mtn dew problem

bugaboo_08 wrote: »

How have you guys cut back on your caffeine /soda/pop I drink 3-4 20oz a day and would like to cut down to one a week or less.

I was 300 pounds in September when I decided to quit drinking Mt. Dew - I drank at LEAST 4 a day.

I lost 30 pounds in the first month. I did no other exercise. I changed nothing else in my diet.

That *kitten* is KILLING you. It's so damned bad for you.

I'll be honest; I quit cold turkey, and I was miserable, moody, and a complete *kitten* to everyone around me for a solid week. It's like any other drug withdrawal.

But after that, I was fine. I drink unsweetened black tea or coffee when I need a little caffeine, but even that's not very often anymore. After that first month, I started seriously working on my nutrition and exercise, and I've lost a total of 70 pounds since I started. Energy levels aren't a problem anymore now that I'm not hauling around all that fat.

Just quit drinking that poison entirely. There's absolutely nothing in it that is good for you, and while it will suck for a brief while at first, you'll feel so much better in the long run.

You are probably addicted to caffeine so if you switch to something non-caffeinated, you will go through withdrawal and get headaches. I wasn't drinking that much, but I had a bit of a Dew problem when I started too. I switched to Mio energy (or Wal-Mart or Target brand equivalents) to give me the caffeine without all the sugar and calories. Still probably not the best thing in the world, but haven't been able to completely wean off the caffeine. I was only drinking a bottle a day (max) so I do the same with the Mio energy and then drink water like crazy, occasionally some tea (made myself, not prepared in a can or bottle). Most of the time, I might have a can of Dew a week and maybe once a month have a bottle if I'm outside of normal routine (i.e., road trip).

As others have said, it's a lifestyle change so make sure you move towards something you can live with (targeting one a week or so is probably reasonable, and then maybe you can cut more). Depends on you how to wean down. If you're pulling off the caffeine as well as the Dew, may want to use a more gradual approach to help with the headaches. If you're just switching source of caffeine, then you can probably do cold turkey on the Dew without too many adverse effects. If you're really bada**, then go with fnoblebrown and deal with the withdrawal symptoms until your body adjusts.

Try a citrus flavored carbonated water. They're under a dollar at most grocery stores and taste great.

You can do it cold turkey, or you can do it gradually by slowly replacing 1 bottle a day with water or some other beverage. I get my caffeine from coffee. Every so often I wax nostalgic for a Dr Pepper. If I have calories to spare I might have some, but generally I prefer not to drink my calories. And I can't stand the taste of diet soda. Never could get to liking it. It was much easier learning to like black coffee! LOL

I once did cut back on soda to the point where I mostly just drank water, except when I went out to restaurants. But I eventually grew so tired of drinking water that I fell back into my bad habit of drinking soda, where I currently find myself. I never have had issues with headaches, I just crave the sugar. A good way to cut back on soda is to slowly dial down the amount you drink while you transition to something else (like unsweetened tea/coffee or water). If you drink 80 ounces of soda a day, then next month you can try reducing it down to 60 ounces a day. Then the month after that, reduce it down to 40 ounces, and eventually you'll reduce it down to a small, manageable amount. That way you're not drinking all your calories away. I was drinking 3-4 cans a day but I recently bought Gatorade powder to help reduce my overall sugar intake. When I want something sweet to drink, I take 2 teaspoons of the powder and mix it into [roughly] 16.9 ounces of water. It's mildly sweet, so I don't feel like I'm overindulging in sugar, but it typically satisfies my craving.