In August, I realized that my soda consumption had grown out of hand. It's not like I was having gallons of it a day, but I was always ordering a soda when I would go out to eat and had up to four refills during a two-hour meal. I didn't need the extra sugar but I had worse problems than that. If I didn't have a soda, I got horrible migraines and sitting through class was unbearable. I knew things needed to change, but I was so hesitant to cut it out completely.

I started small, only cutting out dark sodas. I stuck to Sierra Mist, Sprite or Ginger Ale. I knew they were better than darker sodas but that I had to start somewhere. I still inevitably went back to drinking any soda I could find. I went back and forth between trying to stop drinking soda and drinking all the soda in the world. At some point I realized I had to put an end to it all.

Now don't get me wrong. There's nothing absolutely wrong about drinking soda as long as it is in moderation. My problem is that I couldn't control the moderation. In November I realized in order to learn how to moderate soda intake, I needed to cut everything out completely. I started out just drinking water only.

The first couple days were rough. I had horrible headaches and my body was going through a withdrawal. It felt so much worse than I'm sure it possibly was. Looking back now, it really wasn't so bad, but it felt like probably the worst thing ever. But then things changed. After a week of drinking only water, things started feeling better.

My sleep felt fuller, like I was getting more sleep than I really was. I woke up feeling refreshed. I also felt a little healthier, too. Something inside me felt different and good. I liked how it felt so much that I had the motivation to keep going.

So for an entire month I had nothing to drink but water. Then I started letting other drinks back in. Occasionally, I had some juice or tea, but I still stuck to water mostly. I felt so much better health-wise. I had more natural energy rather than being hopped up on sugar or caffeine.

Before starting all this, I felt out of control. I never questioned what I decided to drink. I just had soda after soda even though I knew that drinking as much soda as I was really isn't good for you. But after the second month was over, I felt more in control of what I was putting into my body. I decided to slowly let soda back into my life, but this time, I know I won't go overboard. I know how much is too much.