12 Steps to Healthy Living – Step One – Kick the soda habit

Are you still drinking colas? Is soda your go to caffeine drink for that afternoon pick-me-up?

The folks that know say Americans consume 11 pounds of sugar per person, annually, just from drinking Coca-Cola alone, and in case you were wondering, “that's an average of 399 servings of Coke products every year, for every American, which is a bit less than the typical 56 gallons of soda the average American drinks annually.”  Whatever you do, please do not trade one bad habit for another. Diet soda is worse for your health than even sugar is!

How To Kick The Habit

• Write down your reasons for quitting; lose weight, be healthier, save money, whatever your reason is, write it down, post it on your fridge, in your car, at your desk, anywhere you will see it….
• Get a friend to kick the habit with you, accountability helps
• Drink more water than you thought you ever could! This will help keep cravings away and flood your cells with hydration, making you feel better.
• Drink Green Tea or herbal teas, unsweetened of course, or sweetened with Stevia or a small amount of honey
• Drink Fruit Infused Water, same great water, more flavor! I love this fruit infusing water bottle!
• Go cold-turkey. This is my way of giving up something, I'm so all-or-nothing… If you aren’t as passionate about giving up your soft-drink habit, then try weaning yourself off by drinking one less per day until you can completely quit
• Take a plastic baggie and put 17 teaspoons of sugar in it. Tape this to an empty bottle of soda to remind yourself of the amount of sugar you consume in one 20 ounce soda
• What motivates you?  Is it seeing your success? Motivate yourself by putting your “soda money” in a piggy bank or jar, when you fill it up treat yourself to some reward!
• Instead of drinking a soda, try carbonated water, it's great! Pellegrino and Perrier are both carbonated mineral water that will give your mouth that fizzy feeling without the sugar. You can even buy Perrier by the case at Costco, it is often on sale!
• If you absolutely must have a soda, try to cheat clean and cheat smart by drinking something like Virgil's Zero Root Beer, sweetened with Stevia. Virgil's even makes a Dr. Pepper substitute called Dr. Better
• Even better than that there is a Kombucha (fermented health drink) flavor Root Beer, Ginger, and Doctor that are very good for you and taste similar to soda. Try looking for those at your local health food store. The brand is Live.
• Try drinking some stevia sweetened homemade lemonade.
• Start juicing. Not only will you feel amazing with all that natural energy, you'll BE healthier! My favorite juice book is The Juicing Bible.
• Create a new ritual. If you used to drink a soda every afternoon, try taking a walk instead, or drinking hot water with a drop of peppermint oil.
• Get more help from my Quit Soda Guide

Have you given up drinking soda? If not do you want to? If so, how did you do it? Comment below!