I used to be the kid who could eat six mini bags of potato chips and still remain skinny. This did not carry into adulthood, and my consumption of around 1.5 liters of coke a day? That wasn’t helping matters any.
But I’m truly addicted to soda. I never got addicted to something like cigarettes, but the powerful combination of sugar and caffeine has really done me in. Plus there’s the mental factor. I’m simply used to drinking soda with every meal–even breakfast.
Obviously, this is seriously unhealthy. And it’s caused me to gain around 50 pounds since I graduated from college eight years ago. This is secondary to health stuff, obviously, but if I’m drinking an extra 1000 calories every day, that’s definitely not good. I should actually be able to lose all 50 pounds by the end of July just from cutting those 1000 calories out of my diet.
So this month, I’ve decided to tack on an extra goal for the month. I’m cutting out coke and fast food completely. February is the shortest month, so somehow that made it seem more manageable. I’ll check in periodically to talk about how it’s going.
I tried to quit soda once before, about a year ago. I didn’t last very long. I was at my mother’s house, so soda was around, and so were my favorite foods that go so well with soda. I don’t have any of these things in my own house, so it should be easier for me. I’m pretty much going to stick to tea, seltzer, and plain water. I don’t feel as sluggish and my headache isn’t as bad as it was last time, but I’m only on day 2. I did survive a full day at work, though. My friend/coworker provided moral support while I poured the bottle of coke I had in the fridge down the sink.
So we’ll see how it goes. There’s also an economic component, and now that I’ve announced it to everyone, it should help me to stick with it. Plus, now that I’ve really sat down and understood just how much I was consuming every day in calories in soda alone, there’s a real sticker-shock factor.
If you’ve ever quit soda, let me know how it went for you and any tricks or tips you have.