How to minimise my obsession with gum?

[anja]

I've chewed it constantly for 2 years now and can't function without it. It's got aspartame in it which is pretty controversial so I'm trying to cut back. I really like the peppermint taste when you first chew on a piece of gum which is why I go through so many a day. Can someone suggest how I could wean myself off them?

 

[watersprite]

maybe switch to something you don't like as much, (like, I dunno, cough-drops?) and then switch to a different stim altogether?

 

[Cerulean]

Maybe mints, you could still get that rush of taste but it wouldn't stick around (heh) like gum does.

 

[Naturalist]

My husband loves these peppermint pouches they sell for people trying to quit using tobacco plugs. They are pure peppermint so they have a nice minty zing to them... But in the US at least you have to be 18 to buy them because they are sold as a tobacco product, even though they have no tobacco or anything but mint in them. Go figure...

As an alternative you could grow some mint and chew it, but it isn't as portable that way as a pack of gum would be!

 

[Judge]

I've chewed it constantly for 2 years now and can't function without it. It's got aspartame in it which is pretty controversial so I'm trying to cut back. I really like the peppermint taste when you first chew on a piece of gum which is why I go through so many a day. Can someone suggest how I could wean myself off them?

I'm into my fourth week aspertame-free. Gave up sugarless drinks for just water. Went through a form of withdrawal for about two weeks straight. Felt really tired despite getting 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep. Feel much better now...with much less reflux symptoms.

Just decided to go cold turkey....nothing but will power.

 

[113]

I once read on a self-help blog that a way to put an end to an unwanted habit -- for example, to stop eating sugar -- is to say to yourself, "I don't eat sugar. I'm not the kind of person who eats sugar." I forget the reasoning behind it, but thinking about things as inherent qualities seems to help more than thinking about things as behaviors.

When I do this, I can maintain absolute discipline about things that I would otherwise find difficult to control, but it has to be a very hard line like this. I don't let myself have any cheating days. This is how I recently switched to a healthy diet.

I haven't tried any products over on this site, but someone mentioned the other day, and it looks useful. Maybe a gadget of some type could be substituted for the gum.

 

[Etzelaire]

Quit slowly, I tried to cut it off and started to smoke (not a good change). Now I chew gum 30' a day, 1 year before I chewed gum 8 - 12 hours a day).

 

[tree]

I've chewed it constantly for 2 years now and can't function without it. It's got aspartame in it which is pretty controversial so I'm trying to cut back. I really like the peppermint taste when you first chew on a piece of gum which is why I go through so many a day. Can someone suggest how I could wean myself off them?

If the appeal is the flavor and not so much the chewing action, you could get pure peppermint oil.
I use peppermint oil in water. A quarter teaspoon in a pint of water makes very strong flavor.
So strong, in fact, that I can refresh the water several times without adding more oil. I carry one
bottle with me when I go places and have another at my bedside. I use a straw to take a sip.
(It's not for chugging.) A mouthful is good.

 

[Naturalist]

If the appeal is the flavor and not so much the chewing action, you could get pure peppermint oil.
I use peppermint oil in water. A quarter teaspoon in a pint of water makes very strong flavor.
So strong, in fact, that I can refresh the water several times without adding more oil. I carry one
bottle with me when I go places and have another at my bedside. I use a straw to take a sip.
(It's not for chugging.) A mouthful is good.

I can vouch for how good this is. I grow mint at my house and fill a water bottle with fresh mint, then with water. It is very refreshing.

 

[watersprite]

I am going to try this. I am trying to cut back on sweets and gum and have a vigorously spreading patch of spearmint. Thanks tree and Naturalist

 

[JuniperBug]

You know, what worked for me without my trying was starting to drink water all day and just carry a bottle with me constantly. When I moved to Taiwan where this is common practice, especially for children, it just sort of happened. I'm a teacher so every fifteen minutes someone is telling children to drink water so I started doing it too. It only took about a month for the habit to kick in and now it's my new obsession. It seems strange but I drink out of my water bottle nonstop at home, at school, at restaurants, and even on my scooter at stoplights and, like I said, it's very common here.

It might be worth a try. Plus water is so good for you!