Quitting Pop

Pop, soda, coke, whatever you call it I've been drinking between 5-7 cans per day for years. I've tried quitting numerous times, only to get unbearable headaches and just feeling sick in general. A can of Mountain Dew or Mr. Pibb always knocked these symptoms out! I'll share my "secrets" and results with anyone interested in reading this article:

It's now been 4 days since my last pop. I'll tell you what I'm doing, that actually works, to keep the headaches to a minimum. This has been trial and error for years, and I've finally found a way to keep them down.

First, stay hydrated! I'm not a water drinker. When I've tried quitting pop in the past I always bought purified water, but never drank it. Now I keep key limes in my office and at home to squeeze into cold reverse osmosis bottled water. That way it has some flavor, and you don't need to add sugar. I'm actually drinking way more water than I was pop. You're supposed to have 8 cups of water per day, and I'm drinking about 6, 16oz bottles per day!

Second, supplement the caffeine you are losing! The worst of the withdrawal symptoms comes from the caffeine. I've tried going cold turkey only to relapse in under 24 hours. The headaches you get from caffeine withdrawal are about the strength of a bad migraine. I tried substituting coffee, but I can't drink coffee all day long, and you'd end up dehydrated if you tried to, and don't expect to sleep. I needed a way to supplement the caffeine without overdoing it. Finally, I have been using a generic multivitamin with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, and also time-release guarana seed extract. It's kept the symptoms at bay for the most part, but here on day 4 I had a splitting headache, so I made a cup of black coffee. Of course, that immediately banished my headache to the land of wind an ghosts, and it hasn't been back since. I see nothing wrong with a cup of unsweetened coffee or tea in the morning, it sure beats having a can of Mr. Pibb with breakfast.

Now for my results thus far:

For some reason, even after just 4 days, the thought of drinking pop turns my stomach, I don't know if it's the sweetness or what, but I don't have any desire to drink it.

Last night I slept through the entire night, without waking up, for the first time in probably 5 years. Not only that, but on a Saturday morning I woke up an hour before I usually wake up for work! My Saturdays usually start at about 10:30, today it started at 5:00!

Not only did I wake up early, but I've had a ridiculous amount of energy for the past several days, including upon waking up! I've always been the anti-morning person. I hated that people could just wake up, hop out of bed, and get their day started. I always hit the snooze and struggled to get out of bed. Today I woke up at 5, cooked a full breakfast (never had the energy to before), had a cup of coffee, made my dog a toy out of paracord, did a 15 minute workout, and if it wasn't raining outside today, I'd go play tennis. I don't know what to do with this much energy!

Now, I'm not saying there's a definite correlation between giving up pop and increased energy. It would seem to me that the less caffeine and sugar I have, the less energetic I should be. I'm just thinking maybe the increased energy is from the better sleep I've been getting.