Any ideas to cut out sugary drinks?

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

I've found with a lot of things it's less a craving and more a habit. I'd find that at four I'd start rooting for something sweet. I now make a pot of tea. When I pick up something to eat I ask myself...am I hungry? Or bored?

And I've upped my water intake...

The bolded parts! That! That, that, a thousand times that. I *know* that I'm not hungry -- it's just something to do: EAT!

The worst thing for me right now is that my office space is in my dining room. Right next to the kitchen. Literally a dozen steps to the fridge. SO. NOT. GOOD. It's completely MINDLESS eating while I work. If I was MINDFUL of it, I'd remember what it tasted like, right? I don't. It's just shoveling.

I'm moving to a townhouse in June. My office is a dedicated room -- UPSTAIRS! There's no way that I'm going down (and back up!) stairs to get yet ANOTHER item of food to mindlessly eat. (Although the stairs are exercise, right? Ha!) Anyway, I'm very excited to use the "urge jar" to curb it -- and to have the stairs to want to bother with it less. Both of those things, especially combined, will set me into a more mindful state of eating.

[jay5835]

I first switched from Diet Coke to either unsweetened iced tea (I brew my own) or San Pellegrino (original version, not flavored/sweetened). Whole Foods sells their own version of San Pellegrino, Italian Sparkling Water, and it's $5.94 for a six-pack of liter bottles. That's what I drink most of the time.

[jade408]

I cut out most of the sugary beverages a long time ago.

I do drink cocktails, and the frequency varies it probably averages one every other week

One trick I have is drinking sparkling water with a splash of juice. It is a refreshing option. I also do that in plain water.

I also drink water with bitters. And some teas I like with sweetener - mostly stevia. Others I never sweeten. Unflavored green, white and oolong teas I have plain. Fruity teas I typically add sweetener.

It gets easier the longer you do it.

[Wintergirl80]

I used to like pepsi every now and then-- mostly for the fizzy taste. Over time I have pretty much given it up. La Croix and Kombucha help with the fizz and bubbles craving and much healthier.

[Ottawa2011]

I will reach for herbal tea instead now. You can find lots of exotic flavours that are wonderful, tasty, and best of all, require zero sugar added to them. Helped wean me off the fizzy pop drinks. And I never thought I'd give those up.

[Nut4sweets]

When you crave for sugar, your body actually is lacking of protein. Try a protein smoothie with fresh fruits, plain yogurt, a tiny bit of raw honey, and protein powder of your choice. Usually we crave sugar in the afternoon when we're tired. If you can't make a smoothie at work, have a Kind bar that has same amount or less sugar than protein (g to g). I personally like the sea salt dark chocolate one, always have one in my purse or in a drawer at work. I also stock up on boiled eggs for a quick pick-me-up protein source for that late afternoon sweet craving.

[TamaraSavannah]

Originally Posted by Dreamingx

Hi everyone. I enjoy sugary drinks greatly, but the past 2 months, I've only had them once in a while. I'd like to quit for good however

Does anyone have any recommendations as a replacement? I just drink plain water all the time and I'm getting so bored of it. I sometimes add lemon but it still doesn't help. I find myself craving sugary drinks. However, I know they are bad for the health, teeth, etc.

How about trying to find a reason or an example that totally turns you off from them.

As it is, I don't recall what turned me off from sodas. I can remember in the late 80s having six packs hanging off the sides of my grocery cart but that stopped in the 90s. The only reason I can think it might have was that I was too poor at the time to buy such.

For most of this entry, I shall use another food I gave up, donuts, for the example.

Looking at donuts, I gave those up soon after I entered the service because they were both "fat pills" and also they could, if one only had them for breakfast and coffee, force one into a critical blood sugar level. Two things that probably helped turn me away from them permanently was that I was heavy into aerobics and thus using my nightly classes to fuel my ambitions during the day and that the fruit bowl was right there.

The fruit bowl might be another way to do it. First of all, if you are going to grab a soda, grab a piece of fruit first. It might stop the craving but if it does not and you still have the soda, well, at least you got something good into you first.

Secondly, there are images one might use to propel themselves. "Look at her with all those bags of fruit in her basket, oh, she must be so healthy!". Whether or not people are actually thinking about us in that way doesn't matter if we believe what we think they think about us.

Images can go another way as well. I can just picture a certain superior that I despised going into the morning donuts with a passion (I don't recall that as a motivator but let's just say). I certainly don't want to be like him, don't want to give him something he can hold over me (a mutual like of donuts), so I shall give them up.

Another thing might be trying to kill the appetite. Growing up in a Mediterranean sourced family, I am very compelled to have wine with my meals. I find having a full meal will kill the wine appetite. In your case, will quaffing a quart of water first kill the appetite?

Finally, I replaced my desire to scarf chocolate chips by using raisins instead. They are about the same texture, easy to get a handful, so while I have to keep chips around for baking, I keep raisins in the pantry and make myself reach for those instead. Another trick might be if that which is to be avoided is kept somewhere that is a bit more of a burden to get. Raisins can be kept in the pantry/refrigerator but now that I have a chest freezer out in the garage, I can still have my chips but keep them farther out of sight, out of mind.

Good luck!