1 Year Soda Free!

[seeker5]

I just realized that today is Nov. 26! This means I have now gone one entire year of being completely 100% Soda Free! November 25, 2007 was the last day I drank a coka-cola or any kind of sodas. I used to have such a strong addiction to it, and used to drink coke cans 3-5 times a day. It's hard to believe it's already been a whole year!

I still freshly remember, how much energy I had to put into succeeding that 30 day trial of no Soda (and no candybars). I felt like I was moving Earth and Heaven to get to quit this habit. I literally made this the most important thing in my life - more important then my job, more important then anyone or anything. This was my 4th attempt in 6 months to quit drinking sodas, and I was so incredibly determined to succeed this time around.

After the success of the 30 day trial that started on Nov. 26, I still ended with momentary cravings to drink sodas for another 6 months. They weren't strong cravings, and I was able to easily ignore those momentary cravings, but they were still there. I think after 6 months, I altogether stopped craving to drink sodas. Now, the thought of drinking sodas seems like a very foreign thing.

Here is where I had posted the success of my 30 day trial back in January:

Freed myself from Coke/Candy-Bar Habit

[A GROWING MIND]

It has been about a week for me... I never noticed how addicted I was to soft drinks before I seriously tried to quit drinking them. It is really hard. I have some other stuff that I am trying to stop too and all of them together are almost killing me. I am off to a great start though.

Congrats on your 1 year, that must have taken a lot of work.

[RRR]

you should go back and try a soda...they are soooooo gross when you aren't addicted to them. After I stopped drinking pop I went back and tried a Dr. Pepper after a few months....revolting...absolutely revolting. Congrats seeker. Did you lose a bunch of weight stopping drinking pop? I lost ..10..15 pounds just from that one behavior. it actually spurred my 90 lbs of weight loss.

[strawbear]

congrats! how much weight did u lose? if ur a guy i bet u lost a lot and if ur a girl not so much, sooo not fair how that works

[dmauder]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I just realized that today is Nov. 26! This means I have now gone one entire year of being completely 100% Soda Free! November 25, 2007 was the last day I drank a coka-cola or any kind of sodas. I used to have such a strong addiction to it, and used to drink coke 3-5 cans a day. It's hard to believe it's already been a whole year!

Hey Seeker5 - that is FREAKIN awesome!!! Congrats!

I've tried a few times myself to quit soda and/or caffeine (coffee), but I keep going back. From your account of the process, it sounds like the secret is to make it THE most important thing in your life and focus on that one thing until it is achieved.

The crazy thing is, I can read tons of research around the dangers of aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, and caffeine, and yet I STILL keep consuming the stuff!

Would you believe I'm sitting here sipping a cup of coffee as I read this forum?!?

Anyway... So what do you drink now? Just water, or do you allow yourself green tea, juices, etc? I'm going to read your other post(s) in the hopes of being further inspired to make another attempt for myself.

Thanks for sharing!

Dave

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by RRR

you should go back and try a soda...they are soooooo gross when you aren't addicted to them. After I stopped drinking pop I went back and tried a Dr. Pepper after a few months....revolting...absolutely revolting. Congrats seeker. Did you lose a bunch of weight stopping drinking pop? I lost ..10..15 pounds just from that one behavior. it actually spurred my 90 lbs of weight loss.

Wow congrats! For me it was the beginning of losing about 45 pounds too . I also only probably lost 10 pounds or so when I stopped drinking sodas while the rest was lost from making other dietary changes. However, giving up drinking soda was the very first important step to being able to make the other changes I made that led me to losing that other weight.

Originally Posted by dmauder

Hey Seeker5 - that is FREAKIN awesome!!! Congrats!

Thanks .

I've tried a few times myself to quit soda and/or caffeine (coffee), but I keep going back. From your account of the process, it sounds like the secret is to make it THE most important thing in your life and focus on that one thing until it is achieved.

Yeah, that was important - making it the most important thing in the world. It meant I had no more excuse - if I was too tired to work because of the caffein withdrawal, it was ok. If I couldn't concentrate on my work for a few weeks because of the headaches, because of any negative effects from quitting coke, it was ok as I mentally became willing to be fired in order to give up this habit. It meant I wouldn't worry about anything else, and I became wiling to endure any bad effect that I would temporarly get from quitting this habit.

I ended not being fired, and I ended not suffering as many bad effect as I thought I would. It actually went easier physically then I expected, however that mindset of making it more important then anything else in the world was important because I stopped being worried about how quitting this habit would interfere with anything else since everything else wasn't as important as quitting this habit.

The crazy thing is, I can read tons of research around the dangers of aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, and caffeine, and yet I STILL keep consuming the stuff!

I actually did the same thing. I think maybe for my third attempt, I read a lot of things about how bad coke was for me. I even combined all of them together and printed it out, thinking it would motivate me. It didn't help beyond a few days.

On my successful attempt to quit coke, I ended up feeling so frustrated about being a slave to sodas, that I emotionally linked quitting coke with gaining my freedom. It no longer became an issue of becoming healthy, or losing weight or any of that, it became an issue of being free of something I long wanted to be free of. Even now writing as I go back into how I felt when I set out on this trial, I feel a chill as I remember the huge determination I felt back then when I set out to free myself from this.

Anyway... So what do you drink now? Just water, or do you allow yourself green tea, juices, etc?

I pretty much drink water all day long. I carry water of bottles around with me most places if I'm going to be there for a while. I do sometimes drink fruit juices, but rather rarely. I also drink smoothies from time to time, and I try to make sure it's only the ones that are pure fruit ones. (As opposed to smoothies made with artificial stuff).

I'm going to read your other post(s) in the hopes of being further inspired to make another attempt for myself.

Hope it helps

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by A GROWING MIND

It has been about a week for me... I never noticed how addicted I was to soft drinks before I seriously tried to quit drinking them. It is really hard. I have some other stuff that I am trying to stop too and all of them together are almost killing me. I am off to a great start though.

Great! Wish you success.

Congrats on your 1 year, that must have taken a lot of work.

Thanks. Yeah, it took a lot of work at the beginning, a tremendous amount of energy and mental focus as well as several failed attempts before finding out what worked for me.

[Blueskied]

Congratulations!
Do you miss them, i mean, do you still have an urge to drink a soda now and then?

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Blueskied

Do you miss them, i mean, do you still have an urge to drink a soda now and then?

Nope, the momentary urge to drink them pretty much went away 6 months ago.

[Ttrimm]

Well, I don't drink soda, because it gives me bubbles in my nose like you can see your breath. I normally drink milk and spring water.

[hobbes01721]

Originally Posted by Ttrimm

Well, I don't drink soda, because it gives me bubbles in my nose like you can see your breath. I normally drink milk and spring water.

Ha ha I hate that sensation. I drink alcohol mixed with tonic or sprite very rarely, and it's the worst.

Congrats on your year of soda free, it's quite an accomplishment!

[Ttrimm]

Originally Posted by hobbes01721

Ha ha I hate that sensation. I drink alcohol mixed with tonic or sprite very rarely, and it's the worst.

Congrats on your year of soda free, it's quite an accomplishment!

Tonic? What's that? Alcohol with sprite? That's disgusting! Are you hating that sensation because I said "you can see your breath and it gives you bubbles in your nose"?

[Stressless]

Hi seeker5,

Congrats for being able to achieve your goals. Just goes to show that addictions of any kind can be overcome with will power.

Have you noticed any improvement in your health and well-being?

Check out this site, it will help you more:

21 Stress-Stopper Formulas For a Healthy and Happy Life

[straysweeper]

thanks seeker, reminded me of what it took to start my running but things interfered. Its spooky to me right now thinking how I might use this for my own life.

[Andrew Brunelle]

I didn't have a soda for three years until about a couple of months ago when I had one just to see if I was missing anything and I couldn't stand it. Too sweet and my teeth hurt afterwards. I remember when I did drink soda before I got off it and I didn't even really like it. I just did it for the caffeine. Thank God for black coffee, no sugar. An almost calorie free drink with a bigger caffeine punch!

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Thank God for black coffee, no sugar. An almost calorie free drink with a bigger caffeine punch!

Heh, now that you've mentioned it, I've also being completely caffeine free for 1 year as well! It's wonderful living without relying on caffeine to keep you awake. You should try it someday

[Destine4destiny]

I have never been the one to be addicted to soda but I know about two or three people who are and it is terrible to see them drink only soda. I am not perfect but Lord knows that I must put water in my system at all times. To see my love one's consume only soda and juice has baffled me because we were not raised that way. We always drank a gallon of water a day-I guess being around people who do not care about their health has caused them to pick up bad unhealthy habits.

[carenkh]

Originally Posted by seeker5

Yeah, that was important - making it the most important thing in the world. It meant I had no more excuse - if I was too tired to work because of the caffein withdrawal, it was ok. If I couldn't concentrate on my work for a few weeks because of the headaches, because of any negative effects from quitting coke, it was ok as I mentally became willing to be fired in order to give up this habit. It meant I wouldn't worry about anything else, and I became wiling to endure any bad effect that I would temporarly get from quitting this habit.

I ended not being fired, and I ended not suffering as many bad effect as I thought I would. It actually went easier physically then I expected, however that mindset of making it more important then anything else in the world was important because I stopped being worried about how quitting this habit would interfere with anything else since everything else wasn't as important as quitting this habit.

Seeker - thank you SO much for this. It's been crossing my mind more and more to give up sugar, for at least 30 days. Processed stuff, I mean, I'll still eat fruit! I have been SO afraid of doing this, afraid of the emotional stuff I have a feeling I'll be going through. You've given me a perspective I hadn't considered: to make doing that the priority, and everything else will fall where it needs to.

Thank you, thank you, thank you - and congratulations!!

[seeker5]

You're welcome Caren! and Thanks! And wish you success in overcoming the sugar addiction!

[Matt Willard]

I've been working to eliminate soda from my diet too, and this is inspiring. Great to see it's been working out for you.

[MzKeke]

This is such an inspiring thread. I've been wanting to curb my addiction to caffeine as well.. I know that I need to stop drinking soda. From hearing everyone's inspiration on quitting soda, I'm gonna stop drinking soda as well. Starting tomorrow!!

[Calculusaurus]

Wow, congratulations!

I used to drink a lot of soda back in the day. I even went through a "vitamin water" stage (the fact that those drinks are marketed as healthy is a joke).

I feel lots better sugar-free -- not just the energy and more stabilized metabolism (one that doesn't require a constant stream of dietary glucose) -- but the "freedom" of being free of harmful addictive behaviors is simply a nicer way to live

[ArtVandelay]

Congrats! I used to drink a ton of soda, but then I became concerned that I was developing a "soda belly" and switched to seltzer. I love the stuff, and it's a really good replacement.

I still drink soda once in a while - mainly with certain specific meals when I go out... one restaurant I love has birch beer and another has raspberry-lime soda - but it's a rare treat rather than a staple of my diet.

[Justin Razmus]

Good work! I also went for a very long time, probably about 2 years with no soda, and I felt great. I started drinking it again on and off, and I don't recommend it. Stay away! That stuff is not natural, our bodies are not made for it.

I just started my new diet, and you have me 100% motivated not to drink any soda ever again. It's been at least 2 weeks without even thinking about it, so I hope I'll make it. Great work on going a full year! Let me know when you hit the 2 year mark!