Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | latecomer to the conversation-- my tips for behavioral changes

my advice:

in one week you will be past the worst of the withdrawls, in two your tastebuds will forget their love of Diet Coke (i swear! i stopped them 8 or 9 months ago and switched to Coke -uck!- and i can't stand the taste of D.C. now. i was TOTALLY ADDICTED, like you!)

get it out of sight. in fact, get rid of it. make a ceremony of pouring it out if you have to, then get it the h*ll away from you! if it's nearby, you will creep back up on it and "sneak" some.

if you must must must stock something "for emergencies" then stock generic regular soda (not diet) or Pepsi. that way when you reach for something you'll hate the taste of it

if you slip up and have one, then start quitting again immediately. if you tell yourself you'll start again tomorrow then you're essentially giving yourself permission to cheat for the rest of the day! you're better off saying "oops" and then trying not to have any for the rest of the day.

try taking a walk or something first thing in the morning and then if you can when you crave them later in the day. i swear (and i am a horrible exercise LOATHER) that it will give you a nice boost of energy. REALLY!

try a little journal while you're going through withdrawls--- really, it can help. i'm not a journaler at all, but if you're really suffering from a headache or whatever and feeling sorry for yourself, writing down WHY you're quitting can reaffirm your resolve (and kill time while you work through it). the key is to write until you're out of words (or time) and make things as positive as you can ("i'm not going to have this soda because it helps my stomach- the cafienne, the aspartame -yikes! really bad stuff!- and the carbonation was making me sick but i'm getting better every minute. i know my energy will be better when i quit anyway, so that's a perk. it will be nice not to be 'beholden' to my soda, too. etc...) you're you don't have to do it in an actual journal- just on a piece of scrap paper is fine, and you can throw it away when you're done, though i tend to hold onto stuff like that for a little while to flip through for bonus-resolve when i need it!

good luck! (if it is at all enouraging, these techniques above are how i quit smoking and how i got strict with the IBS and how i stopped my coffee habit -sob!- and how i'm trying to kick Coke -the drink not the drug- right now because i'm having an issue!

)

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