To understand why I changed my lifestyle, you have to understand how I grew up. In our family soda was a staple. It was the elixir of life. It didn’t matter if you were happy, sad, glad, mad, or ill. Soda cured what ailed you.

The soda makers have done a great job at perpetuating this reasoning through their peddling of various fizzy sugar waters. My family’s fizzy sugar water of choice was always of the diet variety. Most of my family struggles with obesity, so diet soda was marketed to our demographic. I can remember even at 8 years old I could drink 8 -10 diet sodas a day.

I was always partial to the regular sodas which we only got when we would visit grandma’s house or on special occasions. Looking back it is surprising I didn’t have more health problems. My only glaring health problem as a child was that I was obese in a time when childhood obesity was non-existent. I was the exception – not the rule.

However the one exception to obesity in our small family was my brother. He was, and is very aware of his weight and takes care of himself. I was the opposite. I, like many, believed a healthy lifestyle came down to willpower. As far as I was concerned I didn’t have any willpower.

When I was 11 years old, my brother made a statement that would have a profound effect on me. He said he was going to give up soda. At the time it sounded crazy. Why would anyone willingly give up soda? Soda was the elixir of life! My brother’s statement if anything made me take pause on my soda habits. I didn’t give up my soda habit, but I did cut down a little bit.

It wouldn’t be until my junior year of high school that I would give up soda for the first time. I was active in a couple of sports, and soda consumption was frowned upon. Sometimes peer pressure is a good thing. I have to say I didn’t miss soda but I was far from being a fan of water. It was just so tasteless and… blah. I would drink water but it had to be loaded with lots of ice. Ice cold water or iced tea was how I survived. Drinking sweet tea became my new drink of choice, which was only slightly better than the soda.

When I got to college I would go through periods where I would fall back to drinking soda. Even up until last year, I would go back and forth. I would later discover the times I would crave soda would be the times when I was stressed, depressed, or out with friends. That’s right – I’m an emotional soda drinker. Besides learning I am an emotional soda drinker, I have learned what effects soda consumption can have on the body.

With so many starts and stops, I know my story could sound a bit discouraging. However, like any challenge you take on in life, you will have your less-than-perfect moments. It is in these moments you will learn the most. I have never once regretted giving up soda. If anything I regret, it was not truly understanding how soda and sugar consumption damage the body. For each of us it is finding that moment where it all clicks into place and we find clarity on what motivates us emotionally and nutritionally.

I have since graduated to unsweetened Moroccan mint tea and Tazo Passion Tea. I still like ice cold water but it doesn’t have to be ice cold before I will drink it. I have learned to appreciate water as it is — the real elixir of life!