It Was About More Than Just Soda
When people talk about quitting soda, they usually start with a health scare, a New Year’s resolution, or an attempt to cut calories.
My story starts somewhere very different.
It begins on January 20, 2012, the day my husband John died suddenly and unexpectedly. Life didn’t just change that day — it collapsed.
But this isn’t a story about grief making me quit soda.
It’s a story about grief forcing me to rebuild my life in a way a traditional approach to loss simply couldn’t support. And that rebuilding eventually led me to make choices — including giving up soda — that were rooted in clarity, education, and self-respect instead of survival mode.*
The usual Way of Grieving Didn’t Work for Me
After my husband died, I quickly learned that in our modern culture, grief has an expiration date.
You’re supposed to “return to normal,” even when normal no longer exists.
People tell you to stay busy.
Get back to work. (Three day bereavement leave? Seriously???)
Be strong.
Move on.
Take a pill.
None of that helped me.
I needed something that acknowledged the truth: grief isn’t a moment. It’s a changed life. And if I was going to survive in it, I needed real tools — emotional, physical, spiritual, and practical.
I knew I couldn’t keep going the way I was going.
I needed to learn how to care for myself again.
Enrolling in the institute of integrative nutrition (IIN) Was an Act of Self-Rescue
In 2017, five years after losing John, I enrolled in IIN, an online health coaching program.
I enrolled to become a health coach.
And because I needed help — real help — and I wasn’t finding it in the usual places.
I needed to understand my body.
My emotions.
My relationship with food.
My stress.
My habits.
My health.
I needed something that honored the complexity of what I had lived through.
IIN became that space for me.
And it was in that space that my relationship with soda began to shift.
What I Learned at IIN Changed How I Saw Soda Completely
Soda had been part of my daily life for years. It was comforting, familiar, predictable.
But through IIN, I learned things I had never heard before:
- The connection between sugar and inflammation
- How stress and grief can drive cravings
- The idea that certain foods or drinks are “primary nutrition” for the nervous system — not because they nourish us, but because they numb us
- How blood sugar spikes affect mood, energy, and overwhelm
- The concept of crowding out — adding nourishing habits until the unhealthy ones naturally fade
- The difference between eating to cope and eating to nourish
Once I understood all of this, soda stopped feeling harmless.
It started feeling misaligned with the woman I was becoming — someone who was finally making choices for herself instead of reacting to the fallout of trauma.
How I Actually Stopped Drinking Soda
I didn’t quit overnight.
There was no dramatic “last can” moment.
What happened was quieter, steadier, and more sustainable:
- I started drinking more water and herbal teas.
- I paid attention to what my body felt like after eating whole foods.
- I noticed how exhausted I became after the sugar rush wore off.
- I learned to listen to my cravings with curiosity instead of judgment.
- I replaced the emotional comfort I used to get from soda with real nourishment — rest, hydration, connection, movement, and gentler self-talk. (I’m still working on the gentler self-talk.)
And then one day, without ceremony, I realized:
I hadn’t had soda in weeks. Then months.
Then years. I hadn’t bought any from the grocery store. There was none in the house anywhere AND I didn’t miss it.
The knowledge I gained at IIN didn’t make me force myself to quit.
It made me want to.
What Changed After I Quit
The changes weren’t dramatic, but they were meaningful:
- More consistent energy
- Better mood stability
- Clearer thinking
- Fewer cravings
- Less reliance on external “comforts”
- A deeper sense of alignment with who I was becoming
Stopping soda wasn’t the point.
It was one small part of a much larger journey toward healing, presence, and self-understanding.
The Truth: Soda Was Never Just Soda
For me, quitting soda was a symbol of something bigger:
I had stopped choosing things that soothed my pain and started choosing things that supported my life.
Grief cracked me open.
IIN helped me rebuild.
And giving up soda was one of the many changes that emerged from finally learning how to take care of myself in a healthier, more holistic way.
If You’re On Your Own Healing Path
You don’t have to start big.
You don’t have to overhaul everything.
You don’t have to wait for the perfect moment.
Sometimes transformation begins with a surprising choice — even something as ordinary as soda.
And sometimes the smallest shift is the first sign that you’re ready to reclaim your life.
Are you Ready to Make Your Own Shift?
If my story resonates with you — if you’re curious about changing your habits, strengthening your health, or simply learning what your cravings are trying to tell you — I’d love to support you.
I created a simple, easy-to-follow guide called Stop Drinking Soda. It’s designed to help you:
- understand why soda is so hard to quit
- uncover the emotional triggers behind cravings
- learn practical, gentle steps to reduce (or eliminate) soda
- add in habits that naturally crowd out the need for sugar
- start feeling better in a real, sustainable way
It’s not about perfection.
It’s about one empowered choice at a time.
You can download the guide here and begin your own journey toward healthier habits — in the same compassionate, holistic way that supported mine.
Suzanne Horrocks 