Seriously What Is WRONG With Me?

momtraders

Geesh, I just don't get it. I have overcome alot of things in my life, and the one thing I can not simply stop is soda's! I am seriously addicted, and trying to stop makes my body feel out of whack, I don't know how to eat real food, because I have been drinking sodas in replacement of so many meals for so long now. The headaches are the worst from caffiene withdrawl. I am really up against a wall here.
I tried drinking tea, but realized it had just as much sugar in it. Specially while drinking it most of the day. I live in Florida and no one is ever without a beverage around here.
So after the sugar realization, I tried unsweetened tea. I did it for like 2 weeks. BUT water and unsweetened tea was not cutting it and I ended up going back to soda with a vengenious. I feel so stupid, weak willed and lame....

Why can't I kick this horrible habit and start eating right?
Has anyone else gone through this? Did you beat it? Was it hard, easy? Worth it?

I'm tired of worrying about how bad this could be for my overall health.

Any insight is appreciated. Please don't brow beat me too bad. I know it sucks, I know. Just offer some advice, or encouragment. Thanks

taiyola

No one else can do it for you. I would either cut down gradually or go cold turkey.

Try sweetener in your teas etc, and no added sugar drinks for now.

MySlimGoals

I've been soda free for about 6 weeks now. I just went cold turkey on it. I've tried several times before, but this time seemed easier for some reason. I don't know why. I had been drinking Coke Zero for years. Before that normal Coke.

Oh yeah.. and I've lost 9kg in six weeks. But I've been eating well and exercising well too since cutting out the soda.

lyssad86

Honestly, I've been there. Heck, I'm still there! I have just created this rule: if I'm going to have a soda, I have to drink a FULL glass of water first. So I do. Then, if I still want it, I drink it. At least half of the time, though, I don't want it any more. I also like to use Mio or Dasani drops to flavor my water to make it tastier. I think it's all about moderation--I've had to cut back because I won't give it up for good. I probably still drink 2-3 12 oz cans a week, but that's a lot less.

dietcokaholic2

Nothing is wrong with you. You're perfectly normal. Have you tried to drink a glass of water for every soda you drink? Then do two for one and so on so you can slowly wean yourself? I agree, tea is rather nasty without anything in it. I would try slowly lowering the amount of sugar. Like if you put 1 cup now try 3/4 of a cup and continue to lower it until you have very little sugar while still getting your tea. Hope this helps. I believe you can do it!

carrieous

you're addicted and its going to be tough but the good news is most addictions only grip you for 72 hrs. If you can go without for 3 days you should break the addiction.

just stop buying it. Instead of buying it, put the money you wouldve spent on it in a jar

fiferize

See if you grocery store sells Zevia. It's a soda that is naturally sweetened with Stevia... It's much better for you and not near as bad as regular soda.

I find it in the organic's isle at Albertsons.

switchboardlady

I've been watching "Hungry for change" free till the end of March. It's really eye opening. You may want to watch it!

http://www.hungryforchange.tv/free-screening

LoveCR22

I went slowly cutting my coca-cola out went to the mini cans then to coke zero (which is nasty imo) but still get the lack of caffeine headaches and don't drink tea so have found caffeine tablets help me with the headache and then its just a power struggle not to drink pop out of habit.
I can't have pop in the house now though cause if it's here I will drink it I have slipped a couple times but the longer you go without it the worse it tastes if you end up slipping and having one.

haanmom

I have had a hard time with quitting pop too. For me it is problems with both caffeine and sugar.

I have made good progress on my addiction to it. I have to do it cold turkey and take Ibuprofen for the headaches to get me through that part.

When I first stopped drinking pop, I didn't like water. I drink it with lemon or fruit in it. (http://tinyurl.com/7yltanf) One thing that helped me drink water instead was finding a fairly large water bottle that I like drinking out of and just refilling it. I'll cut up some lemons or cucumbers or whatever and just keep refilling it. Some people I know do better when they use a cup that has a straw. Mind tricks!

Re: Teas, I drink a fair amount of hot tea, and iced in the summer. I have bought a few different teas from The Republic of Tea and have liked every one that I have tried. I recently decided to give up coffee too, so primarily have decaf teas, but did get one that is a white tea that has a small amount of caffeine for those occasional mornings when I haven't slept well and need a little wake-up. But I've promised myself that I can only have 1 cup of tea with caffeine/day. I have been avoiding black teas and other teas with higher caffeine counts.

Keep looking for unsweetened drinks you like! You'll find something. It is really hard, but I can really tell it has been good for me to stop drinking pop. My appetite and cravings are under control and I feel really good.

whitnizzle

Sorry that you are having trouble with this - I know it can be frustrating. I'm sure all of us have something, a food item or what not, that seemed to be insurmountable to fix. Mine wasn't soda, but candy. You concentrated on soda a lot in your post, so I don't know what the rest of your diet is like, but if it is very hard to tackle this part of your diet, perhaps you can save it to last. The up-side of this approach is that it sounds like you can change other aspects of your diet more easily than soda, and in that case the confidence in your ability to regulate other parts of your diet will undoubtedly spill over into soda drinking, so you will feel better able to regulate your soda intake to a more appropriate level.

Also, moderation might be more easily achieved and more realistic for you than elimination; so, in the end, you might want to aim to reduce soda intake to a reasonable amount rather than try and eliminate it altogether. Especially because it's not necessary to eliminate soda or sugar-sweetened beverages altogether, unless that is what you want.

This approach worked for me and candy; I saved my unhealthy candy habit for last, and by the time I concentrated on it, it was less of a challenge to lower intake because I had already increased my fruits, vegetables, exercise, and decreased my overall calorie intake so that I felt WAY more capable of handling candy than I did at the beginning.

Just a suggestion, hope it helps! In the end, I'm sure you'll look back at this and think "Why did I think that was so hard?"
Good luck!!

Warchortle

Packaged food is designed to be addicting hence excess sodium, sugar, fat, unnecessary additives, and caffeine. It's why nicotine was added to cigarettes.

ozigal

I killed my coca cola addiction a few years ago. I went on a cruise and paid for a soda card. To get my money's worth it turned out I had to drink a minimum of 5 cokes a day. By the time I got off that cruise I didnt want to see another can/bottle of coke. It's lasted ever since.

FitGuyWillDoIt

Caffeine withdrawal is nasty. When I quit, the first day is ok but on the third day I get cravings and sometimes a headache. Then I'm good. Yes, I do fall off the wagon. I like coffee and drink it black, no sugar. Only had one today though!

dopey3553

I gave up soda as a new years resolution for 2012... I went the entire year without any, drank a glass on Jan. 1 2013 (just because I could again!) and haven't had another since. I would recommend going cold turkey because you will be less tempted as time goes on. I drink ALOT of water now, and find it quenching my thirst in a way soda and other beverages don't! One trick to try... add lemon/lime/watermelon/etc. to water and let it soak into the water for a bit. It will give more flavor to the water if thats what you're after. Also, if you are worried about caffeine withdrawls, drink a bit of iced green tea without sweetener. It will give you a bit of caffeine and energy!

Good luck!! You can do it!!

MicroHez

I'm all about the sparkling water. All the fizz of pop with none of the sugar or calories. They also make flavored sparkling water (lemon-lime, raspberry, etc). The flavored ones might be a nice replacement for pop occassionally. Going cold turkey is hard... I would just start slowly metering it out, and once you get through whatever you have already bought, just don't buy any more.

Quitting pop was easy for me: Caffiene makes me super sick!

tolygal

That sounds very much like a smoking addiction (or some other type of drug). A guy I used to work with quit smoking and he walked around with all the cash (a HUGE wad of it after a year) he saved. Every single day, without fail, he added the cash he would have paid for the cigs into his stash and carried it with him. Give it a shot!! Maybe seeing the cash start to add up will give you enough pleasure and excitement to resist.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

kcritter77

Have you tried the flavored water packets that contain caffeine? It makes water a lot more palatable, and wards off the headaches.

Once you have mastered that, you can cut down on the amount of flavored packets with caffeine included and go to the decaf ones (or use half and half)!

I weaned down to less than a whole packet per bottle of water (or used a bigger bottle), then switched to the drops. Once I started working out more, I craved plain water during and after I worked out and then one day, I just stopped using the drops altogether!

ChristinaD2

I was a Cherry Coke Zero addict... drank 2-3 cans each day. At the first of the year, I decided (for the countless reasons of which you are already aware) to break the habit. In January, I limited myself to 1 each day and then on Feb. 1st - stopped completely and haven't had a drop since :happy: I forced myself to drink copious amounts of water each day... That was hard; I didn't like it at first, but it really did help curb my soda cravings. Right around 'Week 2' of quitting was the hardest for me, but I struggled through it and I don't even think much about it anymore. I don't buy soda and I really don't want it either. Good luck! It does get easier! Also, since quitting... My skin looks & feels so much better!

mcdebbie

You didn't say how many soda's you are drinking a day, that could make a difference in our suggestions. And if they are full flavored or diet or caffeine free? (I'm guessing not caffeine free) I used to have 1 regular coke everyday at work @ 3pm every single work day - probably for about 10 years - and then just decided to quit. That was 2 years ago and I don't recall any problems (or I've blocked them out :laugh: )

But your post seems to say that you are drinking soda in place of meals? To make yourself feel full? And how many a day and when? What are you actually eating in terms of real food and when?

Cr01502

Go to a clinic.

You clearly have a problem.