No More Soda!

Okay, I know that I have been MIA.  There is no excuse for it but from now on I will be posting every Sunday and possibly another night during the week.  Today I started my no soda drinking adventure (AGAIN).  I won't get into the dangers of drinking soda in this post, but rather I will provide some tips on how you too may be able to kick the soda habit.  

Here are some tips on how to stop drinking soda:

1.    Identify why you want to quit sodas. To succeed in the goal, you need to identify a reason. You don’t need a big list of reasons; just one that’s enough to move you. It can be to lose weight, to be healthy, etc. Use this reason to drive you to quit the habit. Whenever you feel like giving up, recall this reason.

2.    Get rid of the soda drinks at home. If you want to quit, quit now. Don’t tell yourself that you’ll stop drinking after you finish the sodas in the fridge. It may seem like a waste but it’s better than downing them into your body and ruining it.

3.    Have healthy substitute drinks. I have switched to black tea with lemon and stevia.  This still gives me my sweet taste but in a healthier way.

4.    Keep track of your soda consumption. How much soda are you drinking every day? Did you drink soda today? Yesterday? The day before? Make a record of the times when you drink soda. Then target to cut back by 50% every week, until it’s finally down to 0%.  This is a good way to start if you do not feel that you can just quit cold turkey.

5.    Have a water bottle at all times.  According to the University of California, Irvine, a simple way to determine how much water you need per day is to divide your weight by two.  For instance, if you weigh 200 lbs, 100 oz of water per day will keep you well hydrated.

6.    Ensure you have enough sleep. So you do not have to resort to caffeinated sodas to keep you awake later in the day.

7.    Persevere. As you start cutting away soda from your life, you may find withdrawal symptoms in the first week (depending on how heavy a drinker you were before). These symptoms may come in the form of restlessness, anxiety, cravings to drink again. Push through! They will start disappearing after a few days.

My reason why I want to stop drinking soda in order to improve my health.  I am on a fitness journey to loss some weight and to start living a healthier life.  I have not bought soda to bring into our home since June of this year, except the single serve bottles that are WAY too expensive.  My healthy substitution for soda will be tea and water. The first time that I stopped drinking soda I experienced severe headaches and moodiness.  I have not experienced it yet this time around.   

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