No More Soda!

Are you trying to eliminate soda from your diet? I used to drink 6 Dr. Peppers a day, believe me, it was not easy quitting. It was just a bet. My mom bet me that I couldn't cut soda out of my life. I had to prove her wrong, and now...I wouldn't have it any other way! I quit cold turkey, took a few Excedrin, and went through my "caffeine" withdrawals for about 4 days. After the initial shock though, I felt amazing. I also lost 10 pounds in the process (not in 4 days, but in about 2 weeks). Here are some ways to help you kick your habit.

Let the pictures do the talking:
Some say the best way to stop something is to see the outcome! A friend of mine quit her soda guzzling after surfing the net and noticing the impact that drinking soda has on your body -- in this case it was cellulite. She was so freaked out by the dozens of pictures of it that she immediately stopped drinking soda. It was actually quite funny to me that it took her so many years to figure out what kind of toll fatty drinks can take on a body. Me, I didn't care. I drank my 6 Dr. Pepper's a day and was quite content! I worked out everyday and I figured that would cover me!

Nice and easy:
Sometimes weaning ourselves off of something works best. I knew this would not work for me, because if I had one, I'd have to have another! But I know a ton of people who have weaned themselves down to just one soda a day trying to eventually cut it from their diet completely. If you can take this route, more power to you! My mother drinks just one soda a day. She said she has to for the caffeine or she will have the worst headache. After a couple days of quitting cold turkey, my headaches stopped. But, to each their own!

Every now and then:
I guess I would fall into this category. I have a soda when we go "out" to eat but that is the only time I allow it. It is sort of like a nice "treat". But even now, having it so rarely, it just doesn't have the "Ahh" factor that it used to! But it is always nice to get to splurge once in a while.

Just let it go:
Have you tried to quit anything cold turkey? It is not the simplest of tasks I've completed in my life! Let my Dr. Pepper go? Are you kidding me? You truly must be in the right state of mind to to just "stop". It was hard for me to keep up my mentality when my headaches were growing increasingly worse by the day, but I took some Excedrin, and I kept my self in line by filling up with lots of water! If you're to full to drink any soda, you'll be less tempted! Detox is hard! I won't lie! But the end result was fabulous! I feel so great now and I have a ton of energy that on any given day I would have needed my "caffeine boost" for.

I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks after I "kicked the habit" and I feel amazing. I'm now a Crystal Light junkie and when I really crave something different I drink a little milk or some tea and it helps to itch the scratch, so to speak. Find out what works best for you and stick to it! It will be worth it!