Kick The Can

Sandy and I have pledged to Kick the Can together.

We both want to quit drinking diet soda, and we are going to support each other in the endeavor.  Judging by the comments to my post yesterday, it sounds like there are a few others out there who'd like to join us.  It doesn't have to be about diet soda -- it can be regular soda, too - or something else you want to kick. (I want to eliminate all aspartame, as well.)

The button was Sandy's brainchild, executed by the incomparable Dave.  Thank you, Dave! We love it. 

So go ahead. Grab the button if you'd like, (Save to your own server, please.  If you don't know what I mean by that, please ask.) and check in with one of us to let us know how you're doing, as often or as little as you like.  We'll share coping strategies and talk each other down from the proverbial ledge if necessary.  I started yesterday, and had a rough couple of hours in the afternoon.  Sandy helped me through.

We had fun listing all the things we love about Diet Coke.  We really do love it.  But it's gotta go. 

I took some Tylenol for the headache and took a little nap.  All day long I drank mint water -- an idea I took from Cassie's post the other day.  I certainly have plenty of fresh mint in my garden.  I crushed one cup of fresh mint leaves in a 2-quart pitcher of water and served it on ice throughout the day.  It was very refreshing and helped me cope.  I also drank lots of green tea, took an Emergen-C packet, and finished the day with a cup of Tension Tamer tea and a teaspoon of local, raw apitherapy honey.  All these things helped to tame the beast a bit.

I expect today and tomorrow to be the hardest days.  I hope I can stay the course, but if I don't, I'll just keep trying.

First thing this morning, Sandy already made me laugh with her post.  Don't make her start singing, "High hopes...."  PLEASE don't make her!   It would not be pretty if I'm in DT's and she's singing that godforsaken song.  Not pretty at all!

Comments

[Cassie]

Try the mint water with lemon, its really good like that.

And if I get 'high hopes' stuck in my head today, I will never forgive you.

[Miriam]

Good luck! And make sure you take all Diet Coke OUT OF YOUR HOUSE! If it's not there, you won't be tempted to drink it in a moment of weakness.

I'm trying to cut out refined sugars, GOD almighty is it HARD!

[Sheri]

I did this 13 years ago. I lived on coke, then diet coke. It's not easy, but you can do it (if I could do it). First little piece of advice I'd give is, don't have ANY kind of soda for atleast a few weeks. That bubbly stuff has a way of making you revert back to the coke/diet coke. Lots of water is good. When I quit the coke habit (23 years ago) I lost 40 pounds in 3 months! When I quit the diet coke habit I just felt better all the way around. I can't have any caffeine now, so the smell of the coke/diet coke makes me ill. Hang in there, you'll make it. It's like an alcoholic giving up his booze, it ain't easy, you'll crave it for awhile, but you'll make it! I'll be rootin' for you both.
Sheri in GA

[chris]

I've been thinking about quitting sodas for a while now . . . never really got going on it for real, but this might just be the kick I needed! So count me in on your venture.

[Scout]

Good for you. That stuff is the debil.

[Kirsten]

Go, Norma, Go!

I got rid of my soda addiction a while back. Unfortunately, I'm now addicted to latte's. (and that apostrophe is a belated accent, not a possessive.)

[Roxie]

Make a list of things you really like to think about. Things you can dwell on with pleasure. Grab that list when the cravings kick in, and focus on those OTHER THOUGHTS! I am celebrating your wonderful changes and sending powerful vibes to you! I will even sacrifice a Lindor Ball on your behalf!

[Jen K.]

Just last week my friendly neighborhood neuroscientist told me that the combination of aspartame and caffeine is more addictive than cocaine. I'm not sure if it's true, but it made me feel better that it was so hard to cut diet coke from my life. What got me was when I found out that people use coke to clean the contacts on car batteries. Anything that corrosive just doesn't belong in my stomach!

[Dene]

I did this a month ago except mine was Diet Dr. Pepper. I am drinking decaf ice tea now and it has made a difference in not only my health but also my bank account. Good luck and STICK WITH IT!

[jenifleur]

I gave it up during one of the most difficult times of my life (until recently anyway) and I know what you're going through. I drank perrier instead as a crutch for awhile and on occasions of high stress I'm known to still grab some DC, but it's no longer a habit for me. I read somewhere that on a certain percentage of people, the way aspartame is processed it causes aggression, anger and stress. A guy friend and I were looking back on our aspartame addictions and we truly felt that it had altered our personalities in addition to our physical conditions. Coincidence? Urban myth? I don't know, but I know I feel better about being off it.

So while I won't be joining you, I'll be cheering for all of you who are going to kick it. You're all making such a good, healthy choice!

[margene]

Thank goodness I've never been a fan of sodas. (We call it POP in Utah.) Good luck and it's going to feel great to have that monkey off your back.

[Cookie]

It's 8:42 am here and I need a pepsi. *L* Yeah, I'm in. No caffeine and PMS should be a fun combo. o.0

We can make mojitos, right?

[Lydia]

"Kick The Can." That's terrific! I'm glad you are so determined. It does make you wonder how hard it must be to quit drugs or alcohol if just quitting soda upsets our minds and bodies so much.
Good luck to all who are quitting their vice!

[Leslie]

I kicked when I started working at home. No vending machine. No Diet Coke. And I switched to sugar, baby, sugar all the way. In the afternoons, try iced green tea--tasty and antioxident.

[Vicki]

One thing I'd have going for me is that I've been drinking it caffeine-free for years, so I wouldn't have the problem cutting out caffeine. I threw my hat, willy-nilly, into a quit a while back (you may recall) -- I don't know if I have the will to resist cigarettes AND coke AND watch what I'm putting into my mouth. Maybe that will change as I watch you guys progress and read all about how wonderful you feel. ; )

[kmkat]

Go, girls, go!! I recently stopped regular Coke -- too many calories, absolutely nothing worthwhile or healthy in them. Get this: my mother thought it was cute to give me Coke in my bottle when I was a toddler. No wonder I've always been addicted. Diet Coke tastes icky to me except maybe the Diet Coke with lime. Mostly though, I drink water. Lots and lots of water.

[Rachel]

Many years ago a peace activist in Israel opened an off shore radio station that became quite popular, he was fighting with advertisers on prices or something like that (I can't remember the details) and came out with a brilliant idea to advertise water and it went like that: Drink Water,,,, Water = the taste of life!!! So maybe whenever you have a coke craving you can think about: Water = the taste of life :) I hope it will help. Good Luck :)
p.s. Lime in your water and mint (spearmint is even better) is yummy too.

[Lauren]

Good luck. I am too addicted to my one coke a day to join you at the moment.

[Cara]

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

[Dave Daniels]

Go for it! I support youse. I gave up coffee, and thought I'd lose my mind. All better now. YOU CAN DO IT!

[Susan]

I'll kick the can, but only because I'm drinking out of the 24 ounce Diet Pepsi bottle! I have rare days when I drink nothing but DC or DP (most often caffeine free), but it's usually iced tea for me. The big bottle of DP is a way to wean myself off of the candy bars and other junk food in the vending machine right next to the soda machine at work. It's better for me to deal with my work stress with a DP than with a Snickers, and I'm hoping to give up this crutch eventually. So, I'll be lurking about, hoping to draw some strength from your struggles and kick it myself one of these days.

[Lee Ann]

Go Norma, Go Norma, Go Norma...

Why, yes, I did do the little dance. Anything for you.

[Iris]

I don't allow my daughter to drink soda, yet I sneak cans of Diet Coke when she's asleep. *cough-hypocrite-cough* And the caffeine keeps me up all night. She recently busted me, so I'm joining you on this mission to kick the can.

[KnittyOtter]

I'm in too. o.0

Oddly now that I've made this choice I want one more than anything. *L* *eyeroll @ self*

It'll get easier.

*hugs my water bottle*

[Julie]

Yeah! Give up the stuff. I have migraines (well, not nearly as much anymore. . .) and I heard that artifical sweetners were not so good for such things. I gave up diet soda (and all things that include artifical sweetners) and ever since have been *so* much better!

[Kristin]

Iced. Tea.

Natural, some of it good for you in some ways, and no aspartame or fizz (i.e., osteoperosis). Caffeine comes as a gentle lift with black or green tea, and herbal is caffeine-free.

And it tastes sooooo much better than Diet Coke. Wait for the day when Diet Coke is a disappointment.

Put that mint in iced tea and/or make an iced tea concentrate (8 tea bags in 3 c of water, a lil sugar, boil boil, pour into a clean glass jar, refrigerate ... reconstitute [5:1 or to taste] at will!)

[Chris]

I'm rootin' for ya both! I kicked my own can a couple years ago (I still suck one down every once in a while). Now I'm trying to change some food habits in search of healthier cholesterol numbers. And trying to get more exercise into my life. This getting healthier is a PITA!

[Beth S.]

I really think you can do this. Would it help if you had a reward system (something wooly and really special that you're allowed to have if you can stay off the stuff) or is quitting a sufficient reward in itself?

[elisa]

As part of my endeavor to be healthier, I felt it was important to limit the amount of processed stuff I put into my body, and diet coke was right up there at the top of the list. Because I found that if I WAS drinking diet coke, I WASN'T drinking water, and I knew that in the scheme of Being Healthy, water was better for me than diet coke.

So I quit drinking it. Just like that. And seriously? It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

In fact, a few weeks after I quit drinking diet coke, I had one on a Friday afternoon as a "treat" and I ended up feeling so gross and sick, I thought, okay, that's it. I'm done. And minus a few times eating out where I've had a diet soda to go with my meal, I haven't had any since. So, the moral of this very long rambling story is that you can totally do it.

But, um, keep some water handy. ;)

[Birdsong]

The soda isn't my addiction, but I have been trying to get almost all forms of refined sugars out... including apartame and splenda, simply because their concentrated sweet taste just makes me crave more sweets! Good luck, can't hurt to have everyone rooting for you, either.

[Emma.]

Best of luck. I know you can do it. You have a will of iron !

xxx

[Kat]

If I can do it, you can. I quit soda cold turkey about 10 years ago. Just like when I quit coffee, I had a nasty headache and felt miserable for almost 2 weeks and then one day I woke up and felt great. It is so worth the pain.

[Isela]

I'll cheer you on!! You gals can do it!

[Sara]

GL with it. I kicked coffee a year and a half or so ago (or was it 2.5 years ago??) - though I had it easy. I was going to "taper off" (yeah right...) but then I got the flu that knocked me on my ass for 3 days, so I didn't want anything even coffee for those days. By the time I was upright again, I figured I had been through the worst of the withdrawal headaches (which were seamlessly rolled into the flu pains) - from there, it was easy. So anyway - you're right - the first 3 days are the worst, but you're over half way through...keep at it.

[Mindy]

I am re-kicking the soda habit in a quest to limit the refined sugars and keep the yeast growth in my body down. I started last Monday. It isn't so bad. This is the second time I have quit. The first time was much harder because I never drank anything but soda.

I stick to mainly water and if I get desperate Kool-aid (tea gives me heartburn).

[grumperina]

You guys are crazy. I make a pledge - for every diet Coke Sandy and Norma don't drink, I will drink one extra. Cross my heart and hope to die. It's blasphemy to speak against the drink of the gods, blasphemy!!!

[Sue]

Best of luck to you, Norma! I gave up soda entirely a few years ago. I didn’t have any at all for a good 6 months (the first few days felt really bad … ugh), but I felt much better after that. I do have soda now, but only occasionally, and I try to stay away from caffeinated soda. You can do it! (I have a just-turned teenager and 11 year old twins and I did it…ha!)

[jackie]

Good luck!! I gave up all diet soda (and any regular soda made with high fructose corn syrup, i'll very occasionally have a soda made with real sugar like Gus or something, but it's rare) about 5 years ago, and then had a brief fall off the wagon about 2 years but came to my senses again. I have had FAR fewer headaches since getting off the Diet Coke. Stuff is evil.

[Anne]

Ya know - I have only ever given stuff up cold turkey. Good for you - that aspartamine is nasty stuff.
BTW - save the date - June 22 weekend 2007 - we'll be in Middlebury for a wedding!

[Debbie]

I gave up diet coke about 5 years ago and believe it or not I lost 7 pounds without trying during the first month I was off the stuff! Now, I drink only iced tea, sparkling water or iced water. When I have tried diet coke, I can't believe how sweet it is, so I can't drink it. Good Luck...you can do it!

[sandy]

I toast you, my friend with an ice cold bottle of water and a rousing rendition of "Cuz they've got HIGH HOPES, they've Got HIGH HOPES, they've got high apple pie in the sky hopes!"
Not nutrasweet hopes, though.
xoxo stay srong

[Kim]

You guys are gonna kick ass, AND kick the can!!
xoxo

[AnnP]

Funny, the only time I do crave any kind of cola is when I have a migraine, otherwise I don't touch it.

[Kathy]

(warbles) "High hopes, we've got high hopes, we've got hot apple pie in the sky-y-y hopes..."

Hee hee.

[Kim]

I think that's a great idea! Good luck Norma! I may jump on the bandwagon--but I need to finish the 12 pack in my fridge now ;)

[Carole]

You have fresh mint? Screw the mint water, make mojitos.

[Lotta]

God bless your pop-free heart. I haven't hit my rock bottom yet but I'm heading their soon. The other day I actually thought to myself, "I should just start buying 20 ouncers, I drink the cans so fast."

[Mel]

I missed this entry somehow! I kicked Diet Coke in December. It was not easy, but I haven't had any diet soda since, except to try a 7-up with Splenda. I'm still addicted to caffeine, though.

[Paula]

I like to drink seltzer water, the kind without sweeteners in it, just flavored carbonated water. I also get water that way... I still have to have a Coke when I have a migraine.

[Mary Lynn]

Give up diet soda? Are you insane? What would I drink? (during the day that is!) LOL!!