Frugal Tip: Ban the Bottles...of cola

...and the cans! If you drink soda (pop, soda pop, whatever you call it in your neck of the woods) you not only might be wasting money, but also wasting your health. I should know!

About ten years ago I started drinking a lot of soda. I gained weight steadily, a little at a time. Then about eight years ago, I started drinking a TON of soda, and gained a TON of weight...well, not literally a ton, but about sixty pounds or so. Yikes! And it was only over the space of about two years! I was drinking regular soda, because I didn't know about Splenda (although that is probably almost as bad as the aspartame) and I was dead set against aspartame, knowing how bad it was. Of course, I was apparently too stupid to do the math...a two liter of Coke a day equals about a pound a week in weight gain!

In recent years, I almost never drink regular soda. I do drink diet, but I usually only drink Diet Rite (no caffeine, no sodium, no aspartame, no calories). I know it's not good for you, but it's better than the regular soda. I've tried to keep a rule in the house, that there is no soda allowed in the house, because if it's there, I will drink it. My husband agrees to this rule of course, though he's not thrilled with it. But if I didn't keep him in check, he could drink a case of soda a day all by himself! That would be $84 a month, at least! Not to mention, I can drink plenty myself. Lately I've given in on this, and we've gotten back in the soda habit, which we now both want to break.

But the other bad thing about soda is that I believe it expands your stomach and makes you eat more. I know there are two camps on opposite sides of this issue. Some nutritionists and doctors say that isn't possible, but some say it is. I believe from my own experience it is. I know when I am in the "soda habit", I eat more every day--whether I drink a soda with the meal or not. I believe the air bubbles in the soda expand your stomach, making you want to eat more, and taking more food to fill you up. I know that when I am out of the habit of drinking soda on a regular basis, I don't eat as much. My husband says the same thing.

So, if my unprofessional opinion is correct, then by giving up soda, you will not only save the money you spend on them, but also save money on extra food, and save your health from being destroyed!

What to drink instead? Milk and juice in moderation, and water, water, water! Now you may think water is boring, and it is if you're used to bubbly overly sweet "beverages". Give it time, and get creative. Drink your water ice-cold. Add a little lemon. Add a little bit of various kinds of flavoring to it. Each night I take a bottle of semi-frozen water to bed in one of those "coolies"...a gel-filled can cooler that you put in the freezer, which keeps drinks cold. If it's cold enough, and not too warm in the room, it will stay cold all night. This is really good if you're pregnant or nursing. You need the water!

Happy non-cola drinking!