How do you fight that urge...

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  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
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    I start my day with a diet coke. Then rarely another one in the afternoon (if I get sleepy at work like today).

    But to answer your question, if I want something but its "bad for me" I make space in my prelogged day to have a small serving.

    I am a firm believer that if you completely cut out something you love, you will eventually binge.
  • mallen404
    mallen404 Posts: 266 Member
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    UGH...ok it's been 10 days since I have had any kind of soda! And really I haven't missed it...until this afternoom :frown:
    I use to drink a 20oz Coke every morning for "breakfast" and then go get a Rt 44 Dr. Pepper everyday from Sonic during half price drinks after work. Well that Sonic drink is all I have thought about today. :grumble:
    I don't know rather to "treat" myself to a small Dr. Pepper in hopes to satisfy my craving OR would that just start me down a dangerous path to drinking sodas again everyday????

    What does everyone else do when you want something that you don't need and should do without?

    (Oh & diet soda is not an option for me because I am allergic to the artificial sweetener)

    You should ease out of the habit, have one once a week, then once every two to help carve the cravings for it. You will eventually not even want it.
  • tlacox1
    tlacox1 Posts: 373 Member
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    Just get the drink and tell yourself that it is okay as long as it does not become a habit again. If you completely deprive yourself then that could possibly cause you to fail on your journey. I used to drink 3-5 20oz Dr. Peppers a day and knew that had to stop. I quit cold turkey but only lasted three weeks. After falling right back into the bad habit, I started weening myself by drinking less and less a day. Now I am down to one. As a matter of fact, I didn't even stop to get one this morning and didn't even miss it so maybe I will go to every other day now. This may not work for some and cold turkey may be best for others but you have to remember to enjoy sometimes.
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
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    water with Mio flavors in it.
  • culuriel
    culuriel Posts: 11 Member
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    I know many on this board are advising moderation, but considering how much soda we're talking about, I'm going to say stick with going cold turkey. The urge to give in may be intense today, but it will pass and you will realize you CAN resist. Only treat yourself if you've planned for it. Decide what day you "may" have your craving, decide on the exact amount you will allow yourself, BUY ONLY THAT MUCH, and consume only that much. It's a tough, but very useful willpower exercise. Don't give into a craving unplanned. That just sets you up to do so again.
  • mapnerd2005
    mapnerd2005 Posts: 363
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    Try to work a small one into your calorie budget. In doing so, you might find that it's just not worth it. Or, you may decide that a friday after-work treat is in the budget. Either way, count it. If you do get it, ask them to fill the cup full of ice before putting the Dr. Pepper in.
  • Southernsass6885
    Southernsass6885 Posts: 100 Member
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    Slowly lower your intake. The less you drink it, the less you want it. I haven't had a soda in 3 weeks. I still don't want tone. :D
  • samlankford
    samlankford Posts: 334
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    see right now I am having a coke... I have not had in (yeah cannot even remember the last time!) I am also scarfing down m&m's... crazy hungry today! I eat clean 99.999% of the time but sometimes it is ok to eat like crap in my book!! :bigsmile:
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,039 Member
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    I just keep telling myself... there will always be that "thing" that I want when I am done getting my fitness/health to the level I want.

    For some crazy reason, today I was craving pot stickers. They don't fit anywhere in my plan... the urge passed, and darn if some co workers didn't come by my office to tell me our favorite place to eat them two years back had new owners and the new cook was no where as good as the last!

    I have a rule now. If I didn't plan it, I don't get it. No unplanned recreational eating for me!
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
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    I quit soda pop cold turkey Dec. 2009. Never missed it at all. About 7 months in I had some by accident. Dark movie theater, mixed up the drinks. I got a severe brain freeze feeling. Even more reason to never drink it again. Now I do have other kryptonites. Pizza for one. I could easily down 1 large by myself in 1 sitting. I slowly cut back over time. Once a week, then 2x month. Now I have it once a month. 2-3 slices or a small mini pizza. If you want to quit an unhealthy habit/food I believe in doing it slowly over time.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,962 Member
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    Are you at the two-to-three-weeks point of quitting soda? I know that's when the psychological part really starts to kick in. You've used soda to deal with your day. It is a comfort. But now you have to find another way to comfort yourself.

    I went through the exact same thing two or three weeks after I quit smoking, and a friend who was in AA pointed that out to me. Makes sense.
  • sabgirls5
    sabgirls5 Posts: 46
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    Allow yourself to have a little as a reward for all your hard work, but not everyday! Pick cheat days and fit them into your routine, works for me:wink:
  • witchywillow
    witchywillow Posts: 143 Member
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    i have one 500ml bottle of diet pepsi everyday, makes a nice change from the water and totally satisfies me, never need anymore that day :)
  • Dreawolf
    Dreawolf Posts: 37 Member
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    I used to drink waaaayyy too much soda myself and Dr Pepper was my addiction. I say drink a huge glass of water and wait to see if the urge passes. Try to think of perhaps why you want it? Are you tired?
    In the past I knew if I gave in to drinking it, it would kickstart my habit back up. Now I don't even miss drinking soda. If you can, I would stay away from it. If you can't, do what they have said in other replies, take a sip or two and then dump the rest out.
  • ClydeFrogRIP
    ClydeFrogRIP Posts: 11
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    I'm not a huge pop/soda drinker but when I'm conscious about NOT drinking it, I crave it. Since it doesn't happen often, I'll have a carbonated water or something to satisfy the need for something fizzy.

    Maybe try that but add one of those splenda-based drink powders to it to give it a flavour?
  • liannesaut
    liannesaut Posts: 34 Member
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    I never drink a pop myself. The only time I wil l have some is when I'm at the movies with my husband and I'll have a sip or two of his Coke (I get a water). About once a year I'll drink rye and gingerale. Water and tea, and I never crave it. I did for awhile but cold turkey worked best for me (and yes, there were headaches and urges). My husband just quit a 5-9/day Coke habit (drinking 1 or 2 a week now) and he found that really sweet flavoured water was a good replacement. It's so sweet I can't even drink it!
  • PamelaGatorMom
    PamelaGatorMom Posts: 348 Member
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    THANK YOU ALL so much for the positive support & suggestions!!

    I do normally believe in the everything in moderation & even worked with my calories Wednesday to have a beer & some Mexican food. :drinker:

    I guess I am worried because sodas are so easy to get, makes it harder to say no.

    I decided it might be like someone mentioned...that phase where you have just about kicked the habit but in your mind it's still there. So I am going to say NO to any soda at all right now, until at least I make a little more progress.

    Also I set out to make healthy habits for myself not "diet" I read that if you can do something for 28 days it becomes a habit, so I think at the very least I will go 28 days without soda.

    THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR HELPING ME OUT!!! :smile:
  • TheDarlingOne
    TheDarlingOne Posts: 255 Member
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    Hey Pamela!

    I see you got a lot of great responses! I think it boils down to you'll find out what works best for ya. But, just like a smoker, it may take many attempts to kick the habit.

    Last year, I decided for Lent I was going to give up soda. I was not going to drink any soda, be it diet or regular, til the 40days were up. (I am not of that religious persuasion - just thought I'd give myself the challenge)

    It was about as far in as you are right now - when my mind when bonkers with cravings. I'm like omg i don't think i can outlive this. lol

    BUT eventually I did survive lol. I even had some lil' vlogs on my youtube channel where i ranted to get myself through it lol. if you just go to youtube and search thedarlingonebecky

    This is where my mistake came in! I thought - as a reward for making it through the 40 days, I would allow myself a regular soda. FELL OFF THE WAGON like bad!

    Before the Lent, I was only drinking regular soda on the random - and was drinking diet soda more frequently. Well when I fell off the wagon - i went back to regular sodas. All day everyday! I mean I would give myself every excuse in the book. A good one is "ah, well your stomach is hurting this a.m. and you know a reg. coke would make it feel better. That diet stuff makes it worse." lol

    Moral of the story is - if you go at it cold turkey - you may not want to allow yourself "just one" - because it may jack you up bad lol

    Moderation, it seems, is key in every aspect of life. Diet, kicking the soda habit, smoking, until you ween things down and get on a normal brain playing field lol. Life of an addict is hard no doubt!

    I am on my 3rd attempt at losing the soda habit - and have done much better so far this time for the simple fact of....i am ready. it feels different from my many other attempts. not just soda kicking but my overall health. Being more aware of what you're putting inside of your body - and the nutritional value it has.


    Have you ever heard of "brominated vegetable oil"? - I was drinking a mountain dew one day and I look down at the ingredients out of boredeom. I see that listed. I'm thinking WHAT THE HECK is OIL doing in my soda?! - so I looked it up....Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is a FLAME RETARDANT CHEMICAL. I'm like woah! Brain! Did we just compute that. Think of all the mountain dews we chugged in our lifetime....
    ...Once I found that out, it was pretty simple - oddly enough - for me to lose the "addiction" - now I find it pretty easy to...drink a reg. coke from time to time - and even diet dr pepper....but I"m right back on my water pretty quickly afterwards.


    Oh man! i hope this wasn't too much of a ramble. I work answering phones and we just had our busy check out time of the day....so I"ve been working on this post between calls for probably the past 2 hours lol. If it rambles, and is a mile long, my apologies :)

    ps: feel free to add me if you'd like - i will be glad to cuss the cravings with you lol
  • penguinattackstudios
    penguinattackstudios Posts: 79 Member
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    For me personally pop was like alcohol. I had no self control with it and I knew it. So for me having a 'little' slip-up would've started me down a dark road again. You're the only one who knows whether you can handle a little and be ok, or if it'll make you want more. I refuse to let myself drink any; if I really need something sweet then I'll treat myself with chocolate milk or tea with honey and that helps ALOT.

    By the way, 43 days no pop and counting :)
  • Bbwnomore2
    Bbwnomore2 Posts: 225 Member
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    i chew lots of gum! sugar free of course

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