My Supremely Unhealthy Sister Hasn’t Had a Soft Drink — in Fifteen Years

Follow my sister’s strategy to give up sodas.

I am the health freak in my family. I have been eating clean and working out regularly for 7 years now.

I made a fitness culture for myself by following the advice of people who inspired me to stay fit and active. And sadly none of them were my family members.

But, I did steal a very healthy habit from my sister.

My younger sister is both a connoisseur of cheesecake and lactose intolerant.

That statement alone should tell you how indifferent she is to her health. She would bear the ugly consequences of lactose intolerance bravely rather than stop eating cheese.

She eats whatever she wants and spends 80% of her time sitting in front of a screen and has not worked out since 2020. It took a pandemic to get her off her ass.

Her ultra unhealthy lifestyle is in stark contrast to mine. But she did help me make a substantial healthy habit early on.

Say No To This

Indians are known for their hospitality. The ancient Vedas of Hinduism instruct us to treat our guests like gods.

So, it is common that you will be overfed every time you visit a relative's house.

Rejecting food is considered rude in our culture. Food is how most Indian express their love and adoration, so if someone offers you food you say yes.

But, not my sister.

She has rejected this drink every damn time it was offered to her.

Soft Drinks.

She never liked the taste of this aerated sugary drink. And she wasn’t afraid to say so.

She would get burps and stomach aches after drinking soda. So, she made a resolution to never drink them when she was little. Now she is 20 years old and I cannot remember the last time she drank a soft drink.

I Haven’t Had Soft Drinks In A Decade

My sister's persistence to not drink soda rubbed off on me. I stopped drinking soda when I was in high school.

There was another reason why I gave up soda once for all. When I was 15 years old I was watching the news with my father, when the networks health segment started.

In this news segment, the reporter claimed that coca-cola(my favorite soft drink of all time) could be used to clean a toilet.

What’s more, she proceeded to clean the toilet seat and the bathroom tiles with a 2-liter bottle of coco-cola.

I was disgusted, I cannot believe my eyes. All these years I have been drinking chemicals. I vowed to stay away from coca-cola. But I substituted it for Sprite and Orange soda.

But, they too were full of sugar and had zero nutritional value, so I followed my sister’s example to give up soft drinks once for all.

Why You Should Stop Drinking Soft Drinks Immediately

They Can Make You Gain Weight

There is a myriad of studies that link soft drinks with weight gain. These sugary drinks are full of fructose that does not regulate hunger hormones like glucose. So, you will never feel full after drinking soda.

A 2020 study found that people who drank soft drinks regularly were more likely to gain weight regardless of their physical activity levels.

They Can Lead To Many Lifestyle Disease

Soft drinks are extremely dangerous as they can lead to an increase in visceral(belly) fat.

Fructose is the enemy as it enables the accumulation of belly fat at higher rates. Increased belly fat can lead to lifestyle diseases like diabetes, and heart attack.

You Can Become Addicted To Soft Drinks

Sugar is addicting. Eating sugar releases opioids and dopamine in our bodies, which is the key component of the reward circuit.

The dopamine release causes a “high” that makes you want to repeat this behavior. Over time the pleasurable high decreases so you increase your sugar consumption. This is known as substance misuse.

They Can Cause Liver Damage

Soft drinks are pumped with fructose, which can only be metabolized by the liver.

Too much fructose overloads the liver, which ends up converting it into fat. This fat gets stored in the liver and can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Increased Risk of Dementia

Research has found that increased blood sugar levels can increase the risk of dementia.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that sugary drinks like soft drinks can weaken memory and decrease cognitive abilities.

Create A Mindset shift

When I was a kid I loved to eat coke float at every wedding. The fizzy drink with sugary vanilla ice cream was my favorite dessert.

But my sister refused to even taste it, she would take great offense to what I did to the poor ice cream.

She truly didn’t like coke. Her constant dislike for coke created a permanent aversion in her mind.

She created her identity as a non-coke drinker, so not only did she reject it but she even felt bad for the ice cream which was floating on my coke.

I followed the same technique. When I saw the reporter cleaning the bathroom tiles with coke I created an instant dislike to it.

And from then on I never touched it. I even went on to warn everyone who drank it.

You too need to create a strong aversion to this sugary sweet drink, in order to give it up.

Here is a video with over 21 million views, that can show you how coca-cola can help you clean your toilet better than a toilet cleaner.

Watch it, and then watch it again, till you realize that you are drinking a potential toilet cleaner.

What You Can do Today to Make This Shift

The first step would be to throw out all the soft drinks from your house. If they are within reach then you will end up drinking them.

And limit yourself to a few drinks per week. Choose a number and stick to it.

I had a rule to only drink one soda a week with my cheat meal. But then I gradually made the switch to sparkling water.

There are healthy alternatives that you can adopt to ditch soft drinks. You can try the following drinks

• Make your own delicious flavor water by adding fruits to it.
• Try freshly pressed organic juices.
• Make a fake lemon soda with sparkly water by adding lime and a little bit of sweetener to it.
• Make a chocolate milkshake to satisfy your sugar cravings.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” — James Clear

Don’t Make This Stupid Mistake

If you drink a lot of soda, don’t try to become a hero by going cold turkey. Make the switch slowly.

And remember Diet Soda is not an alternative.

Diet soda may be the lesser of two evils, but it is still harmful to your health.

• Diet soda is a sham. One study in 749 adults concluded that diet soda can lead to increased belly fat and larger waist circumference.
• A 2017 study found that the high acidic nature of diet soda can damage the enamel on your teeth that can lead to erosion.
• Diet soda is full of artificial sweeteners. One such sweetener is Aspartame which has been linked with adverse neurobehavioral health.
• Diet soda is high in phosphoric acid which has been proven to decrease bone density.
• A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consistent consumption of both regular or diet soda can increase the risk of heart stroke.

Conclusion

A healthy lifestyle doesn’t begin with good habits. Instead, it starts with giving up unhealthy habits.

Sodas are bad for your health, no matter what they put on the label. They will only harm you in the long run.

So, educate yourself on the bad effects of soda, so that you can create an aversion to them.

To build a healthy lifestyle you will need to give up the unhealthy habits first. Start with soft drinks today.

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