trying to quit drinking soda

[A New Me 1]

SO This is my first major obstacle...No More Coca Cola...Coke is my favorite thing to drink... I have been doing really well and did not have a soda for two days until now!! Im really angry with myself but I know my surgery is not till June 9th and clear liquid starts June 2nd But I figured I would give it a shot and just quit..Is anyone else in luv with soda like me??? Wut helped you to not drink it anymore?? I need all the advice I can get and tomorrow I am going to start again on No More Soda

[TijuanaPlication 87]

Crystal Light is a popular substitute. I like the peach tea one. Get a few flavors and hopefully you'll find one that does it for you. You can also play with the strength. Post op I enjoyed mine pretty weak (I was getting sick of so much sweet stuff, Jello, juice and tea which I got in the hospital 3 times a day).

[A New Me 1]

Crystal Light is a popular substitute. I like the peach tea one. Get a few flavors and hopefully you'll find one that does it for you. You can also play with the strength. Post op I enjoyed mine pretty weak (I was getting sick of so much sweet stuff, Jello, juice and tea which I got in the hospital 3 times a day).

Thanks for the advice I did go to the grocery store and buy a few different crystal light flavors and I love the rasp lemonaid...I just hate the caffiene headache I drank a few cups of coffee this morning but it didnt take care of the headache once I bought the soda and drank it my headache went away.... Its so horrible, advil is going to be my best friend for a few days...This just shows this is one of the many obstacles I am going to have to overcome with this weight loss journey....Yeah liquid diet is going to be a challenege but I know I can do it!!

[Middlesister57 14]

I had my surgery on 12/14/10 and I quit with the Diet Coke on 10/1/10. I didn't want the withdrawl symptoms while trying to recover. I have been a Diet Coke Head forever. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I never even had a headache. But I've quit before and had a terrible headache. The headache will go away, but you need to get off the stuff now so you are used to it. I now have a pop maybe once a week. Before surgery I would start my day with a large one from McDonalds, and then during the day I would have 2 or 3 more from the pop machine. Not drinking with meals is the hardest thing for me. But I am now addicted to the Crystal Light Peach Tea. I really love it. I mix nectar Lemon Tea Protein Powder with it and have one every day. Really boosts up the Protein.

Good Luck to you. Stick with it. It is so worth it.

Lisa

[jencomenz 3]

I was very addicted to Diet Dr Pepper almost a 12 pack a day and this year I decided to give it up for Lent (with all other pop too). The first 2 or 3 weeks were very hard I missed the bubbles of the carbonation and "cheated" a couple of times with a diet limeaid from sonic, but now Easter is past and I didn't go back! One less thing to have to do before surgery! I am, however, still taking in a significant amount of caffiene because I substituted my DDP with iced tea. I will admit I did buy a coke zero the other day in the checkout line and it didn't even taste good to me - which I consider a victory

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

[Infernored 5]

I was such a pop addict before surgery!!! I loved diet coke and dr pepper. After surgery I tasted them and even the taste was different. I love the fizziness, but there's no way I can drink it now like I used to. Maybe I can have a little bit and sip it slow over a long period of time. But after surgery I've just been trying to keep up with my fluids and Protein, and I wouldn't waste it on soda unless I was all set on everything for the day already. Crystal light is my fave. I have 10 different kinds and switch it up everyday.

[crosswind 134]

SO This is my first major obstacle...No More Coca Cola...Coke is my favorite thing to drink... I have been doing really well and did not have a soda for two days until now!! Im really angry with myself but I know my surgery is not till June 9th and clear liquid starts June 2nd But I figured I would give it a shot and just quit..Is anyone else in luv with soda like me??? Wut helped you to not drink it anymore?? I need all the advice I can get and tomorrow I am going to start again on No More Soda

You would not believe how addicted I was to soda before my surgery. I really didn't know if I could do without it, but when someone tells you that your stomach might explode if you drink something, it's extremely motivating.

The first thing I did was cut out caffeine. They told me to quit because it was a stomach irritant and the caffeine withdrawals were sometimes worse for people than the rest of their early recovery, so I stopped it. No Decaf either -- that's sometimes got as much caffeine in it as regular coffee or tea, depending on how you make it, and it can irritate the stomach you're about to get, so there's no point decaffing when you want to be off totally.

So get white soda and drink it for four to five days. Drink it until you realize you really aren't addicted to soda, you miss the caffeine.

When I went into the hospital I was still drinking soda, but I had cut out caffeine. After surgery it was an easy transition from carbonated drinks since they don't offer them in the hospital and you're so freaked out by your new stomach in the beginning you're afraid to put anything in there AT ALL.

This is the longest I've gone without soda in probably 30 years.

[Nancy Rivers 24]

I just gave up my daily diet coke a week ago. Yep, I had the headache and last weekend it was not good to be around me. But I am feeling better now without it. It's best to get yourself off of it before surgery I think because you're going to be putting your body through heck then, why add to it if you can get this out of the way first?

[kwikwits 20]

Another diet soda addict here in NYC! Diet Cream soda is my favorite -- at least no caffeine -- but I do think diet soda stimulates my desire for sweet tasting things. I'm also a big fan of Diet Pepsi -- but Diet Cream is my mainstay.

My detox plain was first to go to plain seltzer with some lemon or lime squeezed into the glass. I believe I need flavor in my drinks -- which isn't true -- but you know how the brain is about these things. Then I moved to Water with lemon or lime...if I'm really feeling flavor deprived I use Crystal Light -- iced tea or lemonade flavors -- very diluted because I find most "diet" drinks way toooooo sweet for me. I am also not a big fan of Splenda -- it just tastes too sweet for me...I take the single Water sticks of Crystal Light and add it to a 24 oz bottle of water instead of a 16oz bottle and it tastes just right to me.

As for caffeine headaches -- been there. I typically drink two cups of caffeinated coffee daily. If I don't I get such a throbbing headache -- I feel my head could burst! It is day 2 of my pre-op diet -- I'm spreading out my coffee and adding it to my Protein shakes. It gets me my caffeine and it adds flavor to my vanilla or chocolate shakes.< /span>

[A New Me 1]

Thanks everyone for the help.. Im glad that others experienced the same as myself...I am ready again today to try not to even think about drinking soda, I want to follow all the rules and change my lifestyle the right way..thanks again

[MrsPositive 5]

I had terrible withdrawal headache from caffeine and coke. Took me 3 days to get past it. To be honest I think something clicked in my head and I decided I was ready to be healthy. No more chemicals in my body!! I do drink green tea or Water with lemon a lot plus crystal light and my Isopure Protein drinks...alpine punch, orange or grape. Goodluck!

[Brian66 85]

I was a huge Diet Pepsi addict before my surgery -- I couldn't even tell you how much I drank on a daily basis, but it was a lot.

I was not able to give it up before surgery, but I don't think I ever really tried. I think I had my last glass at about 8:00 pm the night before my surgery.

I really missed it in the beginning and, in fact, I had a dream about DIet Pepsi on one of my first nights home from the hospital. I didn't really feel any physical symptoms of withdrawal, but I think that was because I was on iv fluids and pain medication in the hospital. Not a bad way to go through withdrawal.

I've struggled a little bit with finding a substitute for the diet soda and I find I still miss the idea of it at times - the coldness and the carbonation. I used some of the flavor packets for Water (crystal light, etc) but they didn't really do it for me. I did discover Diet Snapple and that is what I drink most of the time.

I've accidentally taken sips of soda once or twice since the surgery and I find I don't care for the taste at all. Very chemically.

As I said, I still miss the thought of my beloved Diet Pepsi every so often, but it is a small price to pay for the 120 pounds that I have lost!

Good luck!

Brian

[Rainydayz 27]

I hear you. I was up to almost an entire 2-liter of coke by myself then when I started my supervised diet I quit. I have had about 3 Diet Cokes since Feb. But mostly I drink plain Water or coffee now. I still haven't given up my coffee with Creamer yet. But the coke thing was hard at first but now I don't really think about it. It's just something we have to white knuckle at first then it gets easier. Hang in there!

[Disney 20]

I have been drinking Coke since I was a toddler. I drank it all the way up until the first day of my pre-op low carb diet. I actually even had one the first day of the diet. But after that, none. Not a drop. Oh, wait. Dr. Aceves lets you eat your 'last meal' the night before surgery, so I did have one that night. Then, none. Not a drop.

Keep in mind, that is all I ever drank. No Water, no tea (and I'm from the South), no fruit juices. Just every once in a while I would have some orange juice for Breakfast. That was my sole source of liquids. Sad, right? My poor kidneys. And it wasn't even the diet kind. Anyway, surprisingly I never had a headache, or any other withdrawal symptoms. I feel lucky about that after reading some of these posts. I have been reading about people drinking soda again after several months, but I am so over it, I think it would be crazy to even try it again. I just don't care about it anymore. If you knew me, you wouldn't believe that was <i>me</i> saying that

My advice is to do it cold turkey. Seems like just easing off of it is kinda torture. Like teasing yourself with it. But, you might be one of those that would get a headache, so it might be best to taper off. I think what made it easy for me to do it quickly was that I waited till the very last minute to quit and I knew I had to do the low carb thing in order to shrink my liver for surgery, so there was no choice.

Good luck to you and good for you for preparing yourself earlier than you have to.

Hey! Remember in that movie ELF with Will Farrell, when he was drinking that 2 liter coke right outta the bottle? That reminds me of me! That's how much I loved Coke!

[kindnnice 0]

Hi.. I know how u feel about ur coke.. Before surgery I was drinking about 6 2 liters a day... I did not quit til "After" my sleeve surgery.. I had super Migraine headaches in the hospital.. It has been 3 weeks since my surgery.. I am down 50 pounds.. I think the NOT having soda has contributed a great deal to my GREAT weight loss.. I will not lie, I have had bout with the soda demon.. I still crave it and this last week was a real struggle with the craving.. but I have now got passed those demons for the week.. I am unsure if they will ever fully go away but I do know I am SICK of all the SF stuff. It tastes sooo sweet..

On that note I would like to say thanks to all of you who regularly post.. I have been reading everything on here since 3 weeks before surgery...and it has been a great help.. I feel I can come hear and find someone who knows and has felt like me along this journey.. I look forward to making friends and helping someone like u have all helped me, without even knowing it.. The sleeve is the best decision I have made in my life in quite a while!!!