Please tell me all the reasons I should not drink Diet Coke anymore.  I know its an avoid, but I'm having an awful time kicking it.  I'm down to one a day, but still, ugh!  

Aspartame - artificial sugars break down into wood alcohol - a toxin for all bodies.

CO2 is a waste product, which we breathe out when we exhale.

The colors and any other flavorings are so wonderful for all of us...

There isn't much else except water...

You may be craving the caffeine from the diet coke. Try switching to coffee, yerba mate, or  green tea.

Quoted from aisling

Please tell me all the reasons I should not drink Diet Coke anymore.  I know its an avoid, but I'm having an awful time kicking it.  I'm down to one a day, but still, ugh!  

Think about all the reasons you like this particular beverage. Is there something less harmful you can sub?

The thing to do is to just stop it. That is easier said than done. I had a serious Diet Pepsi habit of over 20 years. When I quite all was fine for 10 days then I was laid out with my first and so far only migraine for 3 days. It wasn't the caffeine that I was kicking because I was drinking unsweetened iced tea and coffee, it was the nutrasweet.

My brother and his wife drank diet coke for over 25 years.  Mostly at lunch but dinner also.
After my sister-in-law passed I started telling my brother to stop drinking diet coke.  He was  50 lbs. overweight.  He kept saying "Well, I only have one a day!!!!".  I said it didn't matter.  Whatever the ingredients (I didn't research them because I never drank diet coke and gave up regular coke about ten years previously).  

Every time I spoke to him I mentioned it.   Finally.  And I do mean finally he started to do some regular exercise and became aware of what he was eating.  He casually mentioned that he gave up all diet cokes.  He has since lost 30 lbs.  Of course, better food choices and exercise helped.

He is not on the BTD or anything like it but he is starting to read labels (he cites me as the reason) and is eating much less processed food, etc.


From what I remember I believe you are making a "change in your family's eating habits" due to your thorough research and just plain hard work.  

Give yourself  a break.  Changes - even if they are good/great ones are difficult and take time.  Please be patient with everything.  You are going in the right direction.  

I still have a difficult time with certain foods.  

Joy

Reasons to stop drinking diet drinks (and that includes all drinks (and foods) sweetened with aspartame, splenda, saccharine etc.)

1. it can cause headaches
2. it is known to cause brain cancer
3. it causes weight gain (read link in Chloe's post)

If you stop be aware that you could have serious withdrawal symptoms (I did and it was hell for two weeks) like trembling, terrible headaches, nausea and such.

If you need it for the a sweet taste, switch to all natural fruit juices (make sure there is no added sugar or sweetener). I've seen fruit juices advertised with "no sugar!!!" and then you read the ingredients (fruit juice, aspartame). Yeah right.

And good luck,  

Thank you everyone, I appreciate your help and kindness.

Your kids is reason enough. They do not need to see that you have this habit.

Your actions speak louder then words to them.  

try unsweetened sparkling water flavored with a dash of lime/lemon or compliant fruit juice. It will give you the fizzy you are used to without all the bad things.

I never liked the taste of diet drinks, but I was addicted to Coke and other cola drinks. I drank them from age 17 until 1 1/2 years ago. (Mom wouldn't let them in the house so we drank milk). Every time I tried to get off, I would get terrible headaches and the shakes. That was my excuse for not stopping, even though I knew I shouldn't drink them. For me, it took a stint in the hospital with drip in my arm and oxygen in my nose, and whatever meds they gave me, because of my unexpected heart condition. My heart doctor said no more caffeine!!! I do want one sometimes, but I don't give in, because I know just one will start me all over again. It has been 1 1/2 years now with not a one. Many years ago,I gave them up for three years because I had terrible pain with ulcers, but just one started me drinking them all over again. Colas were my favorite food and I could stretch them out all day instead of eating. A friend of mine drank a lot of diet cokes. She had lumps removed from her breasts several times. The doctor told her that was from drinking the diet colas.

Sweet fizzy colas and sports drinks could be lethal – even if you drink just two cans a week.  The drinks could be a direct cause of weight gain, heart disease, liver failure, high blood pressure and diabetes, a new study has discovered.
The effects happen in people who drink a can every day, or even just two cans a week. After a very short time – and often within a month – their metabolism changes, making any of the life-threatening diseases more likely.
Although it’s not news that sugary drinks are bad for us, the extent of the damage they can cause, and over a very short time, has shocked researchers who tested the drinks on 11 healthy and lean volunteers
After just four weeks’ regular consumption, their whole metabolism had altered.  They had put on weight and their insulin resistance had increased, often a precursor of diabetes and heart disease.

and we all know diet drinks are worse.

if you stop for a week the addiction will stop, so the headaches tiredness etc will ease. 3 weeks after that you won't know why you drank the darn things anyway.

good luck oxo

i use to drink 2 or 3 2liter diet cokes a day, i cut down and then my natupoath told me no more, so no more,its been 14 months, so glad i did it,  i know it can clean the acid off battery cables so what must it do to our insides?

All of the previous advice is very good. I want to add that Quercetin is a very  powerful antioxidant that I've found to be very effective in the prevention or treatment of migraines. I take 500mg a couple times a day and sometimes 3 times a day if I"m feeling a headache coming on.

Quoted Text

Pennies build up dirt and rust over time. Soaking them in Coca-Cola can clean up the coins. The acidic nature of the soda eats away the dirt and rust, leaving a shiny penny. Don't leave pennies in Coca-Cola for too long, however, or the soda could damage the coins.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8152504_use-cocacola-cleaning-pennies.html

If the stuff can damage a coin, imagine what it can do to your delicate digestive system?

Switch to seltzer mixed with your most compliant fruit juices for a real wholesome treat!

Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame

How about this to help....Equal, aka, aspartame is directly linked to brain tumors in mice.
My mother ate it every day and developed a brain tumor and died from it.
If you need more motivation:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rJ1jpr5c4Y  


I switched to ice tea sweetened with maple syrup, or stevia, sometimes honey

If you were a taster or super taster you would know how awful it taste... That would of been enough to keep you off it since the first!

Find a compatible drink you can indulge in.

we never went "off" diet cokes/ dr pepper.  My husband and I just started to follow the O BTD and one day about 2 months later. My husband says (while at the store) skip the Dr Pepper (3day habit for years) they just don't taste good anymore. I stopped the Diet Coke about two weeks later for the same reason, now two years later a Diet Coke makes me sick!  

As Lola says just stick to the diet.    

Quoted from DoS

If you were a taster or super taster you would know how awful it taste... That would of been enough to keep you off it since the first! Find a compatible drink you can indulge in.

I'm a slight taster and I can't stand the taste of artificial sweetners. I think ever since stevia came out, it made nutrasweet and aspartame taste horrible. I even have a reaction to xylitol

Quoted from amyflood

try unsweetened sparkling water flavored with a dash of lime/lemon or compliant fruit juice. It will give you the fizzy you are used to without all the bad things.

This.

What Soft Drinks Do to Your Body - Video

http://www.ihealthtube.com/aspx/viewvideo.aspx?v=8d894ba0bc178a4f

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0UDeydlEDM

Aspartame - Sweet Misery, A Poisoned World! Full Length