addicted to diet soda...

Try they've already been out for a bit ........ go Google "aspartame" and enjoy your reading.

Aspartame like MSG is a neural inhibitor and while your body can tell it is getting stuff into the stomach, the mind thinks that there is not much there and so guess what ... you crave more food!  Hello???  Isn't that the whole ridiculous point of drinking diet soda?  To NOT want more stuff?

There is even internationally recognized stuff on it that has been on CNN and MSNBC, it is not just obscure hollistic people that are against it (although they sparked the research and debate in many cases).

The stuff is just bad, stay away from it.

doin' it right now but I've done it before... I don't even know if a label could stop me similar to cigarette packaging...

...and I'm one of those people that laughs at smokers who know that what they're doing DOES cause lung cancer....

My mom was almost a 6-pack-a-day Mountain Dew drinker, and guess what that got her - a quicker trip to getting Diabetes.

I never drank much soda at all.  I loathe diet sodas.  I don't know what it will take for you to want to quit, other than cold turkey, or get a healthier substitute.

If it's something that you don't want to continue, I hope for the best for you.

I kicked the soda habit several years ago.  For me, it took a political action (that's what motivates me, I guess).  The hardest thing was kicking the caffeine.  I took a month, and had a cup of tea every day, but one hour later than the day before, and a smaller amt each day.  At the end of the month, I could go days without it and be fine.

You know it's bad for you.  Now you need to make it easy to skip it.  Find replacements.  When do you crave it most?  Already have a plan in the works to combat that craving.

First, try to go one whole day without.  Then two.  Then stretch it out.  Pretty soon, you'll go a whole week without it and then it'll seem wrong to have one.

I gave up all soda for a whole year.  I would have the most realistic dreams about having a Coke, and then I'd wake up feeling like I'd cheated. 

Now it just doesn't occur to me to have a soda. 

Not to mention what all that caffeine did to her metabolism and heart and health.  "Like whipping your adrenal glands." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJEiZ2bskH4&feature=related 

Take up crack smoking.

Can't help you. I grew up in a house that had a total ban on soft drinks. And white bread. And non-100% peanuts peanut butter. And store-bought cookies. This was the 70s, we had almost nothing to eat.

I love a nice cold DIET Cherry Pepsi!

My trainer informed me that diet pop inhibited fat burning. That got me off it. I like pop, but don't like making room for it in the nutrition plan. On a splurge day, if we go out to eat or to a movie, I just get regular pop.

You might try some flavored fizzy water. Or get bubbly water and squeeze lemon, lime or other fruit in it. That helps with the flavor and the fizz is similar. Sometimes I just get tired of plain tap water.

12 pack a day??  You still have a stomach?  Impressive.

my real problem is that I need to have it with certain (most) foods - I don't really drink it by itself...

My friend served me some lime-honey water the other day that was quite refreshing.

She just put some cut limes in the water and stirred in just a tiny bit of honey to sweeten it up a bit.

I've never added the honey before, which was a pleasant addition. 

Are you serious?!?!?!

No shat, that's some serious soda guzzlin'.

yes.. I'm ashamed to admit.. I walk into work with a 12 pack and at least 2 blue monster drinks every day and by this time 2-3pm it's all gone... even weirder is that on weekends I dont' have any..,, well ok maybe just a few but nowhere near the amount I usually consume..

last year I was doing a fast with some people from my church and I stopped cold turkey with no headaches but by 4pm I was nearly asleep