How I did it: I had to just force myself to let it go.After a while I understood that my addiction to soda was a psychological one, not a physiological one. When I was stressed, I craved a soda...it was my crutch (because I don't drink coffee or alcohol or smoke, etc.). The craving was especially strong on days that I had to deal with my family, but I learned to recognize the triggers, and I found other ways to deal with it.

Learning what soda actually does to my body also helped tremendously. High fructose corn syrup apparently turns off your body's ability to know when you're full, so I would eat far more than I really needed because I thought I was still hungry. After kicking the soda I've also dramatically reduced my food intake during the day. The dramatic reduction in sugar and the ability to know when I'm full has resulted in some pretty dramatic weight loss as well. I've not done ANYTHING other than stop drinking soda and I've lost at least 20 pounds now...and I live a pretty sedate lifestyle.

Lessons & tips:

• Remember that resisting makes you feel better for longer than giving in.
• Don't beat yourself up for indulging once in a while. It's not going to kill you, but you should get back on the wagon ASAP.
• Allow yourself one condition under which you may have a soda. I actually have two--pizza night (which happens once a month), and when we go out to see a movie (which is a rare occasion because we have a three year old and no babysitters locally). This allowed me to look forward to a time where I could have one guilt free...best part is that I don't even need it then because I've found that it really doesn't even taste that good any more!

Resources:

• Irish breakfast tea and a good breakfast in the morning can fend off the worst of the withdrawals
• I have a teeny stash of chocolate in my office now for the really bad cravings. One piece of chocolate is far less damaging than a whole 20 oz. soda!

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Aug 11, 2009, 11:04AM PDT | 0 comments | 4 cheers