Comments on: The Expenses of a Soda Pop Addiction – And How to Defeat It

By: Mike Witt

Mike Witt — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:28:43 +0000

I have been a 7 plus can or sometimes bottle of Diet Coke drinker a day for many years. I have tried many times to kick the habit, but all without success. As soon as I tried to cut down my body would react with mood swings, migraines, and overall just feeling terrible, so I had to return to drinking it. That was until just five days ago. In 5 days I broke my habit without any withdrawals, side affects, headaches, nothing, and feel like a new man. You can read all you want about the goods and the bads of Diet Coke, but when your body tells you something, generally it is for a reason. If anyone wants to break the habit without withdrawals, check out my whole story at http://www.dietdrinkaddiction.com
Thanks,
Mike

By: Devlin Bentley

Devlin Bentley — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:33:14 +0000

Pop in America has High Fructose Corn Syrup in it, which is both addictive and is an appetite stimulant.

A huge money saving tip is to shop carefully and ensure that no product you buy contains HFCS. Once you cut it completely from your diet, you will find that you actually eat less food all around!

Oh, and I said it addictive because, well, you’ll find out when you try to stop eating it…

By: James

James — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:50:06 +0000

Skip the carbonation and sugar altogether. Weather you drink Steaz – those 35 grams of sugar will do wonders for your waistline or diet pepsi – can you say laboratory rats, none of it is good for you in the long run.And don’t you want to have a long run. Drink water. Drink tea. Everything else is junk.

By: MattsWifey

MattsWifey — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:18:39 +0000

Hi Everyone!
I’m a 24 year old gal in a bachelor’s nursing program….And I was addicted to Diet Coke.
Being in nursing school, there are overwhelming stressors that cause people to smoke, drink alcohol, and…yes…drink over 2 liters of Diet Coke a day. Diet Coke was my only vice!
Not only for the caffiene content, but it was more convienent- Drive thru people actually knew me by my “One Route 44 Diet Coke, please” order. My Husband was appalled. We then made the effort to quit Colas all together.
The first couple of days were the worst- unbearable headaches, the constant needing to sleep, and the crankiness! OMG! It was a wonder he’s still with me.
After a week, we calculated how much money just I had saved by choosing not to go through Drive-Thrus- it totalled almost $40. How nuts!
Now, I’m on to 1 cup of coffee in the mornings, and I carry around a 1 liter bottle of water everywhere I go.
Good Luck!!! It’s worth it!

By: Keiichi

Keiichi — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:58:17 +0000

I’m currently at the end of life at my grad school career. I do not want to know how many cans of soda I’ve consumed. Over the summers when I worked cube jobs I rarely drank soda. I don’t want to purely blame it on school, but for some reason the craving is huge!!!

I’ve gone a few months before where I didn’t have any soda and it actually feels good. Also on top of that it saves tons of money!

Hands down, water is the best. Get yourself a filter for your faucet or a filtered pitcher, and a bottle and you’re set! Great health benefits and easy on your wallet!!

By: Meredith

Meredith — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:21:23 +0000

When I’m tempted to drink a soda, I just think about the 10-12 teaspoonfuls of sugar that are in every can! Eeek! If that doesn’t kill the craving right there, it at least convinces me to drink diet soda!

I’ve found that after I quit drinking soda of any kind for more than couple of weeks, when I do have one again they taste TOO sugary sweet. Almost like drinking syrup. yuck!

By: KarenFLA

KarenFLA — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:10:52 +0000

My father’s cardiologist told him he could only drink diet rite cola because the others have so much salt they raise your blood pressure.
Good article. I have a friend who complains about her weight but is always drinking regular coke

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:53:00 +0000

There are home carbonation devices and soda pop supplies (powdered flavor packets) you can buy (sodaclub.com) which make it easier to buy and consume pop, and which are cheaper than name brands, although not necessarily cheaper than store brands.

I’ve seen plans for making your own carbonation system which are considerably cheaper to operate than what SodaClub sells. If you build your own system and buy the flavorings, it’s a lot cheaper than store-bought.

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:46:42 +0000

I work in a convenience store. All the free fountain soda pop I want.

By: AnneTanne

AnneTanne — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 21:46:12 +0000

When my son was 4 years old, his niece offered him his first glass of Coke. He took a sip, looked very suspicious, and asked her if she was sure the thing wasn’t poisoned. It also was his last glass of Coke (he’s 10 years old now) and he still prefers plain water over soda.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:20:32 +0000

I used to work at a place that had soda available for all employees for free. I already drank a lot of regular (not-diet) coke anyway but that just upped my intake. I never drank coffee so Coke was how I got my caffiene. That was pretty much all I drank all day long – first thing in the morning until right before bed. I started having heart palpitations and decided to try giving up soda to see if that helped. I gave it up cold turkey the day before leaving to visit a friend in Boston. We went to the beach at Marblehead and I layed there with a wicked headache all day. But, I have not had a caffinated beverage since then. That was 14 years ago.

I did switch to Sprite for a number of years but did not drink nearly as much of it (1 or 2 a day vs. 6 – 8 a day). I gave those up for good about a year ago and now only drink water for the most part (some wine or other alcholic beverage on occasion). I find that it is easy to not drink soda as long as I don’t have one. As soon as I have one the craving for it returns. I am not even talking about the caffeine since it has been so long since I had a caffinated one. The sugar is just as addictive for me.

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:42:58 +0000

I switched to diet sodas several years ago. Then, about a year ago, I switched to store-brand sodas, because I couldn’t see paying more just for a name. It’s true at first I thought the taste was a little inferior. But I’ve found that I get used to pretty much whatever taste becomes familiar. I quickly adjusted to the diet sodas and came to actually prefer the taste of diet sodas to full sugar sodas. The adjustment from Diet Coke to store brand diet soda was just no big deal.

I’ve never drunk soda so much as to see it as an addiction. Many days I have no soda, and three cans per day is probably my upper limit. Still, that’s about 18 cents per can, even after I turn them in for cash at the scrap metal dealer. We try to feed ourselves for an average of $2 per meal. So even an 18 cent soda should be considered a treat in our house.

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:10:57 +0000

I never had soda as a kid — we couldn’t afford it and I never missed it. Once I hit about sixteen I discovered that I was out of step in this issue (as with many more) but didn’t develope a “habit” until somewhere in my thirties, and that was short lived. Then I got REALLY sick and could not keep anything down, ginger ale could be my friend but I knew how bad soda would affect my condition. At that point I discovered “Steaz” green tea soda — the stuff is GREAT. It comes in many flavors, is organic and the glass bottles are refundable in some states.It is not cheap and should be considered a “once in awhile” treat.
Let this be a lesson to parents — I never had a filling in my “adult” teeth until my mid forties,I do not crave or eat fast food and am now in my late fifties with good health. My Mother had it right — drink water, do not let your kids eat fast food and pack their lunches. You can not miss something you have never had and the money spent on “junk food” and “fast food” could be put to much better use — like your childs college fund, and best of all you and your children will be healthy.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:06:49 +0000

I was totally addicted to Coke in my freshman year. Or Pepsi. Anything with sugar and caffeine. My roommate did an intervention when she caught me drinking it for breakfast. I went through a hell of a cold-turkey withdrawl. We laid it out as a one-month thing. If I could go 30 days without a drink, then I was ok. And it worked! :)

By: Uncle Midriff

Uncle Midriff — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:20:59 +0000

I’ma have to take issue with the claim that Coke is so awful that it can dissolve a tooth. According to http://snopes.com/cokelore/tooth.asp, orange juice or any other highly acidic food could do the same thing. I don’t know how reputable http://www.snopes.com is, but I have heard the same thing from multiple sources.

As for the phosphorous issue, can anyone provide sources for that? I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything, I’m just genuinely curious about the effects of the type of drink I love so much. If there is research out there that says the phosphorous in Coke is sufficient to make my bones brittle, then I need to modify my intake accordingly. If, on the other hand, it’s just another bit lore started by who knows what, I’ll ignore it.

@Sandy: Same thing regarding aspartame. I’ve read tons of anecdotes about how bad aspartame is…thing is, the websites on which I read those anecdotes seem less than reputable, and the anecdotes themselves range from “Aspartame makes me feel a little bleh,” to “ASPARTAME MADE MY BRAINS EXPLODE!!!” I have a hard time taking all that too seriously. However, if you have some evidence for the claim that I am ignorant of, I’d truly like to see it.

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:03:16 +0000

I was drinking a 2-litre bottle of diet cola in about 2 days or so, and I decided to give it up, partly because of the expense and partly because I am not convinced that ingesting large amounts of aspartame is healthy. I now drink a lot of water and also a glass or two of pure fruit juice (which may have calories but at least it is natural and has nutritional value).

By: JT

JT — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 05:57:51 +0000

I don’t think a half dozen cans of either regular or diet is a healthy thing…but I don’t think a can a day is too bad. I used to drink quite a bit, but then I cut down to one can of diet Pepsi that I bring with my lunch to work. With dinner I’ll have skim milk or sometimes beer or wine. Other than that, I drink tap water. On weekends, I may have a second can if I feel like it during the afternoon.

Although the 2 liter bottles are more economical when on sale, I buy the 24 packs at Costco. I find the cans help more with portion control. Plus if you don’t drink alot, the soda in the 2 liter bottles can go flat.

By: N'Awlins Kat

N'Awlins Kat — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 04:59:00 +0000

@Uncle Midriff–even without the caffeine, sugar and cash incentives to cut back on soda, there are, unfortunately, other things bad about it. As said earlier, the phosphorus leaches calcium….a big concern, especially for women. Plus, Coke is acidic–there are the ulcers. And the tooth decay…and if you grind your teeth like me and fracture the enamel, then let the acid in to do its dirty business, you, like me, could wind up with 20 lovely crowns. While my dentist is truly an artiste…his kids will go to Princeton on my dime. :(

Also, to remove all doubts about what caffeine does to your teeth (and gut), you can do the experiment we’ve done with kids; take a baby tooth, drop it in a small glass of Coke, and check it daily. After a week…where’s it gone? The stuff that removes rust from iron and lovebugs from your windshield and grill can totally eat a tooth, leaving nothing behind. Scary. It sure makes a fine point with kids, especially if you do it right after they’ve been to the dentist for a filling. Terror is a fine motivational tool.

That said, I do love my Coke, too, though not as much as when it was made with real sugar (like Euro coke stil is, I believe). I slashed my daily soda intake to virtually nothing (maybe a can a week) because of a corn allergy and the need to weed out all forms of corn, including high fructose corn syrup, from my diet. Amazing how much that stuff is in! In college, I was a total devotee of Jolt cola, so giving up almost all soda was a challenge for me. This evening, for Thankgiving dinner, I had half a can of Coke and two tablespoons of corn, and I’m still paying for it. :( So I guess ditching Coke was worth it. Though replacing it with coffee probably wasn’t the brightest move. I love ice water, but also crunching ice, which brings us back to teeth. Not a good replacement.

@Rob in Madrid–can you get those lovely little espressos in Madrid? I got way hooked on Turkish and Greek coffee in college….a little tiny demitasse of TNT. None of this frou-frou half-caf soy double-shot posturing, just good, honest coffee that could strip wax from floors. I had it all over Europe, so it should be an option. Of ocurse, a cup or two can leave you wired for days…

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 02:39:48 +0000

For all of you Diet soda fans, if you also notice certain aches and pains upon arising or in your hands, you might have a real problem with the aspertame. That is a neurotoxin that really shouldn’t be on the market, yet is being put in so many food products these days.
A friend of mine drank as much diet soda as your regular soda, trent. One day (soda can in hand) she was complaining about the fact that she couldn’t get up out of bed in the morning, and that her hands were not as nimble as they had been in the past. She’s and artist, and it was affecting her work. I suggested that she stop drinking the aspartame cocktail, and try water instead. She did, and the sensations went away, and she’s never drank the stuff again.
I think that soda, diet or reg, is really bad for humans in so many ways…from weight, to health, to dental health, to throwing money away…
If any of you have babies…get them used to drinking straight water, rather than sweet fruit juices all the time…otherwise, they may have a hard time getting used to drinking tasteless water later in life. They learn (from you) that either everything they drink is sweet OR that drinks aren’t always sweet, and so aren’t deprived if they only have water as an option. That was some of the best advice I ever got as a new parent 14 years ago…

By: Lazy Man and Health

Lazy Man and Health — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 02:26:13 +0000

I’m guilty of this addiction as well. One thing that’s worth mentioning is that you can mitigate some of these factors.

Two liters of soda allow you more flexibility – you can pour a half glass instead of drinking a full can when you might only want a sip or two. Additionally, I find that 2 liters are cheaper per ounce than the cans since you don’t pay for individual packaging.

One can choose diet and caffeine soda to eliminate the obesity and caffeine dependence issues. My dentist recommended a straw to eliminate tooth decay. I suppose you could just supplement with calcium to fix that issue as well.

These are a lot of patches when a simple fix is to stop drinking soda. However, if you find that you can’t break the addiction you might as well mitigate the damage.