Everyone has some habit or another that is considered unhealthy. A habit that the person tries hard to break only to find themselves returning to it once again. For me, this habit is not coffee, but soda.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a big soda drinker. Growing up, I consumed soda without a thought to how it can affect my health. Yes, soda isn’t the only thing I drink, but it’s the beverage I consume the most above all others. Whenever I find my throat feeling dry or my head throbbing in pain, I go to Dr. Pepper for help. It’s the one constant thing in life that makes me feel better after a long and busy day.
It wasn’t until I talked to a friend of mine that I thought I might have a soda problem. I drink soda without a second thought whenever I find myself wanting it, not keeping track of how much I consume a day. I try cutting back on my soda intake, only to drink Dr. Pepper once again just because I have the taste for it.
But I want to stop drinking soda. Or at least, stop relying on it the way I do. I enjoy the taste of it, but I really need to cut back.
I don’t want to rely on it anymore. Not because I don’t enjoy it anymore but because I don’t want soda affecting my physical and mental health in any way. As someone with high cholesterol, I don’t want to drink as much soda because I don’t want to put myself at risk for heart disease. I know soda isn’t the only contributing factor for heart disease, but by cutting back on my soda intake, I hope to better even my chances. Here are some ways I believe I can stop myself from drinking too much soda:
- Limiting/keeping track of my soda intake: Instead of quitting drinking soda cold turkey, I can start off by keeping track of the amount of soda I drink each day. I can do this by limiting my soda intake. By having a set number of soda to drink each day, it’ll be a little bit easier for me to stop drinking soda completely if I decide to go that route. For this reason, my goal is to try and drink one can, bottle, etc. a day. I think by allowing myself this amount, I’ll still be able to have some soda if I need it, but it will also prevent me from drinking soda just because I want it. This will allow me to better monitor how much soda I consume each day and do my best to control the amount I have.
- Replacing soda with other beverages: In order to better control my cravings, I’ll start drinking something else whenever I find myself wanting soda. In most cases, this’ll be either water or milk. Water is a good substitution for me because it can help me manage my weight and keep me hydrated throughout the day. While a high intake of milk can increase the chance of prostate cancer and ovarian cancer, milk is a good source of calcium and is better for me to drink than soda. I can replace soda with milk and water by drinking either beverage whenever I feel tempted to have soda to drink. By replacing soda with these beverages, I believe I’ll be better able to limit my soda intake and be on the right path to consuming less soda.
- Not buying soda: Whenever I go out to eat or to the store, I typically end up spending money on soda. I think not buying soda for myself at home or whenever I go out will help decrease my soda intake in the long run. I also think this will be a benefit for my wallet because the cost of soda is much higher than water. Not having soda at home will also make it easier for me to avoid the temptation of drinking it. And not having soda when I go out will save me money I could spend on something else.
I hope that by keeping track of my soda intake, replacing soda with milk and water and not buying soda, I’ll be on the right path to reducing the amount of soda I drink each day. I know this path won’t be easy and that I’ll find myself straying from it from time to time, but I know I can do it. I know it’ll be challenging but by doing this, I hope I’ll be able to reduce my calorie intake and decrease my chances of heart disease. I know the amount of soda I drink isn’t healthy and want to do the best I can to reduce the amount I consume. And I believe these steps will lead me on the path to success.
October 5, 2016 at 2:54 pm
I’m glad that I for some reason developed this condition where if I have myself a fizzy drink (especially a soda) and I burp, it feels like the back of my eyeballs are splashed with bubbly acid. That killed my soda intake right quick.
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October 5, 2016 at 11:43 pm
Haha. 🙂 I luckily don’t have that problem when I drink soda. The only thing with soda that happens to me sometimes is if I drink too much of it at once, my stomach starts to ache. I think that’s partly why I want to quit/drink of little of it as possible.
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October 5, 2016 at 5:21 pm
It amazing that you’ve taken that initiative to control your soda intake. All the sugar that are in those drinks only cause us more harm in the future. Recently I cut out all sugar, and it was one of the most difficult things I’ve done in my life, but in the process I learned how addicted we really are to sugar. But the benefits that came from this transition was incredible. It has definitely helped my overall well-being. I commend you for taking this leap cause not many people are conscious of the damages sugar can do to our bodies.
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October 5, 2016 at 11:47 pm
Yes, cutting out soda intake is definitely going to be a difficult process for me. I just enjoy the taste of it so much that I feel like I have to have it. But so far, I feel like I’ve been doing a good job. Sticking to having one soda a day has definitely helped because I still get some soda. But won’t be drinking as much of it as I used to. Or that’s my goal, at least. Only time will tell if I’ll really be able to stick with this. I think if I just keep focusing on why I’m doing this to begin with will hopefully lead me to continue being successful.
What ways did you find to reduce your sugar intake?
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October 6, 2016 at 12:51 pm
Awesome! I think it’ll definitely help your over all well being. For me personally, I started cutting out all sugary drinks. The sodas, fruit juices, and the sugar in coffee. Now I mainly drink water, coconut water with no added sugar, and for my coffee I use honey to sweeten it. It was a very difficult transition and I was very moody the first couple of days, but that’s when I realized that we’re really addicted to sugar. So once I started cutting those outs it became easier to cut it out from all other foods. But I’ve seen tremendous health benefits from this transition. Hope it all goes well with you and I look forward to reading about your progress!
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