How to Break Your Soda Addiction

If you’re a soda drinker, I have a simple, 3-step process to help you break your addiction. 

But let me first explain why I am qualified to give you this information. I’m from the Midwest, so it might be more accurate to explain it as a love of “pop.” Pop, soda, cola, Coke, carbonated sugar water… whatever you want to call it, I was addicted to the stuff. 

They say addiction is anything that changes your behavior. In addition to the sheer volume I drank on a daily basis, I went to great lengths to ensure I got my daily dose of soda. 

Remember Pepsi points? 

(If not, allow me to refresh your memory. See the following video.)

I didn’t get the jet, but I did get the lawn chair and the cuzzi with points to spare. 

That Pepsi Point-collecting kid became a teenager, college student, and young professional hooked on soda.

But today, I’ve broken that habit completely. (For those of you who know me, yes, I do have the occasional soda a couple of times each year. But I’m able to because I know I can have a small amount without falling back into my old ways.)

So, let me explain how I broke my soda addiction and how you can too.

3 steps to help you stop drinking soda

1. Lower your taste thermostat

First, you have to think bigger picture than your soda habit. What I mean is that you need to examine the rest of your diet.

My guess is that if you have a soda addiction you also have an issue with junk food and other processed foods.

If that’s the case, you have what’s called a high taste thermostat. If it’s set too high you need to lower it just like the thermostat in your house. 

Your taste thermostat is the level you perceive flavor. If you’re used to consuming processed foods and artificial flavors, your taste thermostat will be high. You’re unable to enjoy more subtle flavors of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other whole foods. 

It sounds complicated, but thankfully, resetting your taste thermostat is easier than you might think. 

A two-week study that focused on cleaning up people’s nutrition in order to reset their taste thermostat led to participants enjoying whole foods. In fact, 95% of the participants in the study said: “sweet foods and drinks tasted sweeter or too sweet, and … said moving forward they would use less or even no sugar.” According to the study, most of the participants stopped craving sugar within the first week.

It only took one week for their taste thermostat to reset. That meant replacing their prepackaged foods and sugary drinks with more whole foods.

2. Replace, don’t eliminate

Let’s face it: if this is resonating with you, then soda is a big part of your life. It’s difficult to completely eliminate something like that.

Instead of just removing the habit of drinking soda, replace it with something else. At first, it’s difficult to enjoy the subtle taste of sparkling water. 

But that won’t be the case after you’ve lowered your taste thermostat. And that’s why it’s important to focus on your entire diet, not just what you’re drinking.

Slowly start to remove junk from your diet and replace it with whole foods. Experiment with different drinks like sparkling water. 

I’ve found what I crave most is carbonation. A La Croix or Spindrift provides it without the added sugars and chemicals. 

Want an even more refreshing beverage?

Grab a can of club soda and squeeze a lemon into it. It’s become my favorite way to quench my thirst on a hot summer day.

3. Realize it’s okay every once in a while

I don’t recommend trying to walk this line at first. But after a while (once you’ve been able to kick your soda-drinking habit to the curb) understand it’s okay to have a soda every once in a while.

Just don’t crazy with it. The whole reason you’re trying to break this habit is that the beverage isn’t good for you.

If you go to a movie and want to enjoy a soda with your popcorn that’s okay. But if you’re going to the movies every weekend, then you need to stagger it.

A 30-day plan for breaking your soda addiction

You may have heard it takes twenty-one days to start a new habit. Well, that’s not exactly accurate. But your body’s tastebuds are regenerated about every ten days. The way we experience taste is in our brains. But this short cycle gives you time to rework your taste preferences.

With that in mind, you should be able to break your soda addiction within a month.

Days 1 - 3: Begin cleaning up your nutrition, swapping out your packaged foods with healthier options.

Days 4 - 6: Begin drinking more water. This will discourage you from drinking soda and processed foods.

Days 7 - 9: Begin looking for alternatives to your favorite soda.

Days 10 - 12: Continue drinking more water, looking for soda-alternatives, and try to notice the subtle flavors of healthier foods.

Days 13 - 15: Continue everything in the previous steps.

Days 16 - 18: You should be noticing fewer cravings.

Days 19 - 30: Your cravings will become fewer until you reach a point where you can think about soda without craving it. By this point, you may even begin craving the alternative you’ve swapped your soda for.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to break a soda addiction just like any other bad habit. But if you follow the three steps and implement this 30-day plan, you could be free of it by next month.

Sources:

https://jamesclear.com/new-habit

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16843606/#:~:text=Taste%20bud%20cells%20undergo%20continual,estimated%20as%20approximately%2010%20days