This week, I decided I had to do something drastic. My water consumption is pitiful and I will admit to days when I don’t drink one ounce of water at all. And it’s because of soda. I love soda and I drink way too much of it. Since joining Weight Watchers, I’ve been doing better on drinking less but it’s still a huge issue. It means I’m wasting 4+ points a day on soda and not getting in the correct amount of water.
I have to drastically cut it out of my life, because what I’m doing isn’t working. And no, I’m not excited about this at all.
At first, I thought about giving myself a specific amount of water to drink, starting at 24oz. I would shoot for drinking 24oz of water a day and gradually bump the amount up until I was drinking 70-80 ounces a day. …And that barely ever happened. Even though I have two pretty nifty water bottles that measure out to 24oz, water is not my favorite thing to drink. And if I have the option to choose water or soda, I will choose soda 98% of the time. This way wasn’t working.
So then I started setting aside days of the week where I wouldn’t have any soda, calling them “No Coke Days.” Since starting back at Weight Watchers in January, I’ve only done this a few times and it’s only been for one day. It was going well and I was hoping to add more days without Coke, but then shingles happened and all healthy eating flew out the window for a week. I’ve been able to get back in the swing of things with my eating, but not with my soda intake.
Soda is my biggest problem when it comes to getting healthy. I do fine with exercise, sticking within my points range, and eating only when I’m hungry. But soda? Forget it. It’s an addiction. And since I only drink regular Coke, it means I have to count at least 4 points for each serving. My mom drinks Diet Coke, but I’ve tried to stay away from diet soda because I know it would only cause me to drink it even more. At least with regular soda, I have to account for it and it makes me stay somewhat in control. (Or at least that’s what I tell myself.)
But the time has come to gain control over this area. I want to stop wishing I could cut down on how much soda I drink and just do it. And I am. I am giving myself a limit of 3 sodas a week. As of right now, I’m not going to count Wednesday night into this equation, although I might as the weeks go by. I am no longer going to buy it, because it only causes me to reach for the syrupy stuff more than water. I can choose to have it three times and once I’ve had it those three times, that’s it. No more. I think cutting it out this way is better in the long run because I’m leaving room for cravings, but it’s also going to be a big cut in how much soda I drink on a weekly basis. For example, last week, I had around 11 servings of Coke (12oz/serving.) This doesn’t count what I had on Wednesday night, heh. Going from 11 to 3 is going to be a drastic shift.
My main reason for quitting the Coke is to have more energy. I know the amount of sugar I have in each Coke isn’t helping anything. It will also free up a lot of my points! 11 servings of Coke = 44 points. Sickening, really. And hopefully, this will lead to another great week of weight loss. 🙂
Stats
Starting Weight: 159.2 lbs
Current Weight: 150.8 lbs
Net Difference: 8.4 lbs (-.8 lbs this week)
BMI: 27.6 (-.1 this week)
Good luck! Cutting out soda is so tough! I cut it out completely about 2 years ago and then just reintroduced it (in moderation) this last year. It's a treat that I will have occasionally. I used to drink multiple cans of Mt Dew a day, so quitting had a great impact on my weight loss!
You can do it!
Wow! You're my hero! I'm a Diet Pepsi addict and I can't give it up for anything!
Kudos to you and your accomplishments!
You're totally stronger than I am! I'm a coffee addict. I used to have 2-3 cups a day but I've cut down to one. The problem is that I have one at home and then go to school and buy another one at the coffee shop. I need to start cutting more of my caffeine out of my diet like you are because it's really unhealthy! Even when I wake up and don't feel like having a coffee, I still do. It's so weird! I have to think of a way that to do it that won't make me too cranky.
Good luck with your goals!! 3 a week is a good goal, but don't forget not to cut it entirely out of your diet too fast! You're allowed to indulge once in a while too 🙂
I cut out soda by realizing how expensive it is and telling myself it's not an essential.
Then again, I'm a coffee addict and that's kind of the same thing. But I have a coffee hook-up who gets it for me for free so… yeah.
I think quitting soda (or pop as we like to call it 😉 ) will make a HUGE difference. HUGE.
You can do it!!
Good luck!! I totally get where you're coming from because I have an addiction to Diet Pepsi, to the point where if I don't have one mid-afternoon, I'm going to get a massive headache. Not good. I need to start weaning myself off it too!
I only have soda every once in a while, when I really crave an ice-cold coke. I know that it is hard though if you're used to drinking it all the time. It's definitely somewhat addictive.
I think you're doing a good job, Stephany!
go girl!! this is a good challenge!
I'm not a soda drinker, but my boyfriend is. He has told me that he loves the sweetness of it, but it's mostly the bubbles that he likes. Since I'm completely addicted to sparkling water, he has switched to that and only drinks soda every once in awhile. Sometimes he'll put the sparkling water in orange juice if he wants a little sweetness.
I know you can do this!
This is definitely hard to do, but stay strong! If it helps, I've heard some people refer to soda as "liquid tobacco," because it's so addictive. If you think of it that way maybe it'll be easier to give up?
Good luck! Luckily, I'm too cheap to keep soda in our house so it's a rarity for us. I also get tired of water so sometimes I don't drink anything at all with my dinner. 🙁
It is hard but the difference is amazing! my roommate and I quit cold turkey last year, we stopped bringing soda in the house which cut out a loooot. Now I try to limit my soda drinking to at least 2-3 times a week if that.
…granted I just switched to drinking juice so I don't know that that's much better..:)
Your "addiction" to soda is like my "addiction" to sugar/junk food – I keep saying, oh I'll just stop, but then I never ever do. That being said, I love this plan and I hope it works out for you! Good luck!
I think this is my husband's main problem too. I don't let him keep it at home anymore, but he still ends up drinking way too much. I like a nice Coke every once in awhile, but I've always preferred water or sometimes juice. I still don't drink enough water though!
Go for it! Cutting out soda has made such a huge difference in my exercise/diet life. I only drink it every once in a while when we got out somewhere. It has definitely turned into a treat for me – just like coffee.
Also, congrats on the weight-loss!
You can do it Steph! I'm a total caffeine addict, but I told myself when I ran out of birthday/Christmas Starbucks money I would cut it out. I have one last cup on my card for this week, and then I'm done…for an unspecified amount of time. Yikes! 🙂
I'm with you on this! I have a few more cans left before I'm out and I've decided this morning that I'm not going to buy anymore. Obviously Tyler and I can't control our intake. Also I'm looking forward to how it'll help me because I hate eating junk food without soda. So if I don't have soda then maybe I won't have junk food at all!!! lol. WE CAN DO IT!