3 Day Hump?

[Kissebelle]

just a random question: you know when people quit smoking and they say the "3-day hump" is the hardest and if you can get over the first three days its downhill from there? Is that true for quitting smoking? Is it also true for quitting anything (ex. I have a resolution to give up my soda habit.) I know it's not the same, but I was just checking because I LOVE my sodas but know it's not healthy and was just curious about the "3 day hump" which would be an easier goal to achieve and to inspire me to get healthy!

[armchairshrink]

Hey, Kissebelle, I don't know the answer for your smoking question, but I know how long it took me to drop my soda habit -- about 2 weeks. The first day wasn't too awful, because I still had the strength of my resolve; but that resolve started to waver pretty badly by day 3.

 

Honestly, my first week was kind of rough because my body depended on the caffeine to function normally. Besides being tired all the time, I got a lot of headaches, and my mood started to swing. I found out that that is normal for caffeine withdrawal, but it did creep me out to think that I was so hooked that I was having "withdrawal". The second week was better, though. By the third week, I was pretty sure I would live. And by the fourth, I actually wanted to. ;-) After that, it only got easier.

 

And now the disclaimers: Everybody is different, so you may not go through what I did. I also don't know what kind of soda you drink (or how much), but caffeine and sugar are both known to be addictive. I only had to deal with caffeine, so once again, you may not go through what I did. My addiction was both physical and psychological, so maybe that's why my "3 days" stretched into a week or so. Your mileage may vary.

 

I don't know if my post helped or horrified you, but I will tell you this. It was one of the best things I ever did. I've been caffeine-free for 4 1/2 years now, and I don't miss it. Stick with your resolution! Good luck!

[Love Her Like Crazy]

One thing my grandfather told me many years ago was to use salty snacks and water to replace any addiction. Soda, smoking, drinking, eating, pretty much anything.

 

The theory is that while a lot of salt is bad for you, it is a necessary electrolyte and your body knows what to do with it. Sugar on the other hand ( and certainly nicotine ) your body does not need at all and mega doses of sugar will give you diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension you name it.

 

Obviously a high salt diet over a long period of time is going to be just as unhealthy as smoking or soda or pretty much anything else in excess, but the salt has a way of appeasing our bodies and our appetites and gives you something to lean on while quitting a difficult habit.

 

So grab a bag of sunflower seeds or pretzels or cornuts or mixed nuts or peanuts, or whatever and everytime you need to smoke or drink a soda, eat a salty snack and chase it with a small glass of water.

 

Pretty much every salty snack ( except potato chips ) is good for you and all of them ( including potato chips ) are better for you then excessive sugar. And the high volume of water will only serve to clean the salt ( and the soda ) out of your kidneys and your liver and make you healthier along the way.

 

P.S. If you really want to quit drinking soda, go to a search engine and find a website that has pictures of the kidney stones, gall stones and liver stones that are caused by the excessive amounts of sugar and soda that are consumed by the world today. First time you see a picture of an otherwise healthy 25 year old girls liver with a stone in it the size of a golf ball it will scare you straight

[Love Her Like Crazy]

Oh and one more thing, I couldnt agree with armchairshrink more completely.

 

I quit carbonated and caffeinated beverages almost 10 years ago now and I have never regretted it for a second. I was a 6 pack a day Coke drinker for almost 15 years and it was REALLY hard to quit. Especially the headaches, but I breathe better, eat better and will never drink another soda for as long as I live.

 

I mean the fact that a single 20 oz soda has more then an entire days worth of carbohydrates alone should be enough to scare the average person away from them

 

Best of luck to you

[Süsser Tod]

Ok, I know I am DUMB

 

 

I left the cigarrete for 6 months, then got back into smoking for a set of stupid situations/desitions...

 

 

And let me tell you something, if you leave it and then get back, it is harder to quit again!

 

 

Now, back to your question. I felt no 3 day hump, in fact, the first week was extremely easy for me, as I felt so much better that I didn't even thought about it. Over the time it kept getting harder, but more or less, two months later I didn't even cared for smoking again...

 

 

One day, I heard from someone, maybe a job oportunity and started thinking about it and trying to decide. I was so nervous that i decided to buy a pack.

 

What happened, well...

 

 

i thought, It is just a pack, I'm not going to be a smoker again...

 

 

LIE!!! You are a smoker forever, and that pack hooked me again!

 

 

So even if you quit, you'll be a smoker forever, and your addiction will always be there trying to hook you, so you'll have to be carefull. Its not like "3 days without smoking and I'm free".

[armchairshrink]

Sorry to hear about the smoking habit, Tod. Smoking is EXTREMELY tough to quit, but keep trying -- it's worth the effort!

 

Fortunately for us caffeine addicts, Kissebelle, the trials and tribulations of quitting seem to go the other way. It's harder at first, then gets easier. I have even had caffeinated sodas since I quit, and have managed not to get hooked again. I have to be firm with myself; in fact, if I have a caffeinated soda, I deliberately do not finish it. I'm not sure why, but that makes it easier for me to walk away. There's something about getting to the bottom of the bottle or can that makes me look around for more. So I just don't do it; I throw it away when I'm halfway through. Sounds weird, but it works for me.

 

So there you have it, Kissebelle. Go for it! Good luck and let us know how you do!