If a person drinks 3 cans of soda per day and stops drinking soda altogther, they will lose about 15 lbs. within a year, just by cutting out soda. If you are drinking regular soda, nutritionally it is a source of sugar, caffeine, caramel coloring and little else. Since sugar is a carb, it can be used by the body for energy, or of consumed in excess it will be converted to fat. Most people who "quit" soda find that after an initial period of adjustment (headaches, lethargy, feeling the "blues") they do feel physically and mentally better, which is enough to keep them from going back.
If you keep other healthier options in the house it will make the transition much easier. Try seltzer with a little unsweetened fruit juice. Brew a pot of tea and put it on ice. Plain tap water with lemon juice. Most studies have found that subsituting diet soda for regular soda is not the best tactic because you will not lose the "sweet tooth" you satisfy by drinking sweetened beverages, either artificially or with the addition of sugar.
Soda is Americans biggest source of refined sugars, providing the average person with one-third of all sugar. Obesity rates have risen in tandem with soda consumption.
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