Addicted to Coca Cola, can't stop it

[FilipJPhry]

You can try 7up or Sprite to slowly cut down on pop. Or you would try cans only. A single can will satisfy your need for caffeine or Coke for around 2-4 hours if you have the will power. Buy a 12-pack and keep count of how many cans you drink daily. Try to reduce that to at least 2 and at most 4. Slowly make your way to the single can daily.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

First off, my brother has a smoking addiction. You like soda. They are not the same thing.

Secondly, stop drinking it. Whenever you're thinking about drinking it, drink water instead. Very simple.

Not an addiction. Smoke for four years and try to give up, then talk to me about addiction, man.

What makes you think a smoking addiction is any different from a coca-cola addiction? Just because smoking is more common, doesn't mean it's harder to give up.

Through my lifetime, I have struggled with two major addictions: sex/porn and Doritos; from my experience, both were equally hard to quit.

You ARE kidding, right?

 

[Baneat]

First off, my brother has a smoking addiction. You like soda. They are not the same thing.

Secondly, stop drinking it. Whenever you're thinking about drinking it, drink water instead. Very simple.

Not an addiction. Smoke for four years and try to give up, then talk to me about addiction, man.

What makes you think a smoking addiction is any different from a coca-cola addiction? Just because smoking is more common, doesn't mean it's harder to give up.

Through my lifetime, I have struggled with two major addictions: sex/porn and Doritos; from my experience, both were equally hard to quit.

You ARE kidding, right?

I've had a smoking addiction and have a cola/energy drink one. I actually find it harder to quit soft drinks because they're all over the place, way too much stuff has caffeine so it's probably rolling in my system at all times. Even chocolate has a little, but have you ever given someone going cold turkey on cigarettes a single draw of one?

The caffeine withdrawal is more debilitating but way shorter. Being a little more irritable and zoning out a little over a long time or wicked sleep schedules and feeling like you could sleep 18 hours a day, what's stronger? The next biggest problem is you can't see any real need to quit caffeine, it's actually not that dangerous at regular dose levels. So there's not the incentive you get with smoking - you know you have to quit cigarettes.

They're totally different, but don't dismiss either, I've been through both.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

God this thread is just simply making me thirsty, time for another Coke I guess. (I'm serious).

Though my Coke addiction is Diet Coke, because I don't like sugary food and drink too much.

My friend said the way he quit drinking coke (for different reasons) was (as someone has already mentioned) by drinking nothing but water for ages. He has now been drinking almost nothing but water for about a year now, and he said he feels great for it.

 

[lacktheknack]

Switch to diet.

In all seriousness, GO TO A DOCTOR. Unable to rehydrate with anything else and intense pop cravings? That's something to be answered by a medical professional.

 

[SilentCom]

Stop drinking the stuff and better yet, stop buying the stuff so you won't be tempted to drink it.

 

[lacktheknack]

my god, what a truly American problem. you drink too much coke, are aware of that fact, and are now complaining on the internet....why? for validation? just don't buy anymore fucking coke, mouth breather.

-_-

1. We don't know where he's from.

2. He might be asking for genuine advice. I'm sure the concept of "lack of self control" isn't foreign to you, as...

3. There's absolutely no need to be insulting and you just antagonize people by insisting on being so. It doesn't make you cool.

 

[lacktheknack]

Oh man, now I'm scared I have diabeties. I'll try to cut it off starting tomorrow cold turkey and see how it goes, you've honestly kind of scared me. I have a big stash of soft drinks I buy on sale but maybe I should get rid of it altogether if I can go a couple days with none.

NO DON'T

If you actually have diabetes, stopping cold turkey could land you in the hospital. GO TO A DOCTOR first.

 

[DAAANtheMAAAN]

my god, what a truly American problem. you drink too much coke, are aware of that fact, and are now complaining on the internet....why? for validation? just don't buy anymore fucking coke, mouth breather.

Thank you for your delightfully spiteful quip. It's good to know that truly considerate people like you are out there.


Anyway, OP, there is a slight chance that it may be diabetes. I would see a doctor regardless, as they might have better advice on how to get over your soda kick.
Honestly, quitting cold turkey is the most sensible solution. You'll hate it for the headaches and lack of energy, but sparse amounts of tea or juice should help.

If you want another method, one that I've used before, just buy a 12-pack of cans to drink for the week. Drink them whenever you want, but once those 12 are gone, no more until the next week. That might be the best way to wean off of your problem. That and it makes the soda taste so much better when you have it on occasion instead of all the time.

 

[lacktheknack]

Not an addiction. Smoke for four years and try to give up, then talk to me about addiction, man.

What makes you think a smoking addiction is any different from a coca-cola addiction? Just because smoking is more common, doesn't mean it's harder to give up.

Through my lifetime, I have struggled with two major addictions: sex/porn and Doritos; from my experience, both were equally hard to quit.

You ARE kidding, right?

If he has an obsessive/addictive mental disorder, then no, he isn't.

I had nasty OCD when I was younger (it's mostly gone) and I entered physical withdrawal if I wasn't able to use a computer for more than a day. That's nausea, extreme tiredness and incontinence. So it's fully possible that he has difficulty withdrawing from addictions of any kind.

 

[thePyro_13]

Get yourself a big ass bottle of water and go cold turkey.

Last year I realised I was addicted to advil, it was actually causing the headaches I was taking it to get rid of. I was a harsh week without it, but I don't regret it.

Note that caffeine addiction is one of the best(least worst) addictions. Health wise it's not really bad for you at all. However three of those bottles a day is a sure-fire ticket to dentures.

 

[Soviet Steve]

I do! I successfully quit it, the secret is going cold turkey. You'll feel unpleasant for a few days but just keep drinking water whenever the urge strikes. A few days and the urges will stop

 

[Gamblerjoe]

Quit cold turkey. I know you probably don't like for other people to call you out and tell you about the tough things they have done, but I quit marijuana, alcohol, fast food, soda, and pizza all at the same time, while also changing my erratic sleep schedule to a normal one and starting to exercise.

Think about it this way, if you get through it, you will have a huge feather in your cap, as well as becoming a lot healthier. If you fail, it is only because you allowed yourself to fail. Most people fail without trying. They tell themselves things like "I'll never be in shape" or "I'll never be good at sports." They are correct because they have made up their minds. You've already passed that step and decided to quit. The next step is to have the self determination to pull it off.

If you have to, take Excedrin. It has aspirin, acetaminophen, and most importantly, caffeine. It will ween you off the caffeine while taking care of your headaches.

 

[Tommeh Brownleh]

Drink Tab. You'll never want to drink soda again.

 

[Zeckt]

It's cool, I'll take both the critical and constructive criticism. Its true that I am just asking advice and not complaining because I am concerned by the quantity I drink but I just want to say thanks to 95% of you for giving me the advice. I'm not blaming coca cola or the government or whatever for the addiction at all, I just want to stop it.

I'm going to try to stop cold turkey tomorrow, and look for some mint flavored tea. You've all been a great help, I think we can let this topic die now.

 

[Ellen of Kitten]

I haven't read the other comments in this post, because when I posted about the same (well, similar) topic, I got a lot of hate from it. People saying, "why don't you just STOP? How about that? It's just soda. Jeez."

I. love. sweet drinks. In fact, I think I love sweet drinks more than I like food- and I loves me some food. But I came to a realization that I needed to stop drinking them so often. My problem was they were to available to me to be able to stop. So I needed an alternative, rather than to go cold turkey. And if anyone answer cold turkey as an answer, they do not understand addition, or that you can be addicted to a soda.

I switched to drinking Vitamin water Zeros, Sobe Zeros (or whatever the diet version of Sobe is called), etc. I do not know if these are healthy, but their calorie count is sub twelve for the entire container. This is what I use as an alternative to sodas. I still have the occasional pepsi, or whatever. But it's not in my life quite often, and I enjoy them now as an occasional treat rather than as a beverage staple.

Also, and this was a recent discovery for myself, is the distinction between thirst and hydration, and wanting something tasty to drink. When I cracked open a bottle of vita water, and downed half of the thing out of thirst, only to find that I wasn't enjoying the beverage, I asked myself why I wasn't drinking water if I was thirsty. Water is boring, dull, and doesn't hold a candle to lovely sweet beverages- yeah. But if you're thirsty, you're not going to be enjoying your beverage. You're going to be occupying your taste buds with something as you try to slate a thirst.

So what I do is I have a clear idea of what I want from my drink; hydration, or flavor. If it's flavor, I will enjoy a vita water zero. If it's hydration, I will force myself to go water over the other. If I really want a treat, I will then buy a soda.

This is how I try to wrestle with my addition to sweet drinks. I hope it helps, and acts as a guide for you. The rest is all in your hands, will power, act active decision making.

 

[lacktheknack]

my god, what a truly American problem. you drink too much coke, are aware of that fact, and are now complaining on the internet....why? for validation? just don't buy anymore fucking coke, mouth breather.

-_-

1. We don't know where he's from.

2. He might be asking for genuine advice. I'm sure the concept of "lack of self control" isn't foreign to you, as...

3. There's absolutely no need to be insulting and you just antagonize people by insisting on being so. It doesn't make you cool.

1. i inferred that he was from his use of the word ''soda''. also the fact that he is complaining about a problem that is just oh so easy to fix, for attention.

2. if you really need anonymous people on the internet to tell you that drinking x liters of cola a day is bad for you, you dont need advice, you need a kick to your bloated capitalist testicles.

3. i feel there is a need to be insulting, as logic and reason obviously wont work. and i was voicing my own opinion on a subject, you know, using this site for its intended purpose.

so, Sir Lancelot, are you hoping the OP will blow you for so valiantly riding to his defense?
and for the record, being ''cool'' and having an escapist account are mutually exclusive.

The horror that I defend someone because I can without recompense.

And no, you're not using this site for its intended use. They've made it abundantly clear in a big page you typed "I AGREE" on that being insulting is not what this site's intended purpose was.

And for it "obviously not going to work", you'll notice that we've panicked him and now he is probably going to check with a doctor.

 

[Ellen of Kitten]

You know, I never actually thought of tea as an alternative. I'll give that a shot.

Seltzer water, ice, tea, (and honey optional). Mix to your preference. Enjoy!

 

[KefkaCultist]

I quit my pop addiction (mountain dew) by switching to Gatorade instead and now I'm addicted to green Gatorade >_< its probably not even much better than pop nutrition-wise.

 

[TheRussian]

Here is a fun fact:
Coca Cola is so corrosive jewelers use it to clean oxidation on silver.