So... I have tried (and I use the word loosely) many times to stop or cut back drinking cokes, namely my beloved Dr. Pepper (and a morning cup of Joe).
Read this: http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/caffeine.html and then shoot me some comments answering any or all of the following questions:
1. Should I stop "cold turkey"? Should I just cut back?
2. Do you drink cokes? If so, how often?
3. Is it really all that bad?
4. Say something profound to convince me of my need to stop.
5. How much water do you drink?
I want to be healthier. I stinkin' LOVE Dr. Peppers though. It's tough.
Help! Okay... D.E.A.R. time is over for the kids and I'm off to teach Science. I welcome your comments.
9 comments:
Jamie- I applaud your desire to be healthier. I have also cut back on my drink of choice, Dr. Pepper. But I did it for mulitiple reasons.
1. I don't want to always be wanting it.
1 Cor. 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me"- but not everything is beneficial. '"Everything is permissible for me"- but I will not be mastered by anything.'
2. For health reasons: I was more concerned about the sugar intake.
So, I went cold turkey. No cokes for 2 weeks period. It was kind of like a detox. I also gave up sweets for two weeks. Another food that "masters" me. After the 2 week fast then I allowed myself one a week. (I even had to decide what counted as one serving!) If I ever broke my own guidlines I found I didn't have a taste for the sugar but always built it back up and had to start all over again.
But Dan and I are that way, All or Nothing!
Jamie,
Interesting article. I sometimes get headaches on the weekends if I'm not drinking coffee on Saturday mornings...but then I realized even if I do, I still have headaches. I have had bad allergies/headaches since we moved here, so I cannot tell if it is connected. Either way, I only drink about 8-12 oz of coffee a day (usually closer to 6-8, cause my mug sits on my desk and gets cold, and then I just throw it out).
All that to say, I don't think a mug of coffee a day is harmful (this may have to go once you get pregnant though)...and I am all about the diet sodas....
I know the caffeine is still there...but for me, it satisfies the "treat" feel of a coke, without the calories/sugar. Again, a 32 oz diet dr. pepper everyday is NO GOOD.
I also try and increase my water. I don't want my morning coffee to be my only hydration for the day...ya know?
Best of luck! ;) (although we both know there is no such thing as luck)
Jamie,
Profound?? How bout DP wasn't even on the list!HAHA. I make it a game and I can't have a DP until I have consumed 70 ounces of water. That may be silly but I feel much less guilt. Okay, honestly I feel NO guilt. Love you! Jamie
Jamie,
So glad to hear of your love of DP...I must confess, I am a Dr. Pepper junkie too!! LOVE IT! If you find a good way to cut back on the DP consumption, please let me know!!
Shaunna:)
Well, 300 mg of caffeine is moderate. A Dr Pepper has roughly 45.6 mg of caffeine. So, that means you can safely drink 6.5 Dr Peppers a day.
But seriously, I drink about 1 a day. Before I went to field training (boot camp) I had 3 a day. I quite cold turkey while I was there, and then have regulated myself to once a day. I quit for about 3 months last year, to train for a competition. You can tell a difference in your health when you are on/off Dr Pepper, but it wasn't so great to me that I wanted to give them up.
So, maybe just tone them down slowly, consider it as a treat. That way you can still enjoy the taste that MAKES THE WORLD TASTE BETTER and still get healthier.
It is amazing that that article didn't say anything about dehydration and caffeine. In my voice and phonetics class, we were told that caffeine makes you dehyrdate slightly so that is why actors/singers/speakers should not drink caffeine before a vocal performance because it is bad on the vocal chords to perform while not well hydrated. It could cause damage. I do not know how much caffeine affects the entire body system's hydration, but it does affect the vocal chord's hydration. We were told that if we had a significant amount of caffeine, then we should consume twice as much water to make up for the loss. You might want to reseach that a little!
Thanks to all....
Thanks for the advice. I took it all into consideration and loved your input. I'm glad to find more Dr. Pepper-lovers in the world besides me. I was beginning to think I was the only Christian who wasn't on a water-only lifestyle. Ha!
Okay.. here is what I'm aiming for...
ONE (that's it!) Dr. Pepper a week - on date nights! Fridays...
May have a few Diet Dr. Peppers or Sprite during the week, but not on a daily basis.
I will still have coffee, but usually just one small cup a day. Don't want to be addicted.
And Erin, I will always ENJOY my Dr. Pepper with Mexican food or Pizza. No guilt!!
To each his own...
And as for sleep, we're shooting for 8 hours a night.. it has done wonders. It's not always possible, but a goal. Love you all.
Oh.. and I'm trying to drink TONS more water. I'm really awful at that. But it's getting better... I have to use the restroom a ton though. UGH.
I just found your blog through my sis-in-law. I LOVE Dr. Pepper. (my mouth is watering right now). I have also tried to cut back, and I have to some extent. Before I got pregnant, I was at 1 12 oz. a day. Now I only get about 1 8 oz. a week. Being pregnant and having to really up my healthy eating all at once has made me think of cutting out DP in a new way. As in, I'm not doing it! When I have this baby, I'm ordering a 20 oz. big gulp in my hospital bed! =)Seriously, though, we eat lots of whole grains, fruits and veggies in this house and always have. Dr. Pepper is my one big and repeated indulgence to bad eating. As long as it stays that way, I've decided to consider it one of the little good gifts in life that God provides and be grateful for it. There are other places of discipline that I think are more important right now. Maybe this doesn't help ya, but I thought I'd give a pro Dr. Pepper perspective. =)
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