Insider’s Marilyn La Jeunesse began her relationship with soda at a young age. She first saw it as a treat to drink alongside junk food. But soon, the here-and-there treat became an almost-daily addiction. In an effort to kick her fizzy habit, La Jeunesse ditched soda for an entire month, and the results are pretty shocking.
The first few days were pretty rough, La Jeunesse admitted.
She almost caved before getting into her new routine. But talking to Monica Reinagel, a licensed nutritionist and creator of the Nutrition Diva podcast, helped her curb the cravings.
“Reinagel said if you’re looking for a way to satisfy soda cravings without drinking the stuff, she recommends drinking plain, carbonated water (seltzer) with a squeeze of citrus, like lemon, or a splash of cranberry juice or pomegranate juice,” La Jeunesse wrote in her March 26th Insider piece.
Even though this is great advice, La Jeunesse, who isn’t fond of seltzer, found Reinagel’s suggestion a bit troublesome.
And being a fan of an occasional cocktail, La Jeunesse realized how difficult it was to order a drink that didn’t contain soda. Plus, with her busy weekdays ending with foods like pizza and chips, La Jeunesse’s cravings for soda did not relent.
But by the third week, the urge to pop open a can of the good stuff began to weaken.
“I attribute my lack of cravings to the fact that I drank ready-made, cold-pressed juices with my lunch almost every day this week,” La Jeunesse wrote.
“Since these juices are naturally sweetened, they seemed to have curbed my cravings for sugary drinks.”
She also made herself smoothies for breakfast and dessert to quench the “liquified sugar” cravings with naturally-sweetened beverages.
“It sure felt like I was consuming more sugary drinks than usual, even if they were naturally sweetened,” La Jeunesse said.
By the end of the month, the soda cravings were completely gone.
La Jeunesse said that she even continued the no-soda cleanse for an additional week once the 30 days were up.
“Equipped with my 32-ounce water bottle and an array of organic, cold-pressed juices, I hardly realized that I was doing the no-soda challenge at all.”
She noted that the hardest part of this challenge was knowing that she couldn’t drink something, which made her crave that something more.
If she had been more addicted to soda, La Jeunesse believes that the 30-day cleanse would have been much harder to complete.
Quitting cold turkey as she did can be detrimental to one’s health due to potential withdrawal symptoms.
“Reinagel said the best way to wean yourself off the sugar-filled drinks is to do so gradually, especially if the soda you’re drinking is caffeinated,” La Jeunesse wrote.
So, instead of drinking three sodas per day, cut it down to two, and then eventually one, before completely eliminating soda from your routine.
Because if you don’t play it safe, you’ll just end up replacing the soda with other forms of caffeine or sugar. It’s important to quit the right way.
Find a healthier alternative to soda to have on hand when the cravings come back.
You might have to try a few different alternatives to find one you like, like La Jeunesse and cold-pressed juices, but stick with it and refuse to go back to soda.
And thwart your enablers. You mean business!
Dig in your heels and tell yourself you can do this. We believe in you.
Alright. I quit drinking #Soda. Diet Coke and Coke Zero have been an addiction for far too long. I say it way too much but it's time to take control. pic.twitter.com/wrA1F44A5C
— AntiHero/Si (@AntiHeroSi) March 19, 2019
It is totally possible to kick soda to the curb. Others have done it, so why can’t you?
A reminder I don’t remember setting just beeped at me. Turns out today is my 91st day without soda in my life. I think I’m officially past my Diet Coke Addiction y’all. pic.twitter.com/liCgx8pron
— Jess Bryant (@jess_bry) March 25, 2019
You’re going to feel better. You’re going to look better. All this #stress is going to pay off.
You may even end up flipping your taste buds. Call us crazy, but it could happen.
So it’s been a week now since I stopped drinking soda 🥤 and yesterday at the movie theater I tried to drink some and it just was too nasty so mission accomplished I broke my soda addiction.
— Jami ᵘʷᵘ✨🎄ジャミ (@JamiUwUs) March 8, 2019
That is, unless you’ve chosen to simply live in denial. We’re mad, but we get it.
I wouldn't say I have an addiction to soda I like to call it a passion.
— Ivan Zovko (@Ivandagreatest) March 22, 2019
Find a support group. Break the habit. You can do it!
Take it from La Jeunesse — taking soda out of the equation is possible and can have some seriously good health benefits.
Try the challenge and report back. We have a feeling you’ll be off the stuff for good.
