Breaking food addictions, especially soda

writer4him

I am just curious to know how you all are doing it. Quite honestly, the "bad stuff" is what I crave...I would take a brownie over an apple any day! Also, I have been practicing the habit for almost two decades now of drinking about 6 cans of diet coke each day. Food just doesn't even taste good to me without it! Yesterday (my first day), I only drank one can and drank the recommended 8 cups of water, but my body is craving it. How long does it take for healthy food to seem appealing?

Thanks! Kathy

writer4him

I am just curious to know how you all are doing it. Quite honestly, the "bad stuff" is what I crave...I would take a brownie over an apple any day! Also, I have been practicing the habit for almost two decades now of drinking about 6 cans of diet coke each day. Food just doesn't even taste good to me without it! Yesterday (my first day), I only drank one can and drank the recommended 8 cups of water, but my body is craving it. How long does it take for healthy food to seem appealing?

Thanks! Kathy

michlingle

I still eat the bad stuff, I just exercise enough to eat it and/or limit the quantity of the food. I love sweets and cookies, etc. Instead of 5 cookies, I eat 2!

mamashrub

a few weeks...but after that, you will notice that if you put crap in your system, you will actually notice that you fell ill...its neat..you spend all this time putting bad stuff in your system, once your body has the good stuff, that is all it wants.

havingitall

Cut the bad stuff out slowly and replace it with healthy things. If you go cold turkey, it may be difficult.
This is a life style change, not a diet so you will be eating this way from now on.

I used to eat cookies and chocolate like they were going out of style. I have never been a big soda drinker but loved to have a beer or a glass of wine. In the last 2 months I have had wine twice and beer once and it doesn't hold the same appeal that it used to.

I find now if I eat something "bad" I feel losy afterwards and I have only been eating this way for two months. It's my body's way of saying I told you so.

jljohnson

As far as the soda goes, you may want to wean yourself off it gradually, instead of cutting it out "cold turkey." When my mom tried to quit drinking soda (she drank 4-6 cans a day), she got awful withdrawl headaches. She thought she was sick, and even went to the doctor about it! If you like the fizzy-ness about soda, you could try something like a naturally flavored carbonated water.

porka29

I too used to take a lunch cooler of five sodas per day to work. I have stopped drinking it for leisure but have went to crystal light. I drink plain water at the gym. There are lots od 100 cal sweet stuff now. Like the little debbie snacks are like having the reg ones.

PrincessLaundry

I wrote this down a long time ago...It has helped me out quite a bit along the way!

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Controlling Naughty Foods

A friend and I were talking about weight loss a while back. We both came to the strangest agreement about our favorite "bad foods"...

- My favorite foods will always be there...
- I already know what they taste like, so I don't have to go back and "try it" at every opportunity...
- I can get that food when I have "earned" it, not when I just want it.
- My goal is health and love for myself, not eat this food.
- I think at the time french fries were my favorite. That would be my lunch, with a water. YUCK! What was I thinking?

Now I remind myself that I already know how it tastes, I can get it next time when I know it fits into my plan, and I want to be happy without regrets later. YUM! This thought process helps me look at my favorite items and keeping ME in control, not my addiction.

bonniejo

I gave up dessert for lent, but I still let myself have a little bit. Like if my roomie gets an ice cream, I can eat a bite, and I can have a piece of chocolate. Maybe instead of having 1 8 oz can, you should have 2 of the mini ones, and split it up throughout the day. They say that your first 3 bites (or sips) or something are the most satisfying.

tahmed

I quit drinking soda 372 hours ago, or 15+ days ago. The cravings are still there, especialy when I am around people who are drinking it, or when I am eatting food that I always had soda with. I quit cold turkey, and it was tough. I got really bad headaches for the first 7-9 days, but now I am feeling great. I carry a water bottle with me everywhere. I keep in in my purse, on my desk, where ever I am. Whenever I want a soda, I take a couple of huge sips of water. It almost always makes the craving go away, since I am not thirsty after the water.

lessertess

I've been eating healthy for over a year now and I still have days where I crave less than healthy foods. I don't deny myself any of them, but I do try to limit how much and how often I eat them. As for sodas, I treat them almost like dessert. Unlike many people, they do actually help me curb my cravings for sugar.

amymeenieminymo

Get rid of it....if it's not in the house, you can't eat it. I used to drink at least a can of pop a day, but somedays I would have one at work, one with dinner and then another later that night. I stopped buying pop at work and just drink water (which is much cheaper to keep refilling the same bottle everyday than to buy a pop everyday) and I no longer keep pop in the house. It is a rare occasion that we have pop in the house, like maybe whatever is leftover after having people over or something...but I no longer buy it each time I go to the grocery store.

I still drink pop now and then....like at a restaurant or at a potluck at work, and thats important because if you deprive yourself too much you'll go nuts and eat every bad thing in sight. But cut it out of your daily routine and after a couple weeks you'll look forward to it for a treat, but you won't miss it from your daily routine.