Breaking the Soda habit

onyx1972

Ok, I am a regualr coke fan and drink it daily... I need to break the habit but when I stop or cut back I get headaches worse than my already normal migraines that can last for days upon days. How do I break this habit but not cause myself any additional migraines? Suggestions?

maricash

I think you have to stop and suffer through the misery for a while. I don't have migraines, so I can't speak to that, but when I quit my Coke habit, I had headaches and felt tired and irritable for a few days. It does get better. As far as I know, drinking a lot of soda doesn't do anything to prevent migraines, so it seems like what you're experiencing might be a withdrawal headache on top of a migraine.

I tried to quit soda many times before I finally did it. The only thing that worked was going cold turkey for a month, replacing soda with plain carbonated water (I bought a home carbonator). Now I allow myself one a week, though most of the time I don't even have it , it's just psychologically useful to feel like I can have one every once in awhile.

JillSandm

I'm a recovering Coke fiend. I started just trying to go one day, and had to supplement with coffee and ibuprofen for the headaches. After a couple weeks of being able to skip a day with Coke, I tried to skip a whole weekend. Try to pick days where you know you'll be busy enough to keep your mind off your addiction.

Over the last two months, I've been able to get to the point where I'm now not getting headaches, and not having to drink so much coffee. I still want a Coke - every day - but I know if I give in, I'm back to the beginning. So, for now, I stay away from it. My goal is not to give up Coke forever, just long enough that I can feel confident about enjoying one some day without being chained up by addiction again.

Good luck - I think if you give it a try, you'll thank yourself later!

crazy8ts

Sounds like you're having caffeine withdrawals... and, as someone who suffers with migraines as well, caffeine is often a primary ingredient of migraine medication... I kicked the soda habit by telling myself it's poison... might seem a bit heavy handed, but that was it... not that I don't crave one from time to time, but won't let myself backslide. I know Exedrine used to make a migraine med with caffeine... may want to check that out and see if it helps...at least until you get past the withdrawal...

kaydensmom12

Edit for not reading thoroughly...

If you are already weaning off of it, then you may have to suffer if ibuprofen/nsaids don't work. Your body is addicted, it will pass within time.

I was a pepsi fiend, and after about 1 month of weaning and many headache's and agitations, I have not had a drink of it since last June! It is very hard, but you will feel so much better.

tsh0ck

Ok, I am a regualr coke fan and drink it daily... I need to break the habit but when I stop or cut back I get headaches worse than my already normal migraines that can last for days upon days. How do I break this habit but not cause myself any additional migraines? Suggestions?

coke zero. no bad sugar calories -- no, I'm not afraid of artificial sweeteners -- and all the caffeine.

yarmiah

My hubby is "addicted" to soda. He only drinks it, and coffee.

He drinks like 6-10 cans a night!

I got him to switch from regular soda to Coke Zero a few years ago. He likes the taste, and lost 10lbs.
It is now what he drinks . . . and he drinks way too much of it!

Now, I just need him to wean him off of that too!

I used to drink a soda or 2 a day (caffeine free diet versions) but have weaned myself off by replacing it with
decaf coffee(both iced and hot), and iced tea.

I believe there is a bigger hurdle with the caffeine issue when breaking that habit, but recommend slowly
reducing the number of sodas you have a day, and if need be, replace them with something a bit healthier.

Good Luck!

MissC787

Another poster is cutting back slowly. He said this week he is down to a 12oz glass a day. Tomarrow he is cutting down even more. Next week he will do the same until he has weened himself of the habit. Good luck!

ericcumbee

Switch from regular cokes to coke zero do that for about two months, while your drinking coke zeros start working in a better drink. I chose the great value stevia sweetened strawberry kiwi drink straws in bottled water.


I went from cokes to coke zero to the drink straws and then to water.

My other big thing was sweet tea , now I drink tea where I make an entire pitcher of tea with 2-3 packets of stevia.

TurtleRunnerNC

I used to drink only coffee & Pepsi. Pretty much quit the Pepsi cold turkey. After two weeks.without I bought myself a bottle. Couldn't wait to drink it. Opened it up, took a sip & couldn't drink any more. Tasted way too sweet.

BazAbroad

coke zero,,,

kay7jay

So I was addicted to Dr. Pepper (literally, drank it instead of water and got huge head aches when I went without it) and now I don't even like it! I started by drinking diet dr. pepper even though I didn't like the taste. I learned to enjoy it, and now when I drink regular dr. pepper it feels like it's missing something. Luckily I can take or leave diet so I am drinking way more water Good luck!

Sinisi2012

I was a Mountain Dew-a-holic! Bad habit for many years, I went cold turkey it was the only way I could. unfortunately I got the killer headaches (worst headaches in my life) took lots and lots of advil but after the 3rd or 4th day they started to slowly subside a little each day. Took about 10 days before they were gone, but it was so worth it in the end. Hang in there

melsmars

used to be an avid ice cold Pepsi drinker @ least 3-4x's per day. i quit cold turkey. i've opted for flavored seltzer water (for that needed fizz kick) and add a lil bit of crystal light.

Lightbulb1088

I love my coke too! it was suggested I cut 1 coke out a week. so I did last week. This week I didn't and I feel really tired with adding it back. so I am going to take 1 away and just keep working at it , until it is all gone. Go slow and just cut back a little at a time.
Good luck!

JenAiMarres

once you do break it ..you cant go back...soda seriously made me drunk yesterday....total sugar high!! haha! cheap date! and seriously worst stomach ache ever! diet coke = evil!

Padmo

I'm soda free for one month. Like you, coke was my poison. I found that drowning myself in water along with jumping into exercise let me avoid the really bad withdrawals. I do not do the artificial sweeteners, so I essentially quit cold turkey.

Best of luck, If I can do it, anyone can.

cowgirlashlee

I had to wean myself off of so much pop gradually, because I couldn't handle the caffeine withdrawl headaches. Now I'm down to 1 can of coke zero a week, if any at all. I couldn't totally quit it (psychological thing), but allowing myself one when I "need it" has helped hugely. I usually only drink one on my late clinical each week (4-midnight, then an hour drive home).

HiZ_HoNeYsUcKlE

I looked up information on how bad sodas were fo you. I was addicted to mt dew n coke which are 2 of the worst ones for the body. I quit cold turkey. It wont easy but some of the infomation I found was scary. lol

hdmamma09

I was drinking 8-10 a day last week.. now I am at half can a day. in the morning so I am not scatterbrained anymore than I already am anyway. I havent had any headaches, but I will give 100 % credit to prayer on that one. My church has been praying that I would have no side effects. It's hard but it is better for your health to give them up. You can do it

momtokgo

I have quite a few times in the past (and again right now) and I always quit cold turkey. I usually have 3 days of a killer headache, irritability and fatigue, and then it's done and over with.

kristenlees122

its horrible, but you just have to get through the headaches. once you get through them, they wont come back. promise. you can do it.

Graciecny

I was a Mountain-Dew-a-holic. What changed my mind was logging calories and seeing how much I could eat if I didn't drink so many calories! I'm very lucky in that I didn't experience the headaches others have mentioned. I pretty much went cold turkey, and although I now enjoy a rare sip of soda, I don't think I've had a full can in months now. When I do budget the calories to have a Coke or Dew as a treat, I've found myself drinking half and tossing the other - it's just not as satisfying as it used to be. Weird, but I'm grateful it has worked out that way! I would have sworn up and down I couldn't give the stuff up or live without it...turns out I can and do. :laugh:

So for those trying to quit, hopefully you'll end up finding it easier than it looks when you try and get started!

belladonnablue

Heh, I actually did my blog post about breaking the soda habit today...

So I used to do 5-6 cans of Dr. Pepper a day, easy. That was about 3 years ago. During my pregnancy, I got pretty much ordered off of sugar and caffeine, so I had to manage. I weaned slowly, and by the time I quit alltogether, I didn't actually get caffeine headaches. But I still wanted a soda every single day. Once I had the baby and got my milk squared away, I was right back on soda, but I didn't drink it as much and stopped keeping in the house. I became a fountain drink fiend instead and did 1-2 of those a day.

Trying to kick that this year, too. Here's what I've figured out:

Drinking soda is part of your routine. Break the routine and you can break the habit. For example, I used to require a Dr. Pepper to even get out of bed in the morning. If I didn't have one, I was a firebreathing monster. So I stopped carrying in the house, I bought a coffee maker and some really light roast coffee, some stevia, and began experimenting with creamers until I found some combination I could drink that wasn't also a billion calories. Drinking a couple cups of coffee in the morning became my new routine, and now the idea of drinking soda in the morning is really gross. It helps, too, that I just wanted off the sugary soda -- I don't mind some caffeine.

If you can figure out what or when is making you reach for sodas when you do, you can plan ahead and decide what to do instead.

divalivious

I suffer from migraines as well and had a caffeine soda habit it was all I drank really.

I did mine over months to keep the had headaches at bay
Pretty much keep track of how much you drink now. If you drink cans then watch how many cans you drink and an eye of when you drink the most... So might take you a few days to monitor it. (I drank cans so it was easy to keep track)

Then cut one can out. Feel alright after 2-3 days kick another can out. 2-3 days another one. If you get a headache that cant honestly be treated with advil or the the like go back up a can and try to stay on it for a few more days but really dont want to stay on it for more than 5-7 Really just delaying the inevitable. Still get a headache try to deal with it for a few days it should past.

Your going with your body and its a long transgression but really you will find that your kicking out the pop you dont need and substituting it with other things. When you get down to 4 and under make them your treats in the day but have a glass of water before you drink them. Can really do the water before the pop through out the whole thing so you keep your body hydrated cause you can never really have too much water when your drinking caffeinated pop.

I found the last pop was the hard one to give up. I would plan out when I wanted it the most and soon I would be like ok I am going to go x # of hours before drinking it and space it out longer and longer. I work better with challenges.

Find things to replace it.
One thing I have discovered is carbonated water and fruit juice is a great treat has the fizz of pop without the crazy calories and if you pick the right fruit juice its healthy (no sugar etc). Do half a glass of carbonated water and half juice its really refreshing.

I found I had no headaches and the cravings were minimal. My weakness was coca cola and I havent had one in 5 years. The last month I have given up pops all together haven't been as perfect with it having a few set backs on it but over all say I have improved drastically as I was drinking 1-2 cans of non caffeinated pop a day now I might have 4 cans in a month.

Good Luck you will get through it.

jfields42

Just gotta do it. I have been like a 5 soda a day drinker my entire life. Like literally days would go by with me not drinking water. I'm in the process of doing it now.

My method:

1 Never drink soda.
2. If I get a craving --> drink iced coffee with splenda
3. If I feel like I am going to break or I want a taste of something different for dinner --> Sprite Zero

Been doing it for the last 10 days(since I started my diet) and have had no problems. Granted, it has only been 10 days. Hope it works but it is definitely a process and we all have to find what works best for us. Just thought Id share my experience.

sabolfitwife

I am 1 month soda free (lol, I sound like a recovering drug addict, but it really is addicting)! It was a little easier for me because I caught a stomach flu and wasn't drinking anything but water and eating toast. And when I was feeling better I though, "Hey, if I can skip soda for a few days because I'm sick, then maybe I can give it up for good...". And I have! The first week or so I had a sip here or a sip there just to get the caffiene craving out of the way. And when I'm really having a migraine from no caffiene I will open up a Lipton Green Tea. Much better for you and it has caffiene. :-) Mostly though I drink water and flavor it with the Crystal Light packets or just lemons. :-)

zandrellia

I actually would drink Coke for 1) the flavor, grew up liking it and 2) the caffeine for headaches - I was prescribed Fioricet years ago by a neurologist to help stave off cluster headaches but even he told me that it would really be healthier to consume the caffeine regularly than take the pills. When my physician told me to start losing weight and cut out the soda so I could eat healthier calories I expressed my concern as the caffeine does help with the headaches. She said I could have anything else with caffeine but only one a day.

I got the Crystal Light Energy (which actually have a bit more caffeine in them than a Coke classic from what I understand) packets and take those with me to restaurants when my family goes. I get to feel the same as I always do (although they kinda taste like Kool-aid or lemonade) and don't feel like I'm missing out. I also occasionally have a caffeinated green tea when I am in the mood for a hot drink. As the weeks go by, I find I drink less of them. (I think it was partially just the habit of drinking the Coke itself.)

To get away from the taste of the Coke? I don't think there is anything that really can be done for that other than quitting cold turkey. At least, though, you can substitute the caffeine by having it in other products and eat your calories in healthier things.

ShemikaPerry

i successfully broke my soda habit over a year ago but i cannot break my iHop Pancakes habits. Just can't stay away from those darn things!

kvsmith59

I used to drink coke or some other type soda every day with almost every meal for something like 30+ years. Until I found out I was a type 2 diabetic. From that point on I decided I better get my act together. I basically started drinking nothing but Ice Tea (unsweetened) from that day forward. The first week or two it was a b*tch....the tea tasted bland, and I wasn't apparently getting my sugar fix. I was still getting that caffeine fix though. After a few weeks I started getting used to it and over the course of several months I ended up losing 10 lbs just by cutting out the soda alone. I will still have one on occasion, but it's usually months in between. When I do have a soda, it tastes weird (too syrupy), but sometimes you have to cheat a tad (I actually had 1/2 of an orange crush for dinner tonight...wasn't worth it).

Anyways, if regular unsweetened ice tea won't work for you, maybe start off with a little sugar or sugar substitute to start, and slowly wean yourself off the sugar.

ElizaGeorge

I quit cold turkey! I suffer from migraines as well (not as many now that I'm dropping weight), but they were even worse for about a week. It was rough, but perfectly doable! You're just breaking as addiction.