I need help to cut fizzy drinks from my diet

Wanderer2010 · 08-09-2018 7:02pm #1

This isn't an easy thread to write but my addiction to fizzy drinks has now spiralled out of control. For years, I used to drink lots of drinks like Coke, Fanta etc but always managed to keep my weight going up through exercise etc but the past two years im almost 2 stone heavier and its due mostly to drinking at least 3 cans of Coke every day and sometimes at weekends up to 6 cans a day!

I know its crazy, I know it bad for me, I know im the only one to blame and the only one who can help me is me but im reaching out to see is there anyone who has overcome an addiction to fizzy drinks because I fear im just too far gone. My doctor told me my blood sugar has gone up, I sometimes get heart flutters that may be due to caffeine overload and I feel like absolute crap if I haven't had a coke but none of that stops me. I sometimes feel so good drinking a coke that my eyes fizz up and I clench my fists, its a pure rush and im extremely irritable if I don't drink it.

How do I start to help myself? Im a male mid 30s by the way.

Alf Veedersane · 08-09-2018 8:02pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

This isn't an easy thread to write but my addiction to fizzy drinks has now spiralled out of control. For years, I used to drink lots of drinks like Coke, Fanta etc but always managed to keep my weight going up through exercise etc but the past two years im almost 2 stone heavier and its due mostly to drinking at least 3 cans of Coke every day and sometimes at weekends up to 6 cans a day!

I know its crazy, I know it bad for me, I know im the only one to blame and the only one who can help me is me but im reaching out to see is there anyone who has overcome an addiction to fizzy drinks because I fear im just too far gone. My doctor told me my blood sugar has gone up, I sometimes get heart flutters that may be due to caffeine overload and I feel like absolute crap if I haven't had a coke but none of that stops me. I sometimes feel so good drinking a coke that my eyes fizz up and I clench my fists, its a pure rush and im extremely irritable if I don't drink it.

How do I start to help myself? Im a male mid 30s by the way.

Are there particular times you have a can during the week and at the weekend? You might need to look at how you might address it if there are...in the same way a smoker might when there are certain times/activities that they smoke at.

This doesn't work for everyone but it's worth considering as you tackle this: keep a diary of your intake of fizzy drinks...when you buy them, record it and honestly record how you feel about it why you bought them etc. When you start to reduce your intake, keep recording how you feel and try to describe why you feel it.

It makes you a bit more mindful and gives you a bit more control because you're documenting why you buy them and why you drink them and it makes it clear that they don't buy themselves and pour themselves into your mouth.

I'm not being facetious...its just its easy to give yourself a pass as if you have no control. That you're a powerless victim. Acknowledging that you do have the control, that you're not powerless can be empowering because you knoe that if you really want to turn it around, you can do it by making the right decisions at the right times.

Is it going to be easy? Probably not. There will be times when you crave a fizzy drink and when you're a narky f**k because you want one...but that passes and you feel great when it passes and you acknowledge that you've made a positive decision and not capitulated.

Best of luck.

Quandary · 08-09-2018 8:04pm

Sparkling water with a dash of miwadi is a decent alternative

silverharp · 08-09-2018 8:10pm

ive no direct experience but a simple thing to do would be to switch out the coke for something like a coffee or a fizzy spring water (you could add some lemon), that way your body plays out the routine for want of a better term. You hear about people drinking more than 2 ltrs a day so dont see changing as insurmountable. i ll guess you will get some headaches or be low energy for a few days but plough through it.
Next step would look at the rest of your diet and look to cut out food that would spike your insulin and if you have stopped exercising start something simple again like walking and build it up from there.
you can pick up a glucometer from some chemists for free though you will have to pay for the strips after and you could see what the stuff is doing to you in real time

bucketybuck · 08-09-2018 8:16pm

I dropped fizzy drinks years ago and just drink water now, best thing I ever did but I suspect water isn't going to cut it for you as a replacement?

Have you ever tried these? They are marketed as being a vitamin product and thats why I started taking them, but to be honest now I just take them as a flavoured drink with a lot of meals. Its a tablet you drop into a pint glass of water, it dissolves and leaves a sort of a fizzy drink. It isn't going to give you that sugar rush you are addicted to but if you want to phase out the cokes you could find worse things to replace them with.

thebull85 · 08-09-2018 8:17pm

i was drinking over 2 litres a day at one stage, getting off it was a nightmare. Switched to diet coke for a while then onto water, for the first while i was flooding water into me up to 4 litres a day.

Now i crave water all the time instead of coke, i always have a carton of orange juice in the fridge and have a small glass of it from time to time to get a bit of sugar.

Best of luck.

Alf Veedersane · 08-09-2018 8:20pm

I agree with all of the above...my previous post is based on it being almost more psychological than a love of the taste, per se.

Some good suggestions above on the physical health in terms of replacing the drinks.

per aspera ad astra · 08-09-2018 8:23pm

You just have to stop. Drink water, or tea. I used to be a bit of a Coke addict too – I have maybe 1 can a year now, it's so easy to stop. Come on now – make a resolution right now this very minute to stop, this very minute! Go make yourself a cup of tea now and say – right this is it, the first day of the rest of my life – I feel great! This tea is great! In one weeks time I will be free!

You just need a few days off it!! I swear – once you do you'll realise you don't need it! Come on now – you can do it! Do it now! And come back tomorrow – tell us it's not easy, but you're gonna do it. And in 3 or 4 days – come back and say, it's actually not so bad. And in one week – come back and say, you know what – I can't believe I actually thought I was addicted! This is much easier than I thought it would be!

You can do it! We all believe in you!!!!

Shaque attack · 08-09-2018 8:57pm

I'm with the poster above. You seem to have your wits about you and your head screwed on. You can do it. So do it and let us know.

bucketybuck · 08-09-2018 9:04pm

per aspera ad astra wrote: »

You just need a few days off it!!

This point bears repeating. I am no scientition, but those sugar cravings and that sugar rush you get immediately after drinking a can of coke are actually physiological responses, and so is that irritability you feel when you haven't topped up that sugar level for a while. It will only take a few days, but once you let your body process all that ****e out of you then the cravings will pass.

But that won't happen when you keep resetting the process with another can. Stop doing that, find something that works as a replacement and give your body time to get back to normal.

Prominent_Dawg · 08-09-2018 9:07pm

When you stop drinking them for long enough It's crazy but they'll never taste as good as you're convinced they do.. wouldn't even consider buying one in a shop! However I'd problem feel this way to chocolate!

goat2 · 08-09-2018 9:16pm

I use 7up free and water mixed, half and half, find it as sweet as if there is no water in it, try it, maybe it can help to start with, and reduce the mineral to water ratio after a while

mathie · 18-09-2018 12:00pm

OP how are you getting on?

When people start something new that is difficult (like coming of sugary drinks) they can imagine it'll be that same level of difficulty forever.

But the important thing to realize is that it gets easier as time goes on.

And then one day you wake up and don't have any craving for it at all.

Wanderer2010 · 18-09-2018 5:10pm

mathie wrote: »

OP how are you getting on?

When people start something new that is difficult (like coming of sugary drinks) they can imagine it'll be that same level of difficulty forever.

But the important thing to realize is that it gets easier as time goes on.

And then one day you wake up and don't have any craving for it at all.

Thanks for the replies so far everyone. Im not getting on too good as im only down to 2 bottles a day from 2 and a half so very slow but I am determined to keep going until only 1 a day then 1 every 2nd day etc. I just cant do cold turkey, im genuinely addicted to the sugar, people may laugh at that but there is no doubt its as addictive as any drug out there and its legal too. I tried cutting it cold turkey and freaked after 1 day and downed bottles the next day.

Im taking the slow and steady approach but its not easy.

Heres Johnny · 18-09-2018 5:20pm

Next step is cut another half bottle for now. What's your routine in drinking them? You need to figure out why you are drinking them and how you have access to them.

If it's because you have enough convenient in the house, try have less there. If it's because you buy one every time in a shop, go to shop less often giving less chance to buy them.

I've no doubt it's an addiction, the very odd time I have them in my house and I'd polish off a big bottle if I knew it was there. It is nice in fairness, but nasty stuff too. But I'd say that's once a month maybe if I got a hungover takeaway. I never buy them in supermarket.

sillysocks · 18-09-2018 5:24pm

I cut down on fizzy drinks by replacing with sparkling water and cordial. Don’t like sparkling water on its own but mixed with some cordials it’s quite nice esp if it’s from the fridge and really fizzy. Now you can get those tiny bottles of concentrate cordial in lots of flavors so it’s easy to even bring around with you. Might be worth a try!

kweeveen86 · 18-09-2018 5:35pm

The amount of crap in fizzy drinks is frightening, so you're making the right move. You'll feel so much better when you manage to kick the habit.

If your addiction has been fairly long-term, then I'd say weaning yourself off them is the way to go. Cut down gradually instead of going cold turkey.

Also, if you have a particular favourite drink, then it might be a decent idea to buy a poor-quality version of it to help you wean off...? i.e. if you like Coca Cola or Club Orange specifically, then buy a crappy Aldi version of those over the next week or two and drink one glass less of them for the first couple of days, then another glass less, etc, etc

Replacement-wise, what I usually drink is sparkling water with some apple juice or half a fresh lime in it (loads of ice too!). Really hits the spot when you want something sweet and refreshing.

Might be an idea to buy some fruit in your weekly shop too...handy to have things like mandarins, apples lying around when you get a craving!

Good luck!

jaykhunter · 19-09-2018 12:32am

Wanting to do it is the first step! Couple of options:

Quit cold turkey. It'll be trainspotting for a couple of days but you'll beat the physiological cravings. It has you by the throat right now.

I'd do a slow withdrawal (that's what she said) literally buy a multipack of coke and have one every day. Never buy it when you're out because you have some waiting at home. Then start alternating with Coke zero (or a flavoured variety - cherry and also vanilla are lovely).

My other advice is that you should be drinking at least 2L of water per day. Get a water bottle and you're only allowed coke once you've hit 2L. Often times you'll be too full for coke.

Consider joining a weight loss group (I'm seeing great success with Slimming World), it'll be just part of an overall health change rather than specifically combatting this. Plus if you're on the books, you'll get support from those around you, and even better, when you cut it out, you'll see *massive losses* and make the ladies jealous!

Best of luck mate, hope you kick the habit!

SozBbz · 19-09-2018 2:03pm

I had an issue with diet coke a few years back - I'm now almost 5 years "clean"!

I'd had a few failed attempts at quitting, cutting back as I knew it couldn't be good for me but never lasted long. Most of the time I didnt even want to give up, I just really enjoyed it. I could easily have had up to 2L per day.

Then one day, I tried again, I doubt I'd any real expectation that it would actually last but for whatever reason it did. The only difference is that around the same time I'd started to like sparkling water which I'd previously thought was awful. This time, I had a fizzy alternative and I never went back on diet coke.

I now drink a lot of fizzy water (although not 2L per day!) I now don't even drink any fizzy drinks as presumably my tastes have changed. The odd time that I'd have a sip of one, I find it awful, far too sweet. I doubt I'd even like diet coke were I to try it again now, although I've no plans to take that risk.

Macy0161 · 20-09-2018 9:37am

This is something I've struggled with, and still do actually - it's crept back in over the summer a bit as I don't drink coffee and begrudge paying €2 plus for a tea when I make better myself and a can of coke zero is half the price! But not to the same degree of 2+ litres a day it used to be.

I swapped for more tea, but if it's going with a weightloss stratefy, be mindful of the added milk calories. Not saying don't do it, or go without, just remember to count them in whatever method you're using.

I have to admit though, I honestly don't feel better or healthier. I'd upped my water consumption a long time before, so by the time it came to the fizzies I was kinda getting to the last few things I wanted to address (there's a couple of things I won't address, like beer!

)

Penn · 20-09-2018 10:24am

I was an absolute fiend for Lucozade back in college. We're talking more than 2l a day, usually getting my daily calorie needs just from Lucozade (never mind food on top of that. Big part of the reason why I need to lose weight now).

In many ways it was my crutch, I needed it to get through long days in my final year of college. Once I finished college though, while the craving for it was still there, I cut down pretty drastically on it, and by the end of the summer was off it completely. I still drink fizzy drinks now and again, but never felt a need to go back to the levels I was at. And as others have said, if I haven't had one in a while, it can feel like acid when you have some again.

I think your best bet is just to quit cold turkey. It's honestly not that hard. Some great suggestions by others about what to replace it with, but ultimately, you just need to put it aside.

Wanderer2010 · 04-10-2018 6:03pm

Just an update for anyone who is interested. I started cutting from 3 bottles a day to 2 and now im down a bottle and a half per day. I didn't realise it would be so hard, 2 and a half weeks later. The cravings are very strong, plus I got a multitude of other side effects from the shakes and aches all over to tiredness and crankiness plus an unpleasant feeling that nothing in the whole world will make me happy except a bottle of coke and feeling weepy. I know that's just the crap leaving my system but its still tough.

Im drinking lots of water and am trying to stay away from chocolate (first thing that happened when I cut back was a craving for more chocolate to top up my sugar levels!) and am determined to see this through. The health benefits will be worth it. I cant imagine doing this cold turkey.

starlit · 04-10-2018 7:16pm

Reducing bottles and weaning off them gradually is a good idea too. Try drinking lemon or lime or both in water it help the fizzy and sugar drinks cravings worked a treat for me haven't as much of a sweet tooth as before still do but not as much! Trick is to substitute for a healthy version gradually ease you in to it. Dark chocolate might be a better alternative to the milk chocolate help with curbing the sweet tooth and get your fix as well.

Best of luck!

bucketybuck · 04-10-2018 7:24pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Im not getting on too good as im only down to 2 bottles a day from 2 and a half so very slow

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Just an update for anyone who is interested. I started cutting from 3 bottles a day to 2 and now im down a bottle and a half per day.

What size of bottle are you talking about? The 500ml bottles or the big 2L bottles?

Stellasmurf · 04-10-2018 9:20pm

I don’t drink the stuff that much but would have the odd Coke Zero or 7up free when I get a sweet craving. Could you substitute for these? Or do people consider these just as bad? I’ve never been able to find much evidence to say either way.

lee_baby_simms · 05-10-2018 11:56am

Stellasmurf wrote: »

I don’t drink the stuff that much but would have the odd Coke Zero or 7up free when I get a sweet craving. Could you substitute for these? Or do people consider these just as bad? I’ve never been able to find much evidence to say either way.

Artificial sweeteners have no health benefits as of themselves but if they're being used short term for weight loss or sugar curbing then that's surely a plus.

They've been proven to be toxic to gut bacteria which can negatively affect overall health. They've also been proven to confuse the body and trigger insulin which promotes fat storage. Diet and regular coke also contain phosphoric acid which provides sharpness in the flavour but too much causes calcium deficiency along with other minerals. Osteoporosis has been linked with diet coke due to calcium leeching from bones.

Most of these with diet coke are based on relatively long term consumption so diet coke ever now and again wouldn't be too bad I suppose but drinking several cans every day wouldn't be a good idea. I love an aul coke zero myself.

Apparently Trump drink 8 cans of diet coke a day!

Peatys · 17-10-2018 2:21pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

The cravings are very strong, plus I got a multitude of other side effects from the shakes and aches all over to tiredness and crankiness plus an unpleasant feeling that nothing in the whole world will make me happy except a bottle of coke and feeling weepy. I know that's just the crap leaving my system but its still tough.

I am determined to see this through. The health benefits will be worth it. I cant imagine doing this cold turkey.

That's part of the problem. The crap isn't leaving your system. You're topping up daily, but feel worse as the top ups are further apart. You never get to feel good as you're pumping the sugar back in.

Go a month of cold turkey. Tell your mates and family in advance that you're going to be a cúnt for the next few weeks.

Mellor · 26-10-2018 12:43am

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

They've been proven to be toxic to gut bacteria which can negatively affect overall health. They've also been proven to confuse the body and trigger insulin which promotes fat storage.

You are playing a bit loose with the words "proven" there.

It's been claimed that they trigger an insulin response. I haven't seen any concrete evidence that they do, to any significant effect.

If they didn't, wouldn't they play havoc with diabetics?

4068ac1elhodqr · 11-07-2019 9:39pm

Fizzy drinks & cancer: Experts found that just 100ml of sugary drink daily (1/3rd of a small can) could raise your risk of the disease by +18%
The risk of breast cancer specifically rose by +22%. Another reason not to touch the fizzy pop water!

...
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, was based on 101,257 healthy French adults.

Mellor · 11-07-2019 11:59pm

Hum, have you got a ling to the actual study and not the Sun?
I'd be interested to see how they pin point it on 5-10g sugar from fizzy drinks and not the other 99% of people diet

gctest50 · 12-07-2019 12:19am

https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l2408

.

Cyclical Apocalypse · 12-07-2019 12:21am

Sorry, a bit of a pet peeve of mine is when people throw out statistics like this raises your risk of disease by 20% without stating what the risk is in percentage terms beforehand. For example, that study a few years ago that came out that processed meats would raise your risk of getting a specific type of cancer by 20% which seems enormous at first glance, but it turns out your chance of getting that particular type of cancer was only something like 1% beforehand.

Mellor · 12-07-2019 2:08am

gctest50 wrote: »

https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l2408

.

Thank you.
So they didn't distinguish. Makes sense.
Both fruit juice and Cola are considered sugary drinks. Sugar is your tea coffee also just as bad I suppose.

So the culprit is sugar not fizz. Yet people will still blame with corporations.

12-07-2019 2:34am

Cyclical Apocalypse wrote: »

Sorry, a bit of a pet peeve of mine is when people throw out statistics like this raises your risk of disease by 20% without stating what the risk is in percentage terms beforehand. For example, that study a few years ago that came out that processed meats would raise your risk of getting a specific type of cancer by 20% which seems enormous at first glance, but it turns out your chance of getting that particular type of cancer was only something like 1% beforehand.

Was about to say the same thing.. Too many people think a 20% increase means you now have at least a 1 in 5 chance of getting that disease.

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Just an update for anyone who is interested. I started cutting from 3 bottles a day to 2 and now im down a bottle and a half per day. I didn't realise it would be so hard, 2 and a half weeks later. The cravings are very strong, plus I got a multitude of other side effects from the shakes and aches all over to tiredness and crankiness plus an unpleasant feeling that nothing in the whole world will make me happy except a bottle of coke and feeling weepy. I know that's just the crap leaving my system but its still tough.

Im drinking lots of water and am trying to stay away from chocolate (first thing that happened when I cut back was a craving for more chocolate to top up my sugar levels!) and am determined to see this through. The health benefits will be worth it. I cant imagine doing this cold turkey.

How you getting on OP? Sounds horrendous compared to when I switched to schweppes soda water and stronger coffee, and 90% chocolate as my only "sweet" treat. Blood sugar has gone from low pre-diabetes two years ago to low in general and that's all the motivation I need.

silverharp · 12-07-2019 4:19pm

https://twitter.com/I_NvesNme/status/1149322673245347840

tinpib · 16-08-2019 7:46am

Curious to hear how you are doing OP.

I was in a similar situation to yourself but maybe not to that extreme. I gave up alcohol over 3.5 years ago (prob the best decision I've ever made in my life). But there was no way I could go from red wine with dinner most nights/almost every night, to water.

So I switched to Coke and used to enjoy the "ahhhhhh" hit of the first mouthful. I drank Coke everyday for about 2.5 years. I knew I should give it up but I also knew it was far better than drinking booze so I put it on the long finger.

Then one day about a year ago I drank a load of coke with a pasta bolognese dinner and I just felt extremely sh!tty after it. So I said fupp this, by coincidence this was around the time I was moving into a place of my own so it was the perfect time to cut out this bad habit. But how would I do this exactly?

To my complete and continued surprise I discovered that Tesco flavoured fizzy Spring Water at €0.35c a litre is absolutely fupping delicious. Way, way nicer than Coke, Sprite etc.

There is summer fruits, raspberry and apple, lemon and lime, strawberry, white grape and black berry, peach and passion fruit and one or two others so lots of variety.

There is still no way I could go to just drinking tap water with every meal, I can't believe how good these drinks taste, it's win win win really when you take in the price and lack of sugar.

As far as I know Aldi, Lidl and Dunnes have a tiny or non existent range of flavoured fizzy water, in Aldi last time I checked they had 2 flavours and it came in 2l bottles which is a pain to drink from, I just drink straight from the bottle so the 1l is handier.

SortingYouOut · 16-08-2019 8:33am

You need to go cold turkey and then note the times you really crave the it, what triggered the cravings and can those triggers be addressed.

If you're replacing it with anything, don't replace it with the diet alternative. The caffeine alone is effecting your sleep cycle and leaving you in a worse state the next day.

Go cold turkey and see for yourself what a difference one week will even make. Two weeks in and the elation itself will make you realise why you won't want to go back.

Wanderer2010 · 16-08-2019 4:11pm

SortingYouOut wrote: »

You need to go cold turkey and then note the times you really crave the it, what triggered the cravings and can those triggers be addressed.

If you're replacing it with anything, don't replace it with the diet alternative. The caffeine alone is effecting your sleep cycle and leaving you in a worse state the next day.

Go cold turkey and see for yourself what a difference one week will even make. Two weeks in and the elation itself will make you realise why you won't want to go back.

UPDATE:

I know your science is sound but those 3 words Go Cold Turkey sound so easy in theory but sadly I haven't been able to manage to cut back gradually and keep that momentum. Im back to 3 bottles a day, sometimes up to 5 at weekends. Its an actual addiction, and im not using that as an excuse, my body craves it so bad. The best I could do was 1.5 bottles a day for a week or so and then I woke up one morning and absolutely nothing in the world would do only a cold bottle. So that was the start of it.

Its an addiction just like drink and drugs. Sugar is horrendous. I have looked into hypnotherapy but really, I cant do it is the basic update. Good luck to anyone who has kicked it.

jaykhunter · 17-08-2019 11:40am

So sorry to hear that. It sounds like mentally you're addicted too, and it's part of your routine, and bucking the routine sends you spiralling. Head to a GP and see if u can get referred to CBT/counselling. Rooting for you!

17-08-2019 3:42pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

UPDATE:

I know your science is sound but those 3 words Go Cold Turkey sound so easy in theory but sadly I haven't been able to manage to cut back gradually and keep that momentum. Im back to 3 bottles a day, sometimes up to 5 at weekends. Its an actual addiction, and im not using that as an excuse, my body craves it so bad. The best I could do was 1.5 bottles a day for a week or so and then I woke up one morning and absolutely nothing in the world would do only a cold bottle. So that was the start of it.

Its an addiction just like drink and drugs. Sugar is horrendous. I have looked into hypnotherapy but really, I cant do it is the basic update. Good luck to anyone who has kicked it.

Have you checked for diabetes etc.? This sounds really extreme.

Wanderer2010 · 17-08-2019 6:54pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Have you checked for diabetes etc.? This sounds really extreme.

No I haven't actually, I might say that to my doctor. Most of the advice in relation to cutting back on fizzy drinks seems to be either to go completely cold turkey, with the usual encouragement of "It will only be week of hell, it gets better after that" or that you wean yourself off it slowly.

I cant do the first option as im so dependent on it now, and I know people might say that's just weakness or lack of willpower, but that doesn't affect me as I still have the problem. The second tactic I tried but failed after a few weeks. I have kind of accepted it now, I gave it a shot at least..

GreeBo · 20-08-2019 7:16pm

OP are you drinking straight from the bottle?

One tip, if you are still stuck on drinking manufactured fizzy is to keep the bottle in the fridge and make the effort to have to go and get a glass.
This alone should reduce your intake, especially if you use a small glass and only allow yourself to drink the glass when you get to your desk/etc.

Its too easy to stand at the fridge and chug a half a litre.

I'd highly second trying out some home made fizzy drinks, Orange Barley and a touch of salt with store bought fizzy water is my current tipple.

wonski · 20-08-2019 7:19pm

Just don't drink it. Stick to water.

There is no scientific way to help you.

Just stop doing what you don't want to do.

Unlike alcohol and cigarettes, this should be easy to cut down on in day 1. Sparkling water if you really want the fizzy part

atilladehun · 20-08-2019 11:04pm

You could try something like every time you want to open a soft drink you must drink the same volume of water first.

You could try lock yourself away in some remote holiday rental with enough food and no soft drink for a week.

They're just tricks to occupy your thoughts. Will power is the only thing that'll work. You don't need soft drinks.

mathie · 21-08-2019 11:12am

wonski wrote: »

Just don't drink it. Stick to water.

There is no scientific way to help you.

Just stop doing what you don't want to do.

Unlike alcohol and cigarettes, this should be easy to cut down on in day 1. Sparkling water if you really want the fizzy part

"Just don't drink it" and "Just stop doing what you don't want to do".
Easier said than done.

Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1931610/

Mangofrozo · 25-08-2019 1:07pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

UPDATE:

I know your science is sound but those 3 words Go Cold Turkey sound so easy in theory but sadly I haven't been able to manage to cut back gradually and keep that momentum. Im back to 3 bottles a day, sometimes up to 5 at weekends. Its an actual addiction, and im not using that as an excuse, my body craves it so bad. The best I could do was 1.5 bottles a day for a week or so and then I woke up one morning and absolutely nothing in the world would do only a cold bottle. So that was the start of it.

Its an addiction just like drink and drugs. Sugar is horrendous. I have looked into hypnotherapy but really, I cant do it is the basic update. Good luck to anyone who has kicked it.

There is a programme called transformation mastery I would suggest. People often use stimuli such as sugar, food, gym, alcohol, drugs, tv, self help, reading to distract from the fact that they don't think they're good enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxN4iJ8Rhdc

Zillah · 27-08-2019 12:24pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

but sadly I haven't been able to manage to cut back gradually

Cutting down an addiction is much harder than going cold turkey. For a number of reasons. The three most important being:
1 - The substance is still in your life so it remains an option and occupies your thoughts.
2 - You simply drag out the withdrawal period, so instead of having a few days of intense misery, you subject yourself to weeks or months of it.
3 - Most importantly: you are still buying the thing you are addicted to! It's still in your fridge, always mere seconds away. Sending out a siren call you can't ignore.

Go pour every trace of sugary drinks you have down the sink. Never buy them again. There are lots of things you can do to help get through it, but you just need to accept that you will feel horrible for a few days and after that it will get easier.

Imagine if someone was trying to quit heroin and they kept a stash of heroin in their house. How would you rate their chances of quitting?

Speaking from personal experience, when I quit smoking, if cigarettes were completely out of the scope of my attention - say, if I was up a mountain - then it wouldn't bother me at all. But the moment they entered my awareness as an option - say, spending time with a friend who smokes, or being in a pub with a smoking area - suddenly the cravings kick in to the max.

If you keep fizzy drinks in your house are you planning to fail; you are preemptively giving up before you had a chance. You are addicted to them, keeping them around means you will definitely drink them. The path of least resistance for yourself is to remove them from easy reach.

You will feel terrible. Expect it, plan for it, accept it. The feeling will go away. You need to mentally come to terms with the idea of a life without sugary drinks, and give up on this fantasy that you can wean yourself off, which really is just a way to convince yourself you can do two mutually exclusive things at once: you want to both keep drinking something you're addicted to while simultaneously giving it up.

You cannot keep consuming the thing you are addicted to while quitting, it doesn't work.

silverharp · 27-08-2019 2:13pm

Might it be an idea to cut out all sugar for a while?, giving up "cigarettes" while keeping the pipe and cigars wouldn't seem to be a good plan.

is_that_so · 27-08-2019 2:30pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

This isn't an easy thread to write but my addiction to fizzy drinks has now spiralled out of control. For years, I used to drink lots of drinks like Coke, Fanta etc but always managed to keep my weight going up through exercise etc but the past two years im almost 2 stone heavier and its due mostly to drinking at least 3 cans of Coke every day and sometimes at weekends up to 6 cans a day!

I know its crazy, I know it bad for me, I know im the only one to blame and the only one who can help me is me but im reaching out to see is there anyone who has overcome an addiction to fizzy drinks because I fear im just too far gone. My doctor told me my blood sugar has gone up, I sometimes get heart flutters that may be due to caffeine overload and I feel like absolute crap if I haven't had a coke but none of that stops me. I sometimes feel so good drinking a coke that my eyes fizz up and I clench my fists, its a pure rush and im extremely irritable if I don't drink it.

How do I start to help myself? Im a male mid 30s by the way.

This sounds like a smoking type addiction. My suggestion is a slower weaning off approach. You could start by eliminating some of the times you feel the urge and get yourself down to 2 a day. As others have suggested sub in a sparkling water mix instead. After a little while you can then go down to 1 and repeat. Then on to zero. I personally don't think there's too much wrong with the occasional fizzy drink but based on what you want and not on what you need! Good luck.

patmahe · 27-08-2019 2:34pm

Quandary wrote: »

Sparkling water with a dash of miwadi is a decent alternative

I took this approach, I now don't like fizzy drinks, coke tastes like watered down syrup to me. I have lost a lot of weight in the meantime but there were a number of measures I implemented at the same time so hard to say how bug an effect cutting out the fizzy drinks alone would have had.

Edited to add: assuming you don't want to go cold turkey, phase the coke out by tapering the dosage and replacing it with sparkling water, you won't get the withdrawals as bad. Sugar and caffeine are both highly addictive so best to take a phased approach to reducing them.

Mike9832 · 27-08-2019 2:39pm

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

No I haven't actually, I might say that to my doctor. Most of the advice in relation to cutting back on fizzy drinks seems to be either to go completely cold turkey, with the usual encouragement of "It will only be week of hell, it gets better after that" or that you wean yourself off it slowly.

I cant do the first option as im so dependent on it now, and I know people might say that's just weakness or lack of willpower, but that doesn't affect me as I still have the problem. The second tactic I tried but failed after a few weeks. I have kind of accepted it now, I gave it a shot at least..

Why don't you just drink Coke Zero, Fanta Zero etc if you can't give up?

Taste great these days and no calories, I'm always drinking them, never drink full calorie Coke now

I need help to cut fizzy drinks from my diet

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