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Addicted to Coke

99 replies

Eileithyiaa · 13/06/2020 14:17

I'm addicted to coke.

Not cocaine, bloody Coca-Cola.

I can't stop drinking it. It's making me bloat, I'm putting on weight, I know this sounds ridiculous but going cold turkey didn't work. I truly think I have some kind of strange pop addiction Grin

Has anybody else been hooked on the fizz and how do I stop? I've tried substituting with sparkling water but it doesn't cut the mustard.

Help me!

OP posts:
EmilyBishopmyconfession · 13/06/2020 15:35

Damn I forgot you can quote posts properly now.

AppropriateAdult · 13/06/2020 15:42

Diet Coke is undrinkable, but I’ve managed to wean myself onto Coke Zero now, having been a two-cans-a-day-of-the-full-sugar-stuff woman for years. I know all the acid and caffeine still isn’t ideal, but at least I’m not imbibing all that sugar, and the taste isn’t bad at all once you get used to it.

Jkslays · 13/06/2020 15:44

My ex was bad for this. I hated Christmas as it was excuse to buy 36 cans of coke. His mother did the same.

He got really fat. We’re divorcing.

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Jkslays · 13/06/2020 15:45

All it is doing is quenching your sugar thirst. It leaves you incredibly dehydrated.

Hoggleludo · 13/06/2020 15:49

Me too

Also had to just go cold turkey

It wasn't anywhere as near as bad as I thought

4 friends of mine were all addicted to coke at one point

All 4 have had to have extensive dental repairs. Not just one root canal. I'm talking nearly all teeth are filled. Some fell out. Some fell apart. One lady had to have 7 top teeth taken out at 32 and have a plate fitted. These ladies are from different parts of the country. Different ages. All had these issues before the age of 40. They all had them fast. So within a few years. Suddenly it got bad.

One also ended up with osteoarthritis of the spine. Which her friend attributed to coke!!! That was my kick uk the bum. She fell down one day. A trip and fractured a lower (fortune) vertebrae. Her dr told her to stop. I did it with her

It actually only took me 4 days. That was it. 4 days and I had no cravings at all. Don't substitute for Diet Coke. It's not the sugar that does all this damage. It's the amount of acid.

KenzoBaby · 13/06/2020 15:49

For as long as I can remember I was fixated with fizzy drinks eg our sodastream back in the 1980s. Pepsi Max ended up being my addition. Tried loads of times to give up but never felt water quenched my thirst. I think it was a combination of the fizz and taste that hit the spot for me.

I don't have a magic answer for you unfortunately. I quit alcohol in January 2015 and that was way easier. But 31 December 2019 I decided to give quitting Pepsi Max another shot. And I've just stuck to fizzy water and sugar free squash since. For some reason it just worked this time. So I reckon just keep plugging away and trying different ways to quit and hopefully one time you will nail it.

I've saved about £25 a week! I've also lost 2 stone (although been dieting as well) and my face looks much less bloated. And my teeth will thank me!

Sweetooth92 · 13/06/2020 15:50

Pepsi Max here. Easily 2-3l a day. Can’t function without it. I can’t stand tea or coffee but Pepsi is my crutch

Tiktokcringeydance · 13/06/2020 15:50

I'm the same with diet coke.
I limited myself to 2 cans a day (which I know is still a lot )at the beginning of lockdown but now back to 3-4 a day.
For me literally nothing will quench my thirst as much
and if someone suggests why not drink water instead I feel like crying! its about as reasonable as saying when you fancy a bar of chocolate, why not have a couple of brussell sprouts..?

Hoggleludo · 13/06/2020 15:51

Which the dr told her it was down to her drinking Coke. Not the friend.

Tiktokcringeydance · 13/06/2020 15:52

other fizzy drinks for me are more of a substitute, but not sure they are any healthier, and fizzy water makes me gag. (i drink normal water sometimes but no where near every day)

Tiktokcringeydance · 13/06/2020 15:56

@Eileithyiaa

I hated coke when I was pregnant.

Maybe that's the answer, I can just imagine the conversation with DP for my sudden urge to expand the family Grin

me too, I couldn't drink it for first 4 or 5 months of pregnancy and I thought everyone would guess I was pregnant (i just told them the dentist had told me not to drink it to be fair that was true as well)

Its a pretty drastic way to give it up. I don't think I could do it again!

lyralalala · 13/06/2020 15:57

I resorted to buying cheap coke and nice diluting juices plus sugar free 7up.

It meant I only drank the coke when I really wanted the caffeine/coke hit. I didn't massively enjoy drinking it so I drank much, much less

What I did find is that if I had any while I was out - with a meal or in - I ended up back at the start again. So I can't drink it at all.

I lose 3 stone when I cut it out because of how much I drank.

Eileithyiaa · 13/06/2020 15:58

Lyra how long did it to take for the weight to come off after you stopped drinking it?

OP posts:
Oxyiz · 13/06/2020 16:03

I just had to stop when I started counting calories. It wasn't worth having over a hundred calories in one drink when that could be huge load of vegetables or bag of popcorn instead!

Maybe you could start counting up how many calories it adds OP and measuring them in your diet generally if you'd like to lose some weight?

Don't buy it from now on - if it's not in you can't drink it. If you have any in the house, pour it away. It's not wasted any more than it would be if you drank it.

If you get headaches etc have painkillers and something like diarolyte rehydration tablets. Chew gum, distract your brain a bit.

Graphista · 13/06/2020 16:06

It's the caffeine you're addicted to and depending how much you consume it's actually not advised to quit cold turkey if you drink a lot.

I had this many years ago (but coffee rather than coke)

I naively and ignorantly quit cold turkey being unaware of just how much I was consuming and very quickly felt very ill indeed. Luckily dr realised and guided me through weaning off it.

No reason why you can't speak to your dr or practice nurse for advice, it's a common issue.

Dicotyledon · 13/06/2020 16:07

I used to have a coke addiction. The only helped me was going cold turkey. I can now manage to have an occasional bottle, but the taste has just gone for me.

Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear · 13/06/2020 16:11

I am addicted to Pepsi Max, started after I had DS as I don't like tea or coffee but needed caffeine as he was (and still is at 4) a poor sleeper.

I am currently in the middle of losing the weight I piled on due to his poor sleep so have decided to tackle that first and then the Pepsi, will probably switch to carbonated squash instead and will invest in a good insulated bottle.

lyralalala · 13/06/2020 16:14

@Eileithyiaa

Lyra how long did it to take for the weight to come off after you stopped drinking it?
7 months.

I also found it much, much easier to go on and lose more weight with a sensible diet after I stopped drinking it. After years of failed diets I'm absoutely convinced it was having a massive effect on my weight that I didn't realise.

Eileithyiaa · 13/06/2020 16:26

I feel really motivated!

I'm going to work out how much caffeine I normally drink in the coke, consume that in coffee so I don't get horrific withdrawal, stop the coke, replace coke with something healthier and see how I get on.

Can anybody recommend a good "home exercise" regime? On YouTube etc?

OP posts:
TellySavalashairbrush · 13/06/2020 16:27

I gave up Coke Zero 3 weeks ago. I swapped it for sparkling fruit flavoured water to start with so I still got the fizz but less crap. Now I’m on squash . I’ve noticed a big difference in my sleep pattern, which has greatly improved. Also I’m finding I’m not craving sweets as much as I was when drinking Coke. No massive side effects and I drank coke at least 2 cans per day for last few years, so it can be done.

Mumoblue · 13/06/2020 16:31

My sister used to be so addicted to Coke, she told me she got headaches when she wouldn't drink it.

Initially she would tell herself that she could only have a glass of Coke for every glass of water she had. Then every 2 glasses.
She eventually stopped drinking it all together and is now a vegan health nut who runs 10ks.
Life is funny like that.

I need some of her willpower.

PuppyPuppy · 13/06/2020 16:32

I had to go cold turkey with Coke Zero.
I’d got to the point where if I didn’t have it for a day I’d have headaches to the point of vomiting.

Now if I have a can I’m back to headaches so I’ve stopped completely.

Fizzy water doesn’t cut it, but after a few days I got used to it, and I don’t get coke cravings any more.

YouokHun · 13/06/2020 16:53

It’s worth changing your habits around the thing you want to stop. I help people with smoking cessation and one of the things we do is “change the thing they do right before the thing they want to stop”, for example, if you reach for the glass of coke as soon as the walk through the door in the evening and you have the same routine; through the door, hang your coat up, pick up the mail, walk into the kitchen straight to the fridge using that favourite tumbler - change that routine before you drink. So, come home, hang up coat, go to the sink, drink a pint of water, go to the sitting room sit down and read mail, then have tea. It helps to mess with the cues you’ve set yourself, like the smoker who says “I always light up as soon as I’ve had my coffee at breakfast” don’t have coffee at home, eat breakfast elsewhere, break up the routines.

It’s worth looking at the function of the thing you do, is it your cue to relax? Is it your reward? Is it what you reach for when you’re stressed. What could replace those cues? It might be worth keeping a bit of a diary To see what’s going on when you want coke the most and whether there’s a particular time of day or situation that makes you want Coke. Do always go to the same shop at the same time and buy coke, change that.

Part of the value of this is standing back and looking at the desire objectively and seeing yourself as a bit of a lab rat, prone to typical behaviours and conditioning - this is a good position from which to change things.

The aversive techniques (fusing coke with the image of something disgusting) can work but I find we really are better with reward and positive motivation. So rather than resist a behaviour, replace it with another one, rather than resist a treat in coke form, find another treat. Rather than sink into the sofa at the end of a busy day with coke in hand, sink into the armchair with a hot drink - form another cue for relaxation after work.

Custardcreamies101 · 13/06/2020 16:58

I’m addicted to coke as well. There’s a brand called karma cola that has no nasties.

Addicted to Coke
Addicted to Coke
PolkaDotsPolka · 13/06/2020 16:59

I had to have hypnotherapy to give it up. Seriously. I tried cutting down. I tried going cold turkey. Tried it all and couldn't give it up in the end Hypnotherapy was the only thing that worked.

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