Having been Diet Coke-free all morning, on Sunday around 1 pm I set out to shop for food at a local farm. I stopped on the way at a convenience store and purchased three cans of Diet Coke. Unable to wait to sit down at lunch, I cracked one open, took a sip, and set it into the cup holder between the seats of my car. A few minutes later, I went into the farm shop, leaving Ollie the Collie imprisoned in his Japanese leather-upholstered kennel. In order to get a better view, Ollie likes to perch on top of the armrest between the front seats. When I returned to the car, I found that he had his front paws on the back of the armrest and was basically sitting on the front portion of the armrest, which includes the cupholders. I.e., he was sitting on my open can of Diet Coke.
Shortly after I started the car, Ollie relocated himself to the front passenger seat for greater stability in motion, thus revealing the soda from beneath his furry tail. I hesitated, looked at the can and didn’t see any dirt on it, then took another sip.
The first step in a Twelve Step Program is “We admitted we were powerless over Diet Coke—that our lives had become unmanageable.” I believe that I am there.
I broke my addiction by having an untreated cavity that would suffer a large amount of pain everytime I took a drink.
I used to drink over 4 litres a day.
This technique is not generally recommended
Would it be possible for some crack private eye to figure out what it is about Diet Coke that makes it so addictive?
I decided (for the nth time) to cut it off cold turkey last Friday (3/25). I felt okay during Saturday. Sunday was horrible. And today (Monday) I came close to quitting work I was so irritable.
I had to give up the fight on my way home today, I snatched up a chilled 20 oz, and two 40-can cases. I’m good for another week.
THIS HAS GOT TO STOP.
Much like cigarrettes, I can not for the life of me understand how people become addicted to Diet Coke. I have never been able to get past the initial hurdle of consuming a beverage that has a terrible chemical aftertaste and is sweet but not sweet enough. Try chewing gum.
You checked for dirt on the can, but did you check for dirt in the can? Given it was Diet Coke, would you have noticed?
Addiction Strategy: ingest a toxin with enough frequency to induce brain/body chemistry to shift to accommodate processing out that toxin. When you remove the toxin, the altered brain chemistry trainwrecks since that toxin building block is removed from the newly established chemical cycle. It is the now overabundant toxin-processing chemicals that produce the withdrawal symptoms.
Diet Coke contains aspartame which produces methanol (wood alcohol) as a metabolite and its metabolites are formaldehyde and formate. My suggestion: Switch to new Organic Diet Coke ™ – it is made without pesticides and is cruelty free.
jakemcgraw: Remember that the sweetness of aspartame is to a certain extent genetically determined. To me diet coke (all diet pop, really) tastes like nasty chemicals. My sister loves it.
I smoked five to ten cigarettes a day for about three years, quit cold turkey. I’ll occasional have two or three when drinking with friends who also smoke, or if I’m really anxiety stricken, but have no desire to go smoke the next day. The longest I’ve ever made it without Diet Soda (Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper) has been three weeks.
I tried to get off the stuff again two weekends ago, allergy season starts to hit me, eight days later, I’m off the wagon. Now I’m trying for moderation. If some weird affliction hits me when I turn 80 because of the caffeine, I’m cool with it.
John Wilson: Interesting, I have 2 brothers and my father are smokers and Diet Coke drinkers… meanwhile, I have never, ever been able to finish a cigarette or a can of Diet Coke. Perhaps there’s a correlation between predisposed addiction caused by genetics and Diet Coke consumption.
This is a little bit personal, but what the heck.
I used to drink alcohol casually, unprompted. Not wasting amounts, but real bad for social reputation and dietary impediment. Okay, i once or twice blew out, bad, on sudden bereavements, which scared me enough to think.
Simple resolution was i looked real hard at my diet. What was missing, what was a cold beer replacing (or worse, a Jack and Coke)? Well it was for me, anecdotally, about sugar processing. So i got to fix it, admittedly after getting real worried, by eating more frequently. I do fine on tiny amounts of sleep e.g. and am a little hyperactive not clinically.
I’ve no idea how diet coke works, because presumably it’s not cane sugar, and i’ll not claim to be cognisant of the chemistry and metabolic functions. But i first found i could substitute the Jack and coke with plain coke, and then with better food. Pretty quick substitution.
Saying all this, because of course, i heard about the AA, and 12 step.
Then i learned a new word,
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wiktionary/en/wiki/iatrogenic
I’m sure the “step one” about diet coke is in jest, but the supplicant genuflection is not a concept i associate with being a programmer!
yours,
– john
I quit by using Diet Kola Capsules and Soda Water – the fizz to help the ‘ritual’ and the capsules (no aspartame) to meet the chemical need. http://dietkola.com
I found the DC addiction was strengthened due to always consuming it along with bread – I always had DC and pizza, buttered toast, etc. Once I broke that connection – and it was very hard, I had a moment outside Cosi that was truly now or never – the years-long DC dependency went away. Now I can take or leave it.
Well, at least it’s Diet Coke. My wife has
a penchant for regular Coca Cola that is
almost unbelievable. She is rail thin yet can
easily consume eight or ten 12 oz cans per
day!
Diet Mountain Dew used to be my vice. Ever since I’ve been working on getting in shape Diet Mountain Dew has now been replaced with Crystal Light. At one point I was drinking a gallon a day of the stuff. Lately I’ve been a little bit more balanced. Half straight water and half Crystal Light.
During my college days in the 80’s I developed a terrible addiction to soft drinks – craving sugar in the middle of the night would regularly wake up at 4 in the morning needing a sugar fix from the Coke machine (50 cents in those days).
Ever since I decided to switch to sparkling mineral water – no sugar, no chemicals , nothing beats the perfect drink that is water with the possible exception of red wine – also a natural product.