Soda can be a weakness for many of us and understanding why this is so, is not rocket science. Who doesn’t like sweet things? From Coca-Cola to Pepsi, Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper etc, many of us grew up having some soda as reward for good behaviour or celebration. The bad news is, regardless of how good these soft drinks may taste, they aren’t good for your health because of the grams of sugar per bottle. Soda addiction is real and it is not as easy to break as it may seem. However, here are 6 ways to beat your soda pop habit:
- One Step at a Time
Trying to quit soda might seem hard if you’re an addict. So, if you drink a can a day try to cut down to a can a week. Once you’ve reached your goal of once a week, try going down to once every two weeks and so on till you’ve achieved the goal of not having any soda. Starting small helps you cut off your soda habit.
- Switch to other Drinks
We lose something to gain another, and this is same with soda addiction. Psychologically, it’s been said that to break an addiction, it helps to replace with something else and in this case, something healthy. Sometimes individuals are not hooked on the soda per se they just like the taste of sugar. Switching to other drinks that are not carbonated might help as close substitute. For example, fresh fruit juice, smoothie, milk shake etc.
- Avoid Temptation
What triggers you to have soda may be buying a bottle out of habit at the grocery store. So instead of walking down that aisle, you skip that it until you’re able to walk down without buying soda. Only you know what your weaknesses are… Understand what your weakness is, then work to stay away from them.
- Opt for Water
Water is essential when you stop drinking soda as it is considered half of your body weight. If you don’t want any replacements for soda as suggested above, then make water your best friend. Always have water on you such as at work, the gym, even on your nightstand before bed. The more you put water around you, the less likely you’ll go out of your way to get a soda.
- Reward Yourself
This is often regarded as your cheat day. After the process of cutting soda, you do get to take it maybe at special occasions or events. Quitting makes the reward of being able to have soda only on special occasions even sweeter. Quitting also makes it much more rewarding knowing that you are allowed to treat yourself once in a while.
- Track your Health
Keep track of your weight loss, blood pressure, and sugar levels. Weight loss is easy to keep track of just by buying a scale for the house and once a week weigh yourself. Blood pressure and sugar levels should be tracked by a doctor, this allows you to really see what life is like without soda.