Four years. Or has it actually been five years? You know what, it doesn’t matter. It was never my intention to count the days since I stopped drinking soda, but I can only give a rough guess as to how long it’s been since I last drank one. Call it cola, pop, call it fizzy stuff, call it whatever. The thing is that I just don’t drink it anymore. So how did it happen?
Let’s go back in time.
I used to drink soda quite a bit as a kid and throughout my teenage years. On average, it must’ve been two cans a day. Sometimes three cans. Not everyday, of course, but on most days it had to have been at least two. My brothers and my mom drank soda as well, and still do, so there’s that aspect too.
There were other drinks too, like Gatorade and tea beverages such as Cool Nestea and Lipton Brisk Ice Tea. I liked those, especially the Lipton Brisk because of the commercials they made at the time. When I think about it though, I didn’t have those as much as I had soda. That plus whatever candy I ate was pretty much my main source of sugar. And I was a little kid, so I didn’t question it. I knew it was unhealthy, though, so I didn’t pig out on a whole lot everyday.
Random Trivia: That’s Joe Piscopo voicing Sinatra.
My mother would encourage me to drink enough water, so I did. I even kept a water bottle for myself and would reuse it until I’d have to get a new one. And in terms of other beverages, I always liked milk and whatever juices that my parents got. They were sugary too, of course, but I got my vitamin C from that and enjoyed it. This sorta’ thing continued throughout my childhood, so I balanced everything enough to where I never got unhealthy. I was even exercising when I got into middle school, so that helped me stay active and confident.
But still, I knew it felt like a lot of sugars and I knew I wanted to do something about this and the other junk food I was eating.
Not long after this, I started noticing that the sugars were contributing to my acne breakouts. There are other factors to acne, of course, but when I decided to have less sugary sodas and wash my face a little more consistently, I noticed a difference that helped enough. This was the first phase of how I began lessening my soda intake.
The second phase of this happened when I found that I was staying up late a lot. Even during school nights, I found myself staying awake, being unable to get the sleep I needed. After I finished high school, I still had some problems getting enough sleep. Sure, there was late-night gaming, late-night chats with friends, and I would often stay up to do some writing, but there was almost always a Diet Coke next to me fueling every move. Although I was drinking less soda, it was still soda nonetheless. I was happy that I was avoiding the more sugar-filled colas, but then another thing happened.
Sometime during this, I learned from a doctor that I had high blood pressure. It caught me by surprise and did scare me, knowing what it could lead to. After that, I told my mother and learned that she has it too, and that her mother had it before dying from a heart attack. Everything about this was new to me, and I learned that exercising like I used to, plus eating healthy and totally cutting caffeine out of my diet was something I would finally do.
Then came phase three of this whole thing. I was avoiding sugary sodas and had stopped having caffeinated ones as well; but then I learned about the sweeteners that they were using in diet sodas (as well as other low-sugar/sugar-free drinks). After reading about those sweeteners, (in particular, aspartame and sucralose), I became concerned. Say what you will about the studies and controversy behind those ingredients, but the fact that there are articles and discussions about them is enough to at least raise a concern in what we drink as well as what ingredients go into sodas and other beverages.
By this time, I was having even less soda than before. A lot less. I wasn’t even having coffee anymore. The only thing I was drinking for flavour were those little pouches of fruit stuff that you’d shake into water bottles. And yet I was also drinking a lot less of those because I found that they were somewhat bitter. They didn’t even have much vitamin C. I was still drinking juices, but found that even though some of those didn’t have aspartame and/or sucralose, they still had what seemed like a lot of sugars.
Eventually, I found that I was tired of everything. Tired of all the sugary stuff, and tired of reading about it. After thinking about all the soda I drank over the years before, I just looked at myself and said, “You know what? I’m done.”
It wasn’t hard at all. I was already having less soda and more water just before I made the decision to cut it out of my diet, so this felt like the next logical step. Plus, I had been dabbling in things like making smoothies, so I knew I’d have enough variety and get vitamin C along with other nutrients. And whenever I’m in the mood for something a little sweet, I keep the sugars all-natural and just have some fruit. On top of that, my blood pressure is normal and I feel a lot more active these days.
Obviously, a lot of people out there still drink soda and it’s not going away anytime soon. But still, the fact that there are people either ditching soda or having less of it is a nice sign that many are becoming more conscious of what goes into their bodies. It’s always their choice to make, and I’m glad I made my choice. Honestly, just thinking about all the soda I had as a kid makes me sick to my stomach.
I feel like if I ever had one again, I would probably have this reaction.
Until next time, consider healthy options when you see the opportunity, and take care of yourself. 🙂 See you later!
Kasey Lewis - Actor, Writer, Creator 