It’s official. I’ve been off of both Diet Coke and coffee for an entire year.
This feels like an achievement right up there with giving birth.
And every time I tell someone, “Oh, I’ve given up coffee. And Diet Coke,” they gasp, “WHY?”
Every morning when I see the coffeepot sitting forlornly on the counter, I kind of wonder the same thing. Our freezer smells of coffee, and sometimes in the afternoon, I’ll open a bag of Fresh Market ground beans just to inhale the aroma of the forbidden.
When I see a can of Diet Coke, I salivate. A year later, and the beautiful sound of a can opening makes me drool like Pavlov’s dog. Even if that can contains beer, I imagine the blessed taste of dark, cool Diet Coke. We watched The Thomas Crown Affair the other day, and the scene that made me pant was not the sex scene on the stairs and in the study. It was the scene in which René Russo gets a Diet Coke from the vending machine and downs the whole thing in two gulps.
In coffee shops I now order tea, but while I’m in the blessed sphere of caffeine, I savor the coffee scent so much that I almost hyperventilate in my attempt to obtain a contact coffee-high. I’d kill for a dark, rich espresso. Or a cup of Fresh Market Christmas Blend.
So why did I give them up?
Migraines and general health. This time last year I was having an average of 23 migraines a month. That’s not a life. It’s a living hell. And while caffeine can help a migraine in the acute phase, daily caffeine consumption can cause migraines when you don’t get your fix.
So I quit.
My neurologist and I have worked on a plan that’s gotten me down to an average of a blessed 9 migraines a month. It’s heaven compared to last year. (Still not fun, but it’s all relative.) Since stopping, I’ve made a lot of other dietary changes as well, but I feel like I should mention that I’ve lost (and kept off) 20 pounds. My skin is clearer than it’s ever been. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars that I would have spent on lattés.
Quitting both coffee and Diet Coke, however, is not as simple as saying, “I quit.” I’m convinced that Diet Coke still contains some form of actual coke. It’s that addictive. And coffee? Just as bad. When I’m around an aluminum can or a coffeepot, I feel like an alcoholic in a bar.
(Sidebar: all joking aside, I am absolutely NOT likening either of these to having to deal with the horrors that are alcoholism or substance abuse. Having cut two simple substances out of my life, I have more respect now than I’ve ever had for people who have gotten sober.)
In the grand tradition of addiction breaking, I offer you my personal 12-step program for quitting both coffee and Diet Coke.
- Do not go cold turkey on either drink. You are likely to feel like death and harm someone.
- Enlist your spouse’s help. This is going to be hard enough to do, but will be practically impossible if your honey is brewing up giant cups of joe in the morning or lugging home soda by the case when it’s on sale. Try to do this together, at least on the coffee front. If he’s not with you, then ask that he buy his coffee on the way to work, at least until you’re over the hump.
- Start by adulterating your coffee. Week by week, replace some of the regular with decaf, until you have a pot full of decaf.
- Give yourself time – time, as in a few months to do this, especially if you’re a several cups per morning type of person. Your body has been reliant on this stuff for a long time.
- When you hit full decaf, replace your coffee with something like Teeccino herbal coffee. It’s caffeine free, available in hazelnut, and actually tastes and smells like coffee. (You can find it at Trader Joe’s.)
- During the coffee drop-down, start turning down the volume on your Diet Coke. This all depends on how many you drink in a day. I was the kind of person who grabbed one each time I walked out the door, so I began limiting myself to one per day.
- After a while on the Teeccino, you may want to start adding in some herbal teas, or even some black teas.
- If you add in black tea, remember that it has caffeine (though considerably less than coffee). Try to limit it to a cup or so per day, or you’ll find yourself addicted to tea instead of coffee.
- Start upping your water intake, big time. Get a Camelbak or other water bottle and take it with you everywhere. You won’t believe how much water your body really wants. Soda and coffee do not hydrate. Your body is parched.
- Got your water bottle? Time to ditch that last Diet Coke. Drink your last one, and don’t buy any more. You can’t drink them if they’re not in the house.
- When you’re out, order water instead of soda. You’ll save a ton of money. And no, don’t drink rum and Coke. That counts. Try a vodka tonic or a martini or a beer instead.
- Stand back and watch your body thank you. If you’re anything like me, your headaches will improve. You may lose weight. Your skin may look clearer than it ever has.
And just think of what you can do with all that money you’ve been spending at Starbucks.
What do you think? Will you try to kick coffee to the curb? How about Diet Coke?
Sigh. Up until the last month or so of being pregnant with the boys, I had been off all caffeine for maybe 2 years? But I went to the dark side with the sleep deprivation … and I just don’t know that I’m willing to give up my daily Coke! And oh yes, I drink the “fully leaded” version. I don’t remember my skin being clearer when I was off the caffeine, but maybe, just maybe I’ll think about quitting again once kindergarten starts. TBD!
Well, let me know if you give it a try! Sleep deprivation will lead you stumbling back to coffee in a heartbeat. I’ve had to drag my mind away from coffee on many mornings.
Next up on my to do list: go to bed earlier, get up earlier. Seems impossible!
I gave up caffeine when I was pregnant and didn’t drink any up until my son was like 3 but then little by little when I started working full time the early morning and stressful days brought me back to , at first, green tea, then black tea then coffee.. Just recently though my caffeine addiction is to the point where I drink way too much coffee. Hopefully I can stop all together because it really isn’t worth it anymore..
I gave up Diet coke cold turkey six years ago. It was painful. But I was having heartburn so bad most days I could hardly sleep.
I’ve now gone 2 days without coffee as a part of a cleanse. It’s way harder than I thought. I yell cried at one of my employees yesterday! I’m hoping it gets easier.
Cold turkey? You have more willpower than I do, girl!
For me, the key to letting go of coffee really was doing it gradually, and then eventually replacing it with tea so I’d still have a cup of something hot in the morning.
Good luck!
I have up “drinking my calories” a few years back, with the exception of a drink or two on weekend nights. Replacing every beverage with water or unsweetened black coffee or tea helped me lose weight for sure, and my skin was better, too.
I fell off that wagon, but I’m wondering if I should get back on.
So many wagons to be on. Gets tricky balancing them.
I’m glad for you that your migraine threshold is lower (and I sincerely hope you and your neurologist can banish them for good and all!). They are an ungodly misery, and I thank whatever freaky biological miracle occurred when I got pregnant with Felix, (Pardon while I knock on three wooden surfaces.) because while I get stress, sinus, and bad body chemistry headaches, those debilitating, nausea and hide in the dark until the Imitrex kicked in migraines have gone away.
Yes, many, many wagons. I’ve banished artificial sweeteners, too, and that’s been awful.
I’m so happy for you that pregnancy with Felix cured your migraines. Many people have told me the same thing happened for them. Not so for me; if anything, they got worse. Thank you for the good wishes for the banishment of all future migraines…but my neurologist and 20+ years of experience with them have both taught me that they will be a constant in my life and the goal is management, not banishment. Though I’d take banishment in a second if I could get it!!!
I still drink coffee but quit diet Coke last November. I’m frustrated with it, in a way, because I didn’t notice a single difference in terms of how I felt/looked/etc. (and I drank a lot of it!) Sigh
I’m proud of you; they’re two hard things to give up.
Congratulations on your achievements, Angie! It’s not easy to give any addiction up for sure…I still battle nicotine. I decaff’ed 20+ years ago and went from 2+ pots/day to 1 mug decaf/morning. Yes, they called me “Electric Lady” at the Psych Dept. I worked at. I finally gave up my diet CF Pepsi, too and switched it for water and G2. If I am craving-Pepsi-to-the-point-of-death, I’ll buy one little bottle…my body prefers G2. The addiction to the Pepsi obviously wasn’t to the caffeine or sugar, so what else is in it?!
I applaud your determination & success! Way to go!
There’s definately a great deal to find out about this issue.
I really like all of the points you have made.
You’re still drinking tea. Caffeine is caffeine. Back to counting days.
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I cannot seem to kick the Starbucks habit. I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks and the caffeine isn’t helping. I also recently found out that I am getting rashes from caffeine. But there I am every morning getting a iced coffee. I swear the amount of money I spend there is ridiculous. I sit here with a rash on my face and still am drinking this crap lol. Every night I toss and turn and have a hard time sleeping as well. Each night I say ok today was my last coffee then morning comes and im tired and say ill quit tomorrow. I seriously wonder what Starbucks puts in there coffee. It seems so much more addictive.
I found this and wanted to tell you that I had an acute caffeine addiction and somehow I got to where Starbucks coffee was the only coffee that would take the massive headaches and withdrawal symptoms away. I HAD to drink it to feel normal every morning. A large large cup. And all day I would shake and have anxiety. Then I’d be knocking on their door at 6am cuz the headache was so bad the next morning. I did this for years until I slowly started to ween myself off. I’ve done a ton of research and you are the only other person besides me that I have ever heard ask this question. I think Starbucks brews it like a french press to make it really really strong. Maybe I can help you, too. My cell is 928-241-8325. This was a horrible addiction that I couldn’t talk to anyone about so I want to help you! I’ve gotten off coffee completely now.
I am seriously addicted to coffee as I can’t go one day without it as soon as I wake up I think about coffee and after drinking a cup I feel better for a little while and then have to drink another cup 2 function it is dangerously affecting my well-being and my life and I feel if I don’t quit I am in grave danger of ruining my life I am desperate and in despair because of this addiction
Coffee is so accepted that people think of one a being silly when you say you have a problem. When I awake in the wee hours or after sleeping in till 9:45 AM sucking down a hot load of brown down my gullet is my first thought. Then after an hour I want another.
Someone wrote they were off caffeine then a little green tea, then black tea then coffee and now lots everyday. A big component for others was overcoming sleep deprivation. I’ve experienced all of that several times over. Additionally, too much coffee makes me aggressive, irritable and prone to loosing my temper so much so it scares myself. I can’t regulate my caffeine. I say I can but then something happens to remind me it’s futile. What keeps coming up is to stop ALL caffeine. Just like stop smoking and that was easy once I became sick and tired of being sick and tired. God help me stay off. I want my kids to like me when I get older.
Diet soda has Aspartame, an addicting and artificial sweetener part phenylalanine; and not a mild substance. Along with caffeine, soda is a pretty unhealthy concoction.
I’ve been trying the Ketogenic diet where I stay away from grain and bean foods on most days, to restrict carb intake. Grains are addicting too. I use 4 drops of Stevia as a sweetener. It has a negligible amount of carbs. Also, other soda drinks and almost everything sweet, has a natural sounding sweetener, but not at all natural, -high fructose corn syrup. It’s addictive. Remember cane sugar. It’s not so good for you, but at least it’s natural.
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