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People definitely can get a super nasty detox reaction from quitting sugar cold turkey -- if you think about it, sugar is just another tropical plant distilled into strange white crystals that you get really addicted to. I had to break the habit too and I know exactly how you feel. It dang near killed me.
The key is, do it SLOWLY. If you are drinking the stuff by the bottle, throw it away when there are one or two swallows left. Or if you hate waste as much as I do, drink it more slowly until you get used to drinking 11 a day instead of 12, then 10 a day, then 9, and so on. Stopping suddenly is brutal and pointless because you will be back on the stuff in a couple of days. Also ask yourself whether you are addicted to the sugar alone or to the caffeine in the soda as well. If you suddenly stop a major sugar habit and a major caffeine habit at the same time you will rue the day you were born.
While you taper down, replace the sugar with healthy carbohydrates -- oatmeal, 12-grain bread, fresh oranges. Make a point of acquiring a taste for unsugared foods -- unsweetened applesauce instead of sweetened, fruit instead of sugary dessert, pasta instead of the pause that refreshes. Any carbohydrate, healthy or unhealthy, reduces sugar cravings.
It's all about shifting your body's expectations, not depriving yourself. You CAN do it. Once your body gets a lot of something, it's going to want more of that thing. All you need to do is shift whatever reward your mind gets to something that doesn't have health implications. Your body doesn't want soda. It wants something in the soda. It wants caffeine, sugar, carbonation, whatever. The more sugar you eat, the more sugar you want. It's a terrible direction to go.
Most importantly, you definitely need to get away from all of the corn syrup and let your body level out. Stay away from sugar. You aren't going to be successful at losing weight until you get rid of all of that sugar from your daily intake. Gatorade is bad; don't do it.
Try club soda and sparkling water. Dasani, La Croix, garden variety Club Soda with a lime wedge, you name it. Look out, though, some water has aspartame sweetener even though it proudly touts "natural flavors".
The above options (apart from any sweetened drink) have no calories, no nothing. You can spice it up occasionally by tossing cranberry juice in berry flavored sparkling water, or putting natural (no added sugar) orange juice into club soda or orange flavored sparkling water. These make a nice drink, and if you want to drop some alcohol like vodka in, you won't add that much caloric content. Most people will tell you that you can't drink on a diet, but that's not true. It may slow progress, and you can't drink enough to float a barge, and you shouldn't drink fruity cocktails or sugar laced boozy drinks, but you can have alcohol. Like anything else, you have to be intelligent about it.
Another good thing to drink is smoothies. Use yogurt--again, watch for corn syrup. If you make them right, you can make a HUGE one with great nutritional value and great flavor, without blowing a lot of calories. Use honey if you have to sweeten it, or if you have to sweeten anything.
You don't have to give up soda, just switch to Zevia! No calories. No sugars. No bad side effects. Safe for diabetics and children. No artificial colors. No GMO's. Won't give you cavities. You can find it at most local grocery stores. Check out this review:
Eliminate anything with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). I used to be a sugar-holic. I drink a lot of juice, and somewhere along the line I decided to change from the HFCS based juice. Without even realizing it, I lost my craving for sugar. Try it and see if it works for you.
Correct. However, it may lead to diabetes if the OP doesn't quit guzzling it.
My suggestion is going on Atkins for four weeks to wean off his obvious addiction to carbs. Once you get it out of your system, you won't crave them as much. The first week can be pretty hellish, though.
I would suggest a sparkling water like Perrier or your grocer's no-name equivalent.
Atkins is rough. The first few days were wonderful, but after a week, I was ready to commit murder for mashed potatoes.
Caffeine withdrawal can give you a wicked bad headache, so if you drink a lot each day, you might want to consider a weaning process.
I experienced this. I've decided I don't like being fat anymore and started to cut out eating and drinking junk. I drank probably 3-4 sodas per day. I stopped cold turkey and had a horrendous headache for two days. However, I got through it.
After six months, I drank one and it tasted disgusting. I thew it away and don't drink them.
OP, once you get past the initial shock, you can do it. Try taking fresh herbs and fruit and putting them in a large jug of water. Experiment. The flavors infuse into the water. I've tried strawberry mango, rosemary lime, basil lime, pineapple orange, etc.
Try herbal teas. They come in a zillion flavours nowadays... berries, mint, lemon ginger, etc.... get some variety packs. During the Summer, use a big pitcher to make unsweetened ice tea. Fresh water with a squeeze of lime, some sliced cucumber, or some crushed mint is also great.
Nature abhors a vacuum, so if you stop drinking pop, it'll be easier if you can substitute something like tea or water.
Just think about your feet being blue and numb in 10 years, and actually having to pay attention that guy with the funky mustache on the "diabeetus" commercials says.
That motivated me to quit.
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