Letting Go of Diet Coke
A story on clear-seeing and making a choice.
There was a time when I drank a Diet Coke every day. But no more.
I dug up this story from April 2018, back when I finally let go of my daily Diet Coke habit—and realized it wasn’t just about the soda.
I don’t know about you, but as a working mom with young kids at the time, a lot of my inner dialogue sounded like this:
I need to finish this pile of work.
I need to get back to so-and-so.
I need to remember to pick up the kids.
I need to tell my husband to eat healthier.
Oh—and he also needs to exercise more.
And I NEED to stop drinking Diet Coke.
It was a long list. And honestly, it could be exhausting. 😩
That week, a good friend was in town visiting. When he heard about my struggle with Diet Coke, he asked me something unexpected:
“Why do you like drinking Diet Coke?”
Why? Hmm. No one had ever asked me that before.
I had to stop and think. I guess… it’s refreshing, it cools me down, and since I already eat pretty healthy, I kind of feel like I can give myself a bit of a pass.
“Okay,” he said, “then why do you want to quit?”
Let me see… Well, it’s not healthy. Something about the fake sugar—even though it’s fewer calories—might actually be worse for your health. Plus, the carbonation leaches calcium from your bones, and since my mom has borderline osteoporosis, I might have similar issues down the road. So it just doesn’t seem smart to keep drinking it regularly. Oh—and my friend added that artificial sweeteners can actually make you gain weight. O boy!
Then he said to me something simple, but kind of brilliant:
Perhaps I can both appreciate that drinking Diet Coke feels refreshing to me, and that there are reasons I’d like to stop drinking it daily.
Once I’m aware of my opposing feelings and reasons, I might open up to the possibility that it’s not about what I need to do… it’s about what I choose to do: yes, Diet Coke is refreshing. But I can choose to forgo it as a conscious decision for my own health.
He was right. It’s a subtle but important shift in mindset. Stopping Diet Coke is not something I have to do, but something I can consciously make a decision about.
Right then and there, I said: YES! I can do it. I choose not to drink Diet Coke. For myself, for my health.
Thinking ahead, my friend asked what would happen if I slipped and ended up drinking one. “No need to beat yourself up,” he said. “Sometimes refreshment wins. But you can still choose differently next time.”
That helped. I also thought: if I really want a cold, fizzy drink… I could just drink sparkling water.
Wow. That felt pretty incredible. I could feel myself wanting to stick to this decision—one that had eluded me for months.
Why had it felt so hard before? Why hadn’t I seen it clearly?
I thought about it. Then it clicked: I had framed it as something I needed to do. And when I couldn’t follow through, I just felt disappointed in myself. I didn’t even want to look at the issue anymore—because it made me feel kind of crappy.
So day after day, I just willfully looked away while grabbing another Diet Coke. Then I’d feel a little worse about myself afterward.
It’s kind of sad, right? Why did I do this to myself?
My friend must’ve sensed that internal struggle and gently reminded me to be kind to myself.
That was it—the bigger lesson. Beating myself up doesn’t help. What did help? Seeing things more clearly. Looking at my preferences and reasons for and against. Realizing that I have a choice, and owning making that choice.
That was about seven years ago, and I’m happy to say I haven’t looked back. Sure, I still drink a Diet Coke once in a while—and enjoy the rare treat. But I don’t need one every day.
I’ve already made that choice. And I’m sticking with it.