So, I stopped drinking diet soda...but what about caffeine?

Big ice tea fan here. You can get flavor without sugar too. China Mist has a fabulous Passion Fruit tea.

My problem hasn't been giving up the caffeine - it's the sugar.

I seriously cut down on caffeine and got major headaches. It took a few months to feel like the energy was back, but it came back. Now I limit myself to a soda every couple of days and I drink lots of iced tea (very little caffeine there).

Prior to Whole 30 I drank a lot of diet Mountain Dew and black iced tea with Splenda. Since I had to cut the soda and the Splenda, I went ahead and gave up caffeine, too. I was tired for maybe a week, but otherwise it's no different now. I have it occasionally, but I can't have caffeine past lunch or I won't fall asleep at night. I used to be able to drink soda and go right to bed.

The only time I consider it is when I workout out in the morning. Everybody in my fitness group takes a pre-workout. I have a new fitness challenge starting Monday and I can't decide if I want to reintroduce the pre-workout. I prefer not 'needing' caffeine to start my day.

Kudos to you for stopping it!  It's poison.  I used to begin my day by drinking a big bottle of Diet Coke.  When my bone density was showing up as horrible, I cut it out, cold turkey.  I did get headaches but used Excedrin for a while.  16 years later, the only caffeine I have is chocolate (whenever).  I stay away from any sugar substitutes too (they give me migraines).
Beginning your day with a big mug of almost-boiled water with a lemon squeezed in there is best.  Since I quit, I can't be without my water bottle (Thermos).
Good luck to you!!

It's been 600+ days since I had a diet soda or any soda for that matter. I still drink coffee and sometimes Starbucks energy drinks. I'm not an ice tea drinker - I wish I was because I do get bored of water all the time. 

I gave up caffeine four years ago. I was tired for about a week at first. It really wasn't too bad though. 

Now, when I do have caffeine, I feel really jittery and sick. It really amazed me to realize just how strong its effects were. Just like a drug. The same thing happened with cold medicine. I didn't take that for a really long time and then when I took some it really knocked me out. 

Caffeine is why I drink a cup of coffee every morning. I have to. It'll sound ridiculous, but the headache actually frightens me. It is so intense and makes me feel so bad if I skip my coffee.

I am gradually trying to get away from it. I am down to one cup of black coffee in the morning when I wake up.

I think my next move will eventually be to switch to tea and then keep drinking less and less until I am no longer dependent.

I have always thought that you were a pea who was against toxic chemicals in food & were concerned about the environment. 

Just wondering why drinking a diet soda, with many additives would be working with you when you are trying to lose weight (from another thread or 2)?   Simply just wondering, that's all.  I am bored on a Sunday morning. 

iamkristinl16   I am glad that you are making great efforts to live healthier.  I am NOT judging you at all, I was simply curious.  

I grew up on a farm and have, for the most part, eaten 'clean' for almost all of my life.  Even when I got married and moved into the city, I still had a garden and my family had a huge garden.  I had school friends who continued on with farming and would get most of my meat from what they were raising.  Simply how I was raised.  There wasn't any money for pop or sugar drinks (except kool-aid in the summer, a treat) and snack food wasn't something that was purchased.  I don't buy much processed food as I was taught to make stuff using basic ingredients.  I cannot eat 'hot' or 'spicy' food.  That again, limits my diet.  

Everyone has a different background.  I haven't been able to wrap around the thought of drinking pop in the morning, ever.  Simply not something that was a common thing to do.

Even now, my ddil's family has a huge market garden and I get a lot of produce from them.  I live in the Niagara area, known as the "Orchards of Canada".  I worked in the agricultural sector and know many farmers.  I am very fortunate to be able to buy #2 produce or have permission to go into orchards to glean produce that has been left behind.  I know that my situation is unique.  

On Thanksgiving, it is so great to know where the food that is on my table has come from.  Again, totally unique.  

I am not perfect as I don't do as much canning and freezing of fruits/vegetables as I used to, as I live alone.  I do some, but mainly for my ds & his family as my dgc has severe peanut allergies + it is a way that I can help them out a bit.  

I like to buy local produce and when in season.  I eat as many strawberries when they are in season, because the Niagara strawberries are the BEST in the world.  There are many greenhouses that sell produce in my area all year round.  

Everyone has their own 'food history'.  I am volunteering with an organization to help people who have not had the example of how to cook without boxes or cans of prepared food.  It is great to see people learn that it isn't hard to buy a whole chicken and prepare several different meals with it; to save the water from the steamed vegetables and then also use the chicken carcass and make a tasty soup.  

I wish you and other peas great success as you each work on your eating habits and reduce the use of prepared food.  

When I gave up Diet Coke I found that a glass of water was all I needed to perk me back up. Sodas can dehydrate you. I think the afternoon sluggishness I experienced was for that reason.

I used to be a huge Diet Coke drinker. I stopped drinking it about eight years ago and never substituted anything for the caffeine (I was never a coffee or tea drinker). Your body gets used to not having it and I don't feel like I need the caffeine at all.