@BigDASH: Disagree. Not everything you do in your adult life has to do with the damage that was done to you as a child. EVERYONE's tastes can constantly change, as long as you let them. "Getting used to" drinking sugar water is just as easy to change now as it might have been then. The only issue is the habit.

Another good deterrent is when you realize how heavy carrying around all of that sugar water is, like when you take home a 12 pack from the store.

orev

I think it comes down to how much water you were given to drink as a child. If you are turned off to water you are just turned off. You can give someone some water but you can't make them drink it. I grew up in Philadelphia and I drank Schuylkill punch (tap water). I didn't know better at the time. Now I actually like and prefer drinking water. I can go days with out any soda. I may have some red or yellow kool aid every now and then but for the most part it is water, coffee, tea, maybe a beer every now and again. I have a 2 y/o son who we started at maybe 6 months on water at least 4 ozs a day and now he can and will drink it with out being forced. We did put some lemon and or a sprinkle of sugar for flavor to start. We have a second son who is almost 6 months and he will be started on water in a few weeks.

BigDASH

This article comes at just the right time for me. I kicked it a while back but I started up again. Having free soda at work seems like a perk but it is a curse. I'm starting cold turkey from now on.

I don't know if this helps people but I found this diet mtn-dewish caffeinated mix that is bottle-sized that works as a replacement for the caffeine in the morning, which is part of the reason I drink soda.

ddrager

I have had a harder time kicking the coffee habit than the soda habit. Luckily, turns out coffee helps reduce cholesterol so I can have a cup a day with 1 cream and 1 sugar.

alexander

Aaaaactually, having a soda habit has to do with the sugar kick. Or, more specifically, the high-fructose corn syrup.

You can get "addicted" to a sugar high, although the downer isn't too much of a downer. But the first chug of a soda in 12 hours will release a significant endorphin kick, thus letting you associate soda and pleasure.

If you want to get away from soda, just quit cold turkey. You'll just feel a little slow for a couple days. No big deal.

If you don't mind the sugar intake, but you do mind the soda, just replace your soda with another sugar intake.

Caidence

I agree that a slice of lemon or lime does the trick for me. With ice is a must.

dysmatik

For me it's all about the caffeine. You can slam it much faster than coffee unless the coffee is iced.

ugadawg

@Gina: Agreed.

Easiest way to break your soda habit is to not buy it. This is how I broke it. Now I cannot even stand the taste of it as it tastes too sugary (because it is).

jarhead

If it has not gone through a purifier or anything like that, I have a hard time drinking it. As sad as that sounds.

dorylomorphs

A slice of lemon makes a glass of water SO much better.

Gina

We "bottle" our own water from our water filter at home, and then I bring the water to work. I've found those little Crystal Light "To-Go" packets to be really helpful.

jaredharley

I replaced the sugared sodas in my diet with club soda. The bubbles give it enough of a mouthfeel to convince my inner cravings that I'm up to no good - and it's just water and bubbles!

etrigan

I've been more or less doing this for a few years now, except my goal is to drink more water and break from high fructose corn syrup.

Currently, I bring a cooler of ice water to work (not enough ice in the machine at work). I filter both water and ice using Brita. I would love to have crushed ice in my water, but it's not convenient to store and scoop out of my cooler. When I need a sweet fix, I use a Kool-Aid mix or a can of 365 root beer from Whole Foods (both made with sugar, not HFCS).

sumocat

I find keeping enough fresh lemons around, let alone sliced, a lot of work. Much less expensive, and just as easy, I buy lemon juice and give my glass a spritz before pouring the water.

andyruff

I kicked soda cold turkey last year. I took some digs from others for drinking bottled water, but it worked. Sure, you are paying for something that comes out of the tap for free, but it is no more expensive than the soda that it is replacing, and it is cold and without all of the nastiness associated with tap water. Now, having been soda free for this long, the sight of a fountain soda makes my teeth hurt. I can't imagine wanting to drink the stuff.

Ledge

I find that keeping my water in a Britta does a great job of keeping that "refrigerator" taste out. And believe me, my refrigerator is not always too clean!

andy88488

@Gina: Indeed, and while it's mentioned in the article, I probably should have fit that into the post. Also: I prefer the mellower tang of lime ;)

Therevan

At some time in my life, possibly in my early 20's, I found that soda would give me a bad stomach ache if I drank more than 3 or 4 oz at a time. Needless to say, that cured any possible soda addiction I may have developed. My refreshing drink of choice has been iced tea, preferably unsweetened and with lemon. Other than that, it's mostly water and soy milk. I am thinking that the high fructose corn syrup could be the culprit for the stomach aches because many non-carbonated fruit drinks have the same affect.

Does anyone else get stomach problems from drinking soda?

I have a cousin that nearly ruined his kidneys as a teen due to an over-indulgent soda habit.

Spondoolix

@orev: Point taken. Some things are acquired, and then you have habit. I guess I got into the habit of drinking more water as a child.

BigDASH

I tried to use Water Joe to help with my caffeine habit, since I want to stop drinking Diet Coke. But that stuff is just so hard to find around here. Maybe I should try No-Doze or something.

btgoss

Caffeine, sugar or HFCS aren't the only addictive substances in soda -- they're now finding that the benzoate preservatives have some sort of exciting effect on the brain. It's why it's harder to kick diet coke than coffee.

That_Bastid

I agree with a good filtering system as a prerequisite for having good water. Too many municipal water systems have too much chlorine.

kdyer

@taz20075: You can. Although you may need a license to buy medical grade powdered caffeine. Ok, maybe you can't... but it's theoretically possible. It'd also probably taste awful.

(You could also pop no-doz like tictacs and drink water.)

PS. None of the above is serious and shouldn't be considered medical advice. Consult a doctor before starting any self-medicating plan. Yada yada yada.

CWW

Sparkling water, all the way. Its water, has a little bite to it, and you can buy it in a can. Its certainly cheaper than "soda" and keeps me satisfied.

Sadly, I think I have a soda water addition now.

rkmase

I finally kicked my soda habit but sadly I replaced it with sugar-free RedBull for the caffeine. For the most part I'll do tea and water though.

For water I found that I like the stuff with more minerals like Ozarka. The softer water doesn't have enough texture for me.

ywr3

I would gladly replace my pop if I could add caffeine to my H20.

taz20075

I like a glass of water with a small splash of either lime or lemon juice. If you don't add too much you get a nice fruit flavor without any sourness. I also occasionally add a few drops of vanilla with lime. You can also take other fruit juices and cut them with water and make fruit drinks that have fewer calories but give you a taste variety. We also buy and freeze jugs of apple cider in March and have it year round.

pschroeter

i've been buying and drinking la croix for the past semester. it's carbonated + slightly flavored water that's delicious and refreshing. also, much better for you than soda. orange and berry are my favorites.

hookem

I was given soda, punch, and juices as a child - no one in the house drank water much. Now, with two little kids, we make it a point to drink water (with ice) with meals. I don't want my kids to grow up addicted to HFCS.

Personally, the context of the drink is everything - I can drink water from a bottle or a glass, but pour it in a coffee mug or travel mug (even clean ones!), and I'm turned off.

mpgraber

For some strange reason, I find that if I keep a reusable travel mug at work, and fill it with ice water, I tend to drink it just because it's there... taking a sip every few minutes... (Actually, this applies to whatever beverage is in the mug, so I just have to choose to fill it with water.)

But on the other hand, I am NOT giving up my Coke when I get the occasional taste for a good bourbon-and-Coke.

fritzk3

Wow. Those of you complaining about lack of caffeine should be ashamed of yourselves. That's a poor excuse not to break the habit, especially when you have a plethora of other options.

taybay

I've been doing the same thing as Etrigan. Club Soda is a great sugar-free substitute for pop. Mineral water is also good, but usually more expensive. I can find a six pack of club soda at Dominick's for about $1.50.

petebot

I've found what I think is a nearly ideal solution (HAR) for this. I was drinking water with lemons, but just didn't find it satisfying. I realized that I missed the carbonation.

"Hmm, why couldn't I try the same thing, with carbonated water?" I thought.

So here's what you do:

1. Buy a bottle of sparkling water. I get two-liter bottles of Fred Meyer house brand -- Big K, I think it's called -- for $1.29 each (89c on sale). If you have a range of choices, be sure to check the sodium content on each one.

2. Buy large bottles of ReaLemon and ReaLime juice. The lemon juice I get in a two-pack from Costco. The Lime I have to get from the local store.

3. Put a little squirt of lemon and lime in a glass over ice, then add the sparkling water. Now that you've created some space in the sparkling water bottle, you can just go ahead and add juice to that to create a whole bottle full.

You can alter the proportions and amount of the Lemon and Lime, so no two bottles are ever exactly the same. A little variety is good.

One thing to note: The resulting soda is NOT SWEET. It takes a little getting used to, but if you're like me, eventually you will come to actually prefer it. It is really light and refreshing. I guess you could always add table sugar or honey to it, but I never do.

- Alaska Jack

Alaska Jack

What about DIET soda? I put away at least a six-pack a day of Diet Coke, Fresca or Sprite Zero. It's not even about the caffeine, as I'm a zealous coffee drinker - I seriously love the taste of soda. And if it's calorie-free, I have no real incentive to kick the habit, although I know I should.

I'm generally a pretty thirsty person and will drink bucketloads of whatever's in front of me, but I rarely - if ever - choose to make that "whatever" be water. Seriously, phenylketonurics are going to send me to an early grave.

beahumanbeing

Sparkling water is the best. I work at an office with free drinks. Our fridge is stocked with whatever type of soft drinks we want meaning that I consumed an insane amount of pop on a daily basis. I realized that I was getting headaches from being too dehydrated and requested Mendota Springs (lime!), my pop consumption has dropped significantly. Although there are some days where I still have too much...

Oh No I Di'n't.

I wish we had more naturally carbonated spring water available in the US. Sparkling/seltzer water don't really taste right to me, and regular water has no taste at all, which is why I don't like it. When I lived in Prague and Budapest, carbonated water was just about all I drank. [www.dobra-voda.cz] is an example of one brand. The Czechs even have non carbonated, carbonated, and "lightly carbonated" types of water.
San Pellegrino is about the only substitute I know of here, and its usually expensive.

koagem

I haven't had soda in over 2 years now, it wasnt hard at all to kick the habit. All my fiance and I have at home is sugar and HFCS free juice, coffee, tea, and water.

Falconfire

I find that just having bottles of cold water in the fridge helps me avoid drinking anything else. I'm also an avid milk drinker because it tastes better than water but is still healthy.

Woodsyx

I've been soda free for 6-7 years now, and i'm only 17. i think the thing that stopped me second most (most was that mom stopped buying it) was that we got a brita pitcher, so we always had crisp clean cold water.

mistercow.pnoy

Good tips on the "better water" front, but you may want to be careful about drinking too much ice water too fast, especially on a really hot day. Cool or room temperature water doesn't shock to the system, but sometimes chugging ice water can. Sipping ice water is generally OK.

I used to drink about 3 or 4 sodas a day until Jan. 1, 2007, when I decided to get the habit under control. It wasn't easy, especially the first several days, but I took a six-week break from all sodas so as to ensure that I would alter the consumption patterns that I'd been following for more than a decade. Now I drink no more than two or three sodas a week, although I am happy to say I haven't even had one so far in 2008.

If you want to learn more, see my Web site at:
www.takeabreakfromsoda.com.

Good luck on breaking the soda habit!

takeabreakfromsoda

Check this out. Apparently there are 6 (six!) TABLESPOONS of sugar per can of pop!

Cyborgface

Definitely try club soda or seltzer like Etrigan suggests. I started drinking it years ago and it easily replaces soda - after a short adjustment period.

adamwinn

I drink diet caffeine free coke for the most part, and lots of it. There's always arguments about aspartame and other preservatives in diet sodas, and frankly I don't buy them. I have friends who swear that aspartame causes brain cancer. Of course they are also the same ones who forward emails about everything that snopes has already debunked.

I hate anti-soda articles/stories that completely neglect speaking about diet sodas. Even if there ARE bad things about diet sodas, they are NOT the same as regular sodas, so lumping them together is irresponsible.

For the record, I also drink a lot of green tea and water. How about comparing how much more dangerous and negative drinking alcohol is compared to soda? Nah, drinkers rather revel in "studies" claiming this or that much a day is actually healthy... uh, yeah.

Chris Moran

I've managed a couple of hotel spas and here's what we've done to make the water more attractive.

● Mixed slices of citrus, usually lemon, lime and orange.
● Sliced cucumber -- this one is my own favorite
● cinnamon sticks and mint leaves -- a nice combination

hands

I guess I'm a soda fan as well. I haven't managed to kick it yet. I usually have about two 330ml glass bottles a day. I know it's bad for me.
I tried drinking just soda water but I found it kinda - salty? I guess it's the sodium in the water that you don't notice when it is laced with the sugar in Coke.

da5id_nz

I drink my water at room tempature, it goes down a lot easier.

ALL.I.DRINK.IS.WATER.

When I started drinking only water I lost 20lbs...

Shane

@HeartBurnKid: Yeah. Jones is bottled here in Seattle, so when I need a soda fix, thats my first choice.

I stay away from Hansens organic soda because it's very nasty.

balls187

@balls187: I used to hit Vallarta regularly for Mexican Coca-Cola, myself. Then, the labels started saying it had "sugar and/or high-fructose corn syrup". It's now basically a crap-shoot whether a given batch is made with sugar or HFCS, and I could tell the difference with one taste.

Lately I've been on diet sodas. Much lighter feel than regular (they don't feel all syrupy in your mouth), though the taste does seem way more... artificial, for lack of a better word. I think I'm experiencing an extended bout of sugar withdrawal, though; occasionally I get a headache that goes away when I have a regular soda. I try to keep a pack of Jones cola in the house for those times, since it's still actually made with sugar and not HFCS.

HeartBurnKid

I'm in the UK & my preference is for filling a 2 litre bottle almost to the brim with tap water, then adding dessert spoon of cordial. I like elderflower best followed by grapefruit. It just flavours the water enough for it to be palatable to me.

As someone else has said,just the fact that it's on the desk makes me drink it, so I drink far more than I would otherwise. Occasionally I buy 1 or 2 litre bottles of carbonated flavoured water from the supermarket; the one I have now is lemon & lime flavour but there's no added sugar and it's natural flavouring. It also comes in plenty of other flavours.

galgo

I'm still working on this--well, have been for ages--but at least I'm having less now than I was at my peak. Things that helped me:

LaCroix - Comes in cans. Fizzy. Not sweetened, no calories. Rather pricy, though. Good substitute in packed lunches.
Limes - Lots of them, the little ones, half of one squeezed into a glass.

The ice thing is a good idea. We never have ice at home and I realize now that I did drink much more when we did, so I might have to actually go out and get an ice tray now. (Our previous apartment came with them; some former occupants of this one must have swiped them.)

I love seltzer, but every bottle I buy goes flat before I use the whole thing, because my fiance won't drink it. I'm considering a soda siphon now.

Repique

Bottled water is very wasteful. Consider some alternatives:

- Don't overlook tap water. If your tap water tastes good, then use it. Bottled water is touted as cleaner or more healthful and that's just horse puckey for most US locations.

- If your tap water doesn't taste good, a carbon filter is the simplest alternative. You can install a cartridge filter (large under-sink filters cost least in the long run) or use a carafe or in-line filter.

- If filtering still leaves a bad taste, or if your water source is tested to bcontain problems, go RO! "Reverse osmosis" is the same process they use to produce many bottled waters. An RO filter is $200-300 (the one they sell at Costco is very good) and you will save a fortune over bottled water. But note that RO flushes water down the drain as part of the process.

- Taste can generally be your guide.

moe52

Re: Lemon -- here's a hint I just read the other day. Slice a lemon and store the slices in the freezer. That makes it easy to add a slice to your water.

You could also squeeze a lemon and out the juice in a squirt bottle, which you keep in the fridge.

moe52

I like carbonated water with a bit of fruit juice or lemon. Sometimes I'll mix the carbonated water with regular water to cut down on the fizz, then add a bit of lemon. Strange.

I actually drink (too much) caffeine free Diet Dew. I think I'm just addicted to the taste of it. I cut down on the caffeine over the last few months. Maybe I can cut that down to just carbonated water and juice.

Jarick

I agree, lemon in water is much better. ANd yes I'm addicted to carbonation.

Also bottled water is a hoax. Most of it is just bottled tapwater. It cost more fossil fuels to package and transport bottled water, so just drink tap water, or buy a brita water filter.

@beahumanbeing: Have you read the chemicals inside diet soda? Nasty. And there was a recent study citing that diet soda may be worse than regular soda.

Regardless, if you're going to drink soda, try to get stuff that is sweetened by sugar cane (mexican coke forinstance) instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Costco carries Mexican Coca-cola, and once you've had the stuff, you'll never want to go back to the crap we get.

balls187

Meh, none of these hints are helpful to me i'm afraid. It would be like telling an alcoholic to try replacing whiskey with sour milk.

I, however, am not sure why i'm so addicted to soda; i hate caffeine and always buy caffeine free soda, and i hate the taste of diet soda but i'll drink it over water or something non-sweet any day.

bubbly water is revolting, as is lemon. i guess i need sweet and lots of it. i have trouble enjoying meals without a soda; nothing can replace it, not beer, water, carbonated water, nothing. the closest i've found is chocolate or strawberry milk, so i'll going to go ahead and blame the sweetness.

of course this is also the guy who loves grapefruit, but only if it's so loaded with sugar it's crunchy.

my 88 year old grandfather has a similar sweet tooth, and has never been overweight or diabetic, so maybe i'll be lucky (lucky like my dental situation: 0 cavities despite a 3 soda/day habit for a decade), but i'll probably have to switch to some of the better diet sodas if i can't manage to work in more juice or water.

volvoben

@etrigan: Me too. Club soda on ice FTW!

middy

I'm a water-drinker myself, but do have a soda on ocassion depending on the situation (socially). One tip to try, is of course lemo/lime as mentioned...

Or just try adding a tad bit of sugar, so it's still got the sugar, but not as much as say a soda...

Vitamin Water is also a good alternative too - though could get pricey - as any bottled water.

Which brings up another point, I rarely drink bottled water, but our public water around here isn't that bad.

ahoier

Well I used to drink allot of Soda and then I just decided I did not want to have to always need a soda.

How I did it~

I took the bull by the horns and just stopped drinking it. Honestly you have to just do it. You can make nice water drinks with lemon but if you truly don't want to change it is not gonna happen.

My new habit, drinking milk and water! (the occasional coffee as well)

GeorgiaBoot

I agree with replacing soda with sparkling water. My wife and I have done this and we have been soda free for over a year now.

lladelfa

ABHOWEL: The WebMD article is a waste of text. It doesn't say diet soda will make you fat - not even close. I would argue that some people eat "diet" products or "low fat" versions of foods and then over eat them to get satiated. I stopped drinking soda for 3 months as a test. It made no difference to anything I did. No weight change. No behavior change. Nothing.

As for osteoporosis, I could believe it, but more often in women, as they tend to have a harder time getting the calcium they need. Drink more soda, drink less other stuff, including calcium providing stuff. I have a bowl of cereal with skim milk most mornings.

My point, though, is that one cannot reasonably lump regular soda and diet sodas in the same problem group.

Chris Moran

Chris: Here's a good one on how diet soda will make you fat: [www.webmd.com]
Or have a stroke: [www.washingtonpost.com]
Or get osteoporosis: [enews.tufts.edu]

Couldn't find anything about brain cancer, but I guess you already have that info from your friends...

Seriously, I am embarrassed to admit that I have a small Coke problem. It makes me feel good when nothing else will (my dad, who is a physician, says he remembers a time when they actually used to administer CocaCola syrup in hospitals as some kind of pick-me-up, but I've never verified that), but it's wreaking havoc with my body. I probably also need to address the love affair with red wine, which causes the ever-so-slight morning hangovers, which leads to my needing a litre of Coke to recover... but one thing at a time.

abhowell

Well folks, I have been reading this great blog for a long, long time and think it is awesome! I very rarely comment, but this is a powerful issue. If you guys wonder why you know you should quit drinking soda it is because your body knows it is bad for you. Soda is of no nutritional value, and in fact is bad for your health. Not to mention Red Bull and all those other "energy" drinks. They are horrible for your health and well being. It is no wonder that today's generation will be the first in the United States history that will probably die before their parents. We have the highest amounts of childhood autism, ADD, and many other childhood diseases that make no sense, not to mention the incredible increase in diabetes in all ages. This is due to our horrible diets, genetically modified foods, and the heavy influence mass media and industry has over our decisions. You all know it is bad for you, but we still put it into our bodies. No wonder cancer has gone from 1 in 20 to 1 in 3 today. Think about it. Even the fresh fruit and veggies we eat are not the same as 60 years ago, they are not as nutrient dense. All of this info is readily available via google, from reputable websites. Think about what you put into and on your and your family's bodies. It matters.

sunshinelizard

Another good option that worked for me was to transition using sparkling water. It still has zero calories and it's a bit more "interesting" to drink.

speedfreak

I actually did this. I was drinking several cans of Pepsi a day. Coupled with my mostly idle lifestyle, 150 calories a can just was not acceptable.

So I dug my old Brita filter out of the closet, which strangely had brand new filters included with it, and stuck a bunch of newly filtered tap water in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

I've heard cold water tastes better than warm water by masking any leftover chlorine in the water. A few drop of lemon juice also does wonders in my experience and will help to prevent that stale taste that water can get. I also keep a box of baking soda in the fridge to help prevent any extraneous odors from being absorbed by the water or anything else.

I occasionally have one soda when my wife and I go out to eat somewhere and it's too late to drink coffee and too early to drink beer. But I have not had any significant feelings of withdrawal and more importantly I have lost a good bit of weight.

gjrey

If you want to know the truth about aspartame check out dorway.com. If you look at the history of aspartame, it came about when two scientists were trying to develop a medicine for stomach ulcers; one of them licked his finger to turn a page after it having come in contact with some of the powder and discovered it was sweet.

The stuff is not good for you. I'd rather eat raw sugar.
It turns to wood alcohol or formaldehyde in the body. It was also rejected by the FDA eight times before it was approved.

They say it can give people the same symptoms as multiple sclerosis. Also, is there a connection between the free Diet Pepsi Michael J Fox was given when he was the star of Family Ties and the Parkinson's he has now? He became a sponsor of Diet Pepsi in the 80's when he was the star of Family Ties and was given (and drank) trays of the stuff.

da5id_nz

It seems like every day LifeHacker becomes a little more and more like a Oregon Starbucks and less like a tech blog.

Ben

@Gina:
I like lemon in iced water but I've heard horror stories of people experiencing severe tooth decay from even moderate exposure to citric acid. I found this after a very quick search: [www.dental--health.com]

the-happy-manager

ok i think the new and hip kind of water would have to be vita-water it comes in differnt sorts of flavors and is very tasty and healty for you

Powerlessgod

But then what are diet soda's? The point is that they are still sodas' but with some less health risk.(Honestly though its still the same mixture to, just maybe no added caffeine or sugar.So i would still say that its a soda.But some include phosphorus)

I am proud to say though that I got my soda habit in check finally, but with chris's comment I really don't understand how you didn't lose any weight. Heck when I stopped drinking the stuff I lost 10 lbs. and I only weighed at the most 130.

But the best solution I can say to people about switching to water, If you can't stand plain water(I don't really like it.) buy flavored water or get some fruit and put the juice in the water. And just don't buy soda at all and you'll be good to go ;)

rusty2226

CRYSTAL LIGHT PEACH ICED TEA! Just dump it in the water jug and stir and your doctor will start asking you to drink less water!

No calories. And is the best tasting iced tea in the universe! And I'm not even an iced tea drinker.

Do it. Do it now! It will change your life.

molife