I've tried all the tips and tricks and I've landed on diet soda. I love a sweet treat, and I will reach for sweets all day long if im not careful. Diet sodas help me manage my sweet cravings. When I first started, I was having sometimes 4+ coke zeros a day because my sugar addiction was so bad, and I was scared that I was just perpetuating that cycle with diet soda (no judgement if thats where you're at btw, everyones life is different. I couldn't financially afford that habit tho lol). However, I now drink one or 2 a day, and I've really reduced my reliance on sweet! I think that as long as youre cognizant on working down your sweet cravings, you can use them as a tool. Plus, I'm sure it doesn't drive your dopamine crazy like sugar does, and theres a point to be made there about breaking the cycle of high dopamine