substitutes.

Pour fizzy water into a glass, then ice, a squirt of lemon, plus a thin slice of lemon on top, to look pretty. Add a bit of class to your WOL !

Personally, I find hot drinks are a better appetite suppressant than cold ones. For me it's tea all the way, with just a dash of milk in it. Yes, it's got calories, but I'm sure it's better health-wise than diet Pepsi, and I would say that 8 times out of 10 it kills the cravings for me.

I'm deliberately working at making myself want tea, by the way. I tell myself out loud how much I'm looking forward to it, and when I find myself thinking about high-carb indulgences I try to replace the image of what I want with the image of a cup of tea instead (I'm in the habit of visualising buns, bagels, cake and chocolate a lot and it's a habit I'm trying to break). It's definitely having the desired effect - not all the time, but often enough to make a difference.

If you can switch to green tea then that would be fantastic (via white tea, which is less bitter tasting but similar if you find that nicer). I would cut down your pepsi consumption gradually - say by half every 3 days or so if you want to avoid serious headaches.