Breaking the Soda Habit

So, the truth is that I really love sodas.  My favorite, though, is a certain brand of cola.  I’m not usually serious about brands with most things I eat (or drink for that matter) but there’s something about the regular version of this cola that just makes me really happy.  Maybe it’s the cheerful red can or the Santa Claus images during wintertime or the burst of effervescence when I pop the top.  Whatever it is, I love it; and for me to give up my can of cola per day is asking a whole lot.

Lately though, I’ve been thinking a lot about my consumption of soda.  It really is my only “food vice”.  I rarely go without thinking about what I eat or where it’s coming from or its nutritional content (although I’m use the term rarely intentionally—I definitely have more food-related confessions to divulge throughout the course of this campaign).  I read labels and think long and hard before putting things like chips or popcorn or sometimes even cheese into my shopping cart.  I often think to myself often that I wouldn’t drink powdered drink mix or that I don’t buy juice drinks because of their sugar content but still I find myself walking around the grocery store with the red box full of fizzy delight hanging out of my cart.

I often catch myself thinking, “this would be so much better with a cola!”  The funny thing that I’m starting to realize, though, is that the more unhealthy the food, the more I want this cola.  For example, the other day I was enjoying some chicken wings with my family and all I wanted was a cola to go with them.  So I grabbed one without giving it a second thought.  I’ll also go out of my way to justify my love of full-calorie sodas.  I’ll say that I hate the idea of non-natural sugar substitutes or that I figure it into my diet (which is true) to stay in balance with my recommended calorie intake.  Or I’ll tell myself that I’d rather have a cola than an alcoholic beverage. While at times I acknowledge that it seems a bit much, I’m really not exactly  what the draw is.

And so, it’s now that I’m making a pledge to myself—and all the faithful bloggers—to put down my favorite red can.  The sugary syrup isn’t doing a whole lot of good for my usually balanced diet, my pocket book, or my teeth.  I’ve decided to try to phase out my favorite sugary beverage.  So I’ll be going from one or two 12 oz. cans a day to one or two per week.  This is an experiment that I’ve done before and it usually makes me not want soda all together because I’m replacing what I’m drinking in sugar with actual, hydrating drinks like more water or 100% fruit juices.  So we’ll see.  I’ll keep you up to date.  My hope is that cola will become something of a special occasion, like when I was a kid.