Drinking too much soda

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la_petit_fleur

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I think I might be “addicted” to soda. I like to have a couple everyday, and the days I don’t have any, I miss it. I don’t think it’s really an issue with my health, my teeth are good, and I don’t have diabetes or any other health issues, but I feel like it might be an idol in my life, and let’s face it, it’s terrible for me.

So should I not worry about it and just keep drinking it everyday? Should I give it up altogether? Should I drink it in moderation? If I moderate, how often should I drink it? I have no idea what moderation would be in this situation. Thanks for your help!
 
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Switch to La Croix Sparkling Water and let not your heart be troubled 🙂
 
I try to keep it to under 2 a week and many days I don’t drink any. On days when I get sick of plain (not sparkling) water (sparkling can affect one’s calcium so I try to keep that to an occasional thing), unsweetened ice tea is a good substitute occasionally. Or put some lemon juice in plain unsweetened ice water.

I’m not going to tell someone their food habits are unhealthy because there are always people who can eat/ drink certain things and live to be 80+, but if you’ve been drinking a lot of pop, whether diet or sweetened, and you stop doing that and start drinking water instead, you will feel a big difference, enough to show that it does do things to your body. I used to drink a lot more pop but I stopped because I felt a difference when I went to water.
 
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I definitely thought this thread was about alcohol. If the soda is actually damaging your health, (“it’s terrible for me”) then isn’t that at least a venial sin? We should avoid those. It seems like following your conscience would be giving up the soda. Or you may be mistaken and it is not in fact damaging your health.
 
You’re right, soda is not good for you.
Perhaps you could wean yourself from it gradually. Maybe limit it to once a day at first, then slowly cut down to a couple times a week.
Even if your health is good now, soda can contribute to future health problems. You’re wise to take action now rather than later.
 
IMO
  1. I would start with moderation. Limit how many soda you have in a day/week. If you find that moderation isn’t working and you simply want to drink lots of soda, go to step 2.
  2. Don’t buy/drink any soda ever, except maybe in unusual circumstances, like you’re at a social event and there is soda to drink. But don’t buy it yourself.
Also: find a healthier alternative that you still enjoy. Sparkling water or club soda, or some water mixed with some tonic water, etc. If you like the fizzy sensation that isn’t so bad but the craving for sugar applies to a lot more than just soda and it’s an extremely widespread craving. I enjoyed a generous amount of Jagermeister tonight and it has sugar added :confused:
 
I think it is very hard to moderate any addiction. My dad died an alcoholic, and I also like a drink. I have found giving it up for lent and advent for many years has helped me to be in control. In order to convince myself that I am in control, I generally give up two or three weeks in advance, and I don’t start drinking again until a week or two after Easter or Christmas.

Any habit that you cannot control becomes an addiction. The test seems to be that if it makes you feel uneasy, you need to do something.
 
Well, I think it’s terrible for everyone. At the very least it has zero nutritional value
 
Two a week sounds difficult, but a good number to stick to.
 
Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day and no pop for a while and it will stop being difficult. It’s just a habit and can be broken.

I’ve done 6 weeks with no beverage except plain flat non-sparkling non-flavored water. No coffee or tea, no soda, no juice, no alcohol no nothing. Not even milk. It is difficult but doable.
 
la_petit_fleur said:
but I feel like it might be an idol in my life
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This is concerning.

Liking soda, even liking soda a whole lot, is not idolatry.

Would you do anything for a soda? If you had to, would you break the law for soda? If not, I don’t think soda is an idol.
 
Sugar and caffeine can be addictive. I admit a caffeine addiction and a sugar addiction. I don’t drink soda though but have contemplated using coke and pepsi to clean the latrines. 🙂 This could be an old wives tale though.
Sugar is not a friend to our teeth.
Why not fast from soda for a day or two a week. Giving up something we really like is a good penance to offer up to our Lord.
btw you have a cute dog in that profile pic
 
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TheLittleLady said:
Would you do anything for a soda? If you had to, would you break the law for soda? If not, I don’t think soda is an idol.
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Thanks for this perspective. I think I do rely on it for comfort and stress relief, and it seems like only God should be the one I turn to for those things.
 
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Thanks😁 That’s one of my rescue babies. He was on death row because he was super stressed and biting everyone. (5 years later he’s still about 10% nuts, lol, but we think he was abused before we got him.)
 
When you say “a couple every day,” how much does that add up to? A quart every day? Two quarts? It makes a difference.
 
Perhaps try limiting yourself to only having soda when you eat out and none at work or at home. Depends how often you eat out obviously
 
la_petit_fleur said:
I think I might be “addicted” to soda. I like to have a couple everyday, and the days I don’t have any, I miss it. I don’t think it’s really an issue with my health, my teeth are good, and I don’t have diabetes or any other health issues, but I feel like it might be an idol in my life, and let’s face it, it’s terrible for me.

So should I not worry about it and just keep drinking it everyday? Should I give it up altogether? Should I drink it in moderation? If I moderate, how often should I drink it? I have no idea what moderation would be in this situation. Thanks for your help!
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Some are very cautious about the ingredients, either the corn syrup, stimulants, or the artificial sweeteners, but for me I, am do not drink carbonated beverages due to a medical condition with digestion.
 
Soda is terrible for your bones, seriously bad, especially if you are a woman. There is definitely no nutritional value and plenty that is very bad for your health. I would encourage you to follow your instincts and completely eliminate it from your diet if you can. You could start saving the money you would spend on soda and put it toward something (or someone) you love.
 
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