can someone help me, I really need some pop or something to drink other than water and decaf. any suggestions? Is there some type of website that will help me with my carbs?

Even though you should watch the artificial sweetners, there is Crystal Light, but please watch the AS's......

Also, there is decaf Iced tea mix, that is very good. And just consiously try to drink as much water as you can. You will begin to like it much better as you go along.

Cindy

You can try www.fitday.com to help you with tracking your carb intake during the day.
Pop is a YMMV (your mileage may vary) sort of thing. Dr. Atkins does warn to avoid Aspartame, but there are diet pops out there that use Splenda instead like Diet Rite and Diet Stewarts. It's still best to drink mostly water, though, so try to limit your diet pops to 1 a day for now. Herbal iced teas often make a nice change of pace, too. HTH

I highly recommend fighting yourway through it without any pop for at least the initial two weeks. You will probably find that you will pretty quickly get to the point where you don't care for them or can at least easily do without them.

Remember that anything that you don't feel like you can do without - is probably something that you SHOULD do without. It's also a classic sign of an addiction.

Keep the Faith!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wbahn
Remember that anything that you don't feel like you can do without - is probably something that you SHOULD do without. It's also a classic sign of an addiction.



You know, I keep reading this in various threads, and I must posit my objection. Some foods just taste good!!!!!!!!! For instance, bread is one of the oldest foods known to humans. For me, well, I will never do without fruit, and get the munchies for it regularly....which I refuse to see as an addiction.

Sourpickle

Crystal Lite..... Although some people can't drink it...

Diet Rite.... It's soda... Cola tastes like Diet Pepsi... and theres other flavors..... But its the only soda you can drink cause theres nothing in it. CAN cause carb cravings though cause its really sweet.

Hi Canada,

I agree that you should try to get as much of your water intake as just that - water.
If you don't like the taste of it, try adding a slice of lemon. I also only drink my water cold from the fridge.

And I have to agree with Wbahn about the addiction thang. That word "need" is the clue. Wanting to have some pop now and then for a change is fine, but feeling you "need" it makes me think you're best to stick to water and decaf for now.

Cheers.

Rosebud

Hi there,
I am currently going through detoxing from pop addiction. I haven't had any Diet Coke for a few days now. I KNOW I had to have been addicted, because the first day I had horrible headaches, the second day I had headaches, and have been thinking about a nice glass of pop with lots of ice, craving it, a LOT. I used to drink at least 3 cans a day. I have been trying to find out what has been stalling my progress, so quitting pop was the first step.
Sandy

I must say I am kinda skeptical about the way the word addiction gets tossed around in these low carb circles... Maybe that's because I never felt I was addicted to carbs, it wasn't that hard to do without them, though I do occaisionally I do crave a bananna or some melon or an apple,--- oh god, my kingdom for an apple right now --- er, uh, sorry, anyway...

BUT, I do know that most sodas (that's the term us new yorkers use for "pop") have caffeine, and that IS addictive, as sure as cigarettes and heroin are.

And I haven't changed my 4-5 cups of coffee per day habit since I started Atkins just over 2 months ago, and it hasn't been a problem, that I know of anyway. So I think the occassional glass of "pop" probably won't cause a problem to someone either. Just make sure you get all that water through your system in the form of water, not pop!

Hi Canada,

I have the same problem. I'm tired of water and I dislike diet sodas. However, a friend of mine told me about Diet Sunkist (orange soda). It has a very slight after taste. It really tastes very much like regular soda! This will be my beverage of choice and definitely satisfies my need for some soda. Of course, drink your water. But if you must, Diet Sunkist I think is a good choice. Please let me know if there are any other diet softdrinks which really taste more like regular. This would be an ideal treat from time to time.

Thanks and good luck,
Whiskee

I had and may still have a serious addiction to diet coke. I love it love it love it. It's like a drug to me. I cut it out for a few weeks, but now I have one every other day or so. I figure , I don't smoke drink or take any drugs...I'm gonna have a diet coke every once in a while. BUT I have discovered club soda...I actually like this better than anything I could possibly drink. It has no flavor like water, which I love, and it's carbonated! really carbonated, which I love. To be honest , most people find it disgusting, but I love it! I think I could eventually give up my diet coke addiction for this stuff. Maybe you should try it. It has a real kick to it. I think that may be what I crave about diet coke. It's carbonation is stronger than most drinks. So anyway, there ya go. That's what I do.

Allison,
I like it too! Especially lime flavored club soda. My favorite one is LaCroix.

By the way, coming off the addiction from Diet Coke only lasted a few days. Now I really don't even miss it.

Sandy

I changed from regular Diet Coke to the caffeine free variety after I started Atkins. I found that caffeine was causing me to get quite hungry. This doesn't happen to everyone, but is common enough, I think. Recently I've cut back on it and started drinking DietRite drinks: their cola and orange are quite good, and use Splenda rather than aspartame. I don't think anyone really knows which artificial sweeteners are the best, or the worst. (If you search the web, pretty much every substance known to man is both condemned and lauded, depending on whose site it is.)

Of course, there's nothing wrong with weaning yourself off diet drinks, but it isn't necessary to do so to succeed with a low carb diet.