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Help Im addicted to soda!
I am seriously addicted to soda. I didn't realize this untill this week when I tried to quit. I fought the urge to have a dr pepper for almost 48 hours when I finaly gave in. I had a headache the entire time and I felt so tired. Its probaly all in my mind but once I had the soda I felt better. Anyone else went through soda withdrwals? Also if anyone has any tips on how to quit or knows of any subsitutes for soda , that will satisfy the same way. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)
COMMUNITY LEADER
I totally agree that there is nothing wrong with moderate amounts of coffee for the vast majority of people. It's like anything else, if taken to extreme, it can be dangerous; or for those who have issues in which caffeine is contraindicated.
Even sugar can be eaten in small amounts without adverse affects for most people.
Even sugar can be eaten in small amounts without adverse affects for most people.
Thank you for your comments on high-fructose corn syrup. I will look into it. As to coffee, for some reason it is now on the "bad" list, along with a bunch of other things that are pleasurable. There is nothing wrong with moderate amounts coffee for the vast majority of people.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Your assessment of high fructose corn syrup is somewhat incorrect.
The biggest difference betwee HFCS and white sugar is that HFCS is almost 1/2 fructose, while white sugar is a combination of sucrose and fructose. The body actually gets energy from glucose and the liver *does* convert HFCS to glucose, which is then used to produce energy. HFCS does not affect the blood sugar in the same manner as white sugar.
While HFCS and white sugar are metabolized differently, they are equally bad for you, and neither has any nutritional value, making them "empty calories". Both will cause weight gain if used excessively.
Here's a link to an article that might help understand a bit better.
http://nutrition.about.com/od/grainsandcereals/f/fructosesyrup.htm
I do agree that it's possible the headaches are caused from the lack of caffeine; however, I don't necessarily recommend switching to coffee either, because caffeine from any source can have adverse affects on some people. That said, it's also possible to have a sugar addiction, as well, so it's best to ween off the sodas and caffeine.
The biggest difference betwee HFCS and white sugar is that HFCS is almost 1/2 fructose, while white sugar is a combination of sucrose and fructose. The body actually gets energy from glucose and the liver *does* convert HFCS to glucose, which is then used to produce energy. HFCS does not affect the blood sugar in the same manner as white sugar.
While HFCS and white sugar are metabolized differently, they are equally bad for you, and neither has any nutritional value, making them "empty calories". Both will cause weight gain if used excessively.
Here's a link to an article that might help understand a bit better.
http://nutrition.about.com/od/grainsandcereals/f/fructosesyrup.htm
I do agree that it's possible the headaches are caused from the lack of caffeine; however, I don't necessarily recommend switching to coffee either, because caffeine from any source can have adverse affects on some people. That said, it's also possible to have a sugar addiction, as well, so it's best to ween off the sodas and caffeine.
What you may be addicted to is the caffeine in the soda. That would explain your headache when you stopped drinking it. When you try to quit soda why don't you drink coffee instead. It has the caffeine, but not all that high-fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is a highly processed sugar which does not convert into energy, but goes directly to fat storage. In other words, it is more fattening than sugar, even though it may have the same caloric content. It is really bad stuff and is used because it is cheaper than sucrose.
i was also drinking 3-4 sodas a day, when i got pregnant w/my son i quit drinking it. cold turkey, after i delivered i had a soda and got hooked all over again. when i got pregnant w/my daughter i couldn't give it up no matter how much i tried. but i stopped cold turkey again 3 weeks ago, and yes both times and in fact everytime i tried to go off of soda i would get horrible headaches that didn't seem to go away not even with tylenol. and id just feel horrible in general. once i had a soda id feel better, so no its not all in your head.
like i said i did stop 3 weeks ago, i think i had a headache for a day and was in bed, but conincidentally i had a really bad cold virus too, so i'm pretty sure i would have had a headache either way. and its been 3 weeks and i have had nothing to drink but water. i dont even buy soda anymore and it hasn't been a problem for me. i don't even crave it anymore.
like i said i did stop 3 weeks ago, i think i had a headache for a day and was in bed, but conincidentally i had a really bad cold virus too, so i'm pretty sure i would have had a headache either way. and its been 3 weeks and i have had nothing to drink but water. i dont even buy soda anymore and it hasn't been a problem for me. i don't even crave it anymore.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Some people can stop sodas "cold turkey", others can't; it's just like stopping smoking or any other bad habit. You have to find something to replace the activity you want to stop.
Diet sodas are not good for you either, so try to go to something else - preferably, water - but if not that, then green tea, either unsweetened or sweetened with Stevia...... Stay away from fruit juices because, while they have some vitamins/minerals, they are high calorie for what you get....... much better to munch a piece of whole fruit than drink juice; at least you will get the fiber and other nutrients.......
Start out slowly - replace one soda/day with a glass/bottle of water; do this for a week, then replace 2 sodas/day with water - each week, replace one soda with a glass/bottle of water or green tea.......
It's like weight gain -- most likely you didn't gain all your weight at one time (unless you have medical issues that caused it), so you won't lose it all at one time.. You became addicted to sodas over a period of time, you should "get off" them over a period of time.
Diet sodas are not good for you either, so try to go to something else - preferably, water - but if not that, then green tea, either unsweetened or sweetened with Stevia...... Stay away from fruit juices because, while they have some vitamins/minerals, they are high calorie for what you get....... much better to munch a piece of whole fruit than drink juice; at least you will get the fiber and other nutrients.......
Start out slowly - replace one soda/day with a glass/bottle of water; do this for a week, then replace 2 sodas/day with water - each week, replace one soda with a glass/bottle of water or green tea.......
It's like weight gain -- most likely you didn't gain all your weight at one time (unless you have medical issues that caused it), so you won't lose it all at one time.. You became addicted to sodas over a period of time, you should "get off" them over a period of time.
I stopped cold turkey now I will have 1 diet everyonce inawhile, but for those that can't the best way is to start slowly change to diet soda, then if you drink 4 a day drop it 3 for 2 weeks then drop 2 and so on, thats how I have been told by others and also Dr. Oz said it think his was a little diff you can try and find on his website how he says to do it, Hope that helps
Oh I am also addicted to soda and there comes times that I get myself off of it. Soda is awesome, better for you than cigarettes or alcohol in similar amounts. There does come occasions where any addiction can hamper attaining a goal.
Soda is a three fold addiction. Your not addicted to any one thing. Soda habit really consists of three parts, the caffeine dependence, sugar addiction, and then there's the oral fixation to constantly drink something.
Getting yourself off a stimulant is the part that people usually talk about when the subject of soda addiction arises. No-Doz is over the counter brand of caffeine pills that can be used to ween yourself. In the purposes of getting yourself off of caffeine its important not to take what the bottle suggests but to match the caffeine amount from Dr Pepper you were drinking. Which is probably going to be a lot less, so you can start to ween yourself off.
Once the body gets used to intaking sugar at set times during the day the body can become addicted to it. Withdrawing yourself from what your used too can cause all the symptoms of typical withdrawal. (Headache, nausea, lack of energy, depression, etc.)
One approach to handling the oral fixation and sugar addiction at the same time is to indulge them. Gatorade makes a powder that is available in most large grocery stores. The trick isn't so much to ween yourself off of the oral fixation of drinking fluids but to gradually reduce the amount of powder that you use. Another tip when your out away from your fridge and your in a pinch, is to buy gatorade G2. Per serving it only has about 20 calories without artificial sweeteners but going straight from soda to G2 will rough.
Soda is a three fold addiction. Your not addicted to any one thing. Soda habit really consists of three parts, the caffeine dependence, sugar addiction, and then there's the oral fixation to constantly drink something.
Getting yourself off a stimulant is the part that people usually talk about when the subject of soda addiction arises. No-Doz is over the counter brand of caffeine pills that can be used to ween yourself. In the purposes of getting yourself off of caffeine its important not to take what the bottle suggests but to match the caffeine amount from Dr Pepper you were drinking. Which is probably going to be a lot less, so you can start to ween yourself off.
Once the body gets used to intaking sugar at set times during the day the body can become addicted to it. Withdrawing yourself from what your used too can cause all the symptoms of typical withdrawal. (Headache, nausea, lack of energy, depression, etc.)
One approach to handling the oral fixation and sugar addiction at the same time is to indulge them. Gatorade makes a powder that is available in most large grocery stores. The trick isn't so much to ween yourself off of the oral fixation of drinking fluids but to gradually reduce the amount of powder that you use. Another tip when your out away from your fridge and your in a pinch, is to buy gatorade G2. Per serving it only has about 20 calories without artificial sweeteners but going straight from soda to G2 will rough.
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