Soda & Splenda Withdrawal

[cholula]

I'm in the process of completely overhauling my diet with an ultimate goal of eventually transitioning to a organic vegan diet consisting of at least 60% raw foods. Since the changes will be permanent, I'm taking small, incremental steps each month to eliminate certain foods from my diet. I'm hoping to complete the process by the end of the year

Comments

[packgrog]

Interesting. I've never been good at forcing myself to quit food products. I stop using them when I stop craving them. They are like habits that I just fall out of. For all of my concerns about having an addictive personality, I seem to be able to stop some things quite easily at certain points. I don't drink as much as I used to, mostly because I get a sour stomach after a fewer drinks. I eat very little red meat anymore since I seem to get high blood pressure issues almost immediately. I get the same reaction from diet soda, ESPECIALLY in the can (fountain soda impacts me less, but still hits me), so I only have a little bit occasionally. It's like an allergic reaction to these things that happens swiftly enough that I can associate the discomfort with the genuine cause.

I still drink regularly, but it's typically one beer and that's it. I used to down 3 beers or most of a bottle of wine just about every night. I just can't do that anymore. Sake can still get me into trouble (it goes down too smoothly), but otherwise, I just don't crave it much. Beer is nice because it's cold and convenient and tasty with dinner. Beyond that, meh.

I am trying to cut back on other meats. One portion a day is PLENTY, and even that is becoming less appealing over time. I'm actively craving a lot of the vegan stuff these days. I hope that continues. I'll never be a veganazi, but I would prefer to crave meat less, and I seem to be on that path. Obviously this makes the wife happy as well. Olives and roasted peppers and garlic on a salad is pretty awesome dinner food, honestly, so I'm not missing much. Throw some raw walnuts on there too and it's epic. :)

Dairy is my downfall, though. Jesus Crispy do I love me some cheese. I do try to keep the portions smaller, as too much just makes me feel lousy, but I'll never be able to go full vegan. We *DO* use olive oil-based butter substitutes, though, and I generally prefer it. Yes, I know that even stuff like this has its own problems, but fuck it, there's only so far I can take this before I overthink it and wind up back on stuff that I really don't want.

Another thing that I can't quit is coffee. I quit it for a while after my bachelor party, and tried going decaf. Nope, fuck that. I do go for the organic Whole Foods blend, though, as many other brands seem to give me jitters and acidic stomach reactions that the WF blend doesn't. It costs a bit more, but it's worth it, just like the Whole Foods produce (and thankfully our local WF is close, doesn't overcharge like some have, and has a lower than usual proportion of miserable, entitled WASPs). We do grow some of our own veg when we can. Some of our lettuce came back like a freakin' hedge!

A former coworker of mine, and self-avowed vegan, actually raises chickens for the eggs. He and his wife eat the eggs daily. Kinda cool, actually! If we had the time and space, and ate eggs daily, I'd probably love to do this. As it stands, we're on the 5th floor of an apartment building, so chickens are a no-go. Probably not viable for you with The Dennis Factor, sadly.

But yeah, gradual, natural weening is probably best. If it's making you feel crappy, cut back until it doesn't make you feel crappy anymore, and/or find an alternative that doesn't make you feel lousy. Can Stevia replace your Splenda (I can't stand the stuff, personally, so I just cut back on Splenda until I could cut it out entirely)? I wish you great success on progress toward feeling better!

[cholula]

It rarely works to force yourself to give up something before you're ready. My motivation is coming from somewhere deep inside me so this feels effortless. (Apart from the physical and psychological withdrawals, of course!) That's interesting that soda in the can affects you more than fountain drinks. It's the same with me. I wonder why that is?

Dairy is going to be harder to cut out, especially half and half in my coffee. I may also eventually give up coffee and caffeine if that feels right as well. Even though I'm going for a mostly vegan/raw diet, I don't consider myself a vegetarian. I've been through this cycle too many times and know that some changes will be permanent and others won't. I just don't know which habits will ultimately agree with me the most and stick. Right now, I just want to feel better. That means only putting fresh, high quality natural foods into my body. All too often, we undervalue the role that good nutrition plays in our lives. It affects everything from your physical health to your mental acumen, emotional well-being, self-discipline, home environment, and relationships.

I had chickens growing up and would love to raise hens and be able to enjoy fresh eggs. I've also had this bizarre dream of becoming a bee-keeper since I was a child. (Maybe I should cultivate the active hive in our attic and see if I can harvest any honey?) Gardening is also on my to-do list which is great now that I live somewhere where the weather will allow it.

I've been using stevia but don't like it very much. It does grow on you after awhile though.