Diet Soda - I kicked the habit and am feeling like a new / younger woman <G>

My new year's resolution was to stop drinking diet soda - specifically diet Mountain Dew. I was drinking 20 + ounces of diet Mountain Dew each day, some days as much as 40 ounces. Since 2005 I have struggled with joint/muscle pain and was often visiting my chiropractor 2 times a week just to stay mobile and pain free. Over the years I have given up soda, but never for more than a month at a time. It was about the caffeine and the convenience. Before my hip injury in 2005, I was racewalking an average of 21 miles a week in 3 - 9 mile walks. In recent years I have only been able to walk 2 miles at a time and then would ache for days afterward. A few weeks ago I found myself walking for 45 minutes almost daily with no aches and have noticed that my strength training has become easier and again recovery is fairly quick and that I can alternate between the two without any consequence. The only thing I have really changed is kicking diet Mountain Dew out of my diet. In addition to improved joint/muscle endurance and strength, I am sleeping better, my skin is clearer, and have lost a few pounds. I have replaced diet soda with ice tea and coffee in the am for the caffeine kick and switch to water by noon.

Congratulations! I have never liked artificial sweeteners so when I decided to quit sugar, diet drinks weren't an alternative. I've been sugar free for...not quite a month. I anticipate some improvements, probably not as dramatic as yours as I'm not suffering much to start with. The one I'm looking forward to the most is seeing the reduction and elimination of mood swings. I've given up sugar before, and the effect on mood was wonderful. I hope I can stick with it this time.

Being pregnant I decided to cut down/out artificial sweeteners. Lucky Pepsi Next arrived on the scene here in Australia and it's made with Stevia (it's a different formulation to the American version).

Also have had fruit juice flavoured low sugar soda drinks arrive on the supermarket shelves. I usually only drink a glass a day or so and I haven't found it too hard to miss.

Of course you can make your own by diluting a bit of fruit juice with some soda water.

When we remodeled our kitchen we got a refrigerator with a filtered water dispenser (the tap water in my area tastes horrible). I pretty much stopped drinking Diet Coke when I could get halfway-decent tasting cold water on demand. I didn't notice the incredibly dramatic benefits claimed by the OP, but it cut down on the grocery bill by a bit. :)

congratulations! I've been trying to cut my caffeine and soda intake too, but I really can't help it... I mean, I can't work properly without any of those...