Quitting the soft drinks, again...

inherentst0rm
inherentst0rm Posts: 84 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I was able to give up soda and sweet teas for quite a while, but it seems like I have found myself indulging those cravings a bit too frequently again.

Problem is when I try to NOT drink something super sugary or full of caffeine I get really bad headaches and feel super lethargic almost instantly. When I get like that I cannot work properly as I get super irritable and work in customer service.

How can I quit more pleasantly?
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Replies

  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    Cold turkey is tough. If you feel this is necessary, I recommend you reduce one serving every few days or even a half serving every few days instead of just quitting all at once.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    I personally prefer not to drink my calories so I switched to diet soda and unsweetened tea or tea sweetened with aspartame or sucralose.

    If you're worried about caffeine, there are plenty of caffeine free diet soda options. My two favorites are diet A&W root beer and diet ginger ale.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    I switched to diet soda and that works well for me.
  • inherentst0rm
    inherentst0rm Posts: 84 Member
    I still get the headaches with diet soda, but to a lesser extent...Maybe that would work as a halfway point to quitting soda completely though.
  • placeboBL
    placeboBL Posts: 62 Member
    The headaches could be caused by a couple of factors:

    - Caffeine withdrawal
    - Sugar withdrawal
    - Dehydration caused my drinking less

    Drink a lot more water and have some green tea, coffee or the occasional diet soda. The worst of it will take about a week. Then you should be able to cope pretty easily. Ibuprofen can help the headaches caused by the change of the blood vessels in the absence of caffeine.
  • inherentst0rm
    inherentst0rm Posts: 84 Member
    If I start taking a preworkout with caffeine on workout days do you think that would be enough caffeine to hold me over if it IS caffeine withdrawal that is the problem.

    I went to $5 below and bought a couple reusable water bottles to keep full at work....Working beside a mall food court makes it too easy to just go buy a soda when I get bored or thirsty...Hoping keeping stuff on hand will help.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Black coffee or zero calorie Coke or Pepsi products with caffeine may help if you wean yourself gradually from them to water, plus it will save a lot of calories. Caffeine withdrawal headaches are real. I have always drank Diet Pepsi, mostly, sometimes Diet Coke, just too much of it. Now I drink mostly water, morning black coffee, and an occasional diet cola. No headaches anymore.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
    There are MIO water enhancers with caffeine that may help.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Sometimes I find drinking tea instead can help with that craving.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    inherentst0rm wrote: »
    If I start taking a preworkout with caffeine on workout days do you think that would be enough caffeine to hold me over if it IS caffeine withdrawal that is the problem.

    I went to $5 below and bought a couple reusable water bottles to keep full at work....Working beside a mall food court makes it too easy to just go buy a soda when I get bored or thirsty...Hoping keeping stuff on hand will help.

    Depends how much caffiene you were getting before?
  • inherentst0rm
    inherentst0rm Posts: 84 Member
    Thanks everyone!
  • kodiakke
    kodiakke Posts: 379 Member
    I'm late to this party, but I quit sodas by starting to cut them with seltzer/carbonated water. Over the course of a week, I just changed the ratios, and eventually I was just drinking seltzers, not sodas. But I got the same mouth feel, which was apparently the key thing. But this only fixes that portion; the caffeine headaches, as other people have pointed out, is a different deal. I drink coffee and unsweetened ice tea for my caffeine fixes, and seltzer water for the bubbly popping on my tongue.

    Good luck, you can do this!
  • inherentst0rm
    inherentst0rm Posts: 84 Member
    kodiakke wrote: »
    I'm late to this party, but I quit sodas by starting to cut them with seltzer/carbonated water. Over the course of a week, I just changed the ratios, and eventually I was just drinking seltzers, not sodas. But I got the same mouth feel, which was apparently the key thing. But this only fixes that portion; the caffeine headaches, as other people have pointed out, is a different deal. I drink coffee and unsweetened ice tea for my caffeine fixes, and seltzer water for the bubbly popping on my tongue.

    Good luck, you can do this!

    Better late than never, thank you for your input!!
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    andykaag wrote: »
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.


    Why not?

  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.


    Meh. There are just as many studies showing there are no health issues.

    Personally you will have to pry my diet soda out of my cold, dead hands. I see no issue with drinking diet drinks.

    However, if you truly don't want soda at all, a coworker switched to LeCroix water and found that what she was really craving was the bubbles. Once she started drinking LeCroix, she didn't crave sodas anymore.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?
  • RunnerGrl1982
    RunnerGrl1982 Posts: 412 Member
    edited February 2019
    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?

    Bulletproof Coke?

    :lol:

    Edited to add: That is the first thing that came to my mind as well.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?

    Bulletproof Coke?

    :s
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?

    The first thing that came to my mind was an ice cream float and now I want an ice cream float.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?

    The first thing that came to my mind was an ice cream float and now I want an ice cream float.

    Okay, those are great. I apparently am a fan of high fat soda, I just didn't realize it yet!
  • JetJaguar
    JetJaguar Posts: 801 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?

    The first thing that came to my mind was an ice cream float and now I want an ice cream float.

    Okay, those are great. I apparently am a fan of high fat soda, I just didn't realize it yet!

    Maybe that poster is British? I've heard regular, non-diet soda being referred to as "full fat" by people from the UK.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    JetJaguar wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?

    The first thing that came to my mind was an ice cream float and now I want an ice cream float.

    Okay, those are great. I apparently am a fan of high fat soda, I just didn't realize it yet!

    Maybe that poster is British? I've heard regular, non-diet soda being referred to as "full fat" by people from the UK.

    I've heard that before too, but still don't get it. why would something without fat in it be referred to as "full fat" (in Britain or anywhere else??)
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    andykaag wrote: »
    Hi. Have the same problem with headaches. I did quit sodas for few years now and deleted added sugar from my diet.
    I drink 3 mugs a day of black instant coffee (eg Americano coffee, gold coffee..) without sugar. No headaches and no extra fat in my body.
    I do not recommend low fat or sugar free sodas.

    What on earth would a "high fat" soda be even?

    I know in some countries it's slang to call regular soda "full fat soda", but then you would think low-fat and sugar-free would be the same thing so why mention both?
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    is figure of speech meaning diet versions.

    Yes we all know soda has no fat in it - is not a literal term.

    Just like -in Australia anyway - many people use the term skinny milk - yes of course milk cant really be skinny and people can be overweight eating or drinking too much of anything - but is figure of speech everyone knows means skim milk.
    Then gets extended to other things- eg skinny latte - meaning one made with skim milk.

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