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I'm now "recovering" from what I recently realized was an incredibly bad soft drink (soda) habit, and I thought I'd share my experiences.
I'm a 28 year old white male, 175 lbs. I exercise plenty (50-100 miles on a road bike every week, and lift weights three times a week), but have always had to be fairly conscious of my diet. In fact, compared to most people, I ate very little -- I had a small breakfast and often skipped lunch. I've always been a night owl, and have been known to sleep 'til noon when I'd had the opportunity.
I consumed probably 6-7 cans of soda daily. Now, I know that anyone with four neurons can tell me that that's nearly 1,000 kcals a day, but, for some reason, this fact just never really had an impact on me until... I stopped.
I stopped drinking soda because I have actually grown to dislike it. Over the past year, I'd find myself craving a soda, but not really enjoying it. I'd often almost have to force myself to finish the can. I didn't like the bad taste it left in my mouth, or the digestive effects, or anything else.
A week later, without a drop of soda, I have a few experiences to share.
The truth is, the caffeine withdrawal was the easy part! I didn't have any headaches, but I experienced most of the other known symptoms, mostly sleepiness, irritability, and difficulty concentrating at work. Besides getting uncharacteristically pissed off a few times in traffic, and having a little trouble motivating myself at work, the caffeine withdrawal wasn't all that bad. In fact, I've discovered an amazing new ability to... sleep. I can go to bed before midnight, get a very good night's sleep, and wake up feeling rested before my alarm even goes off. I can barely remember the last time I went to bed before midnight.
The hard part, believe it or not, has been adjusting my diet to the sudden absence of 1,000 kcals per day. It takes a LOT of food to deliver 1,000 kcals. I could blame my addiction for blinding me to this obvious fact, but, truly, I had just never really thought about it.
The first few days were the worst. I continued to eat my normal diet -- minus the soda -- and do my normal exercises. I was promptly met with the symptoms of starvation -- cold hands, disorientation, a desire to eat in binges, constant, unrelenting hunger, etc. I quickly realized I needed to bring more calories into my diet.
I'm having to seek the advice of friends to figure out what to do! I'm adding things like peanut butter on whole-wheat bagels, protein shakes, and other forms of energy to my diet. I'm having to bring healthy snack foods with me to work; previously, the logistics of my caloric needs were as simple as having a ready supply of $1 bills. I'm literally have to rediscover how to shop and eat, something I never expected to happen simply by eliminating soda from my diet.
I feel great! I'm losing weight without even trying to. If anyone else is trying to kick the habit, just know that it's possible. It's easy, really. Just stick with it for a week, and you'll be surprised just how much your tastes and your behaviors will change. I really feel almost as if some kind of spell has been lifted from me.
- Warren
I'm a 28 year old white male, 175 lbs. I exercise plenty (50-100 miles on a road bike every week, and lift weights three times a week), but have always had to be fairly conscious of my diet. In fact, compared to most people, I ate very little -- I had a small breakfast and often skipped lunch. I've always been a night owl, and have been known to sleep 'til noon when I'd had the opportunity.
I consumed probably 6-7 cans of soda daily. Now, I know that anyone with four neurons can tell me that that's nearly 1,000 kcals a day, but, for some reason, this fact just never really had an impact on me until... I stopped.
I stopped drinking soda because I have actually grown to dislike it. Over the past year, I'd find myself craving a soda, but not really enjoying it. I'd often almost have to force myself to finish the can. I didn't like the bad taste it left in my mouth, or the digestive effects, or anything else.
A week later, without a drop of soda, I have a few experiences to share.
The truth is, the caffeine withdrawal was the easy part! I didn't have any headaches, but I experienced most of the other known symptoms, mostly sleepiness, irritability, and difficulty concentrating at work. Besides getting uncharacteristically pissed off a few times in traffic, and having a little trouble motivating myself at work, the caffeine withdrawal wasn't all that bad. In fact, I've discovered an amazing new ability to... sleep. I can go to bed before midnight, get a very good night's sleep, and wake up feeling rested before my alarm even goes off. I can barely remember the last time I went to bed before midnight.
The hard part, believe it or not, has been adjusting my diet to the sudden absence of 1,000 kcals per day. It takes a LOT of food to deliver 1,000 kcals. I could blame my addiction for blinding me to this obvious fact, but, truly, I had just never really thought about it.
The first few days were the worst. I continued to eat my normal diet -- minus the soda -- and do my normal exercises. I was promptly met with the symptoms of starvation -- cold hands, disorientation, a desire to eat in binges, constant, unrelenting hunger, etc. I quickly realized I needed to bring more calories into my diet.
I'm having to seek the advice of friends to figure out what to do! I'm adding things like peanut butter on whole-wheat bagels, protein shakes, and other forms of energy to my diet. I'm having to bring healthy snack foods with me to work; previously, the logistics of my caloric needs were as simple as having a ready supply of $1 bills. I'm literally have to rediscover how to shop and eat, something I never expected to happen simply by eliminating soda from my diet.
I feel great! I'm losing weight without even trying to. If anyone else is trying to kick the habit, just know that it's possible. It's easy, really. Just stick with it for a week, and you'll be surprised just how much your tastes and your behaviors will change. I really feel almost as if some kind of spell has been lifted from me.
- Warren
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