Need Some Advice for Possible Caffeine Addiction

Caffeine is addicting. However one diet soda a day I don't think is bad at all. Granted, coffee, tea is a much healthier way to get your fix.
I started every day off with a diet mountain dew, didn't care for coffee. Then last winter I got bronchitis and I had some coffee with yummy flavored low fat creamer in it and I was hooked, just one cup every morning but I have that instead of the mountain dew. Then I went to Green tea, it has caffiene but not nearly as much but has natural energy boosters, it was a gradual unintentional change.
I don't think you are "addicted" having one, I don't.

I actually was allowed one diet soda a day while pregnant because the first withdrawl symptom was migraines and I already suffered from those and they OB didn't want me to have the kick up, just one, that was all I was allowed.
Chocolate has caffiene in it, minimal but it does.
Addiction is when it overtakes your life and you cannot live a day without it thinking that is the only thing allowing you to function well. Five a day, that maybe be bad and excessive. Research now shows the anti oxidants in tea are wonderful and there are healthy aspects of coffee too, if not drank in excess. Nothing wrong with a cup a day.

Just see if you can go one day, alternative like tea, where you get a little caffiene but not much. The sugar in real sodas and the artificial sweetners in the diet are what is horrible for you! Not the caffiene. Caffiene in moderation is fine. One can of soda has like six tablespoons of sugar, the carbonation is terrible on your teeth, the artificial sweetners trick your body into craving sugar. So that is why sodas are bad for you.

Hi K.!

I totally feel the same way as you. I've always had at least 1-2, usually more, sodas a day. I'm a Pepsi fan and then tried switching to Diet Coke. I know I'm addicted. But recently I stopped drinking caffeine for about a week and realized how good I felt. Then I started drinking it again and realized how bloated I felt. I'm sure this is because of the carbonation but the only drink with carbonation that is worth drinking is my Pepsi. So, I've realized how much better I feel without drinking soda and that helps keep me away from it. Good luck!

A.

You may have a caffein addiction, but its not particularly severe I would guess. For me, I used to drink a diet coke a day and it turned out I was more 'addicted' to the Nutrasweet and IT was the thing causing most of my headaches, sluggishness and overall malaise.

I can drink a Coke occasionally and be just fine (I drink the mexican coke which is plain sugar and not HFCS), however if I have anything with aspartame I'm a wreck. GL!!

I don't drink soda.. (really bad for your bones!) but I do/did drink coffee from time to time. I've quit several times and started back up again... it is no fun. now I'm not drinking any caffeinated drinks as I'm pregnant again.

anyway... to quit, yes, it will take 3-4 days... drink lots of water... and take a low dose of tylenol around the time you usually have a coke or latte, this will help with the headaches.

I'm hoping to quit the caffeine for good this time around... it just isn't healthy... good luck!

When I felt a need for a caffeine kick, I'd drink an ounce of mangosteen juice. It worked much better and I was able to cut the caffeine out. I feel so much better not drinking pop of any kind. I used to think I needed it with Mexican or pizza, and now I drink water even with these. I'm loosing weight, too, and that's the only change I've made. I have another friend who dropped 10 pounds, too, just by cutting diet coke out of her diet. GL! (It's a great money saver, too!)

Hi K. - It's probably going to be easier than you think but you might wake up with a headache and feel more tired than usual - but only for a day or two.

To help with that, those 5-Hour energy shots work really well. They taste like cough syrup but have generous amounts of B-vitatmins that will help you with that energy lag we all get in the afternoon. I mix it with some water and apple juice and that cuts the ultra-sweet taste.

Keeping your blood sugar stable will also help you feel like you can get by without the caffeine.

Truthfully, it sounds more like a habit than an addiction but you are the best judge of your situation. As with anything like that, if you take something away, be sure to put something healthy in it's place. Maybe the normal time you like to have a diet cokem you go for a walk instead and take along a vitamin water or other non-caffeine drink that you like - a low-fat protein drink would be even better.

good luck!

Oh, K. - do I know about caffiene addiction! I was unaware of such a thing as a kid. Then, my grandmother came to live with us and she decided to stop drinking coffee (she drank at least one pot per day). She was miserable - she was very tired and had a raging headache for 24/7 for about 5 days. I thought maybe she was wrong about it being caffiene.

Then, as an adult, I was literally living on Coke. I was drinking more than a 6 pack a day. Add in some tea and the occasional coffee....well, it's obvious that I had a lot of caffene going on. So, I decided it might be good to slow it down. Oh holy cow was that a HORRIBLE experience. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't wake up and I had a raging headache all day, every day that made a mockery of Tylenol. I did manage to get thru it, but it was painful.

Caffiene isn't good for you and the carbonation in soda - well, I've used it to clean off the posts and cables on a car battery! So, nothing good comes from that.

Breaking the habit can be hard or not so much - it's kinda a personal voyage and it partly depends on how much caffiene you typically consume. Water is your friend, tho. If you want to break the habit, you can - but it WILL require determination on your part! Good luck!