How I quit soda and incorporated more water into my daily routine

I’ll start by saying that I love soda and any other sugary drink I can get my hands on. It all tastes so good. 

Around my mid-20’s something changed, though. I noticed that my face routinely started to break out; a problem I hadn’t had before. I quickly realized that what I was eating had something to do with it, so I started cutting out different foods. I have to admit, I was a little hurt when I realized that it was due to soda. By this point lunch and dinner always included coke, pepsi, mountain dew…you name it. And I was hardly drinking any water.

At first, I felt like there was no way I’d be able to make such a big change. Soda and sugary drinks had become such a part of my daily routine. How could I go from drinking flavor packed stuff to boring old water? 

Well, it’s possible. Here’s what I did.

First, I knew that trying to go cold turkey would just send me right back to buying a giant coke at the first hint of thirst. So I started by switching to drinking only sprite (or sierra mist or similar). I’m honestly not sure if this was any better than coke, but in my mind, it was. After a while I switched from drinking sprite to having flavored juices. I know that people sometimes water down juices because of the high sugar content, but I wasn’t there yet. I wanted all of the sugar.

Next, I started limiting myself to having soda or any other sugar heavy drink to one meal. I’d have water with all other meals. It seems small, but this was big for me because my routine led me to always having soda or juice with my meals. I eventually started to get used to having water more often. This led me to buying a water bottle and keeping it with me as often as possible. 

I tried to stay as consistent as possible with my new routine and eventually the new habit stuck. The queues (hunger, fatigue, even happy occasions) that previously led me to drinking soda so often didn’t go away. In fact, they continued showing up like clockwork.

What did go away, however, was my response to these queues. Consistently reaching for water had become my norm. 

I now routinely have water with most of my meals. I’ll typically have some kind of sparkling water (lime flavored spindrift is my favorite) if I want something with fizz. It’s nowhere near as flavorful as soda, but it’s good enough and isn’t loaded with sugar.

You might wonder why I chose to highlight such a seemingly straightforward topic. Well, for me, kicking my soda habit was one of the first big food related changes I’d ever made for myself. It was a habit that had become so ingrained in me that changing it seemed impossible. A little dramatic, I know, but that was truly my mindset at the time. This win gave me the confidence and motivation to start tackling other health related changes I wanted to make for myself.

I hope, in some way, this encourages you to begin working on whatever habit might be stifling you.

Healthy eating isn’t about depriving yourself of comfort and happiness. It’s about depriving all the negative things standing in the way of you building the fittest, healthiest, happiest version of you!