I swear my mom started me on soda from the bottle.. she was a Pepsi addict. I remember from an early age asking for a sip of her soda and getting yelled at (but not in Alex Baldwin style) for guzzling more than half of it down. I remember switching to Diet Pepsi when I was about 12 or so when I went to visit mom's friend for the summer and that is what she drank. I remember my brother and sister staying up all hours of the night playing Nintendo fueled by the caffeine in our soda. When I was pregnant I did switch to Sprite and tried to drink more milk (yuck) but after I was done breast feeding I went back to soda. There has been periods where I have been soda free and a real good water drinker. It helps when no one else is drinking it in the house and you carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go, refilling it. This is what I had in mind when we got the expensive water softener for the house after we moved in. The water here is nasty and the water softener is a wonderful improvement... if only I can remember to do the regular maintaining and make sure it is full of salt.
I don't let the children drink soda like Josh and I do.. because I know it is not healthy and it would be even more expensive if all 6 of us were guzzling it down. They are not allowed to take sips or share our sodas, I use the excuse that we dont want to pass germs because some one is almost always got a bug and I know they think it is way unfair. I know I am a hypocrite.
This week, not on a conscious effort but driven by economics I have cut my soda intake. Monday I only had four. Tuesday I had three and yesterday I had only one. Today I will have none. Yesterday instead of buying a cube of soda I bought a jug of Arizona Diet Green Tea. This is what I drank last summer when I lost a good amount of weight. But I can't find it in the single servings anymore, only the jugs or big cans. I much prefer single servings.. easier to take with me in the car or keep track of just how much I have drank. Lipton Green Tea comes in single servings and it is all over the place in Wal-Mart.. but I can't stand it. I think Arizona is sweeter and has not so much of an after taste.
A new addition to our diet is V8's V-Fusion. I have been buying it a few weeks now. The main reason is for the children but it has helped fill in the soda gap for me too. Lilly is my main problem eater.. she refuses to eat anything that even looks like a fruit or veggie. I have talked about this before and how I am at my wits end with her on this. We tried getting the regular V8 tomato juice for her to try but she hated it. I was so happy that she tried the V8 Fusion.. I was sure she was going to chuck it like the other but she took one sip and gave the thumbs up. This helps so much in getting the daily servings of fruit and vegetables and antioxidants in all of our diets. It comes in 3 different yummy flavors, 12 once single servings and 48 ounce bottles. The only down side is it is something on the pricey side for me but I think it is worth it. So that is where my soda money is going to go.
Good for you for cutting down on the soda. I am trying to do more hot tea instead of coffee. It is helping me. I feel a lot better during the day. I can really relate to this entry also because my Aaron, my middle baby loves to guzzle soda. And my husband. I like the occasional coke but I am always having to slow my Aaron down. He will sneak it when I'm not looking and even passes it out to his friends. We have to lock it up when we do have it. LOL. I am buying more things like Capri Suns which are 100% juice and so forth. We really don't keep much soda in the house generally speaking and we've been putting Rob's pepsi in his truck so the kids can't get into it. Hugs,
ReplyDeleteLisa
I'm still working on cutting out soda completely. I'm now drinking caffeine free sierra mist. I have one a day. I just can't seem to go without!!
ReplyDeleteMissie
damn i gotta have my pepsi....lol...diet or regular i dont care and I blame my grandma...lol...
ReplyDeletekelly
Good for you for kicking the soda habit. I have reduced my intake drastically since I was in my 20's. I have 2 or 3 a week. The V-Fusions look good.
ReplyDeleteTraci
Thanks for the healthier tips. I drink way to much soda, drink too much coffee and eat too many peppermints. I have found that I enjoy a glass of cold ice water with a splash of the kids kool aide in it for flavor! - Barbara
ReplyDeleteKicking the soda habit can be tough. They seem to be everywhere, even more readily available than water sometimes. I had a major soda habit (3 or 4 a day) for more than a decade, but in late 2006 I came up with a strategy for kicking that habit. I'm happy to say it worked. For more information, see:
ReplyDeletewww.takeabreakfromsoda.com
I still have the occasional soda (two or three a week at most, usually less), but the key to conquering soda addiction is a complete break for an extended period of a pre-determined time. TAKE A BREAK FROM SODA: A WORKBOOK FOR SUCCESS is designed to guide readers through six consecutive weeks without soda. At that point, successful readers will know that they are no longer enslaved by their former consumption patterns and can either choose to quit for good or have a pop once in a great while, as I do.
This approach works because it gives readers a clearly defined mission (six consecutive weeks without soda) and tools to instill the mental toughness by with which they can achieve it.