I couldn't stand diet pops for a long time, then I got used to them and regular pop tastes horrid to me.

But I kicked the soda completely (with its caffeine and aspartame) by switching to flavored waters. It took me buying one of each of several brands to find the right one, but I found several that hit the spot and one in particular that I like better than pop. The one that I love now is the Black Cherry flavored version of the Crystal Clear brand, which I think is the supermarket brand for Kroger stores. I also liked the diet cream soda, even though I didn't like the other diet pops. Finally, I bought some sugar free flavored syrups and sometimes I make my own tasty drinks. Plus the flavored syrups help spice up the protein shakes that I sometimes drink.