Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - One Clyde's Struggle with the Bottle - Tea and Soda

Elsewhere on the C/A Forum a poster mentioned consuming 3 liters of soda a day. Rather than hijack a thread on another topic, I thought I'd start a new one to open up discussion.

Like the poster I mentioned above, I had a problem with 'the bottle.' Back when I was 400 pounds I was going through 64 ounces or more of tea and soda a day. Like many fat people, I fooled myself into thinking I didn't have a problem; I drank diet beverages, so I was OK.

When I became serious about losing weight, I realized I had problems beyond that of mere calories. Tea and soda contain caffeine, and so by the end of the work day I was wired. I had trouble sleeping already, so I would drink lots of tea and soda to stay awake during the day. Unless I made a change to my drinking habits, I would be hindering my weight loss.

So I decided to gradually wean myself from mass quantities of tea and soda by switching to water a cupful at a time. And as my exercise routine increased in length and intensity, my water consumption went up as well. I eventually cut out all soda, aside from an occasional glass.

Also, as I decreased the quantity of tea I consumed, I began brewing it myself, saving me money and allowing me to choose the amount of sweetener to add to each glass. This also opened up a world of flavors to me; most bottled diet tea isn't decaf, and most bottled decaf tea is one of a limited range of flavors. You won't find "Bengal Spice" herbal tea in a bottle, unless I bottle it.

Anyone else have any struggles with the bottle they wish to share?

I used to drink a lot of soda. I never really drank the diet stuff. I can't handle artificial sweeteners.

I gave up soda completely*. I have not given up caffeine. I don't have trouble sleeping, and my blood pressure is fine, so I still drink coffee and brewed tea.

I replaced a lot of my soda drinking with water. I drink my coffee black, and my tea is usually unsweetened. I occasionally put a little honey it it.

In my younger years I would drink directly out of a 2-liter bottle, and finish it off, and start another. I wonder why I got so fat. :lol:

* yesterday's commute home, after skipping lunch required an emergency fuel to keep me moving.

I have never been a soda freak. I did drink about 20oz of coffee a day. About 6 months a go I weaned myself off of coffee and started drinking decaffeinated green tea. I don't really feel any difference.

I can take or leave soda. Coffee, on the other hand, is a an absolute addiction.

Guilty as well. Until I read your post I haven’t realized how long it's been since my last glass of Turkey Hill Lemon Tea (not the Tea with Lemon, Lemon Tea). In November of 2007 I cut my soda cold turkey and didn't have a drop of it for 7 months when I was forced to choose between Caribbean tap water or Coke. Since then I have had some soda here and there but for the most part I do not crave it like I used to. I still drink an almost absurd amount of coffee every day, however I don't drink a drop past noon and have not had any trouble sleeping.

Big +1 on the new flavors of tea, I'm currently sipping a cup of spiced apple cider herb tea. Mmm, tea that looks like a steaming cup of blood.

I still have a Diet Mountain Dew from time to time, but I mostly drink water. Now that I am kicking my exercise up, I will probably be drinking a LOT more water. I have too much fat on my body to do the things I want to do, so 2009 is going to be a hard workout year in the pool, on the bike, and I plan on wearing out a few pairs of running shoes.

My battle with the bottle is not tea or soda, but instead, water. In the past few years I have become addicted to having a bottle of Aquafina, Deer Park or Nestles at hand at all times. I consume 2-twenty four packs a week. My issue is guilt, and not health. I know I am filling up landfills like crazy, and knowing this have tried to stop, but about like food, my willpower sucks.

Now, as far as the tea goes, up until a couple years ago, I probably had not consumed 5 gallons of tea in my then 48 years. Two years ago, I got a position that allowed me to stop for about an hour a day at a coffee shop in the area to check emails. I started trying fresh brewed teas and got hooked. over the course of 9 months, I consumed mass amounts of iced tea of every flavor and variety. Then, on the night before I got married, in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, 40 miles from any town, I passed a BARBED WIRE BABY:cry: (aka Kidney Stone) through my urinary tract. I have learned since, that since I had never been prone to stones, the mass consumption of tea and the Tannic Acid within was probably the culprit. After that incident, tea is completely off my radar.

I am however, hopelessly addicted to coffee in the a.m. They will have to pry that vice from my cold dead hands. I am also an Ambien addict, so sleep is NOT and issue:-)

I consume 2-twenty four packs a week. My issue is guilt, and not health. I know I am filling up landfills like crazy, and knowing this have tried to stop, but about like food, my willpower sucks.

Have you ever tried refilling your bottled water bottles or substituting them for a nalgyne(sp?) type bottle you can refill from home? Even if your tap water is awful you can buy a water filtering pitcher and a funnel. That's what I do, and I don't notice much of a difference in taste.

Is there a water cooler at work? Maybe you could look into starting a water club where everyone who joins the club shares the cost of having a water cooler which you could use to refill your bottles.

Have you ever tried refilling your bottled water bottles or substituting them for a nalgyne(sp?) type bottle you can refill from home? Even if your tap water is awful you can buy a water filtering pitcher and a funnel. That's what I do, and I don't notice much of a difference in taste.

Is there a water cooler at work? Maybe you could look into starting a water club where everyone who joins the club shares the cost of having a water cooler which you could use to refill your bottles.

Or you could install a well. But perhaps that's too deep a subject for this forum.

My battle with the bottle is not tea or soda, but instead, water. In the past few years I have become addicted to having a bottle of Aquafina, Deer Park or Nestles at hand at all times. I consume 2-twenty four packs a week. My issue is guilt, and not health. I know I am filling up landfills like crazy, and knowing this have tried to stop, but about like food, my willpower sucks.

Now, as far as the tea goes, up until a couple years ago, I probably had not consumed 5 gallons of tea in my then 48 years. Two years ago, I got a position that allowed me to stop for about an hour a day at a coffee shop in the area to check emails. I started trying fresh brewed teas and got hooked. over the course of 9 months, I consumed mass amounts of iced tea of every flavor and variety. Then, on the night before I got married, in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, 40 miles from any town, I passed a BARBED WIRE BABY:cry: (aka Kidney Stone) through my urinary tract. I have learned since, that since I had never been prone to stones, the mass consumption of tea and the Tannic Acid within was probably the culprit. After that incident, tea is completely off my radar.

I am however, hopelessly addicted to coffee in the a.m. They will have to pry that vice from my cold dead hands. I am also an Ambien addict, so sleep is NOT and issue:-)

For just the reason you describe I'm trying to reduce my tea consumption. I'd rather not have to pass a stone. Or have it extracted for that matter.

I'm the one in the previous thread who drinks about 3 liters of soda a day. This morning I went out and bought several large bottles of water to try and break this addiction. My biggest issue is that when I try to cut out caffiene I get terrible headaches that are almost to the point of being migranes. Is unsweatened tea a better alternative to soda or is there something in it thats going to be just as bad?

I'm the one in the previous thread who drinks about 3 liters of soda a day. This morning I went out and bought several large bottles of water to try and break this addiction. My biggest issue is that when I try to cut out caffiene I get terrible headaches that are almost to the point of being migranes. Is unsweatened tea a better alternative to soda or is there something in it thats going to be just as bad?

You have to taper off the caffeine, it's a stimulant. Going cold turkey is very hard. Try gradually reducing the quantity of soda and increasing that of water.

Guilty. Back when I was living with my brother (helping him raise my nephew), we would go through between 9 and 12 2-liter's of assorted sodas a week. Coke mainly, but never any diet (unless we knew Mom was coming over). Anyway, he got his metabolism from one side of the family (very high, and he weighs 150 lbs, soaking wet, wearing his tool belt, etc.), and I got mine from the other side (built like a 6 foot tall fire plug). Needless to say, I put some weight on.
Fast forward a few years.
Grad school and then getting married, I wasn't drinking as much soda as before, but I still got my fair share. Once we finally got into the house, we just kind of quit buying the stuff. Problem was, I was still working a lot and was on the road every other weekend. My weight went up and down 10 pounds with every trip.
Now, I just don't feel the need to have a soda all that often. I still have one, once in a while, but if I have a can of pop once a week, that's a lot.
Coffee and tea, on the other hand, that's a different story.
D

Guilty as well. When I was really fat, I used to drink a 12 pack of regular Coke a day. A DAY. I switched to Diet eventually, but still drank it like crazy. Finally cured myself of it when I gave up being fat, there was a point where the only things consumed were my prescribed food intake and water. No coffee, no stimulants, nothing. I went through a week of sleeping 15 hours a night and having headaches to being supercharged and keeping normal hours. That first week sucked, basically.

Now I mainly drink coffee and water, I'll never bust the coffee addiction I don't think. I'll occasionally have a soda - yesterday I had THREE!, Diet Dew and two Diet Cokes - but it's no longer something I HAVE to have. I personally enjoy good coffee much more than I ever enjoyed soda, particularly now that I grind my own. I add a little creamer to it, so there's some calories, but I'm also not drinking a dozen cups a day.

Anyway, it's a tough addiction to break, but a good one. I'm trying to break my wife of her addiction to Diet Dew, but everyone in their own time for their own reasons.

I'm the one in the previous thread who drinks about 3 liters of soda a day. This morning I went out and bought several large bottles of water to try and break this addiction. My biggest issue is that when I try to cut out caffiene I get terrible headaches that are almost to the point of being migranes. Is unsweatened tea a better alternative to soda or is there something in it thats going to be just as bad?

+1 - what The Historian said.

Taper off... slowly, although it's easy to give advice when I'm drinking my morning cup of coffee :-). Yes, I'm still a caffeine addict. I don't drink as many Cokes as I did, but do keep a can or two hidden from the crew here - stashed away for an emergency.

I can't escape the coffee habit - two cups in the morning. I don't drink diet soda, but like unsweetened iced tea. I keep a liter Nalgene filled with ice and water nearby at all times.

From the Caffeine database: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

Coffee, drip - 8 oz. = 145 mg.
Coke, classic - 12 oz. = 34.5 mg.
Tea, brewed - 8 oz. = 47 mg.

To this day I fill a HUGE 32 oz. cup 90% full with water and ice and then add about 3 shot glasses full of Sprite for flavoring.

I made the switch about 4 years ago and now I am as hooked on my combo as I was back when I was drinking 100% soda. To me, that little bit of soda splashed into my water makes it taste perfectly sweet enough.

Now I can't stand the taste of regular soda - it seems way too sweet to me now. For those who are hooked it might be a good way to get unhooked. It's not a bubbly but you get the flavor. It worked for me - sort of.

A few years ago, I drank a 24oz coke for breakfast (with nothing else), and another before lunch. "Lunch" was the usual fast food crap around my office, with of course, more coke. I never added it up before reading this thread, but I was easily at 64oz a day... before lunchtime.

I tried to switch to diet because it was "healthy" but couldn't stand the taste and didn't trust the splenda/nutrasweet bozos.

Now I drink a glass of water with some yogurt for breakfast, a 12oz cup of coffee (black) while reading my email, and then I switch to water for the rest of the day. A gatorade after I work out or bike, and more water with dinner.

If I'm on the road I try to drink unsweet tea at restaurants, but I still have relapses.

I have a diet Dr Pepper habit that used to be really bad so we stopped buying sodas altogether for a while. The biggest trouble is that it's free at work. They provide sodas, coffee, orange juice, and bottled water to employees for free. I try to substitute Chrystal Light for soda but the Chrystal Light is not free so it's really easy to fall back into old habits! I have often wondered if the salt keeps me from losing weight as fast I would otherwise.

I use to be addicted to Coke. From the time I started university til about 2002 I drank 6 to 8 cans of Coke a day. Every now and then I'd quit cold turkey and it was the most miserable few days for everybody around me. I was so cranky from the caffeine withdrawal, and the head splitting headaches were unbearable. But I when I did give it up for good I felt much better after the first week. I started drinking water in it's place and I have Coke maybe once or twice a month.

I'm glad to say I don't even miss it.

I use to be addicted to Coke. ... I started drinking water in it's place and I have Coke maybe once or twice a month.



1+ :thumb:

I probably had one of two cans (never bottles) a of Coke a day but somewhere I stopped. I now drink only water or tea (generally green tea - the stuff you brew not in a bottle. Sometimes ice tea but never sweetened). Now coke is a very special treat - like something I have after a long, hot ride.

I do have a friend who struggles with his weight and he is a diet cola addict. We have talked about what all that caffine and cola is doing to him. The sweet taste, although not sugar, makes one crave sweets. With a little urging, he now orders ice tea (not sweetened) more than not. Now if I can just move him onto water...;)

Weaning myself of sodas came in two steps. I have been drinking diet for a long time, but decided I needed to stop drinking those too.

My wife and I first quit drinking soda and coffee with caffeine. My wife still drinks caffeine free soda here and there, but I went farther and haven't had any form of soda since September. I actually don't miss it.

I don't drink much coffee anymore because I add cream and don't want my calories to come in liquid form.

I really only drink water and decaf tea without any sugar. Seeing my weight come off and feeling more energized has kept me from falling off the wagon.

The best bet is to just reduce your intake in moderation. If you do too much at once you'll likely slip and then have to start all over.

I gave up soda years ago as a teenager. I got tired of caffeine headaches on the weekend when I wouldn't drink any since I just drank it while working as a camp counselor.

I've found that if you just cut way back on the sweet drinks and ditch soda that I now find soda to be sickly sweet. I can barely stand it and just on rare occasions drink fresh brewed root beer, with lots of ice to cut the sweetness.

What the heck am I supposed to drink? I drink diet soda, try to find brands without caf most the time. I drink waer and lots of water while riding.

I don't like coffee, one beer every 6 years, no alcohol, juices are too sweet, koolaide is nasty, don't like tea and regular soda is yucky. Gatorade is not nice unless riding.

But I've never had a problem dropping weight while drinking diet soda as some may claim.

What the heck should one drink?:D

I am addicted to dt. dew and a 40 calorie energy drink which is 50% O. I also like the calorie free version of the energy drink. My problem is that I do work at home at night after everyone goes to sleep. I'm in the office 50 hours a week and then do another 1-3 hours a night at well just to keep up with the workload.

I go back an forth on what to do about the energy levels and the diet dew/energy drinks. I can usually do w/o caffeine on weekends. But if I need to be funtional before 10 AM I'm at a loss w/o the caffeine. I guess I need to get my hands on a good coffee machine for work instead of drinking all that diet soda.

Now on a separate track I need to drink more water for sure. So I think what I'll do is focus on increasing water instead of decreasing soda.

I pretty much just lost my taste for soda. It takes me over an hour to drink a can. I drink mostly water after my morning coffee.

I'm down to two cans of diet soda a day, from my previous six. I'm skipping days now and again so it isn't uncommon for me to have zero canned soda of any form.

Coffee on the other hand... I start my day with two homemade cappuccino's, then I may have another two or three during the day when I'm off. If I have work I have two capp's in the morning, then about 64oz of coffee throughout the day... which included at least 3-4 liquid creamers (plain) with 1 packet of sugar. I've gotten myself down to straight black coffee though, which tastes better now.

I'm slowly weening myself from the java though. I like tea and drink it when I'm not lazy enough to get hot water. I guess I would drink more if my tea flavours didn't suck.

So far today I've only had about 24 oz of regular coffee, and 2 capp's.

V

I'm a diet dew fiend. I used to drink cans only, but after they changed it the last time, the bottled DD started tasting better than the canned. When I was drinking cans, I was consuming at LEAST a 12-pack per day. When I went to bottles, it dropped to 3-4 bottles/day. Of course, these are 24oz bottles.... If I buy 2 Liters, which I've been doing recently to save on money, I drink one per day.

Kidney stones....yeah, I've passed one. And it hurt like hell. I get kidney infections often also. It's one of those things that I know I need to do, but I'm afraid that if I bundle up too many "quits" at once, I'll fail. (I quit smoking in July)

For water, we buy the big 2.5 gallon "Fridge Pack" jugs. Our water here is awful...it tastes and smells like chlorine. We have a Brita pitcher, but it takes forever to fill, and we can empty it faster than we can fill it. I drink a glass of water maybe every 5 days. I really, really hate water. lol It's the only thing I can drink when I'm riding, though.

My other addiction is Powerade Zero. I LOVE that stuff.

I've tried drinking more water, but I just can't get into it. I guess I'm going to have to, though....

If it's just chlorine, you can clear it by leaving it in the open air - that's one of the steps with purifying water with bleach (part of disaster response training). The chlorine drops out of solution with the water fairly quickly once it's left ventilated. So try filling a pitcher with water and leaving it out or in the fridge, open, and see if it helps it.