I've stopped "Doin' the Dew"

[Knightmare]

Day three with no Mt. Dew or soft drinks/soda/pop/cola of any kind.
I decided to stop when I realized that I drink more Mt. Dew than anything else.
My routine was:
Morning: 4-5 cups of loverly, delicious coffee
Afternoon: Many a Mt. Dew
Lunch break: Coke/Mt. Dew
Evening: Even more Mt. Dew, glass of water before bed

So I have that stupid headache. But hopefully I'll only have to live with it for a week at the most.
YES, I still have coffee in the morning, but not as many cups. (I'll probably get larger coffee cups) I'm cutting down my caffeine intake, not stopping completely. I can't give up my loverly, beautiful, delicious coffee. I figure that cutting out the Dew is lowering my caffeine by about 80%. Plus, I don't have all those empty calories to worry about (like I need to lose any weight).
I've had so much water in the past 3 days, I feel like a fish.

After I get into the groove of this, the smoking is next. I didn't want to start it all at once, because I would be impossible live with. Oh wait.. I live alone. Oh yeah.
*sigh* :p

Baby steps.

Besides, have you seen the prices of 12-packs lately? $5.00/ case! That's recockulous!

So wish me luck, and send me Tylenol.

[blas]

Good luck to you. I've tried the drinking pop before, because my chiropractor tried to tell me I drink too much caffeine. Just pop, though. Yes, I do drink at least 6 cans of pop a day.....

But the headache I got from no more Mt dew was much worse than the headaches I'd had before. No way. I'll drink it till my teeth are gone.

[iradney]

Good luck Knightmare. The first two weeks of giving anything up are hell, but once you're over that bump it's plain sailing.

[blas]

If you feel you aren't ready, try babysteps.....this is what I do to try and curb my pop use.

Buy boxes of bottled water along with your pop. Or if your tap water is sufficient, keep a big jug in the fridge.

If you want a pop, have a pop, but before you can have another pop, you have to have a glass of water.

Works good.

[rvdammit]

As someone without regular access to Dew I'd just like to say you are evil for not having when you can

[draftermatt]

I gave up soda for Lent. I'm allowing myself to canned/bottled tea. It's hard though, I didn't drink nearly as much as you but still more than enough.

Good luck to you sir!

[derangedperson]

Good for you. :D

Mountain Dew is pisswater. Drink Dr. Pepper. ;)

[Geek King]

I gave up Dew about a year back Knightmare. I was drinking a 2-liter a night and still getting tired, so I figured it was time to wean myself off. I found that Hawiian Punch or fruit Juice (cheap stuff you can get at the local grocery store) and the occasional Dr. Pepper kept the headaches off. Now I can actually use Mountain Dew for a quick burst of blessed wakefulness if I really need it, but usually I drink a Clearly Canadian flavored seltzer water. (Local tap is terrible, and I hate bottled water's 'boiled-flat' taste)

[BookstoreEscapee]

I have a friend who quit the Dew a couple years ago...he used to come in to work with a big bottle every morning...switched to an equal sized bottle of water instead. He was OK, but then he's one of those perennially chipper morning types that I can't stand...then again he also drank a venti coffee with 18 packs of sugar every day...

Oh, yeah, encouragement: Go You, Don't Do the Dew! :waves pompoms:

(no I was never a cheerleader; there's a reason for that :D)

[CaroPhoenix]

I gave up soda for Lent. I'm allowing myself to canned/bottled tea. It's hard though, I didn't drink nearly as much as you but still more than enough.

Good luck to you sir!

Hoohah! So I'm not the only one who has given up soda for Lent! YAY! :)

It's hard for me though 'cos my husband isn't Catholic so he doesn't have to give up anything and he's drinking sodas left and right! I've been drinking kool-aid, grape juice, and much more water! I'm actually beginning to like the taste of water again, though sometimes, I do wish I had a soda-tasting cup of liquid in front of me. *le sigh*

[BookstoreEscapee]

If plain water doesn't grab ya', try adding some juice...OJ or grape juice work well to add a little flavor without adding a ton of sugar and calories...

[Greenday]

I've been pretty bad in college with drinking soda. I've been drinking anwhere from 3-5 20oz bottles of pepsi every day. Definately bad for me. Then I bought a 12 pack of cans of coke. After I finish those cokes, I'm going to stop drinking soda, switch to vitamin waters. Much healthier. We'll see how long it lasts.

[blas]

I drink Dr. Pepper when I want to burp like a man.

Dew is for the taste. It doesn't do much to keep me awake or make me crazy anymore.

[ShortTemperHatesStupidity]

I'm actually beginning to like the taste of water again

Water has a taste? Is it the taste of BLAH, cuz that's what I get... :lol:

Knightmare:

Good for you cutting back on your Dew intake. Never drank it myself, mainly because I heard terrible things about what it can do to you (the amount of caffeine is insane). Kudos

On a side note, I see you're looking to quite smoking next. I have a few pointers as a former smoker (quit cold turkey in June '06)

*Do it for you, no one else
*Keep a list in your wallet of reasons you're quitting ($, health, stench, etc.). It helps to remind you of the reasons for your self-inflicted torture (you glutton for punishment, you)
*Gum... lots and lots of gum
*Change your routine-If you woke up, had a ciggy, and then took a shower as your morning routine, try instead to hit the snooze a bit or watch some morning news/weather to kill that time. I switched it up and had breakfast before the shower.

If you need any support I'll volunteer to be a crutch. It's not easy, but it can be done.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Am I the only one here who read the title of this thread and wondered "What is she doing talking about her sex life?":p

I've never been a fan of Mountain Dew to be truthful about it. The regular tastes too sweet, the diet version has a slight aftertaste that's still there an hour later.:(

If you're trying to give up the sodas, try bottled water and/or Gatorade drinks. I'd rather have those than a soft drink most of the time.

Just don't ask me to give up the coffee . . . or somebody's going to get hurt.:angel:

[Rapscallion]

Am I the only one here who read the title of this thread and wondered "What is she doing talking about her sex life?":p


*cough* He *cough*

Rapscallion

[Broomjockey]

You want a way to stop drinking Mountain Dew? Drink the Canadian version.


No caffeine. *shudders*

[CaroPhoenix]

You want a way to stop drinking Mountain Dew? Drink the Canadian version.


No caffeine. *shudders*


*falls out of her chair sideways, gets tangled up in the trajilliongazillion toys her daughter has on her living room floor* Ahem ... Mountain Dew without caffiene??? What is the point?

[Tanasi]

I'm more of a Mello Yello guy myself. 1 liter in the morning and then it's Sprite/water/ice tea the rest of day. I'm very much anti-pepsi so cutting out Dew isn't a big deal for me. I also do not like hot drinks, I can be suffering from hypothermia and I still won't drink warm drinks they gotta be cold. Oddly enough I don't like cold food it must be warm, a regular walking contridiction huh?

[digilight]

Knightmare, are you just trying to cut back/eliminate the caffine, or eleminate soda alltogether. If its just the caffine part have you tried drinks like caffine free pepsi/coke/Dr. Pepper. Like I've said before I'm a horible insomniac myself so I try to limit my caffine after about 4 or 5 at night normally. I try and keep a couple of cases of Caffine free Diet Pepsi at home (Diabetic so it has to be diet for me). Juice wise we do Crystal Light (you can do a normal size batch of this in a empty 2 liter bottle I've found out) and lots of bottled water (our tap water tastes like monkey butts).

Kudo's to you for giving it up. Also when you're ready to quit smoking if you want any advice/pointers/how did you do it type advice put up a post then. I quit smoking cold turkey over 7 years ago and I'm more then happy to give advice if its wanted.

[myswtghst]

I drink Dr. Pepper when I want to burp like a man.

That's definitely one thing Diet Dr Pepper is good for. :D I make my mom real proud when I start belching at family parties.

I could never give up caffiene, but I did quit smoking a few months ago. It was in large part because of an upcoming surgery, but it's been amazing how much better my lungs feel. I never realized how great breathing could be. ;) My advice? Stick with it. Also, if you slip up or give in (which I have, under extreme, SC-related duress) and have a cig, don't make it a big deal-as long as it's only one slip up, you'll make it. Good luck!

[Knightmare]

As someone without regular access to Dew I'd just like to say you are evil for not having when you can

I'm just evil, period.

Am I the only one here who read the title of this thread and wondered "What is she doing talking about her sex life?":p

*ahem* SHE? *checks below the belt* Yup, still there. Hi, guys! :wave:

Knightmare, are you just trying to cut back/eliminate the caffine, or eleminate soda alltogether?

I'm cutting back the caffeine by eliminating soda. As I posted earlier, I WILL NOT give up my coffee. I have my morning coffee, maybe a cuppa joe mid day, and water all through out the day.

It's not the caffeine that bothers me. It's all the other stuff; sugar, empty calories, chemicals I can't pronounce, a 20-ounce bottle costing $1.39, a 12-pack costing $5.00.

I'm getting older. It's time I started taking better care of my health.

[katie kaboom]

If you want a pop, have a pop, but before you can have another pop, you have to have a glass of water.

Works good.

That's pretty much how i do it. If i'm not careful i'll end up with kidney stones and no teeth.:eek: So i've pretty much gotten in the habit of forcing myself to drink a bottle of water for every soda i drink. Same thing with coffee.

[powerboy]

I have actually stopped doing the Dew, for years now. I am trying to get into better shape, and By not drinking a lot of sodas, but I am working on it.

[Melxb]

Oh man, I gave up coffee years ago afer I quit working in the call center. During that time I was working 32hrs a week, sometimes 40 hrs a week, on the 6am-2pm shift and going to school full-time in the afternoons and evenings. All I had in life was my coffee sometimes. I would drink easily 8-10 cups of coffee A DAY. As for soda, I was hooked on Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke (I'm diabetic so no full-sugar sodas for me!). When I quit I went cold turkey with drinking coffee. I quit at the end of the Spring semester so all of a sudden I went from drinking coffee because I was super busy all day to not drinking coffee because I wasn't working or going to school anymore. Oh man. I went thru caffeine withdrawl bad. I had headaches almost 24/7, insomnia, shakes and profuse sweating for no reason--all for about a month. I never felt so strung out or tired in my life. It was awful. I didn't even realize that I was going through caffeine withdrawl until I was past it. Ugh. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

Now I just drink about one cup a day and sometimes splurge on a cafe latte, but nowhere NEAR what I was during that crazy time.

Good for you for trying to ween yourself off caffeine. I think it's a smart move. Me, I drink a cup of coffee a day, a soda a day (MAYBE, sometimes no soda) and mostly caffeine-free iced tea. That's my big vice these days. I can't be an exclusive water drinker, although I know that's the best thing for me. I just find water, um, boring. Ah screw it. Where's my iced tea again.....:o

[BookstoreEscapee]

Greenday - Sobe LifeWater is pretty good (though at around $1.50 a bottle a little pricey). I like the cherry pomegranate flavor, and grape blackberry is not bad (tastes a bit like grape kool-ade).

I try to not drink soda too much, though I've been bad lately, getting it in the morning at work. Usually I only drink it when I have a migraine, the caffeine and some Tylenol or Advil blunts (if not kills) the pain, and the Coke settles my stomach. Never been crazy about Dew, but I love a Dr. Pepper on occasion. I probably get most of my caffeine from hot chocolate, and sometimes tea (though what I've been drinking lately is caffeine free). At least when I do drink soda I have to have ice, so it cuts the amount of actual soda in the cup, and in the end I get a bit of water too since I usually drink it as the ice melts.


I'm trying to eat better in general and exercise. Never been a regular exerciser, but I didn't realize how much I got working in the bookstore until I transferred to the warehouse. Now I spend at least 80% of my time at my desk and I've gained more weight than I like to admit.:(

[blas]

I take advantage of my parents' exercise equipment and am religious about doing 100 crunches and 100 push ups a day (you don't wanna know how long it takes to even do 5 pushups lol). I've been trying to get rid of the excess fat on my arms. It's the one thing that makes me self conscious is my large arms.

I drink Dew nonstop....I can easily go through a 24 pack in two days or less, especially on the weekends......and I'm not fat at all.

However, I have taken a liking to Powerade.....good water substitute lol because I can't stand water and don't always follow my one pop one water rule.

With all I drink, you can imagine I spend about half the day on the toilet.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Pushups are hard for me because I have wrist problems and the pressure on my bent wrists hurts. I can do a few (girly-style) but I try to use weights more. And I try to stretch my wrists during the day which helps a little. I've started doing the SELF Challenge, SELF Magazine's 3-month shape-up plan. (They do it every year, March-April-May, and I always say I'm going to and then I quit or don't start at all.) I've been pretty good this first week but yesterday and today I'm slacking cuz I don't feel well. I will get back into it next week. The weather has been nicer the last few days so I can go to the park after work, and once the clocks change I'll have more daylight.

[symposes]

I used to go through atleast a 2 litter a day of diet soda, and thats when i got home from work.
Id have a couple of 20oz diet dews at work, or hit the local convient store and get a 44 oz cup of diet dew.
No empty calories, but not really any better for me.

Now i might have a 20oz of 7up, maybe. otherwise its just water.
Sometimes i have a cup of sprite, but thats just because thats all i can get within walking distance...

I dont really feel different, but im just trying to cutback on excesses to save money, not trying to get healthy or anything.

[protege]

I still "do the Dew." I get sinus headaches and migraines...and the caffeine helps lessen the effects. I'd rather do that than take the migraine meds. I do, however, get the diet Dew instead of the regular stuff. Less calories that way.

[symposes]

That's pretty much how i do it. If i'm not careful i'll end up with kidney stones and no teeth.:eek: So i've pretty much gotten in the habit of forcing myself to drink a bottle of water for every soda i drink. Same thing with coffee.

Speaking of kidney stones, there are so many factors that can cause so many different types of kidney stones, that even not drinking soda wont help.
You may have a genetic disposition towards getting them, for example. Or maybe your water has too much limestone or calcium in it, that can lead to two other types of stones.
Its believed that the liver filters anything you drink before your kidneys process it, so that drinking soda is no different on your kidneys then drinking water. However I have no crediable sources to link this from.
I believe there are about 30 different types of kidney stones, each one with different causes.

[katie kaboom]

Speaking of kidney stones, there are so many factors that can cause so many different types of kidney stones, that even not drinking soda wont help.
You may have a genetic disposition towards getting them, for example. Or maybe your water has too much limestone or calcium in it, that can lead to two other types of stones.
Its believed that the liver filters anything you drink before your kidneys process it, so that drinking soda is no different on your kidneys then drinking water. However I have no crediable sources to link this from.
I believe there are about 30 different types of kidney stones, each one with different causes.

Oh there are a whole bunch of things that can cause kidney stones. Caffeine is only one of many. I looked it up on webmd a few years ago and they had a whole long list of stuff that can cause kidney stones. The first one i ever got i'm pretty sure was from too much calcium, cause back then i was drinking a LOT of the orange juice with calcium in it, because i don't like milk and i was worried about osteoperosis in my later years. Well i switched back to regular orange juice, but then i started drinking a lot of caffeine.

Another kidney stone i got had to have come from too much caffeine though. I was working nights for awhile and at that point i had never worked all night long before, so i was easily drinking 2-4 cans of soda per night just to stay awake and work. Plus i was drinking a lot of coffee too, and i guess my body just couldn't take it, cause towards the end of my overnight stint i went to work one night around 10 or so feeling fine. By about 12:30 in the morning i was doubled over, sick to my stomach and had to go home. Went from there to the emergency room to get treated.

My last kidney stone was about a year and a half ago now and i'm pretty sure that one happened because i did "do the dew." The guy i was dating at the time practically lived on that code red mountain dew. Well we were headed out on a sunday afternoon to go do something, and he stopped at the convenience store to get cigs and a soda. I told him to go ahead and get me a mountain dew, figuring hey it's been quite awhile since i had a kidney stone, i might as well treat myself. So i got the mountain dew and drank it. Five days later, care to take a wild guess what happened?? You got it, i got a kidney stone. Yeah i realize it could have just been a coincidence but it seems like an awfully big one to me.