How to Stop Drinking Soda
Of all the liquids marketed to be consumed by the people of the world, soda is perhaps the most damaging to your health. I know with all the new “energy” drinks being sold, especially to kids, an argument can be made that soda could be in danger of being knocked from its throne at the top of the list. I also realize that alcohol is a beverage that certainly can be and is abused by many. Alcohol for most people, however, is not a problem at the one or two glasses of wine or beer per day level. In fact, it has been shown to possibly have health benefits at those amounts. I plan to discuss both of alcohol and energy drinks in future “small step” articles, but for today soda is in the hot seat!
First, I admit that I have consumed my share of soda in my life. At times, I even drank a lot. It was not easy to stop, but it has been many years, now since I pretty much eliminated soda from my diet. As with so many things, me being nobody special or gifted, if I can do, so can you. What? You say you caught the “pretty much” a sentence or two ago? Guilty as charged! Yes, two or three non-caffeinated root beers a year go down my throat. That is the key to making lifestyle changes. Be reasonable. If you now drink 4 or 5 sodas per week (or day!), and are able to reduce that to 4 or 5 per year, you have indeed succeeded.
What is there to say about soda that is positive? ……………………… Yes, the silence is deafening. Like cigarettes, most everyone knows it is bad for you. Please add something in the comments if you have any good things to attribute to soda. The immense revenues and profits generated by companies that market and sell soda do not count as a positive factor, even if you do happen to own stock in Pepsi or Coca Cola! 
What is there to say about soda that is negative? Lots, but I will try to keep this as short as possible. First and foremost, it is an “empty” beverage nutritionally. It is nothing but water with chemicals and sugar or artificial sweetener added. The rap on soda even 30 or 40 years ago was that it was nothing but useless calories. Now there are many soda choices with artificial sweeteners added to circumvent the calorie issue. But, many studies link diet soda to weight gain! I will discuss artificial sweeteners another time, for now I’ll just say, do not consume them in anything.
When a person drinks soda, they are unfortunately substituting it for other liquids that a healthy body needs. As an elderly lady I knew years ago was fond of saying, “it rots your gut”. Maybe she was referring to Coke’s notorious ability to dissolve rusty nuts and bolts, but I like her short and sweet claim anyway. It can also be bad for your teeth.
What is it about soda that is so addicting for so many people? In can be the caffeine. In regular soda it can be the sugar. In diet soda, the artificial sweeteners are chemically addicting. In many people soda is just an acquired habit or taste. Many people drink lots of soda because they are thirsty, and soda gives the impression of quenching that thirst. In fact, its effect on the body is the opposite. You drink a soda, feel that your thirst is quenched, so think “mission accomplished”. Your body, however, knows different and a short while later you feel the thirst switch come on again and reach for another soda. People who drink water or other healthier beverages instead of soda are thirsty less often. In my case, because the water content of my food is quite high, I sometimes have to remind myself to drink a glass of water. Water from fruits and vegetables is as good, or better a source of hydration as plain water, but I do try to drink a few glasses of water each day anyway.
So how can you decrease or eliminate soda from your diet? As with many things, it all starts in the mind. Make a plan. Write it down. Tell others close to you about your goal. Decide for yourself that you want to do it and the rest will be easier. For example, you could tell yourself that every time you feel thirst, you will drink a large glass of water and then wait at least 15 minutes before drinking anything else. After the 15 minutes, when the water has had time to hydrate you, it will probably be easier to resist the soda urge. You could also think about the times you most often drink soda and change the routine of those times. Maybe you eat a fast food lunch and get the soda because it is “included” and there seems to be no other choices. Think this through and you might find that even if you are not ready to give up the Big Mac lunch, drinking water instead of the soda is a choice. Yes the soda is included, but so what? If it is less expensive to get the “super value meal” than the burger and fries separately, pay for the meal and leave the soda behind.
As with all other lifestyle and diet changes, decide ahead of time if you want to reduce your soda consumption. If you truly believe that drinking soda has no bad effect on your health, but still want to otherwise improve your lifestyle, diet, or your weight, then look for other places in your life to make changes. Additionally if you make choices for yourself and not only because others want you to do it, you are more likely to be successful.
If you find you have symptoms of withdrawal like headaches, nervousness, or shakes when lowering your soda drinking, then you may have to systematically reduce what you drink in small steps. A cold turkey approach works for some, but definitely not for others. Like reducing salt, small, systematic, steps will probably making reducing your soda intake easier and the end result more likely to be a life-long change.
Choose from box
Great post Will!
Switching to diet soda can be a hard thing to resist when weaning oneself off of soda. If you switch from sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened soda to diet soda you will probably see some fairly rapid weight loss like I did (assuming that the majority of your caloric intake above what your body needs is coming from sweetened soda).
The problem I ran into is that overtime I started bargaining with myself. I’d have thoughts along the lines of “Since I am having a diet coke, its OK for me to have the super jumbo size onion rings.” That kind of thinking puts you right back where you were.
What I work for, as a goal, in my beverage choices is to not drink anything I can’t make at home from scratch. One glance at a soda label’s ingredient list squashes any chance of me drinking that.
Instead I make a lot of my own beverages for times when I want more that just water. By purchasing spices in bulk from a restaurant supply store I love I can make my own chai at home cheaply and it tastes better than soda. Same goes for some of my fruit and vegetable blended drinks.
BTW, I am working on doing the same thing with food I eat. I want to cut out as much laboratory created additives from my food as possible. It’s been surprisingly easy once I accepted the fact that I would be shopping 3-4 times per week instead of making one big run every two weks the way I used to.
Comment by Techfun — September 21, 2007 @ 9:11 am
Yes, all good comments! I found it interesting that several studies say that the diet soda actually increases the chance of being obese. Maybe it is partly because of the reasoning you suggest. I know that the best way for me to avoid the onion rings is to stay the **** away from the establishments that sell them. I have a weakness for good onion rings.
I find I can avoid shopping several times a week even with my disciplined diet. It just takes a bit more planning. If I lived in a city with shopping within walking distance, I might just find it easier to do as you do and go a few times per week.
-Will
Comment by Will — September 23, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
I so agree - I gave up soda when I was pregnant, and never felt any desire to go back. Now when I see others drinking it I wonder why you’d want something so full of chemicals. But then again, what that we eat, drink, or breath ISN’T these days? That’s why I’m here…
Comment by Catherine — September 23, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
Sorry Will, but I think big mac is my only bad habbit. I stopped drinking soda long time ago, I don’t even enjoy it anymore, I prefer though carbonated drinks where there is no sugar, and water is my priority….and rarly I drink coffee, and never add sugar. 1 kg of sugar last us about 8 years, I checked for expiry and there was none, so I kept it, lol. Excellent post, thanks for sharing. Anna
Comment by Anna — September 23, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
Ah yes, Catherine, we are what we eat, drink, breathe and think. Your Everyday Life Blog is very well put together. Did you take the pictures on your header?
Anna - If a Big Mac is your only bad habit, you are indeed a one in a million girl! And to make 2 lbs of sugar last 8 years… Wow! Someone with your experience and good health habits has a lot to contribute here. So many folks are just trying to get started on the road to where you are. Thanks!
Comment by Will — September 24, 2007 @ 11:46 am
Will its to have a will to do it, lol. Thanks for you comment too. I also wanted to add, it takes two also, me and my husband help each other a lot and encourage healthy stuff and healthy life style, things I don’t see he helps me and things he does not see I help him - team work. We always have someone getting sick in family, so its our motivator too, because we don’t like to get sick, and secondly we don’t like to inconvenience others with our problems, plus we feel good. The bottom line is what you doing is great, and I think many people should consider every single piece of information you provide. Anna
PS hey got mac coupons and have not used one yet and it is close to expiry lol.
Comment by Anna — September 24, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
Ha - You are a funny girl Anna! Yes teamwork is a great thing. You and your husband are lucky to both be on the same page.
Comment by Will — September 24, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
i didnt know soda was that big of a deal because i drink a lot
of soda i drink about one can a day.
Comment by Richard — May 8, 2008 @ 7:50 pm
You know Richard, in the U.S. the average soda consumption per person is about 20 oz per day or 55 gallons per year. When you consider all of us non soda drinkers, those that do drink it actually consume much more than that. So your one can per day is not so much as you think. Even still if you can get it to one can per week, then one per month, you will be doing your long term health a BIG favor.
Comment by Will — May 8, 2008 @ 10:03 pm