Quitting caffeine, and/or soda

[martygreene]

One of the rss feeds I follow (http://www.lifehacker.com) recently had an interesting bit on quitting caffeine:
Quote:

The eHow wiki has a good page on kicking your caffeine habit to the curb. Is caffeine the thorn in your side? Are you starting to feel like you just can't live without it? Well, you can! Caffeine is a drug, and like any drug, in order to free yourself from addiction, you have to be committed to your plan of action, and be ready for the pain and frustration of withdrawal. The key to quitting is the knowledge that things will get worse before they get better. But, once they get better, they will stay better.​ For those of you who just cracked open your third sugar-free Red Bull of the day (you know who you are!), the wiki has several good tips for ending your caffeine habit, with an emphasis on motivation. We've had a lively discussion on kicking soda pop here before, but the emphasis was on the sugary nectars influence on obesity. Caffeine is a whole different beast. Any readers given caffeine its walking papers? Let us know how you did it in the comments or at tips at lifehacker.com. How to Quit Caffeine (wikiHow)

My father quit caffeine and saw huge improvements in his emotional and anger management problems. I myself have severely cut back on caffeine, partially because my body doesn't process it well, and partially because I don't want to be wreaking that sort of havoc on my system. I thought some of you might find this useful as well.

Lifehacker has also had discussions on kicking soda, sugar, and other handy health topics, which may also be of interest:
Kicking soda
Kicking sugar
Incorporating more water into your routine

 

[d_flawless]

thanks, my life is dependent on diet coke, seriously!

 

[Jennifer Mcfly]

what a great site!! thanks marty!

 

[kaliraksha]

i quit caffeine and carbonated beverages about 3 yrs ago... caffeine i still have a little of... but it's not nearly as bad as it use to be. in the past 2 years i lost like 12 lbs and i havent done anything differently so i blame it on the needless calories i was getting out of coke/dr pepper etc. plus i feel a lot better in general.... it's definitely worth a shot... it was actually like a drug for me i kept going through little withdrawl syndromes

 

[asteffey]

i wish i could quit it, but my crutch is law school.

 

[kaliraksha]

haha thats when i got so bad... starting college...
i would drink them as pick me ups during class, lunch, dinner and then to stay up while studying... i might go to law school so now when i need to stay up i drink tea... its more pleasing for me anyway and still caffeinated... but its a once in like 2 weeks thing

 

[martygreene]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaliraksha i quit caffeine and carbonated beverages about 3 yrs ago... caffeine i still have a little of... but it's not nearly as bad as it use to be. in the past 2 years i lost like 12 lbs and i havent done anything differently so i blame it on the needless calories i was getting out of coke/dr pepper etc. plus i feel a lot better in general.... it's definitely worth a shot... it was actually like a drug for me i kept going through little withdrawl syndromes

Well, caffeine IS a drug, so that isn't surprising in the least. People tend to forget that caffeine (and cigarettes) ARE drugs.

 

[brandiisamonkey]

Im very badly adicted to caffiene, and most definately soft drinks. Just drinking Tea isnt enough I have to have a Dr Pepper or something. I have headaches and feel sick and horrible when I dont have one. I know that I need to quit or esp cut back but I just cant right now. I quit smoking over a year ago so i guess im giving myself time to adjust to that. mabye at the end of this year I can give up caffiene or atleast sodas

 

[mspixieears]

When I was a bit younger, I once experienced a caffeine withdrawal from Coke, not good!

I actually rarely drink soft drinks/soda, and can't drink coffee (well, maybe but not even once a month) because it interferes with my medication.

But tea...I love. I'm pretty sure I can live without it, as in I don't experience withdrawal. I used to drink 3-4 cups a day, but now down to 1-2.

Drinking more water really helps to cut down how much tea I want to drink - it might help with soft drinks/coffee? That's how I cut down my tea consumption.

 

[dawnmelissa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mspixieears When I was a bit younger, I once experienced a caffeine withdrawal from Coke, not good! I actually rarely drink soft drinks/soda, and can't drink coffee (well, maybe but not even once a month) because it interferes with my medication. But tea...I love. I'm pretty sure I can live without it, as in I don't experience withdrawal. I used to drink 3-4 cups a day, but now down to 1-2. Drinking more water really helps to cut down how much tea I want to drink - it might help with soft drinks/coffee? That's how I cut down my tea consumption.

i'm the same way, i hardly ever drink any soda, it's very rare that i do. my vice is iced tea, i drink it constantly at work, along with water and it's all i drink at home. if i don't drink it, i do get bad headaches.

 

[Alexa]

Pop regular Coke/Pepsi absolutely kills my stomach. After seeing a dietician last summer, and after being shown how much sugar is in just a single can, I've limited myself down to at the most, one diet pop a day.

 

[mspixieears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexa Pop regular Coke/Pepsi absolutely kills my stomach. After seeing a dietician last summer, and after being shown how much sugar is in just a single can, I've limited myself down to at the most, one diet pop a day.

I totally believe you, I remember reading a book called 'Fast Food Nation' and can't recall the exact amount of sugar that a child supposedly consumes in 1 day due to drinking soda/soft drinks, but it was disgusting. It'd rot your teeth and your insides.

It's a damn good book, it'll put the reader off fast food too.

 

[bottleblack]

Thanks for this post, I'm currently trying to give up caffeine too!

 

[midnightlouise]

I gave up caffeine completely while I was pregnant & nursing both my sons, and now I have 5 or less caffeineated beverages per month. (Too much caffeine these days makes me really sick and it keeps me up all night. No thanks!) It was very difficult at first, as I knew it would be. As Lily said, people tend to forget it is a drug, and I didn't want to be putting that into my body when I was pregnant. At first I had terrible headaches and irritability, (poor DH, caffeine withdrawl AND pregnant hormones lol!) but now I am so glad I did it!!

 

[lovejam]

Thank you for these. I actually need to kick soda and caffeine, because I have IBS, and carbonated drinks and caffeine are bad for my gut. Also, I'm convinced I'd shed at least a few pounds if I kicked the soda habit. It's not so much the caffeine, but the soda it comes in!

I also just generally wanna quit using stuff with high fructose corn syrup in it. I don't want to quit sugar, but, I definitely need to quit soda!

So, thank you for these links! I'm going to read about kicking soda pop, and drinking more water. I hope I can do it! I have to keep telling myself that it's for my gut, so I won't feel as sick anymore. How sad that I tell myself that now, and it doesn't seem to stop me. :|

ETA: Someone on that site suggested Gatorade as an alternative to soda. I can handle that. I love fruit punch Gatorade.

 

[Wattage]

Martygreene - wow, thank you so much for those great links. These habits are killer and super hard to kick for so many people. I am glad to hear of the success your dad had with kicking the caffeine habit! I know my dad had to quit when he was in his late 40s and that was really hard for him but also had many positive results.

Caffeine is such a love/hate relationship for me. I am a student so there are days when I just cave and have a cup because I am so overtired

I get total jitters, sweaty palms, heart palpitations - horrible!

lovejam: I am super impressed to hear you are aware of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). This stuff is killer - diabetes here we come! I commend your efforts greatly.

In terms of the gatorade bit, be careful with it. Gatorade is very high in glucose and can easily sneak up on those who get the wrong message about Gatorade and other sports drinks. Sport drinks are intended for high-performance athletes as an electrolyte replenisher and source of fluid. The unfortunate reality is that no one who is running less than a half marathon really needs an electrolyte replacement during exercise. Exceptions include exerting yourself in hot weather (excessive sweating) or when you are losing fluid at an abnormal rate (stomach flu, the runs...). I always get upset with Gatorade and other sport drink companies because they use the sport image to market their products when in reality their products are not required by the general population and are very high in sugar

The best thing to do is drink water. I know a lot of people just don't enjoy it though! You can always try mixing it up. I like slices of lemon or lime in my water or cooled herbal teas.

Stick with it! I know you can do it!

 

[Throwaway Style]

I am not going to lie, I am a HUGE caffine addict. I've been drinking coffee since 4th grade (that makes it about 6 years now, dammmmn). Me and one of the MA's at the counter I go to were talking about how we're both huge coffee junkies, and we both get bad headaches when we have less than one cup a day.
I've considred getting off coffee, and for a while I mainly drank decaf, but especially since my mom got an espresso machine I've been drinking a lot more than I used too, and since I make coffee for me and my mom at the same time making decaf isn't really as easy as I wish it was. I am also deeply in love with the taste of good coffee.

I used to drink like, 2 cherry coke's a day (regular) but recenly i've stopped because it was getting more expensive than I would have liked, and it's not good for me. It was so hard to stop since there are soda machines in all of the 4 cafeterias at my school, but recently I haven't even been gooing to lunch since I've had photography work to do.
Eventually I'm gonna try to kick caffine, but not now. haha.

 

[joytheobscure]

Mountain Dew and Mac.... two things that I can't give up.

I crave it, and If I don't have it in the morning (caffiene) I get Very irritable and the more stress I'm under the more I drink. I think its better than alcohol, lol... My job is fairly high stress.... and if water helped me handle it I'd drink it all the time. lol

 

[queenofdisaster]

i definitely HAVE to quit... im pregnant... but its REALLLLLY hard!!!

 

[petitsinge]

good tips - i'm totally addicted to caffeine. maybe i should just think of it as the more money i save by not buying caffeinated drinks, the more i can spend on mac