ny tips to stop drinking pop?

i have to have my caffine fix to function. dietician wants me to stop drinking pop period... i don't know how......... any tips??? good news is i only have to loose 23 lbs to get surgery, but it'll be at least 9 months for the diet no matter what.


Sara

Sara, first of off welcome to the bariatric buddy family. 

Many of us had an addiction to pop before surgery.  Me too.  I went cold turkey on the pop, just had to get it into my mind that this was in my best interest.  Caffiene too.  You will go through a little withdrawl from the pop and caffiene for 3-4 days.  Substitute something with flavor, there are lots of great crystal light flavors, plain water, tea.  There are articles out there, one in the blog section to the right too, that discuss the bad things that pop, even diet pop can do to us.  The caffiene is a diuretic, causes you to lose extra fluid.  After surgery we need to stay as hydrated as we can, and it does not hurt us before surgery.  Now after surgery, I may have a sip or so of pop, it just doesn't have the attraction it did before surgery.  Keep a bottle of water handy at all times.

I had my RNY about 9 months ago, glad that I did, I still struggle with mind hunger.  The mind is a POWERFUL thing.  Getting off your pop is a mind thing too.  I have faith that you will accomplish this.  Are you getting in any exercise?  Find something else to do when you have a craving, distraction is a good tool.

Welcome to the family, hugs

thanks! I am working on getting the small tv moved downstairs to do my walking tapes but neither of us have done it yet. i keep asking.... looks like i'll have to do it myself. :( she wants me to get in 10 minutes at least 4 times a week but i guess i could up to to combat the cravings. i am a nighttime/dinnertime pop drinker. and a morning to wake up. i stocked up on crystal lite and have a jug that holds basically 65 oz of liquid. so i'm prepared but i cant get off the pop. i had lessened it then last night i polished off a 2 liter almost by myself. her main goal is for me to drink other fluids that have no calories, the pop is just a side note that she wants me off of this month. maybe i just should focus on drinking the water and exercising and the rest will come. but i agree the mind is powerful. i was watching a bypass video and it was saying that your body will change but your mind will not. they really know what to say to get u thinking, motivated, and put you in your place. were you scared of surgery at all? i know more about it now than i ever wanted to know until surgery day.. psych wanted to make sure i'm okay with it but i'm not. it will take some time to adjust to the idea of being poked and proded and what not. no doubt about it that i can do it, i just have to keep reminding myself.

Ditto to what Kathy said.  You just have to make up your mind that you are not going to let pop get in the way of having your surgery.  I was drinking 2-2liters every day plus what ever I was drinking when we went out to eat.

I will have a diet pop one in a great while but mostly drink Crystal Light.  My pouch can't deal with plain water anymore.

You'll be surprised how quickly you forget about it once you get it into your head that you won't be having your surgery if you don't give it up.

Colleen

no other way but.. COLD TURKEY!
use crystal light or SF Kool aid to get your through the tuff spell.

There is no easy way. I was a pepsi holic and used to swear if I was diagnosed with diabetes I'd die, cuz i'd never be able to give it up. BUT I was wrong. I did give it up. And really, i don't miss it! The hardest part is stopping it. When i first quit drinking it, I just decided my hopes and dreams of becoming a healthy normal weight person were far more important to me than the pepsi. I drank lots of flavored uncarbonated water, crystal light, iced tea with lemon in it, and allowed myself a little coffee in the AM.

Best of luck girl!