[brianwawok]

I think there is also a mental response. Diet soda is sickly sweet. Your train your mind and body that there should be a sickly sweet treat with each meal.

Don't drink any soda or juice for a few months, and you may be surprised how sickly sweet it is. I would spit out diet pepsi at this point.

Once you get your sense on track for a reasonable diet, I find it helps with making other good choices. Like ice cream... too sweet, easy to pass up. Whereas former fat me would eat it every night.

[ashark]

Can confirm. Now that I'm not used to having soda all the time, when I occasionally indulge my tolerance for the stuff is really low. 3-4 ounces and it's starting to gross me out. Sodas on the sweeter end of the spectrum (Pepsi, my old favorite Dr. Pepper) are entirely unappealing.

It's a triumph of marketing that having a big-ass glass of soda (free refills!) with most meals isn't seen as just as indulgent/gross as eating a couple big handfuls of candy or having a bowl of ice cream with every meal, when in fact it's probably _worse_, since at least chocolate & nuts or decent ice cream will have _some_ redeeming qualities (vitamins). Yet no-one's going to buy a tub of Ben & Jerry's every morning to have at their desk at work—they'd be too ashamed (maybe at home, but not among co-workers). A 32+ ounce cup of soda, though? Sure. Very common.

To anyone looking to kick the habit: I found that even _unflavored_ sparkling water or club soda just about totally eliminated any immediate desire to have a sugary soda. The carbonation bite was the main thing I craved, turns out, not so much the sweetness. These days I mostly drink plain water, but I went through tons of that stuff when I was quitting, and I think it was a big help.

[rmtew]

I quit drinking coke zero on purpose for months at a time, and come back to it, just to appreciate it again. At no time have I ever thought it tastes sickly sweet.

Of course, diet pepsi is another matter.