Caffeine addiction

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marisanne
marisanne Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    edited October 2016
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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.
  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 725 Member
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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.
  • charlenekapf
    charlenekapf Posts: 309 Member
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    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.
  • marisanne
    marisanne Posts: 38 Member
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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
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
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    marisanne 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 you normally would but still drinking?
  • drabbits2
    drabbits2 Posts: 179 Member
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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.
  • marisanne
    marisanne Posts: 38 Member
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    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    marisanne 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.
  • marisanne
    marisanne Posts: 38 Member
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    drabbits2 wrote: »
    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
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
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    marisanne wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    marisanne 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 :smiley:
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,022 Member
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    marisanne wrote: »
    drabbits2 wrote: »
    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.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    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.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
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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.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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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.
  • marisanne
    marisanne Posts: 38 Member
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    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
  • ericwhitt
    ericwhitt Posts: 87 Member
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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.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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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.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    marisanne 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

    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.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    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.
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
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    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.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    marisanne wrote: »
    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.

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