Monday, April 16, 2012

Resisting (Soda) Pop Culture

I have often heard that cutting down on sugary drinks and drinking less pop was the "easiest" and quickest way of losing weight. I believe that people who said it meant that they saw a big difference in their weight when they stopped drinking pop (and since they were actually able to do it, it was easy), but is it really that simple to just stop? Since I was never a fan of cola or sprite, it wasn't an issue for me to substitute these sugary drinks for water, I just did it and that was it for me; however, I'm sure many people out there have trouble making the switch to drinking water. Fooducate posted a nice article recently explaining the reasons of why one should stop drinking pop, so check it out (source). The only problem, there were no tips on how to actually wean yourself off sugary drinks (which was actually the title of the article), so I'll try and do it here:
1. If you find yourself gravitating towards the cola in your fridge whenever you are thirsty, stop buying it! If it's not there, you can't drink it! Drink water instead. It is easier said than done and will take time to get used to drinking water instead of pop, but eventually you will get used to water and it will feel like water is the only drink that can hydrate you.
2. If you mostly drink pop at work and school, leave your spare change at home so you won't be tempted to buy a drink from a vending machine.
3. Tell everyone around you that you are not drinking pop anymore. By telling others, you are making the decision more concrete and real and thus harder to revert back to drinking pop. As a result, you'll feel more accountable for your actions.
4. Try flavoured water (home-made). For example, squeeze a lime into seltzer water (or club soda) with ice; it will taste similar to sprite (alternatively, you might want to try adding orange or pineapple juice to club soda/seltzer).
5. Reward yourself every time you decide to skip the soda; Put aside a dollar or 50 cents every time you crave it and don't give in to the craving. Get yourself something nice once you have collected enough money (preferably not food related, unless it's a salad :) ) You'll probably also realize how much money this habit is costing you, which will  make you want to stop even more!
6. Have a fruit every time the soda craving hits. Your body is most likely looking for a sugar source-give it a fruit instead.

Be patient with yourself. Not many people can go cold turkey and kick the habit right away; if you do end up having more pop than you'd like, don't give up! Try to substitute with better options (water being the best) and let your body readjust to drinking only water. It will get easier with time!

No comments:

Post a Comment