How can I possibly quit drinking soda?

Posted: Sunday, December 11, 2011

Is it really bad for me? I can’t seem to quit? How hard is it? Will I get headaches? Will I lose weight? What will I drink in place of my soda?

If you’re like most people I know, you are addicted to one of these products above. You might even be a Mountain Dew person or maybe Dr Pepper. It doesn’t matter really… you have an addiction that seems nearly impossible quit.

Every time you stop to get gas, eat food at a restaurant, walk to your class at school… It’s right there in your face and you don’t say no. It’s too easy. And besides, it tastes GREAT!

For me it was always Diet Coke. I couldn’t go a day without it. I was only about 11 or 12 when I tried it. Me and Mom were having lunch at Jack in the box together. She always drank Diet Coke. I asked her why? Why Diet Coke? She said “Because there’s no calories and I’m trying to watch my weight etc”. Then I asked her, “Yeah, but how does it taste?” It was my mistake for tasting it and hers for offering it I guess… LOL

It wasn’t until around 2008 that my attention was grabbed by a documentary that my wife was watching about aspartame.No clue what aspartame even was then.

Sweet Misery - A Poisoned World

Here’s a link to watch it free on youtube now: http://youtu.be/ZI7_8FDzuJE

My wife calmly explained to me that the sweetener used in all diet sodas contain a form of this product.

I sat on the edge of my bed and began listening to all the people who were having the exact same symptoms as me and WORSE!! The common link to us all: Aspartame.

Notice the small warning label on most diet sodas, sweeteners, Crystal Light and even sugar free chewing gum:  “PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE”

I don’t know why this jarred my attention so much but it really got me thinking. I’ve been poisoning myself for 25 years without even knowing it. Game over. I’m out. No more soda. I’m done.

Haha…. So I thought anyways. It’s a lot like the mafia… you don’t just “Get out”. I tried several times quitting cold turkey and always ended up right back where I started. I could go a month but that was about it. “Why can’t I quit you!!!!”

This went on for most of 2008. On and off…. on and back off again. Friends and family making fun, jokes.. “Hey Billy, are drinking soda this week or no?…” Thanks guys. I love you too. It was rough. Cause I loved soda soooo much.

Tired of failing I decided to try the slow weening method. I told myself first and foremost ” Self….. we don’t want the poison right? We gotta stop drinking the poison OK?” “But it tastes so good!!!”
Here was my plan: We’re not “quitting” soda… we’re limiting it to smaller amounts this month. Instead of two giant 64 ounce cups today…. only 1.

A month passed and I initiated the next big step… only 1 can of Diet Coke per day or else!!! It wasn’t really that bad at all. In fact I was prepared for the next step already in my mind. It was working! And…. no caffeine headaches like before when I tried quitting cold turkey.

Along came month 3, which came quicker than I had realized… Only 1 can of soda every other day. My plan was to continue this for an entire month.

But I got excited… only 2 weeks later I only had an occasional soda with my lunches or dinner eating out etc) This phase lasted awhile. A huge improvement I felt. Eventually I decided that I was ready. No more soda.

  It was the holidays and while visiting my family in California, I made my mom watch the documentary. She was horrified to learn about aspartame and all the years we had been poisoning ourselves.

I made a commitment to my Mom on Thanksgiving 2009.Together we vowed to never drink another Diet soda. To this day, her and I have successfully kicked the Diet Soda monkey.

And I bet you’re thinking… Well… I don’t drink “Diet” sodas.. hahaha So I’m good right?
No, you’re not. I later learned that the acid levels of regular soda: Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew and even Sprite are highly acidic!!!! They all have a PH level of between 2.8 - 3.5 as shown on this chart below.

Your body has to remain slightly alkaline to fight off sickness etc. Neutral is a PH level of 7. You can see that even Starbucks is at a 5.5 a little better than soda, but still acidic.

The goal is to get your body’s PH level up so you can feel good all the time. Every time you drink a soda you’re dragging your body’s PH level as low as it can go. This probably explains why I felt tired all the time. Not to mention getting sick really easily. Regular Coke is the MOST acidic!! 2.8 PH WOW!

The reason I’m sharing this personal story with you is because I know that many of you are in the same boat and want to quit soda. The first step is wanting too. If you don’t want to… you won’t. Plain and simple.

I’m glad that I did and I would never go back now because of the way that i feel. Aside from no more soda… there is a whole list of things that I have come to realize that make a difference in how I feel. I’ve made a lot of changes and with change comes sacrifice. But the sacrifice for feeling great is not even a sacrifice in my eyes.

I’ve also been made fun of by my friends for breaking the mold, going a different way, trying new things to improve my life and that’s OK…. It’s my life and I’m happy about it :)

I will continue to help others that want to feel better by answering questions and sharing my experiences as they happen. I don’t claim to know everything, but I learn something everyday and will continue to pass on what I find out.

I hope that this entry has helped someone, somewhere.

-B