Caffeine addiction
marisanne
Posts: 38 Member
I need some suggestions for kicking this soda addiction. I have tried and tried but Every time I stop I get bad headaches that last for days and I feel awful. I can never seem to get through it but I desperately want to find a way because I know it's a huge part of my weight gain
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Replies
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Either switch to diet or taper down slowly. I did a mixture of both and now drink 1-2 cans of diet a day.3
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The most helpful thing I could suggest is to decrease your intake slowly, very slowly, to mitigate the caffeine withdrawal headaches, if weight from the sodas is also an issue do you enjoy the calorie free ones and make the switch.
I know that there was a time where I dropped coffees cold turkey and I had a headche and foggy thinking for a solid week and was not a nice person to be around....never again being so drastic. Lesson learnt.2 -
Do you drink coffee too? I suggest having caffeine if you so enjoy it, in moderate amounts. As far as soda goes, I got a soda stream and only use it for carbonating water. you can put lime in it, etc. but helps when you want something refreshing. I don't go without caffeine because i enjoy feeling the jolt in the morning and love the flavor of coffee. I also get a terrible headache if I don't get my daily java. So either taper off and take advil, or drink coffee and have caffeine. Diet soda is something I have from time to time as well...not the best but much better than the real sugar loaded stuff.1
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I'm not much of a coffee drinker. I haven't tried to many diet sodas. I normally just think I really need to stop and I try and the awfulness hits. The other horrible thing is i don't enjoy water.... lol I'm screwed1
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I'm not much of a coffee drinker. I haven't tried to many diet sodas. I normally just think I really need to stop and I try and the awfulness hits. The other horrible thing is i don't enjoy water.... lol I'm screwed
Well, you sort of just ruled out the three possible options so not sure what to tell you. You might just have to develop the willpower necessary to see yourself through slight discomfort.
Alternatively have you tried just moderation? Drinking less than you normally would but still drinking?1 -
Iced tea?? Straight up black tea has the caffeine kick but not the calories. Green tea has about 1/3 the caffeine of coffee-I drink green tea all day long. No buzz from overdoing it. Unsweetened so no calories there either.1
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »I'm not much of a coffee drinker. I haven't tried to many diet sodas. I normally just think I really need to stop and I try and the awfulness hits. The other horrible thing is i don't enjoy water.... lol I'm screwed
Well, you sort of just ruled out the three possible options so not sure what to tell you. You might just have to develop the willpower necessary to see yourself through slight discomfort.
Alternatively have you tried just moderation? Drinking less than 6ou normally would but still drinking?
I haven't. I will try it. I just feel so annoyed that up until this point I haven't been able to just quit.0 -
Iced tea?? Straight up black tea has the caffeine kick but not the calories. Green tea has about 1/3 the caffeine of coffee-I drink green tea all day long. No buzz from overdoing it. Unsweetened so no calories there either.
Does it taste okay not sweetened? Thanks for the suggestion0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »I'm not much of a coffee drinker. I haven't tried to many diet sodas. I normally just think I really need to stop and I try and the awfulness hits. The other horrible thing is i don't enjoy water.... lol I'm screwed
Well, you sort of just ruled out the three possible options so not sure what to tell you. You might just have to develop the willpower necessary to see yourself through slight discomfort.
Alternatively have you tried just moderation? Drinking less than 6ou normally would but still drinking?
I haven't. I will try it. I just feel so annoyed that up until this point I haven't been able to just quit.
Willpower is something that will aide you in all aspects of life...but you arent born with it you build it up by using it. Consider this a minor inconvenience that allows you to practice your willpower so when life's next challenge comes along you can see it through with much less difficulty
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Iced tea?? Straight up black tea has the caffeine kick but not the calories. Green tea has about 1/3 the caffeine of coffee-I drink green tea all day long. No buzz from overdoing it. Unsweetened so no calories there either.
Does it taste okay not sweetened? Thanks for the suggestion
I always drinker unsweetened black ice tea. I don't care for green tea by our can add lemon or mint if you want.0 -
Caffeine pills. That's one way to see if it's an actual caffeine addiction, and not just mental screwery related to dropping the sodas themselves.0
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Sugar withdrawals will cause headaches too.
For me it was a week of headaches going cold turkey, in bed early every night and took panadol regularly for at least 2 days.
How much and when do you drink it? i.e. all day only in the evening? If its all day try stretching out the time between drinks ie. if you have one with lunch try have it after lunch or even afternoon tea. If you drink heaps of soda in one sitting then try alternating with preferably water between drinks.
I like water but it has to be cold, at home my kids forever steal water bottles out of the fridge, i dont like sharing water bottles with them or ice so I would never have cold water at home. I now buy homebrand mineral water, they dont like the taste but I love the bubbles. I drink cold still water at work from the water cooler and mineral water at night. I find that i can quite easily skip coke at home at night now as I get 'bubbles' and that has helped reduce my consumption.
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I have been a hard core Pepsi drinker for years. I knew if I ever wanted to be the weight I want, I had to kick soda to the curb. Diet soda doesn't agree with me or give me the same satisfaction, so for me it was all or nothing. Drinking coffee in the AM helps with the headaches (I just use cream, no sweetener), and I replace my need for bubbly drinks with sparkling water. I get your fizzy fix. If I need caffeine I. the afternoon, I have a cup of black tea.
I have tried with minimal success I the past to beat the Pepsi monster, and I am doing way better this time than ever before. I have had zero soda in 51 days, going from 1-5 cans a day.2 -
I started out this morning drinking unsweetened black tea. I havent had a coke. I got aanother tea for lunch. I guess my game plan is to switch completely to tea so that I can ditch the sugar in the soda and then incorporate more water0
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I cut out soda pop by switching to sugar free energy drinks and a lot more water. I also have a soda stream for those days I do want a pop, I can make a much lower calorie version and only drink ~30 calories instead of 180 or so.0
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Things with caffeine - diet soda - unsweetened or diet iced tea - hot tea - hot coffee - iced coffee - many energy drinks.
I drink 1 or 2 diet sodas every day.....doesn't stop weight loss. If you want to stop full calorie soda, you might try one of the 10 calorie brands. These are really tasty.1 -
I'm not much of a coffee drinker. I haven't tried to many diet sodas. I normally just think I really need to stop and I try and the awfulness hits. The other horrible thing is i don't enjoy water.... lol I'm screwed
Like others said, taper or substitute. I had an issue with caffeine too (because I love coffee too much), so I cut down, substituted most of it with tea (caffeine, but not as much), and broke down and tried the decaf at my office.
If you don't want to try coffee, tea, diet, etc., cut down on the soda gradually. Drink .75 as much tomorrow and the next day, drink .5 as much the following couple of days, something like that. Or deal with the headache, it's not that bad, I've done it quitting coffee cold turkey one time.0 -
thunder1982 wrote: »Sugar withdrawals will cause headaches too.
In that your body treats sugar as sugar (and starch as sugar too, since it gets broken down easily), dropping soda alone wouldn't cause headaches, even assuming that's a symptom of low carb flu (which is what "sugar withdrawal" would be -- if you don't go low carb, there wouldn't be any effect).
On the other hand, it's the most commonly reported symptom for cutting caffeine, other than being tired.
I suppose if she thinks it might be sugar she could eat some fruit when she'd normally have soda.0 -
Like others have said if it's calories you want to cut out try diet soda or tea.
If you want to cut out caffeine do it slowly if you drink 4 cans of soda a day then drink 3 cans for two weeks and then 2 cans for two weeks and slowly taper off.
I hate plan water I have to add lemon or cucumber to it my favorite thing to add to my water is peppermint essential oil it taste sweet and smells so good and also get rid of any heartburn or bloating I have.0 -
I started out this morning drinking unsweetened black tea. I havent had a coke. I got aanother tea for lunch. I guess my game plan is to switch completely to tea so that I can ditch the sugar in the soda and then incorporate more water
Have you considered coke zero or pepsi max? I find these taste much better than actual diet coke.0 -
Coke Zero is nectar from the gods. I drink a couple cans daily. Cures my craving for pop. Have lost almost 200lbs drinking it every day for almost a year. It's hard to drink regular coke or pepsi now. Can't stand diet coke/pepsi.. so coke zero was great to find.0
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Diet soda or unsweet green tea. Try Diet Dr. Pepper and Coke Zero.
I have quit caffeine a couple of times, whoever called it a "slight discomfort" had a very different experience than i did. 3 day migraine every time, puking and all. But once it was past, all i could tell i gained by quitting caffeine was a couple of pounds and less energy overall.
There is plenty of evidence for good and bad effects of caffeine, i like my life better with some. The sugar sodas you should quit, that's empty calories. And learn to love water, your body does.1 -
I use caffeine pills. I found 100mg ones on Amazon and they work great for me. Especially because I don't like soda, coffee or tea.
ETA - Saves me money too. A bottle of 120 pills is about $6 and lasts me about two months, where my husband gets his caffeine from Mountain Dews at close to $2 a pop!0 -
I appreciate all the suggestions. I guess my main goal is to cut out the caffeine that is causing weight gain. I drink alot if soda and I wantes to quit that. I never acquired a taste for the diet drinks. I have been drinking unsweetened black tea all day today and I have had a minor headache but nothing as unbearable as quitting cold turkey.2
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I appreciate all the suggestions. I guess my main goal is to cut out the caffeine that is causing weight gain. I drink alot if soda and I wantes to quit that. I never acquired a taste for the diet drinks. I have been drinking unsweetened black tea all day today and I have had a minor headache but nothing as unbearable as quitting cold turkey.
I meant the caffeine type drinks that are causing weight gain like the sodas.0 -
I started out this morning drinking unsweetened black tea. I havent had a coke. I got aanother tea for lunch. I guess my game plan is to switch completely to tea so that I can ditch the sugar in the soda and then incorporate more water
I like diet soda and drink several cans a day, but I also like Bigelow plantation mint black tea, with a bit of liquid 0 calorie sweetener added in. It's my afternoon and evening drink
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I think you're on the right track with the tea. I was a coffee drinker for a long time but it really started bothering my stomach. When I tried to quit, I was unbearably nauseous and headachy. Thanks to a friend's suggestion, I switched to a Mate tea blend that had as much caffeine as coffee but none of the side effects. Funny thing was with the lack of side effects (the shakes, stomach problems), I drank way too much tea and didn't sleep for 3 days. But the best benefit of switching to tea was finding I was no longer addicted to caffeine. I could go days without any tea and felt just fine. Now I drink green tea in the morning if I want a bit of a kickstart but I don't need it. I also drink different herbals teas in the evening which helped decrease my wine habit. Tea is awesome. 1
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Caffeine pills! When I first started trying to lose weight, I was drinking 6+ 12oz Mtn Dews a days and tried to stop cold turkey. After several days of misery, I started taking a 200mg caffeine pill with water every morning and the misery stopped! Over the past six months, I've weened off the pills and now only have one (or two) as a preworkout. I even have a Mtn Dew occassionally 0
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MotherOfSharpei wrote: »Caffeine pills! When I first started trying to lose weight, I was drinking 6+ 12oz Mtn Dews a days and tried to stop cold turkey. After several days of misery, I started taking a 200mg caffeine pill with water every morning and the misery stopped! Over the past six months, I've weened off the pills and now only have one (or two) as a preworkout. I even have a Mtn Dew occassionally
I'm bad.. I take caffine pills before the gym lots.. it helps me push just that much harder.. that or my husband has a caffine drink powder before he goes to tge gym. it's just an extra pick me up I guess lol0 -
To break a caffeine addiction, try weaning yourself off of it. For a week alternate between caffeine-free and caffeinated drinks. The next week, drop the caffeine a little more. Cold turkey can be tough - the headaches are NOT pleasant.
Or wait until you get a headache, and take an extra strength Excedrin. It has caffeine in addition to aspirin and acetomenophen. (Probably spelled wrong.)
PS-your original question is about caffeine but other posts seem to indicate the problem is the calories in the soda? I switched to diet. I started w/ drinking diet Dr. Pepper because its aftertaste is less intense. Or Diet Rite which has a different (no cal) sweetener than other diet sodas. Kind of a gateway diet lol. Now I drink whatever diet brand soda that is the best price. Regular tastes funny to me.I need some suggestions for kicking this soda addiction. I have tried and tried but Every time I stop I get bad headaches that last for days and I feel awful. I can never seem to get through it but I desperately want to find a way because I know it's a huge part of my weight gain
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