Another day down with no soda! I was never a heavy soda drinker, maybe one per day, but I am still counting this as a success. It is the small goals that you can meet that will build confidence to continue forward. I have tried in the past to focus on my end goal and, clearly, it hasn’t worked out for me. I think this is mostly because I have nothing to get excited about in the near term. If I have a bad week I get frustrated that I will never reach my end goal. For now, that is why I am setting short, weekly goals that I can meet and feel proud about.
Today I am struggling with what I can replace soda with. The amount of soda I am drinking isn’t going to create weight gain, and truly isn’t an unhealthy habit, but I am hoping to find better alternatives outside of just plain water. There are some days that I crave water and can drink it so easily, there are other days, like today, that I just want more flavor and substance. When I get to this point, I usually grab the diet cherry soda and feel fulfilled for the day. There are a few things that I have tried in the past that I really like and will start to stock up on.
1) Crystal Light – Crystal Light really hit is big when they introduced the mini packets of juice powder that you can simply pour into your water bottle and shake up for a nice change to the water routine. The thing I love about this is you can get a lot of flavor for only 5 calories. Also, Crystal Light has a ton of naturally refreshing flavors like lemonade (several varieties) and fruit punch, etc.
2) Mio – This is a pretty new product and it is right near the Crystal Light. This stuff is pretty awesome because it has zero calories per serving, which is pretty awesome. Also, the reason I love this stuff is you can put as little or as much as you want. If you are looking for just a little flavor then a little squeeze will do, but if you want something more intense, you can add more. It is really up to what you what you want in the flavor intensity scale.
3) Diet Green Tea – There are a ton of brands that have diet green tea and I like them all. The important thing is to make sure you get the diet. Regular bottle green tea is PACKED with sugar and calories. There are also flavored varieties and hot green tea is a great substitute as well.
4) Milk – I personally like skim milk (which is a good thing) but I need to drink it more often. This would be a great substitute for dinner when water just isn’t going to cut it. You will get a good serving of calcium and studies have shown that an 8 ounce serving of milk a day can promote not only weight loss, but healthy lifestyle in general.
5) Juice – this is a good option, but again, you have to be careful about the calories. They make a lot of low sugar juices these days, and I would recommend those! Juice can be loaded with sugar and calories, so keep an eye out for deceiving products.
The main thing I am taking away from this post is that there are a lot of ways to have a tasty drink without drinking soda. It can be hard sometimes, especially with how convenient it is to pick up a soda, pretty much everywhere. Preparing for the day is really a must. I have started carrying around crystal light packets so I can have something more than just water at any time.
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