Quitting Diet Cokes...maybe

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  • benenglish

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    ... quit cold turkey ...
    I tried that, abandoned that strategy, and am now trying others.

    I'm sure it would have worked, sort of, if I had stuck with going cold turkey. I would have murdered someone and I feel sure they don't serve Coke on demand in prison.
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    benenglish

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    Update

    My sister has formally requested I go back to drinking all the diet Cokes I want. She says my mood has been so consistently foul since I began this experiment that she doesn't care about what I'm trying to achieve. She just wants her brother back.

    I know that 3 out of 4 posts I've composed for TGT over the last few weeks have been rewritten multiple times then discarded before posting simply because they're needlessly inflammatory. I am a serious PITA these days, in more ways than one.

    Not sure how I'm going to proceed, other than to try my hardest to be on my best behavior at Hicksville.

    Who knew that addiction to something as presumably innocuous as a legal food additive could hold such a strong grip for so long? I certainly didn't.

    I'm considering starting a daily regimen of a caffeine pill each morning. I'll decide for sure when I get back from Gatesville.
     

    Glockster69

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    I was wondering about your progress early today. Didn't want to bump the thread for fear it may embarrass you.

    Seems to me, big picture, you need to stop DCs even if it bothers sister for a while. All my best to you.
     

    jrbfishn

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    ^^^^ I would. That is how I was when I quit drinking regular coffee and went to decaf as much as possible.
    I got so bad bad my bosses forced me to go get a cup of regular coffee. Or get fired. Compared to then, I am really,really nice now. Still an ass, but at least now I am a fairly nice ass.


    Sent by a idjit coffeeholic
     

    bones_708

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    Seems to me you have 2 problems the DC and the caffeine. Why not just go get some no doze caffeine pills and start taking them while switching to something else to drink? After you break the DC habit you can then ween off the caffeine.
     

    benenglish

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    I'm considering starting a daily regimen of a caffeine pill each morning.

    Seems to me you have 2 problems the DC and the caffeine. Why not just go get some no doze caffeine pills and start taking them while switching to something else to drink? After you break the DC habit you can then ween off the caffeine.
    The Diet Coke habit is broken. The overall "I want the taste" habit is not; I drink about 6 ounces of regular Coke every day, just for the taste.

    Until that habit is totally broken, I think that treating the caffeine addiction separately is a good idea. I just had a caffeine pill with my morning meds. I think I'll see if that helps my mood over the next few weeks.

    I may not have to do anything more than that. A small amount of caffeine isn't a problem and may actually be of some benefit to my health. But coming down off the mountain of caffeine on which I was living is proving rather more difficult than I had planned.
     

    Ole Cowboy

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    I have been down the road with caffeine and smoking. When you drive to work and the first stop is at a 7/11 for a Super Big Gulp of Diet Coke and another one on the way back from lunch, have your OWN 36 cup coffee making on your desk you may have a caffeine addiction. When you smoke a pack + of Camel non-filters a day, chew tobacco and dip a can of Copenhagen a day, then smoke a cigar at the end of the day to relax you may have a nicotine addiction.

    By mid afternoon I shook so hard I could not sign my name, ears ringing and I was stressed and on edge.

    But I got off all of it with my sole vice today being Mexican Coke and cigars. Case of coke is 24 bottles and a box of cigars is 20, its now takes over a year to go thru them, more like about 18 mo to 2 years.

    I had help, a best friend who was a Doctor, a world class Doctor, he lectures at Med schools all over the world. Here is what he told me:

    You have 2 addictions. 1) physiological that is your bodies need for caffeine and nicotine; 2) psychological which manifests itself and controls you thru 'habit'.

    We can treat anyone to get them off their physiological need. But if you do not break your psychological need and habits you will never win.

    He was right. I put my focus on my habits and attacked it from that viewpoint. The result was I got off everything, no withdrawal symptoms, no shakes, cold sweats, nothing...I did not say it was easy because you must change your habits. Some are easy, like not stopping at the 7-11 store on the way to work and coming back from lunch. I did replace the drink with a large mug of water. I stopped all coffee after 12 noon, that was not so hard. Other were more of a challenge. I moved out of my private office and into the bay with my staff. So the spit cup on my desk went and along with that so did my Copenhagen.

    I could go on in detail, but it only applies to myself uniquely. How long did it take? In total about 6 mo. IIRC DC went first, then smokes and at that point it got fast and easy...
     

    CrazedJava

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    It's been a week for me since I've had a soda of any kind. Even before this thread there was all kinds of evidence about how bad they were for you and they just keep finding new nastiness. In my quest to achieve some decent health and wellness I decided I needed to do something about it.

    However, I am keeping my caffeine habit. The headaches and general surliness is not going to be worth it. I still have to function at work. I'm ok with the caffeine, it's everything else that's bad. I did quit about a year ago from drinking any caffeine after 9pm as a general rule. It didn't used to affect me but I've noticed I sleep better if I cut off caffeine at a certain point.

    This week I am giving up sugar. Just doing this gradually. Next week I may try to up protein and seriously cut back on carbs. Just trying to take it in steps so my body doesn't go into shock.
     

    deemus

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    I had help, a best friend who was a Doctor, a world class Doctor, he lectures at Med schools all over the world. Here is what he told me:

    You have 2 addictions. 1) physiological that is your bodies need for caffeine and nicotine; 2) psychological which manifests itself and controls you thru 'habit'.

    We can treat anyone to get them off their physiological need. But if you do not break your psychological need and habits you will never win.

    He was right. I put my focus on my habits and attacked it from that viewpoint. The result was I got off everything, no withdrawal symptoms, no shakes, cold sweats, nothing...I did not say it was easy because you must change your habits. Some are easy, like not stopping at the 7-11 store on the way to work and coming back from lunch. I did replace the drink with a large mug of water. I stopped all coffee after 12 noon, that was not so hard. Other were more of a challenge. I moved out of my private office and into the bay with my staff. So the spit cup on my desk went and along with that so did my Copenhagen.

    I could go on in detail, but it only applies to myself uniquely. How long did it take? In total about 6 mo. IIRC DC went first, then smokes and at that point it got fast and easy...

    Alot of wisdom in that. It takes baby steps to get free from all that. I did the same steps when I hurt my back years ago. First I got rid of the muscle relaxers. Then cut back on the pain pills to about 1/3 of what I was taking, eventually being able to take 2-4 Alleve every day. The anti-inflammatories were the easiest to get off of, but also seemed to be the only thing providing relief. That's why I switched from Motrin to Alleve.

    But the same process also got me off Copenhagen ( I loved to dry it out and reconstitute it with Jack Daniels), and cigars (got a "spot" in my throat and had to quit) which was the hardest for me. I LOVE cigars. Especially the Hemingway Masterpieces by Arturo. In the right circumstances, I would love to have a couple a day. But I know it would take a week for those things to make me their bitch again.

    But the reality is no matter what it is, addiction is a bitch. I actually have some compassion for crack heads after going through and beating my own addictions.
     
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    karlac

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    I have been down the road with caffeine and smoking. We can treat anyone to get them off their physiological need. But if you do not break your psychological need and habits you will never win.

    Quit smoking 23 years ago, and to this day I can not pop the top on a beer without wanting a cigarette.

    For all practical purposes, and although I will have the occasional beer once or twice a year, I had to quit both at the same time just to quit the one.
     

    Ole Cowboy

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    Quit smoking 23 years ago, and to this day I can not pop the top on a beer without wanting a cigarette.

    For all practical purposes, and although I will have the occasional beer once or twice a year, I had to quit both at the same time just to quit the one.
    That just goes to show how strong habits are...
     

    rushthezeppelin

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    Keep at it brotha. While, as you stated, a moderate amount of caffeine is a good thing....everything in moderation. With regards to the artificial sweeteners (well aspartame at least) GTFO off that excito-toxin bullcrap. Not only does it not help avoid the betes (insert Wilford Brimley photo) or obesity, but there are links to all sorts of nasty stuff with it. The fact that it is basically the shit of GMO e coli fed toxic waste should be enough reason on its own. There are other MUCH better sweetener alternatives out there including Stivia (understand most people don't like the after taste with it). There are even some people coming out with ones that have a 0 glycemic index extracted from orange peels, did you know that the "bitter" taste of orange rind is actually such super concentrated sweetness that your taste buds can't properly process....when diluted it actually becomes a super concentrated sweetener.

    I'm personally relapsing from a similar habit...Monster energy drinks (specifically the Khaos ones.....omg they are so sinfully tasty). I need to be better about taking B complex and maybe a small cup of black coffee (which also has great antioxidant benefits in addition to the benefits of small amounts of caffeine).
     
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    benenglish

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    As I go to bed tonite, I mark 7 days, a full week, without a single Coke of any sort. In fact, I haven't had a soft drink of any kind in a week. I'm brewing green tea and drinking it hot. I've found a bottled brand that I like for when I want something cold. And I'm drinking several quarts of water per day.

    I still have the craving but it's receded far enough that I can get by without giving in.

    I have had a six-pack of those new Cokes in the green cans sweetened with cane sugar and stevia in the fridge for this last week and I haven't touched one.

    It's still too early to say I've got this thing licked but I think I've finally made some progress. Before this week, I couldn't go two days in a row without a taste of the stuff.
     
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