coke addiction

amazeofgrace

A maze of Grace - that about sums it up
yep I am addicted to coke-a-cola. I normally drink diet bbut when stress hit's a reach for a fully loaded. I dread going to the dentist next week. After difficult child was put in hospital I did not eat for a few days (a miracle) then I went right back to stress eating when he came home.

at 100 lbs over weight I am feeling very VERY discouraged.:angry-very:
 

SRL

Active Member
I seriously was going to post about this this morning but I didn't get a chance. My love affair is with Diet Dr. Pepper and I need to get off of it, not only because of its impact on my eating habits but also because I've been dealing with what I think is Restless Leg Syndrome and both caffiene and aspartamine are known triggers. I also can't justify the cost anymore.

I like the taste, the caffiene, and the sensory buzz from the bubbles so I think I'd fail miserably with going cold turkey. I did hear a tip to fill a glass full of crushed ice and use that to help back down. I'm trying it today substituting a decaf soda instead and it's helped.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Emotional eating (or drinking) is a tough nut to crack. We have had some good discussions, and recommendations about how to deal with it in other threads.

First of all, don't beat yourself up. With all of the stress you've been dealing with between your difficult child I, difficult child II and s2bx, it's no wonder. Be kind and gentle to yourself.

With regard to drinking a lot of pop, it might help to think about what the coke is giving you, to explain why you rely on it when you're under stress. I can think of 2 possibilities right off the bat...caffeine and sugar, both of which give you an energy hit when you're feeling stressed and drained.

From the sounds of things, when you are very stressed out, the caffeine and sugar combo give you a momentary lift. The trouble is that it causes spikes and troughs in your blood sugar levels, and insulin levels, which all affect your energy. As soon as your body processes the sugar, then you hit a trough and feel sluggish, which starts the cycle over again.

I wonder if you could switch to a different type of caffeinated drink? Tea, perhaps? Even if you put a teaspoon or 2 of sugar in your tea, it's still less sugar than in the pop. It's one small change, but I wonder if it would help.

Just thinking out loud here...

Trinity
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
I like the taste, the caffiene, and the sensory buzz from the bubbles so I think I'd fail miserably with going cold turkey. I did hear a tip to fill a glass full of crushed ice and use that to help back down. I'm trying it today substituting a decaf soda instead and it's helped.

SRL, I too get a sensory buzz from the bubbles in pop, and would have a hard time giving it up.

I usually drink caffeine free diet cola, or diet ginger ale (which has no caffeine). Recently husband found caffeine free diet Dr. Pepper.

I still get the fizz and the bubbles, and the sweet goopy taste of the pop, which I love, without the caffeine rattles or the sugar.

(I still drink a lot of tea for the caffeine, but that's how I control ADD symptoms without medications. Mixing in the caffeine from pop just gets ugly)
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Trinity gave some good advice. I used to drink a ton of Coke! Once I joined WW I gave up all soda for about 7 or 8 years. Slowly I've added back in Coke-but only one per day (unless I'm eating popcorn and then it's 1 1/2). I've never been able to get used to the diet taste and don't like other sodas. I do know that since I've joined WW and not drank soda or very little my migraines have gone way down. Pre giving up soda I would get about 4 migraines a month. Now I get about 4 a year.
 

Sara PA

New Member
My blood is part Pepsi. When I decided I had to cut down, it was the carbonation I missed the most. I love carbonation. I'll drink anything carbonated as long as it doesn't have a sugar substitute in it. I switched to seltzer water -- the slightly flavored/no sweetner type. It took a wee bit of getting use to because you expect carbonated drinks to be either sweet or beer. Now I rarely drink the flavored kind, just the plain carbonated water.

As for the caffeine, I have developed a taste for ice coffee which I can drink black, no sugar though I do like a wee bit of undisolved sugar in it. Now if only I could get carbonate iced coffee....
 
N

Nomad

Guest
I got "addicted" to Pepsi when I was a teenager. My parents took it away from me and I started to hide some cans under my bed! However, keeping it from me helped a little. At least I started to cut back. When I got to college, I naturally cut back because I couldn't afford it. Then after college, I decided it wasn't really worth the money or empty calories. Of course, then in the work force, I started to drink a lot of coffee! So, for me I think it is the caffiene.

I also am a WW fan. These days, I limit myself to one Diet Rite a day. I also like the carbonated waters. And I drink one "half caf" in the morning and usually another one in the afternoon. Honestly, I think this type of coffee tastes better than the others. When I go to a restaurant and want coffee, I ask for it. It's simply half decaf and half regular coffee. The Folgers brand (half caf) is delicious. by the way, WW has a new Latte ice cream...one point...also yummy! Tastes like coffee.

p.s. TR: I like the idea of diet ginger ale! I was buying that now and again and forgot. I think Root Beer might not have caffeine either. These are fun treats!
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Root beer doesn't have caffeine, and there are some pretty good diet varieties if you can handle the sweetener.

An added bonus, the local store brand pop at my discount grocery store (No Frills) is also low sodium. They use potassium instead, and I tell myself that it's a potassium supplement and therefore, good for me
 

amazeofgrace

A maze of Grace - that about sums it up
maintaining at a bottle a day ( 20 oz bottle ) 2morrow is a new day, we'll see, difficult child II starts partial so that will be a help
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
My blood is part Pepsi.

Oh, I had to laugh at that one. I'm not hooked on pop, thank goodness. But husband, I kid you not, can't go without his at all. He's been drinking Coke since he was a little kid. Won't drink anything else unless I force it on him, or milk at meals. And then he's surly about it. lol

I keep trying to convince him that he would lose a ton of weight if he could just quit the pop or switch to diet. And since husband is getting rather huge (Santa is getting competition) this is becoming an issue.

I drink brewed iced tea with generic splenda in it. The splenda tastes like sugar (make sure you substitute it for the exact amt of sugar you'd normally use). And the tea gives me my caffiene. I've never drank tea with real sugar in it, and tasting it made that way to me is disgusting. I use 1 cup of splenda to one gallon of iced tea.
 

Sara PA

New Member
by the way, did everyone see this bit of news that came out the other month?

Study: Artificial Sweeteners Increase Weight Gain Odds
Fake Sweeteners, Lack of Calories May Trick Brain

Feb. 11, 2008 —


Calorie-conscious consumers who opt for diet sodas may gain more weight than if they drank sugary drinks because of artificial sweeteners contained in the diet sodas, according to a new study.

A Purdue University study released Sunday in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience reported that rats on diets containing the artificial sweetener saccharin gained more weight than rats given sugary food, casting doubt on the benefits of low-calorie sweeteners.

"There's something about diet foods that changes your metabolic limit, your brain chemistry," said ABC News' medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard.

Though Savard said more research needs to be done to uncover more information, the study does hint at the idea that the sweeteners alter a person's metabolism.

Savard said another recent study, which included more than 18,000 people, found healthy adults who consumed at least one diet drink a day could increase their chance for weight gain.

In the Purdue study, the rats whose diets contained artificial sweeteners appeared to experience a physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, which drove them to overeat.

"The taste buds taste sweet, but there's no calorie load that comes with it. There's a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way," Savard said. "Anything you put in your mouth, your body has a strong reaction to it. It's much more than counting calories. It seems normally with sweet foods that we rev up our metabolism."

The information may come as a surprise to the 59 percent of Americans who consume diet soft drinks, making them the the second-most-popular low-calorie, sugar-free products in the nation, according to a consumer survey from the Calorie Control Council, a nonprofit association that represents the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry.

Because so many foods today contain artificial sweeteners, the study results may go beyond diet drinks.

"The truth is, we're putting artificial sweetener in so many different things in water, in yogurt," Savard said. It's unclear if the results only adhere to diet sodas, she said.

"We have to rethink what this artificial stuff does to us. If we put this in water it might not be so good," she added.

The Calorie Control Council issued a statement that disagreed with the findings of the Purdue study and noted that past studies indicated low-calorie sweeteners benefit weight control.

But Savard said people who consume a drink or more a day should think about cutting back their consumption.

"The truth is, if you're consuming a drink or more a day, you know it. You know that you're taking it, and you really have to think about eliminating it. You're probably the very person who needs to change those health behaviors to prevent the diabetes, heart disease and stroke," Savard said.

"If you're just taking it once in a while, fine -- no big deal. If you're consuming one or more drinks a day, you should rethink what you're doing. You might be negating the whole reason in the first place."

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4271246
 

SRL

Active Member
I saw the study and I do think the diet soda has been more harmful than helpful. It wasn't giving me loads of calories but because I felt at liberaty to drink it like water since it wouldn't cause weight gain, I wound up feeling full a lot and didn't eat properly.

I don't like the sugary taste of regular soda but did try some out the past few days just to see if it could help me over the hurdle of cutting out caffiene. Today I tried flavored sparkling water--not sweet and very bubbly---turned out to be more satisfying than the soda replacement.
 

SRL

Active Member
Update: I've made good progress on kicking the habit this week. The sparkling water has turned out to be the best substitute for me as it gives me the cold bubbly sensations. It's not much for flavor though so I don't see myself craving this stuff in the same way. The first four days were hard but yesterday was much better. I did relax on calorie intake to get me through the hurdle and don't think I'd have made it if I was trying to both at once.

Best news of all: my Restless Leg Syndrome symptoms have diminished considerably. I'm waiting for the results of bloodwork I did yesterday but caffeine may have been a contributing factor.

How's everyone else doing who is trying to kick the soda (or other) habit?
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
I have been trying to limit myself to 2 cans of caffeine-free-diet-something per day. That's the rule I have for Little easy child, so it makes sense to follow it myself.

I've been substituting homemade lemonade. husband has bags and bags of lemons around, since he uses them in his tea and to season salads, fish and other foods. So, I scoff a couple and squeeze them, add cold water and ice, and a 1/2 cup scoop of Splenda (in a 1 litre jug). Refreshing, and the tartness of the lemonade seems to make up for the bubbles that I crave from the pop.

Now if only I could give up the sweet stuff altogether.
 
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