Q. Will I get a lot of headaches if I stop drinking soda cold turkey? -Aaron G.

I want to stop drinking pop/sodas Dr. Huber.  Will I get a lot of headaches if I quit 100% cold-turkey?  I want to drop 20 pounds.  If I work out 5 times a week, eat healthy, and quit drinking pop…can I do it?  I weigh about 180 now; want to get to 155/160.  I am not fat, but just want to tone up.  P.S…I am a guy who is in my late 30′s. Thanks!  -Aaron G.

Hi Aaron,

Can I do it?  The fact that you have the desire to do it makes it 100% possible. Once you put a plan on paper it becomes entirely probable. The human body is infinitely adaptable to almost any situation and as you change the settings by which you chose to live then your body will change as a result. You have set some admirably healthy goals for yourself so lets get crackin.

I used to drink 4 to 5 Diet Cokes a day back when I was in medical school and now I can say I haven’t had one in many years and don’t have any longing or desire for one.

Some people can quit cold turkey and yes they may or may not experience a headache for a day or two but it’s soon behind them. What I recommend is a gradual reduction.

Lets say you drink three a day right now. Determine an acceptable time frame such as three weeks and make it an unbending rule that you will reduce your soda intake to 2 per day for the upcoming week, followed by one per day for the week following that and then in your final week of toxic soda enjoyment allow your self just 2 or 3 sodas the entire week.  

Throughout this time you are drinking more and more water to replace the old bad habit.  Try not to substitute other sugary options like crystal light or juice.  

If it is truly your desire to end this habit then I also recommend employing some mental imagery.  When I quit I would drink a Diet Coke and the whole time I was drinking it I would repeat thoughts of how the Coca Cola company had made me a slave to their product.  How THEY and not I was making choices for my life and how much a resented being controlled in such a way.  I quickly gave it up out of sheer anger and determination to be my own man and not become a slave to anyone.  

You will rid yourself of this habit soon and notice how much better you feel and sleep.

If you are new to exercising then start slow and gradually build it up. You don’t need to workout for 90 minutes every day. Start with 30 minute workouts and find 2 or three different types of exercise that you actually ENJOY. If you are a total novice to exercise then find a book, a DVD, or pay a trainer to guide you as you get started.  It’s just too easy to do. Try a boot camp workout or join a good gym that offers quality training. Buy a set of dumbbells and start your own gym at home. There are dozens of good quality options. Just don’t start too hard, too fast and flame out after 2 weeks.

Diet is key but simple. Eat a high protein breakfast (20 to 25 grams of protein) each morning with fruit or veggies and try to avoid the grains and starchy carbohydrates.  Bagels, toast, cereal, sugary yogurts, and orange juice are all BAD options for breakfast when you are trying to lose weight. Eat eggs (3 eggs = 21 grams) or a proteins shake or last nights chicken and veggies. Avoid bread, rice, potato, and pasta until you hit your goal weight.  And drink 90 to 100 ounces of water a day.  There are plenty of articles on the website where I discuss these issues in more detail.

You have found a direction that speaks to you and created a desire within. Now you must pursue this course of action with a joyful spirit and the knowledge that it is entirely possible and in fact is your destiny.  

What you say to yourself in your thoughts and believe to be true in your heart is exactly what you will receive so your biggest challenge will not be the diet or the exercise or the soda pop.  Your biggest challenge will be to put the correct empowering mindset into your brain and throw out old self limiting and destructive beliefs.  I believe you can do it.  

Can you throw me a line in a month to tell me of your progress?  I would live to know how you are succeeding.

Now go take over your world,

Dr. Gary Huber

Comments

1. Maria says:

   February 7, 2011 at 1:14 am

   Hi Dr. Huber
   I am really addicted to diet pepsi and i really want to stop drinking it and drink more water. I had my morning coffee then water and diet snapple. By the mid afternoon i started getting a headache. By the end of my work day i had a terrible headache. A few hour after work i bought a diet pepsi drank a 1/4 of the bottle and in about 30 mins or so the headache was completely got. What is in the drink that that causes that to happen if not consumed???

   Reply
   • Dr. Gary Huber says:

     February 8, 2011 at 7:03 am

     Hi Maria,
     Caffeine. For many of us, soda represents our primary caffeine source. Some people experience severe headaches when they significantly alter their caffeine intake. But if you were to avoid it, your body would accommodate to it within a couple of days normally.

     I recommend that you increase your water intake greatly to avoid those headaches as you ween off diet Pepsi. You can do it gradually over a week or two.

     If a headache comes on then take a pain reliever such as ibuprofen and drink a large glass of water. You do not need to be a slave to diet soda. Taking some magnesium for a week before you start weening would also help. Try taking 400 to 600 mg of magnesium divided through the day. Too much magnesium may give you a loose stool but if this occurs just reduce the dose.

     Stand your ground Maria,
     Good luck
     Dr. Gary Huber

     PS: Search our site for the article “How to Cut Soda Consumption in Half.”
2. BachsMom says:

   December 21, 2011 at 11:36 pm

   I had a headache for 7 weeks and had been to the doctor three times, had multiple tests, shots, prednisone regimines, you name it.
   After working out for 5 months with a trainer, and losing 16 lbs and 16 inches, and drinking about 130 oz H2o/day, and one diet coke a day, i have now gained most of the weight back from being on the prednisone for so long at such high doses as 100 mg/day and tapering off over 2 week periods. It didnt help my headaches–no tests ever revealed what was causing the problem.
   The headaches would wake me up around 4 am and last all day til bedtime and I take a sleeping pill and sleep thru it as long as I can.

   I’d take bottles of ibuprofen and aleve along with the prednisone but they wouldnt go away. They weren’t migraines; I grew up with them, but haven’t had one for ten years, thank God. But since nothing else worked, I even filled an imitrex Rx. Didnt work either. I knew it wasn’t a migraine, but I was in so much pain I thought Id try.
   But this headache pain was almost as bad. No sinus meds helped either.

   Anyway, I realized that about 2 mos earlier I stopped drinking diet cokes which I had been drinking for 7 years or so. Last several years, just maybe one or two a day. And not even an entire can.. It occurred to me that maybe stopping the caffeine cold turkey was keeping me with a headache. But I tried coffee, tea, anything except sodas that had caffeine…..didnt work. TIL I DRANK A DIET COKE! It’s the aspertame. I know it is… It doesnt work if I drink a diet coke w splenda.
   I can be in the middle of a workout (which I couldnt get thru because any pressure or stress on my neck or the rest of my upper body brought on a tremendous headache and I had to stop my workouts) and if I DO/DID get a headache, my trainer will go grab me a diet coke and gradually in fifteen minutes or so, it’s completely gone.

   I have noticed in everyday life, if I can drink a diet coke in the morning, I never even begin to get one of those headaches. As badly as I want to quit diet coke, it seems to be what keeps me pain free for whatever reason, so Ill keep drinking one every morning if I can get thru the day headache free! I only need one. And not even an entire soda. Just part of a soda is all I need for the day.

   WHAT THE HUH?!?!?????????? Believe me, I know how crazy I sound! Thoughts?

   Reply
   • Diane Guzman says:

     February 8, 2012 at 11:27 am

     I am the slave to regular Coke, but I am the same like your caffeine users in the fact that I had a coke or two everyday. I will quit for a period of time, like once
     I quit for a year and a half. Didn’t think I missed it, until I drank one, and then
     became hooked again.

     My sister drank alot of pop daily. She recently had to have a bone scan, and now has to give herself a shot everyday to build up the calcium in her body. Her doctor states that drinking so much pop was a huge contributing factor of her brittle bones.

     I want to take a proactive stance on my health issues so that I will never have this
     very painful experience. I need to quit again…..now. Help…