Quitting Diet Cokes...maybe

[benenglish]

...my plan is to transition from regular Diet Coke to the caffeine-free version, and then to substitute water for every other drink.

I tried to do that a while back but the taste of caffeine-free Diet Coke was just too awful.

 

[benenglish]

... An occasional Mexican coke ...

...is heaven on earth.

As for caffeine I have one cup of coffee per day, its a full 14 oz cup, then the rest of the day I drink non-caffeine ...

That's an option, a jolt in the morning to get me going and then be a good boy the rest of the day.

That's what I tried yesterday.

My goal, though, is to leave the stuff behind completely.

 

[benenglish]

Ben you don't have to do this in one day. Just make a plan ...

I understand and agree. I had one yesterday and I'll have one today. At least I don't have to trudge down to the methadone clinic and beg for my hit.

 

[benenglish]

Caffeine causes an insulin response just like carbs (sugar). I was a huge diet coke and ice tea drinker.

You have a talent for cutting through to the heart of the matter. I'm diabetic and neither (most) artificial sweeteners nor caffeine are good for me. So I'm trying to quit.

Funny how when we get closer to the end of life we work so much harder to increase the quality of the time we have left, isn't it?

One should drink half their body weight in ounces of water day.

I could not consume that much but I'll definitely be drinking more.

 

[benenglish]

As of this morning I feel like crap. I feel like I'm getting the flu in pretty much all the classic ways - body aches, headache, even some changes in my breathing (which I'm sensitive to, since I've had pneumonia several times in my life and nearly died from it on more than one occasion).

I'm not a user of alcohol but this is also remarkably similar to the morning after the few times in my life I've imbibed excessively.

I'm gonna drink a Diet Coke right now and see if I can get through the day on just one or two. My goal is to not need even that within a month. I've been told by people I trust who have done this that I should expect two weeks of this sort of illness from withdrawal; at this moment, the prospect of two weeks of feeling like this fills me with dread.

Time will tell.

 

[winchster]

Excedrin will give you the caffeine
The flu you're feeling is your body adjusting. You have to drink a gallon of water a day Ben. Drink it a glad at a time and it helps. I used to drink 2 liters of dp a day. 7 days a week. I stopped doing that and drink water. The feeling like crap will go away in a couple of days.

 

[benenglish]

Excedrin will give you the caffeine

Then I'll skip the Excedrin. Thanks for the tip.

You have to drink a gallon of water a day Ben.

I can do that.

I used to drink 2 liters of dp a day.

My intake of Diet Coke is (or has been, I hope) roughly twice that.

The feeling like crap will go away in a couple of days.

I sincerely hope so.

 

[txinvestigator]

You have a talent for cutting through to the heart of the matter. I'm diabetic and neither (most) artificial sweeteners nor caffeine are good for me. So I'm trying to quit.

Funny how when we get closer to the end of life we work so much harder to increase the quality of the time we have left, isn't it?

I could not consume that much but I'll definitely be drinking more.

If you weighed 300 pounds that would only be 150 ounces of water. That gallon you can do is 128 ounces.

A gallon may be proper for some, for others it could be too much.

Half your body weight in ounce

Also, slowly increase your fiber.

 

[matefrio]

http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/...ing-intake-avoiding-habit-forming-drinks.html I fell off the bandwagon and I'm back on diet Dr Pepper. Here's one way to moderate your intake though to exactly what you feel you need.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

Buy a water bottle and fill it several times a day, every time you would have got up to go get coffee. It helps to fill in for the habitual activity and not just the drink itself.

 

[TheDan]

That's an option, a jolt in the morning to get me going and then be a good boy the rest of the day.

You're retired right? Just sleep in or take a nap when you feel tired. That's what I do and I'm not even retired

 

[benenglish]

Half your body weight in ounce

My bad. I misread the first time, missing the "half". You're telling me to drink half as much as I first thought.

That, I can do.

Thanks for restating it so that I'd finally understand.

 

[benenglish]

Buy a water bottle and fill it several times a day, every time you would have got up to go get coffee. It helps to fill in for the habitual activity and not just the drink itself.

I'm rotating two water bottles in the fridge already.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

If you weighed 300 pounds that would only be 150 ounces of water. That gallon you can do is 128 ounces.

A gallon may be proper for some, for others it could be too much.

Half your body weight in ounce

Also, slowly increase your fiber.

For me it would be 90 oz. That is a lot, even for me who drinks a lot already. 14 oz coffee, 3x 16 oz cups of tea and about 16 oz of water. Which is more than enough for normal activites. If I am out on the ranch slinging my chainsaw then I can double that.

 

[txinvestigator]

For me it would be 90 oz. That is a lot, even for me who drinks a lot already. 14 oz coffee, 3x 16 oz cups of tea and about 16 oz of water. Which is more than enough for normal activites. If I am out on the ranch slinging my chainsaw then I can double that.

The coffee and tea are diuretics. The 16 oz of of water a day is not NEARLY enough water for a person.

You only need five and a half 16 oz bottles of water in a day. One with each meal, 1 between breakfast and lunch, another between lunch and dinner.

 

[kusai]

I love coke, they keep my toilets clean and shiny.

 

[Mic]

I'm rotating two water bottles in the fridge already.

One thing that I do is to take the larger water bottles (like a Dessani) and fill it a 3rd full and stick it in the freezer. Then fill it with room temp water when I take it with me to go out. Very cold water tastes soooo much better to me. I rotate like 3 bottles through, washing them evrry few days. Makes drinking water much better!

 

[robertc1024]

pfft - I've got a solo cup left over from the last keg party we had at work. It works great as a water cup too.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

The coffee and tea are diuretics. The 16 oz of of water a day is not NEARLY enough water for a person.

You only need five and a half 16 oz bottles of water in a day. One with each meal, 1 between breakfast and lunch, another between lunch and dinner.

You are correct they are diuretics, but very mild, you really have to drink a lot to get them to trigger. My tea is caffeine free green tea. I have not found a diuretic side effect to the qty I drink and a single cup of coffee is not enough of a diuretic to have an impact on my system.To get the diuretic effects you need more and concentrated qty.

 

[benenglish]

Day 3 - I woke up slightly better in some ways. The all-over body pain is much reduced, though that may be due to the aspirin and Advil.

The biggest problem so far is the weakness. It hit me hard yesterday afternoon and continues today. I feel weak as a kitten. Just taking out the trash this morning left me wanting a nap.

Basically, I still feel like I'm coming down with a bad flu. I know I'm not so I'll keep on keepin' on but, sheesh, this whole situation sucks.