10ish years ago, I gave up soda. I had an absolutely disastrous annual physical that year. My bad cholesterol was high, my good cholesterol was low, my blood pressure was high, and my blood sugar was high. I was overweight. I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in years. Between having a full-time job, a quickly deteriorating marriage, and a three-year-old kid, I was chronically stressed. It was awful.
I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t really do anything to change my overall situation. My doctor wanted me to eat better and exercise more. Exercise was hard. Too many demands on my time. Eating better was within reach, though.
The first thing I did was give up soda. A side effect of that was giving up caffeine since soda was my only source of caffeine. I went cold turkey. And I didn’t notice anything for the first week, first two weeks, first month, etc. There were no caffeine headaches, which was good. But I didn’t feel better. I didn’t seem to be losing weight. Nothing.
It was pretty disappointing. I expected some near instant results. But I stuck with it, and in three months, when I went in for my follow up, my blood work was great. Cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar were all normal to good. I had, in fact, lost about fifteen pounds. In three months, I had gone from incredibly unhealthy to really pretty healthy, and the main change I had made was giving up soda.
I don’t miss soda or caffeine at all. Well, there is one exception. Every once in a while, I crave ginger ale. But I am able to resist. Unless I’m sick to my stomach. I allow myself a little ginger ale with saltines when I’m sick. I’m not a monster.
I only drink water now (unless I’m sick or prepping for a colonoscopy). Giving up soda was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done and I’m so much healthier than I was before. I would recommend it for everyone.
