[onesullengurl]

I'm cutting out soda completely as part of my diet plan today is my first day off .. I have done this in the past but I always fail for the same reason .. when I stop I have horrible withdraw migraines .. does anyone else get migraines if they go without ?... is there a way I can relieve this without getting the calories .. sometimes Ib profun doesn't help I think this is because its being caused by lack of caffine anyone have any advice I can't stand this migraine anymore its making me sick!

[Meg]

How about unsweetened tea or coffee, iced or hot?

[Heather]

Sounds like you're going through caffeine withdrawal! And Meg's got a great idea!

[Applez]

I love my Pepsi and instead of going cold turkey just limit yourself a little everyday. It will work MUCH better that way and now I am drinking the Crystal Light stuff that you mix with water. I only have Pepsi now, when we go out to dinner, ( I hate restaurants tea and water) I do not crave it like I use to!

[Slashnl]

I like the tea and coffee idea. And, even if you go cold turkey, normally the caffeine withdrawal pains go away after a couple of days

[Tomato]

How about drinking decaf? Decaf is not caffeine-free, there is still some caffeine in it. It may be enough to take the edge off.

[Salubrious Fervor]

Drinking those other drinks still gives you caffeine, do you want that or is that part of the cut?

make sure you drink PLENTY of H2O and this will help with the caffeine headaches too.

[moony]

There's a three day hump if you go cold turkey- I feel your pain, but think of all the calories you'll skip if you do drink less

[sh3l5]

i try to avoid caffein as much as i can....
i even avoid the carbonated drinks....

[pinkcarnation]

I'm researching caffeine right now, and if it is half as bad as what I'm reading, I think it can't be anything but good to get off of it. The last three days I've had just one cup of tea and I have a headache, too. But if this is what you want, I say either hang in there if you can, or taper off. Good luck!

[Kofarq]

Go half and half for awhile. Really, either alternate caffeinated, then decaf, or pour it into a cup, half caf, half decaf. Wean yourself off slowly, no headaches!

[WarMaiden]

You could also be having a sugar withdrawal at the same time as you are having a caffeine withdrawal. The symptoms are similar--headache, low energy, general crappy feeling. A sugar withdrawal will go away within 3 to 7 days, and usually doesn't start the day you go off sugar.

It's probably better to try getting off of caffeine OR getting off of sugar, rather than both at once.

[Scarlett]

The headaches will pass. I started the South Beach diet 3 weeks ago and during the first 2 weeks you are not allowed to have caffeine at all. I drank decaf coffee, and club soda with fresh lime wedges...the club soda really just calmed that craving for me.

I also learned from reading the SBD book that caffeine stimulates insulin production in your body which causes glucose uptake and subsequent low blood sugar which makes you ravenously hungry. So limiting (or staying off) caffene will help your weight loss efforts. Because of this I've continued to drink club soda and decaf and have been fine. I also used to guzzle diet coke and real coffee.

[wistfulgirl]

Hi!

I just went through the same thing. My doctor was trying to decide if I was suffering from acid reflux, and he said do you drink coffee-- soda-- chocolate--advil? I was like that's 80% of my diet!

Anyway he asked me to cut out all the caffeine. It was really hard to become decaffeinated. I was VERY sick with headaches for about three days. And I LOVE my cokes!!!!! On Friday afternoons I treat myself to a fountain coke, but otherwise they're gone. I have added some coffee back in the morning, but not nearly as much as I used to drink. I often have decaf instant tea in a pinch. My intuition tells me that the caffeine can't be good for me, and I know the sugar isn't good for me, so I'm counting it as a blessing that the doctor asked me to cut back. You can do it, especially if you're a day or two in already!

[snapless]

Originally Posted by onesullengurl

I'm cutting out soda completely as part of my diet plan today is my first day off .. I have done this in the past but I always fail for the same reason .. when I stop I have horrible withdraw migraines .. does anyone else get migraines if they go without ?... is there a way I can relieve this without getting the calories .. sometimes Ib profun doesn't help I think this is because its being caused by lack of caffine anyone have any advice I can't stand this migraine anymore its making me sick!

Yes. Horribly addicted to caffeine. My best friend used to say if anyone could find a way to intraveinously inject Mountain Dew - it would be me.

I nixed the sodas when I started and have only had 1-2 cups of coffee w/splenda in the morning with an occasional iced tea w/splenda and so far - no headaches...at least not from that (I have had some sinus/allergy headaches but those are completely unrelated and it is easy to tell the difference).