Day 18: Still good

I really didn't know for sure if I would reach this point or not, but I'm proud to say that I have reached day 18 without any soda at all. Not so much as a sip. It's probably the longest period I've gone without it. I think I've tried doing it a few times during Lent, but I always allowed myself to have it on Sundays since technically you aren't supposed to fast on Sundays.

The feeling is good. Soda has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up, it wasn't allowed to be part of my daily life but it was often enough that we identified ourselves as a "Coke" household because that was the only brand we drank. I grew up and moved out on my own, and began drinking soda as often as I could afford it and as much as I wanted. I was a grown up, after all, and I could make my own choices.

It wasn't that I didn't know that soda wasn't good for me. It's that I knew and figured it wasn't that bad. There are so many things these days that you're told are bad for you, how do you sort through those things which are truly a threat and those things which are not? Part of it, too, was not wanting to believe it was that bad for me. I liked soda. I liked the way it tasted, and I didn't really want to give it up, so I downplayed the things I saw listing how bad it was for you.

I did frequently joke that it was nothing more than carbonated sugar water. I knew it was horrible for my teeth, and yet I clung to the behavior because it was something that I'd been raised doing. I'd tried giving it up for a time before, but always found myself craving it and looking forward to the end of my deprivation. I didn't want to give it up, so the reluctance drew me back to it as soon as there was no more excuse to keep me away from it.

This is yet another lesson learned about quitting something.  It's not enough to know that you need to do it, or that you should do it.  It's something you have to want for yourself. You have to want to quit, want to be free of that addiction, want to give it up.  You also need to be sure that you have someone or something holding you accountable for results. Knowing that someone is keeping track of your progress is plenty of incentive to do what you know you should be doing.