Struggling to stop drinking coca cola

anniemasterton2812

Hi my name is Annie I'm 25, I have been on and off of mfp for some time now.

I started around 3 years ago after my second daughter was born, I lost 4 and a half stone and have now put 2 stone back on, mainly through drinking coca cola, I am finding it really hard to stop drinking it, today is my second day without it, great... Not really I have suffered with the worse headache I've ever had!!

I'm back in here looking for friends to motivate and support me through my weight lose journey, and I'll do the same

Feel free to add me

Thanks
Annie x

farfromthetree

You must have drank quite a bit in one day. Can you cut back slowly? Why totally stop all at once?

jkwolly

Have diet instead if you really can't kick it.

Headache is from the lack of caffeine.

melimomTARDIS

Switch to diet.

anniemasterton2812

I was drinking about 1 litre a day so have decided that needs to stop and I can pick up the diet/weight loss again, thank you for your reply

anniemasterton2812

I've heard diet is just as bad as full fat coke??

farfromthetree

The weight gain is from the calorie content. No calories in diet coke. Though I would not drink a litre. There is no fat in regular coke. Just sugar

jkwolly

anniemasterton2812 wrote: »

I've heard diet is just as bad as full fat coke??

Bad how?

It has no calories, so for weight loss you're golden.

diannethegeek

anniemasterton2812 wrote: »

I've heard diet is just as bad as full fat coke??

You're going to "hear" a lot of things about every food, though. Don't just trust the things you "hear." Investigate. Consider your sources. Learn enough so that you can decide for yourself whether or not something is right or wrong for you.

Some people have a hard time with artificial sweeteners. If that's you, then you should probably consider avoiding diet sodas. If you don't have problems with artificial sweeteners, then you should be okay.

emdeesea

Yeah, don't go cold turkey. You'll be hurting and be more tempted to take it up again. Just cut your intake in half for about a week or two weeks, then cut that in half again for another 2 weeks, then maybe drink some every other day, eventually cutting it completely or down to a level you can handle.

I used to drink a lot of soda like you. Mine was Mountain Dew and I quit cold turkey and had the worst headaches of my life. Took it back up again and eventually did the titration like I just mentioned. I hardly ever drink soda anymore but I do drink a cup of coffee every day.

anniemasterton2812

Thank you for all your comments really appreciate them!!

SueInAz

Don't quit caffeine cold turkey. As you've discovered, the headaches are awful. If you're trying to cut out the sugar in the Coca Cola switch to something else that has no calories but still has caffeine like black coffee or Diet Coke. Then slowly cut down on the zero calorie caffeinated beverage, if you want to wean off of caffeine entirely.

I'm not a coffee drinker but I do drink a Diet Coke every morning. It doesn't have any ill-effects for me but I have no problems with artificial sweeteners, either.

mathandcats

As people have said, the headache is caffeine withdrawal. If you want to cut out pop, I would suggest switching to a different caffeinated drink to help the transition (e.g. coffee or tea, but don't put so much cream and sugar as to make it as caloric as the coke was!), or diet pop if you prefer that.

BABetter1

emdeesea wrote: »

Yeah, don't go cold turkey. You'll be hurting and be more tempted to take it up again. Just cut your intake in half for about a week or two weeks, then cut that in half again for another 2 weeks, then maybe drink some every other day, eventually cutting it completely or down to a level you can handle.

I used to drink a lot of soda like you. Mine was Mountain Dew and I quit cold turkey and had the worst headaches of my life. Took it back up again and eventually did the titration like I just mentioned. I hardly ever drink soda anymore but I do drink a cup of coffee every day.

Yes, like this.

Hubby drinks Dr. Pepper like it's water. When he tries to stop, he goes cold turkey, has horrible headaches and moodiness, then ends up drinking them again anyway. I stopped slowly, cutting it in half like she said. No problem at all. I've been off soda since . . . well, I can't remember exactly, but it has been many months and maybe going on a year now.

TheLegendaryBrandonHarris

I read your Title too fast and thought, "Me, too," only my issue is bourbon.
FAR more calories than Coca Cola!

Hey, does the store you shop at offer the smaller cans? I went to my mother's for Easter and she had little 8-ounce cans for the children instead of the regular 12-ounce size. Maybe that will help you cut down, I don't know.

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suzreen

I'm trying to quit that, too. I have seven days left till my 365th day on MFP, and that is the date I've set to quit. It's always been a problem for me.

I think you're right to quit soda, not just switch to diet. Neither one is healthy. The headaches can last for quite awhile, though. I would suggest cutting it by half, do that for a week, then cut it by half again, do that for a week, then maybe try to quit. Good luck!

ErikThaRed

anniemasterton2812 wrote: »

I've heard diet is just as bad as full fat coke??

Well It depends on who you ask. Diet Coke contains aspartame that is used as the sweetener. There have been a lot of discussions around how bad that is for you and there are a lot of studies that show some bad things that are linked to it. I don't have those studies handy, but I have a read a few. I too am a Coca Cola junkie and struggle getting of it completely, but i have learned to cut it down to one or two cans a day (from 6+) and that has helped a lot. I have chosen not to switch to diet because of the risks associated with aspartame. Once you cut it down from a litre to say half a litre a day, it will be easier to then cut that in half as well, then get rid of it. Don't go cold turkey, it won't be fun and you'll just end up binging, at least I did.

JayRuby84

Don't switch to diet. Replace your cokes with water. Always carry a bottle of it and chug chug chug. It will become habit over time, just as your cokes.

ScorpioJack_91

I just drink diet soda but I make up for it by drinking alot of water and I still seem to lose weight. I normally don't have more than 2 cans a day anyway.

DonnaHilston

I was drinking 2 ltrs of Coke when I decided to cut that out as wasted calories. I switched to Diet Coke but for the first few days drank some real Coke and some Diet. Sometimes I even mixed them together cause I did NOT want the caffeine withdrawal headache! Good Luck!

SamanthaParsons67

Hi Annie, I also love Coca Cola so when I am trying to "kick the habit" I drink ice tea instead.

jkwolly

BlackScorpio91 wrote: »

I just drink diet soda but I make up for it by drinking alot of water and I still seem to lose weight. I normally don't have more than 2 cans a day anyway.

Magic of science!

nikkib0103

I had the same problem, Anniemasterton2812. This was before I joined MPF so I was never actively logging what the cost of Coke was calorically. I just knew it wasn't good for me. I was doing about a liter a day as well. What I did was cut back by having 4 fewer ounces a day for a week.. 16 ozs daily the first week, 12 the next, etc.. Before long, I was pretty well off the stuff, not having more than a glass a week and then even less. I still crave it and gave in a couple of times since I started logging. The calorie, sugar and sodium content was an eye opener once it counted against my allowance. I dislike Diet Coke so every so often, if it's on sale, I get Diet Sunkist orange soda when I need a fizzy drink fix. Mainly though I try to not have soda. if you are a fizzy fan I find that flavored seltzer is a real help, as well. Full sugar sodas are hard to kick. I also like Crystal Light lemonade. Probably not "healthy' either but it's only 5 calories for 8 ozs so easy enough to fit in. I really don't like plain water but am getting much better at just drinking it and getting it in.

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LiftAllThePizzas

Over here they have vivarin and no-doz, which are caffeine pills. Are there caffeine pills you can take?

_Lora_

I recommend Mio to flavor water and tea, both helped me kick my soda habit! When I first started to wean off, I required myself to drink five glasses of water before I earned a soda. Mio has a ton of flavors and has really helped me

ValGogo

Are we talking about regular sugar coke? If so, well, that's my favorite drink and I've gotten to the point for the last 7 or more years that I will have it if I really want it and I really want it only a couple times a year. I mean, lets say I really want it, I will get a 16 oz and enjoy it. Not every day, not every week, not even once a month, maybe 6 times year. And trust me, I loooooovvveeee Coca Cola Classic.

ValGogo

And Diet Coke is out of the question. That stuff taste horrific. Always has, always will. Now Coke Zero, I can fool around with sometimes. But I drink lots of water and coffee and tea and those cheap 5 calorie powdered drinks.

ValGogo

anniemasterton2812 wrote: »

I've heard diet is just as bad as full fat coke??

Diet Coke just tastes bad. I'd rather have he sugar. It's hell on the teeth, though.

karahm78

If you want carbonation in your drink, try LaCroix flavored waters. They give that bubbly sensation but no calories and no artificial sweeteners. They take a while to get used to, but now I love them. Especially the Coconut ones.