A woman who had a decades-long addiction to soda says she is quitting “cold turkey” after realising how much the habit was costing her.
Hiliary McKay was drinking “primarily” soda every day for decades, avoiding other drinks such as water or juice.
Over the last four years, the 37-year-old says she was in the habit of drinking eight or nine 44oz sodas per day.
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Now she has decided to take action and an online video – in which she announced her “unhinged but committed” plan to stop – racked up more than 1.1m views, over 35,000 likes and almost 2,000 comments.
“I’ve been drinking diet soda and primarily only soda since young adulthood,” Hiliary, who is based in Illinois, US, told What’s The Jam.
“I remember bringing 2L of diet soda to school and keeping it in my locker to take sips out of in between classes in high school.
“The habit just continued to progress over the years.
“I used to drink bottles or cans of soda, but always found the taste of fountain soda to be superior.”
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Hiliary says that while she drank less soda during her three pregnancies with her sons – aged four, two, and eight months – she quickly picked the habit back up once they were born.
The stay-at-home mum, who also runs an Etsy shop, says it wasn’t until recently that she realised that the daily habit was costing her around $600 (around £440) per month.
She added: “Doing that math absolutely floored me.
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“If you had asked me the day prior to doing the math if I was ever going to quit drinking soda, I would have laughed and said there was absolutely no way.
“I knew it was clearly not a healthy habit but I was able to convince myself that it was a ‘future me’ problem.
“Doing the math and realising how much money I was spending on just beverages for myself every single month was a tangible issue that needed to be resolved.
“I wasn’t putting my family in debt with the habit or anything of that sort, but it was absolutely a selfish amount to be spending and I couldn’t allow myself to continue to do it.”
The mum-of-three decided to stop drinking soda entirely in January 2026 and has been replacing her fluid intake with water and, occasionally, coffee.
Hiliary said: “[Quitting completely] was the only way I felt I would be successful in kicking the habit.
“I clearly did not have self-control with it and felt that if I allowed myself to reduce or wean back slowly, I would end up back in the same habit in no time – if I ever even made any progress.”
“I have been enjoying a cup of coffee – sometimes caffeinated, other times decaf – in the morning but throughout the day I’m primarily just drinking water and a lot of it.
“Much to my own surprise.”
Hiliary has been documenting her progress on social media, garnering support from viewers.
People flocked to the comments section to send words of encouragement.
One person told Hiliary: “You will feel incredible on the other side of this and it’s totally worth it!! I promise!!”
Gina said: “Lots of people are rooting for you. You can do it! Here to support!”
Tiffany added: “Rooting you on!!”
Adrienne said: “I’m really excited for you and proud of you!”
Shelby told her: “You can do this!!!”
Luckily for Hiliary, her soda habit hasn’t had a major impact on her health, according to a check-up she underwent before quitting.
However, she says she admitted to her doctor what had been going on for her entire adult life – and will be going for regular check-ins for support and to “hold herself accountable”.
Hiliary also says she’ll be able to save money now – and spend it on her family instead.
She added: “I like the idea of saving for a fun vacation with my husband and kids, I think that would be really wonderful.
“I haven’t quite pinned down exact plans for it so for now just saving it.”
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