Ten months ago today, I stopped drinking soda. I didn't gradually wean myself off of them. I went cold turkey. I expected it to be a grueling personal challenge, something that I would miss as much as if I'd dropped a part of my personal identity. After all, soda drinking was something I'd always done.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it wasn't that hard to let go of this. I found ways to give myself acceptable alternatives, things I could have instead of soda that meant I didn't have to feel deprived. I learned to make different choices, taking tea instead of soda or water if there wasn't anything else available. The months went on, and I found that I very rarely missed soda, and usually only when I was really thirsty was I even tempted to drink it.
I had expected, as most people who told me about giving up soda had reported, weight loss to accompany this. It didn't happen. In fact, my body stubbornly refused to shed pounds or inches. It did, however, cause me to start examining my life to see where I was maybe making choices that were self-defeating in terms of the weight loss I wanted to achieve.
I began to realize that I was adding sugar into everything I drank - sometimes two or three tablespoons worth. And that was adding up to a lot of extra calories that weren't helping me gain control of my weight. So, I stopped doing that. I started drinking things without adding sugar to them. The needle began to budge, just barely, on my weight loss goals.
I entered into the Isabody challenge, dramatically altering my diet and habits. Bigger changes came. A healthier body began to show itself. I began to feel better about myself and to feel better in general. I shed over 25 inches and 18 pounds of undesired body fat. I have also become much more sensitive to sugar and need far less of it in my food to find that it tastes good to me.
Going without soda didn't prove to be the magic bullet I had hoped it would be, but it did many good things for me. It was as if making that one big decision in my life paved the way for me to re-examine my life and make a decision to make other, equally important, changes to the way I was living. I think that's probably the most important thing I've taken away from this journey.
I still have two months to go. My husband's been asking me if I plan to celebrate the end of my year with a soda. I haven't decided yet, but I don't think so. To be honest, I think I want to celebrate the end of my year without soda with a book. A book I can be proud to have written about my journey to a soda-free lifestyle. And maybe with that book, I can encourage other people who may have been thinking about giving up soda but have been hesitant to try it themselves.
Showing posts with label health matters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health matters. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
3 Days from Month 9 No Soda Challenge, 60 Days Isabody Challenge
It's hard for me to believe. In just three months, I'll have completed my year without soda. What I thought would be the most challenging part, proved to be the easiest. That was the giving up of soda. What I thought would be the easiest part - losing weight after giving up soda - has proven to be the hardest for me.
I am 60 days into my Isabody challenge. I have shed a total of 25.5 inches of unwanted body fat. Sadly, I haven't lost anything since I posted the last time. But, that's mostly because I stopped being faithful to the Isadiet and stopped adding in the extra exercise I'd been doing. Those choices kicked my butt and for about a week, I went from losing weight to slowly having it creep back into place.
Let me tell you - it was an incredibly discouraging thing to take that tape measure and see those inches were starting to return. Part of me felt like saying, "Well, if I'm just going to end up back where I was what's the point of all this?" but, that was the negative part of me. It's the part that has kept me from being as proactive about my weight as I should have been all along.
The other part of me said, "Okay, if I'm putting the weight back on, let's take a look at the choices I've been making and get back to doing what was working."
I realized I had dropped my planking. I had reached being able to hold the plank for a full 70 seconds and then let laziness take over and gave up doing it. I wasn't following the Isadiet. I was only taking one shake a day rather than the recommended two, and I wasn't keeping my snack choices healthy.
I'm happy to report, though, that putting the exercise back in its place - in addition to all the walking I do - and getting back on top of my diet resulted in me being at maintenance of the inches lost rather than having lost ground. I'm making sure I eat right, eat regularly, and keep my hands off the sweets. It's okay every once in a while, but when it becomes a consistent part of my diet, it quickly becomes a real problem.
What I've learned from this experience is that bad habits are easy to fall back into, but those bad habits can quickly undo all the progress you've gained from making good choices. You have to be vigilant about your choices, and you have to keep measuring yourself to make sure you're headed in the direction you want to be headed. Running from the tape measure won't help.
I think that's true about any positive change we want to make in life. We need to find a measuring tape for our changes, use it regularly, and keep track of the positive gains we've made. We also need to be honest about where we've fallen short and take steps to get ourselves back on track as soon as we're aware of the problem. Losing the weight is a harder battle for me than it might be for some, but it's a battle I'm determined to win.
I am 60 days into my Isabody challenge. I have shed a total of 25.5 inches of unwanted body fat. Sadly, I haven't lost anything since I posted the last time. But, that's mostly because I stopped being faithful to the Isadiet and stopped adding in the extra exercise I'd been doing. Those choices kicked my butt and for about a week, I went from losing weight to slowly having it creep back into place.
Let me tell you - it was an incredibly discouraging thing to take that tape measure and see those inches were starting to return. Part of me felt like saying, "Well, if I'm just going to end up back where I was what's the point of all this?" but, that was the negative part of me. It's the part that has kept me from being as proactive about my weight as I should have been all along.
The other part of me said, "Okay, if I'm putting the weight back on, let's take a look at the choices I've been making and get back to doing what was working."
I realized I had dropped my planking. I had reached being able to hold the plank for a full 70 seconds and then let laziness take over and gave up doing it. I wasn't following the Isadiet. I was only taking one shake a day rather than the recommended two, and I wasn't keeping my snack choices healthy.
I'm happy to report, though, that putting the exercise back in its place - in addition to all the walking I do - and getting back on top of my diet resulted in me being at maintenance of the inches lost rather than having lost ground. I'm making sure I eat right, eat regularly, and keep my hands off the sweets. It's okay every once in a while, but when it becomes a consistent part of my diet, it quickly becomes a real problem.
What I've learned from this experience is that bad habits are easy to fall back into, but those bad habits can quickly undo all the progress you've gained from making good choices. You have to be vigilant about your choices, and you have to keep measuring yourself to make sure you're headed in the direction you want to be headed. Running from the tape measure won't help.
I think that's true about any positive change we want to make in life. We need to find a measuring tape for our changes, use it regularly, and keep track of the positive gains we've made. We also need to be honest about where we've fallen short and take steps to get ourselves back on track as soon as we're aware of the problem. Losing the weight is a harder battle for me than it might be for some, but it's a battle I'm determined to win.
Monday, April 20, 2015
10 Days from 8 Months, Isabody Challenge Day 26
It's amazing what you can do when you get a little help doing it. When I gave up soda nearly 8 months ago, I didn't know how long my new resolution would last. Could I really go a year without soda? It just seemed so unthinkable. Now I'm almost eight months into my challenge, and not only have I remained soda free but I don't miss it.
Things that have changed: I have a new sensitivity to sugar, meaning I feel its effects faster when I eat it and I get sick sooner than I used to when I have too much of it. I no longer plow through a bag of candy in a single sitting. I can have a piece or two without feeling the craving for more. Heck, I even made it through Easter with only 3 pieces of chocolate the entire day.
My Isabody challenge is going very well. I have shed a total of 20 1/4" of unwanted body fat. I'm still not where I want to be, and the scale I bought doesn't seem to have moved (although I suspect that's because it's a cheap scale and broken), but my clothes fit better and I feel better than I have in a long time. The progress I wasn't able to make with diet and exercise changes alone are happening at record speed with the help of my new system.
No, I'm not starving myself. Nor am I going without the things I enjoy from time to time. I don't have to give up everything to get what I want, I simply have to have what I want in moderation. I'm nearly done with the first 30 days of that challenge and you can imagine that I am really eager to see where the 30 days following this one takes me. I would like to be down to a size 14 by summer, and to a size 10 by next fall.
It's cost me a little to go with this system, I'm not afraid to admit that. I've spent more than I normally would have in a month on my products. However, I decided that I am worth it, that my health is worth it, and that the expense of the products is far less than a lifetime of high blood pressure medicine and diabetes treatments, or worse.
Here's the ugly truth: Self-control isn't enough to lose weight. Diet and exercise alone, when you reach a certain point, may not be enough either. Sometimes your body may need extra help to get that weight loss started and to keep it going. Mine did, and I'm definitely glad that I decided to take advantage of that help when it was offered to me.
Just 3 weeks ago, I measured the size of my gut as to how far it protruded from my abdomen. It was 3 1/2"! That's a lot of fat sitting around your gut, and it's a very dangerous place to have fat accumulate as it leads to heart disease. Today, I measured it again. It's only 2 1/2" today. That's a whole inch of fat that is just gone. I'm so pleased.
Here are my measurements from Day 12 on April 4th:
Neck: 14 3/4"
Bust: 41 1/2"
Diaphragm: 36 1/2"
Waist: 37 1/4"
Gut: 46 1/4"
Hips: 44 1/4"
Upper left arm: 14 1/2"
left wrist: 7"
upper left thigh: 27"
Upper left knee: 17 1/4"
left calf: 17 1/2"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
Upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
Upper right thigh: 26 1/2"
Upper right knee: 17 1/2"
right calf: 17 1/2"
right ankle: 10 1/4"
Here are my measurements from Day 26, April 20th (Today):
Neck: 14"
Bust: 41"
Diaphragm: 35 3/4"
Waist: 36"
Gut: 44 1/4"
Hips: 42"
Upper left arm: 14 3/4"
left wrist: 6 3/4"
Upper left thigh: 25"
Upper left knee: 16 1/4"
left calf: 17 1/4"
left ankle: 10"
Upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 6 3/4"
Upper right thigh: 24 3/4"
Upper right knee: 16 1/4"
Right calf: 17 1/4"
right ankle: 9 3/4"
Things that have changed: I have a new sensitivity to sugar, meaning I feel its effects faster when I eat it and I get sick sooner than I used to when I have too much of it. I no longer plow through a bag of candy in a single sitting. I can have a piece or two without feeling the craving for more. Heck, I even made it through Easter with only 3 pieces of chocolate the entire day.
My Isabody challenge is going very well. I have shed a total of 20 1/4" of unwanted body fat. I'm still not where I want to be, and the scale I bought doesn't seem to have moved (although I suspect that's because it's a cheap scale and broken), but my clothes fit better and I feel better than I have in a long time. The progress I wasn't able to make with diet and exercise changes alone are happening at record speed with the help of my new system.
No, I'm not starving myself. Nor am I going without the things I enjoy from time to time. I don't have to give up everything to get what I want, I simply have to have what I want in moderation. I'm nearly done with the first 30 days of that challenge and you can imagine that I am really eager to see where the 30 days following this one takes me. I would like to be down to a size 14 by summer, and to a size 10 by next fall.
It's cost me a little to go with this system, I'm not afraid to admit that. I've spent more than I normally would have in a month on my products. However, I decided that I am worth it, that my health is worth it, and that the expense of the products is far less than a lifetime of high blood pressure medicine and diabetes treatments, or worse.
Here's the ugly truth: Self-control isn't enough to lose weight. Diet and exercise alone, when you reach a certain point, may not be enough either. Sometimes your body may need extra help to get that weight loss started and to keep it going. Mine did, and I'm definitely glad that I decided to take advantage of that help when it was offered to me.
Just 3 weeks ago, I measured the size of my gut as to how far it protruded from my abdomen. It was 3 1/2"! That's a lot of fat sitting around your gut, and it's a very dangerous place to have fat accumulate as it leads to heart disease. Today, I measured it again. It's only 2 1/2" today. That's a whole inch of fat that is just gone. I'm so pleased.
Here are my measurements from Day 12 on April 4th:
Neck: 14 3/4"
Bust: 41 1/2"
Diaphragm: 36 1/2"
Waist: 37 1/4"
Gut: 46 1/4"
Hips: 44 1/4"
Upper left arm: 14 1/2"
left wrist: 7"
upper left thigh: 27"
Upper left knee: 17 1/4"
left calf: 17 1/2"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
Upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
Upper right thigh: 26 1/2"
Upper right knee: 17 1/2"
right calf: 17 1/2"
right ankle: 10 1/4"
Here are my measurements from Day 26, April 20th (Today):
Neck: 14"
Bust: 41"
Diaphragm: 35 3/4"
Waist: 36"
Gut: 44 1/4"
Hips: 42"
Upper left arm: 14 3/4"
left wrist: 6 3/4"
Upper left thigh: 25"
Upper left knee: 16 1/4"
left calf: 17 1/4"
left ankle: 10"
Upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 6 3/4"
Upper right thigh: 24 3/4"
Upper right knee: 16 1/4"
Right calf: 17 1/4"
right ankle: 9 3/4"
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
No Soda Month 7, Isabody Challenge: Day 5
It was last Wednesday that I received the package in the mail with my new lifestyle kit inside of it. I looked at it with skepticism. This was going to help me to reach 40 feeling better than I did at 20? This was going to help me get healthy? Still, if I'd been bet $25,000 that I could spend 30 days on a mostly liquid diet eating one solid food meal a day, I know I'd have said yes. This system was no crazier than that.
I unpacked the items and carefully reviewed the literature, looking carefully at the labels for ingredients. Nothing crazy. Things like black pepper, cayenne pepper, and natural flavors made up what went inside. This may sound funny considering how often I used to dump things like soda and coffees and other not-so-good for you fast food products into myself, but I have always been careful with the products I choose to take. I don't like to take medicines of any kind, and I don't want anything I can't identify going in there.
The next morning, I began the program with one of the shakes. It tasted like chalk. I wondered if I was really going to make it through 30 days of this. I was also still incredibly hungry, which made me wonder if this was actually going to work for me or not. Then I re-reviewed the literature. I'd skipped a step - I'd forgotten the pre-breakfast drink.
I took a scoop of that and put it in 12 oz of warm water. I could deal with that. The hunger pangs faded away. Fortunately, I had ordered multiple flavors of the products. After experimenting with the three, I found the combination that works for me: A scoop of Strawberry-Banana and a scoop of Dutch Chocolate. If I really want to kick it up, I add a packet of their orange energy drink powder.
I struggled with my doubts on Thursday and Friday. Was this worth it? Would it work? I found myself tired sooner, sleeping better but way more than I expected Friday and Saturday night. Was this going to be the norm? Me sleeping so much? I didn't know if I could handle that kind of thing.
I woke up on Monday feeling really good and I made it through a cleanse day - No solid food for 24 hours. Important discovery: low blood sugar brings on headaches. Keep to the schedule of every 2 hours. Don't deviate. Be sure to take the snacks. The tea helps.
On Tuesday, today, I woke up feeling better than I had in a while. I won't be taking my measurements again until day 8, so I won't be able to tell you if I've lost anything since I started, but I feel better and that's worth a lot to me. I lead a busy life, and I can't afford all the slow downs that happen when you're tired and feeling down all the time.
I don't know what the results of this will be. I don't know where I'll end up. This is another twist on my journey toward a year without soda, but I will say this: I like where this part of the road is leading me. I've said it before and it's worth repeating: Once you make one change to take back control of your life, it becomes easier to make that next change - no matter what the change happens to be.
I unpacked the items and carefully reviewed the literature, looking carefully at the labels for ingredients. Nothing crazy. Things like black pepper, cayenne pepper, and natural flavors made up what went inside. This may sound funny considering how often I used to dump things like soda and coffees and other not-so-good for you fast food products into myself, but I have always been careful with the products I choose to take. I don't like to take medicines of any kind, and I don't want anything I can't identify going in there.
The next morning, I began the program with one of the shakes. It tasted like chalk. I wondered if I was really going to make it through 30 days of this. I was also still incredibly hungry, which made me wonder if this was actually going to work for me or not. Then I re-reviewed the literature. I'd skipped a step - I'd forgotten the pre-breakfast drink.
I took a scoop of that and put it in 12 oz of warm water. I could deal with that. The hunger pangs faded away. Fortunately, I had ordered multiple flavors of the products. After experimenting with the three, I found the combination that works for me: A scoop of Strawberry-Banana and a scoop of Dutch Chocolate. If I really want to kick it up, I add a packet of their orange energy drink powder.
I struggled with my doubts on Thursday and Friday. Was this worth it? Would it work? I found myself tired sooner, sleeping better but way more than I expected Friday and Saturday night. Was this going to be the norm? Me sleeping so much? I didn't know if I could handle that kind of thing.
I woke up on Monday feeling really good and I made it through a cleanse day - No solid food for 24 hours. Important discovery: low blood sugar brings on headaches. Keep to the schedule of every 2 hours. Don't deviate. Be sure to take the snacks. The tea helps.
On Tuesday, today, I woke up feeling better than I had in a while. I won't be taking my measurements again until day 8, so I won't be able to tell you if I've lost anything since I started, but I feel better and that's worth a lot to me. I lead a busy life, and I can't afford all the slow downs that happen when you're tired and feeling down all the time.
I don't know what the results of this will be. I don't know where I'll end up. This is another twist on my journey toward a year without soda, but I will say this: I like where this part of the road is leading me. I've said it before and it's worth repeating: Once you make one change to take back control of your life, it becomes easier to make that next change - no matter what the change happens to be.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
4 Days Until 7 Months
Here are my measurements from December 30th:
waist: 39"
gut: 48"
hips: 46"
bust: 43"
neck: 14 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/4"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"
Here are my measurements for Today, March 26th
Waist: 40.5"
Gut: 48"
Hips: 45 1/2"
bust: 43 1/2"
upper left arm: 13 1/4"
left wrist: 6 3/4"
Left ankle: 10 1/4"
Upper right arm: 14 1/4"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10 1/4"
I bought a weight scale today and discovered I am 195 lbs. I need to lose about 90 pounds to get to a healthy weight for myself.
So far, I've quit drinking soda, I've given up putting extra sugar in anything, and so I decided to kick it up an extra notch. I am taking the Isabody Challenge. I will keep track of my progress with the challenge on this blog.
It's not just the money, although $25,000 would go a long way toward fulfilling some dreams of mine. It's the fact that I'm tired of being unhealthy. I want to enter my 40's looking and feeling better than I have in my whole life. That's what I'm striving to achieve - to be truly healthy for the first time in my life.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
A Tiny Bit of Progress
Just 5 days from 5 months, and I have a little bit of good news to report - at least, good news for me. The needle has budged, there's progress been made. Is it huge? No. Is it where I want to be? No. But it's progress -and progress is what keeps you going.
Yes, I did sit down and pray yesterday. I took my measurements this morning. That's always nerve wracking because I don't know what I'm going to find. I don't know if I'm going to feel encouraged or discouraged. I did feel very encouraged after taking them.
Here are my measurements from December 30th:
waist: 39"
gut: 48"
hips: 46"
bust: 43"
neck: 14 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/4"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"
Here are my measurements from today, January 25th:
waist: 38 1/4"
gut: 45 1/4"
hips: 45"
neck: 14 1/2"
bust: 42 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/2"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15 1/4"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"
So, my clothes haven't changed in terms of fit - but what's impressive is that I can see they soon will. The gut has definitely diminished even though it's not yet where I want it to be, and there's even been a little movement around the waist. :)
Yes, I did sit down and pray yesterday. I took my measurements this morning. That's always nerve wracking because I don't know what I'm going to find. I don't know if I'm going to feel encouraged or discouraged. I did feel very encouraged after taking them.
Here are my measurements from December 30th:
waist: 39"
gut: 48"
hips: 46"
bust: 43"
neck: 14 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/4"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"
Here are my measurements from today, January 25th:
waist: 38 1/4"
gut: 45 1/4"
hips: 45"
neck: 14 1/2"
bust: 42 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/2"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15 1/4"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"
So, my clothes haven't changed in terms of fit - but what's impressive is that I can see they soon will. The gut has definitely diminished even though it's not yet where I want it to be, and there's even been a little movement around the waist. :)
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Adding Prayer into the Diet
Today, I was standing in the kitchen thinking about my life. I was thinking about my battle to lose the excess body weight that marks my past failures to make good choices about what I ate and what I drank and what I did with my body. I was thinking about how discouraging it is to do your best to make changes only to see that they have no impact at all - nothing seems to change in your life.
That in turn got me thinking about my husband, and about his struggles with depression. About how he makes changes and they don't seem to have a positive impact on his life and then he gets discouraged and the temptation to give up on those changes becomes overwhelming even when he knows the changes he makes are for the better.
I thought about what my advice to him is - to pray over it - and how he resists my suggestions. Then I remembered something I read the other day. It said, in essence, that if the Devil can't make you bad, he'll try to attack your prayer life. He'll try to get you to the point where the very thought of praying is loathsome and you can't stand it. So you won't do it, and you won't grow in holiness like you should be and you'll end up falling away from faith. I've seen that in action in myself. I have to constantly struggle against the temptation to let other things creep into and take over my prayer life.
This led me to a realization. That same feeling of loathing of the things that you should want to eat is characteristic of the person who is overweight. Either because you can't afford them, or because they take effort to make, or you just don't like the taste of them - you tend to avoid what is good for you and end up eating what isn't. It ends up destroying the body, just as a failure to pray will eventually destroy your faith and lead to a spiritual death in the same sense that not taking care of your body leads to a physical death.
That's when I had an idea. It really shouldn't have been as much a revelation as it was. I mean, I do believe that God wants to be part of every facet of my life - or at least I say I do - but the idea made me aware that I tend to segment parts of my life as belonging to God and not belonging to God. The idea was that maybe I need to recruit God to be my weight loss partner by praying through my dieting. After all, he wants my body healthy just as much as - probably more than - I do. He wants me to see my body as a temple, and he certainly doesn't want that temple being poorly maintained and unfit for worship.
Up until now, I have been trying to do this by myself for the most part. I've been sharing this in blog so that I get a little encouragement from friends and family who follow me on the journey I'm taking, but I don't have any other support systems set up. I can't afford a doctor, so I can't get support from the medical community except what I can find online. But, the good news, is that I can invite God to be part of this diet with me.
He can help me when I become discouraged. He can do what I can't do - undo the damage of past choices - because he lives outside of time. He can help me to see things that I'm doing to sabotage myself in a whole new way, because quite frankly he sees the bigger picture of all of it. He understands, even better than I do, why I do what I do. But in order to help me with it, I have to invite him in. He's a gentleman. He won't come into my struggle uninvited. He won't be Mr. Fix It unless I ask him to be.
So, I'm going to start incorporating prayer into my diet. I'm going to ask for His help and His guidance in taking care of the body that He gave me so that the temple of the Lord is cared for in a manner that is pleasing to Him. I'm going to ask Him to help me fix what I broke, and to show me the way forward. I'm almost 5 months into this no soda challenge. We'll see where the next 5 months take us.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Just 13 Days Away
I am just 13 days away from having passed the five month marker. One of the things that giving up soda has done for me is to give me encouragement to look closer at my life and take control of choices I am making, to see what else I can do to improve my outcome and get my body back under my own control.
A few weeks ago, I started doing planking. At first, my arms would begin trembling right away and I could barely make it to a count of 20. Last time I did it, I was up to a 60 second mark. I've slipped in the past few days and haven't done it every morning, but it's encouraging to see that I can make such large improvements over such a small space of time with daily effort.
Yesterday, I decided to do something I have never done before. I have decided to go on a diet. I will tell you that as a person with very limited financial means it was incredibly discouraging to look at the list of recommended foods and know that this was going to cost me a lot of money to implement, but I did my best.
This morning was my first day of implementing the program. The one thing I have noticed is that while I don't like the hassle of keeping track of calories, it has made me more aware of what I'm doing. It's made me think before adding more sugar to my coffee.
Here's what I had for breakfast:
1 hardboiled egg, large.
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup non-fat milk
1 cup coffee
Doesn't sound bad, right? Except that in the coffee, I added a tablespoon of sugar. I normally add two. Then, I sat down to do my calorie counts. I realized that the one tablespoon of sugar was 98% of the recommended daily allowance of sugar! I have been adding two tablespoons to my tea, and I normally drink between 2-3 cups of tea a day. That means I usually end up having about 300 extra calories from sugar added to my diet each day.
There may still be underlying medical issues - but I can control my sugar intake. I can reduce this amount greatly just by controlling what I put in my tea or my coffee each day. I can go without the sugar entirely in my tea and save it for coffee (I really hate the taste of coffee). I can also gradually reduce the amount of sugar I put in my coffee. That way I'm getting my body more in line with where I need to be in terms of calorie intake.
Sometimes one positive change in your life is what you need to make the next positive change and get yourself headed in the right direction. Giving up soda hasn't changed my waist line the way I hoped - but it has changed my thinking, and maybe that's the more important thing.
A few weeks ago, I started doing planking. At first, my arms would begin trembling right away and I could barely make it to a count of 20. Last time I did it, I was up to a 60 second mark. I've slipped in the past few days and haven't done it every morning, but it's encouraging to see that I can make such large improvements over such a small space of time with daily effort.
Yesterday, I decided to do something I have never done before. I have decided to go on a diet. I will tell you that as a person with very limited financial means it was incredibly discouraging to look at the list of recommended foods and know that this was going to cost me a lot of money to implement, but I did my best.
This morning was my first day of implementing the program. The one thing I have noticed is that while I don't like the hassle of keeping track of calories, it has made me more aware of what I'm doing. It's made me think before adding more sugar to my coffee.
Here's what I had for breakfast:
1 hardboiled egg, large.
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup non-fat milk
1 cup coffee
Doesn't sound bad, right? Except that in the coffee, I added a tablespoon of sugar. I normally add two. Then, I sat down to do my calorie counts. I realized that the one tablespoon of sugar was 98% of the recommended daily allowance of sugar! I have been adding two tablespoons to my tea, and I normally drink between 2-3 cups of tea a day. That means I usually end up having about 300 extra calories from sugar added to my diet each day.
There may still be underlying medical issues - but I can control my sugar intake. I can reduce this amount greatly just by controlling what I put in my tea or my coffee each day. I can go without the sugar entirely in my tea and save it for coffee (I really hate the taste of coffee). I can also gradually reduce the amount of sugar I put in my coffee. That way I'm getting my body more in line with where I need to be in terms of calorie intake.
Sometimes one positive change in your life is what you need to make the next positive change and get yourself headed in the right direction. Giving up soda hasn't changed my waist line the way I hoped - but it has changed my thinking, and maybe that's the more important thing.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Month 4, Day 1: Still hanging in there
I gave up on blogging because even though I wasn't drinking soda, I also wasn't losing weight. Nothing was changing. In fact, I actually gained a couple of inches since the last time I blogged. It was massively discouraging to even talk about it. However, that is the truth about giving up soda: it isn't a panacea that's going to magically fix everything.
That's just as important a finding as anything else. Drinking soda is being blamed for a lot of things, but if after 4 months of going without the pounds haven't magically melted away and I'm still not drinking any, then there must be another culprit at large. Something else that I have to fix to fix the problem.
It's not a lack of exercise on my part. I live in Elko, Nevada. I regularly walk a mile or more a day just in my effort to get to work. This isn't walking on flat, even land. This is walking up 30 and 45 degree angle hills, sometimes with 10-20 pounds worth of groceries. There's plenty of resistence built into my routine, and it's never the same amount or the same weight each day so I can eliminate the notion that it's my body getting used to what I'm doing and plateauing.
Eliminating soda has reduced my sugar tolerance. I used to take 3 tablespoons in everything. I have cut back to 2, so I've eliminated another source of sugar in my diet and there still hasn't been a positive change. In fact, as I said, I've actually put on some inches since the summer time.
Here are my current measurements:
waist: 39"
gut: 48"
hips: 46"
bust: 43"
neck: 14 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/4"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"
I do have a thought about what's going on. It would have to be tested and proven first, before I could call it more than just a thought, but here's what I'm thinking may have happened.
I used to be super skinny. 98 pounds worth of skinny, about 12 pounds underweight for someone 5' tall. It didn't matter what I ate, none of it stuck. Getting pregnant with my son changed that. I put on 44 1/2 pounds with him.
This indicates that there was already a problem with my thyroid, which regulates metabolism. It was cranked up into overdrive. The hormones in pregnancy altered that, bringing my thyroid back into line with what it should have been.
I drank a lot of soda back then, at least a super big gulp a day - roughly a 2 liter of soda a day. That's a lot of caffeeine intake. Caffeeine as we all know is a thyroid stimulant, cranking up the metabolism artificially. What most people don't tell you is that when you artificially begin stimulating the thyroid, the body will eventually stop doing it on its own. It doesn't want to waste resources that it could be using elsewhere doing something that you're just going to override anyway.
Add in a second factor - which is that I took a depo provera shot shortly after my son was born - and that massive dose of hormones escalated the situation. Sent it into overdrive. Years of heavy soda drinking and that combined to wear out the thyroid early. It's not functioning like it should be.
About 8 years ago I went to 3 or 4 doctors trying to figure out what was wrong. None of them were listening. All of them told me my hormone levels were "normal", despite the evidence I gave them that it wasn't normal for me. This is the problem with charts and graphs. What's normal for one person isn't always normal for every person. I'm pretty sure the results would be different now. However, I can't afford a doctor to verify this.
I think a long-term study needs to be done on the effects of soda on the thyroid, to see whether it causes the thyroid to burn out early as I'm guessing it does. Here are the symptoms of hypothyroidism in women:
That's just as important a finding as anything else. Drinking soda is being blamed for a lot of things, but if after 4 months of going without the pounds haven't magically melted away and I'm still not drinking any, then there must be another culprit at large. Something else that I have to fix to fix the problem.
It's not a lack of exercise on my part. I live in Elko, Nevada. I regularly walk a mile or more a day just in my effort to get to work. This isn't walking on flat, even land. This is walking up 30 and 45 degree angle hills, sometimes with 10-20 pounds worth of groceries. There's plenty of resistence built into my routine, and it's never the same amount or the same weight each day so I can eliminate the notion that it's my body getting used to what I'm doing and plateauing.
Eliminating soda has reduced my sugar tolerance. I used to take 3 tablespoons in everything. I have cut back to 2, so I've eliminated another source of sugar in my diet and there still hasn't been a positive change. In fact, as I said, I've actually put on some inches since the summer time.
Here are my current measurements:
waist: 39"
gut: 48"
hips: 46"
bust: 43"
neck: 14 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/4"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"
I do have a thought about what's going on. It would have to be tested and proven first, before I could call it more than just a thought, but here's what I'm thinking may have happened.
I used to be super skinny. 98 pounds worth of skinny, about 12 pounds underweight for someone 5' tall. It didn't matter what I ate, none of it stuck. Getting pregnant with my son changed that. I put on 44 1/2 pounds with him.
This indicates that there was already a problem with my thyroid, which regulates metabolism. It was cranked up into overdrive. The hormones in pregnancy altered that, bringing my thyroid back into line with what it should have been.
I drank a lot of soda back then, at least a super big gulp a day - roughly a 2 liter of soda a day. That's a lot of caffeeine intake. Caffeeine as we all know is a thyroid stimulant, cranking up the metabolism artificially. What most people don't tell you is that when you artificially begin stimulating the thyroid, the body will eventually stop doing it on its own. It doesn't want to waste resources that it could be using elsewhere doing something that you're just going to override anyway.
Add in a second factor - which is that I took a depo provera shot shortly after my son was born - and that massive dose of hormones escalated the situation. Sent it into overdrive. Years of heavy soda drinking and that combined to wear out the thyroid early. It's not functioning like it should be.
About 8 years ago I went to 3 or 4 doctors trying to figure out what was wrong. None of them were listening. All of them told me my hormone levels were "normal", despite the evidence I gave them that it wasn't normal for me. This is the problem with charts and graphs. What's normal for one person isn't always normal for every person. I'm pretty sure the results would be different now. However, I can't afford a doctor to verify this.
I think a long-term study needs to be done on the effects of soda on the thyroid, to see whether it causes the thyroid to burn out early as I'm guessing it does. Here are the symptoms of hypothyroidism in women:
- Weight gain, even though you are not eating more food
- Increased sensitivity to cold
- Constipation
- Muscle weakness
- Joint or muscle pain
- Depression
- Fatigue (feeling very tired)
- Pale dry skin
- A puffy face
- A hoarse voice
- Excessive menstrual bleeding
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Day 22-25: Keeping It Up
I spent two days on the road, and yesterday recovering from that. I still haven't had any soda, which is actually somewhat miraculous. On Saturday, we were up at 4 am to get out of the house by 6 and in the air by 8. Our train wasn't due to depart Salt Lake City until 12:20 am the morning of the 22nd, but by 10 pm we were told it was going to be two hours late and I was already exhausted. I needed energy, and the only drinks available in the vending machine that might have given me the boost I needed was Mountain Dew. My husband even suggested making an exception under the circumstances, but I held firm.
The next day was stressful as we dealt with issues at home that had been neglected in our absence and tried to find solutions. Fortunately I was too busy to be overly tempted by soda. Today, however, I found myself staring with some longing at my husband's soda and the 2 liter bottle they bought while I was sleeping last night. Still, I resist because honestly it's not worth going backwards in my progress. A year's a long time, but I've done well so far and I want to keep it that way.
That's another life lesson: Victory comes through meeting little challenges every single time with the end in mind, and not giving in to the thought that it's just this once. Sure, I can start over again if I have to, but the truth is that every time you give in it makes it that much harder the next time you have a battle against temptation.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Day 20: 2nd Measuring Day
It's hard to believe but it's been 10 days already since my last measuring day. The fit of my clothes hasn't really changed, so I knew not to expect much of a drop, but I wasn't expecting this. It's disappointing, but the results are in:
September 8th September 19th
Left & Right Wrist 7" 7" 7"
Neck 15" 15 1/2" 15"
Bust 44" 43 1/4" 45"
Waist 40" 40" 40"
Gut 48" 43 1/2" 48 1/2"
Hips 46 1/4" 45 1/2" 46"
Rt ankle 10 1/2" 10 1/2" 10 1/4"
Lft ankle 11" 11" 10 1/2"
I'm not sure what happened at all. It's possible I mis-measured last time. It's also possible that, as my husband suggests, I need to pick the same time of day every day to measure. I took the measurements right after eating, when I was full enough to practically pop which may have affected the size. It's also possible that hormones affect the measurements.
These are taken just a few days after finishing my period. It's also possible that where I am measuring each time is affecting the results. I'll have to develop a more precise method of measuring so that I can be consistent. I have made a decision to measure again in the morning before I eat to see if it makes a difference. That should allow me to eliminate the possibility that a full belly was distorting results.
On a more positive note, I did not have any soda today, and there were at least some decreases in my measurements. It wasn't what I wanted but it's still some change. I'm hoping that being back in Elko where I'll be walking more frequently and up steeper terrain will help to make a more radical difference. We'll see what happens in my next 10 days.
Lesson for today: Don't let discouraging results cause you to quit. Discouraging results aren't a reason to give up. They are a reason to re-evaluate what you are doing and how you are doing it so that you can make any needed improvements and get back on track.
September 8th September 19th
Left & Right Wrist 7" 7" 7"
Neck 15" 15 1/2" 15"
Bust 44" 43 1/4" 45"
Waist 40" 40" 40"
Gut 48" 43 1/2" 48 1/2"
Hips 46 1/4" 45 1/2" 46"
Rt ankle 10 1/2" 10 1/2" 10 1/4"
Lft ankle 11" 11" 10 1/2"
I'm not sure what happened at all. It's possible I mis-measured last time. It's also possible that, as my husband suggests, I need to pick the same time of day every day to measure. I took the measurements right after eating, when I was full enough to practically pop which may have affected the size. It's also possible that hormones affect the measurements.
These are taken just a few days after finishing my period. It's also possible that where I am measuring each time is affecting the results. I'll have to develop a more precise method of measuring so that I can be consistent. I have made a decision to measure again in the morning before I eat to see if it makes a difference. That should allow me to eliminate the possibility that a full belly was distorting results.
On a more positive note, I did not have any soda today, and there were at least some decreases in my measurements. It wasn't what I wanted but it's still some change. I'm hoping that being back in Elko where I'll be walking more frequently and up steeper terrain will help to make a more radical difference. We'll see what happens in my next 10 days.
Lesson for today: Don't let discouraging results cause you to quit. Discouraging results aren't a reason to give up. They are a reason to re-evaluate what you are doing and how you are doing it so that you can make any needed improvements and get back on track.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Day 14-17: Progress Report
I am 17 days into this challenge, and am proud to report that I am still soda free. Temptation has not really been as much of a problem as I expected. Right now, it's even easier because I am staying with a family that does not drink soda at all. They stick with water, tea, juice, or milk.
This is another life lesson learned on the journey: it's much easier to stay away from something when you travel with like-minded people. If the people around you aren't doing it, you're less likely to find yourself wanting to do it. I think this is partly due to the subtle nature of social pressure.
As human beings, being likeable is an important component of success. Being different - radically different than your peers - makes you stand out and tends to also make you less likeable. Human beings especially dislike people who look like them but do not behave like them. Instincts tell us, then, that blending in is best and we blend in best when we do what the people around us do.
So, when you're around a bunch of people drinking soda, you have an instinct that tells you to drink soda because that's what everyone else is doing. When you're around people who aren't drinking soda, you'll also feel less compelled to drink it - in fact, you may find yourself feeling hesitant to drink it - because nobody else is drinking it.
One thing I did notice wasn't positive. When my monthly cycle came, it came with cramps. I was quite surprised by this because I have read so often that carbonated beverages like soda are giant culprits in causing them, and I haven't had a single bit of them in 17 days. I will have to investigate this further, and see if it happens again next month.
I am coming up on the 20 day mile marker, and when I do I will do my measurements again to see how much change has occurred between then and now. I'm not honestly expecting to see much more, because I haven't felt the changes in the way my clothes fit this time. We'll see. My activity level has been about the same, though, and I still take daily walks of about a mile or more.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Day 13: Acceptable alternatives
I was thinking about why this no soda challenge hasn't been that much of a challenge for me, and I think it comes down to two words: acceptable alternatives. Rather than trying to deprive myself of everything, which is a recipe for failure, I gave myself acceptable alternatives. I can have flavored beverages as long as I pick things like tea, coffee, or juice. Life doesn't have to be bland as long as what I'm selecting isn't full of sugar and other things that aren't good for me.
Maybe this is an important life-lesson in general: If you want to kick some habit, give yourself acceptable alternatives. Don't try to change everything at once. Focus on one area at a time until you've got that area of your life conquered and move on to the next. The chances of success doing it this way are much greater than the chances of your success when you're trying to change everything all at once. I think that's one reason new diets fail so often: you're trying to change every habit you have rather than changing one habit at a time.
I think it's a natural tendency of human beings to focus our attention on the big results, and to want to get the big result fast. In fact, our tendency is to focus so narrowly on the big things that happen in life that we often overlook the small things and the little changes as being insignificant and unimportant. Yet it is the little changes we make that end up having a cumulative and more lasting effect over our lives. It's a scientific reality that is reflected in every day life: every big thing is made up of infinitely smaller particles coming together, working together, to create something powerful and far more lasting.
Maybe this is an important life-lesson in general: If you want to kick some habit, give yourself acceptable alternatives. Don't try to change everything at once. Focus on one area at a time until you've got that area of your life conquered and move on to the next. The chances of success doing it this way are much greater than the chances of your success when you're trying to change everything all at once. I think that's one reason new diets fail so often: you're trying to change every habit you have rather than changing one habit at a time.
I think it's a natural tendency of human beings to focus our attention on the big results, and to want to get the big result fast. In fact, our tendency is to focus so narrowly on the big things that happen in life that we often overlook the small things and the little changes as being insignificant and unimportant. Yet it is the little changes we make that end up having a cumulative and more lasting effect over our lives. It's a scientific reality that is reflected in every day life: every big thing is made up of infinitely smaller particles coming together, working together, to create something powerful and far more lasting.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Day 11-12: Moving Forward
Today, I weighed myself. It was rather discouraging, depending on which scale I looked at. The first scale put me at 198 lbs. I want to believe that scale is a liar. It's probably more accurate. The second scale put me at 160 lbs - still considerably more than what I'd like to be but closer to where I'd like to be than 198 lbs. Still, the fact that I'm at a size 16-18 tells me the first scale is probably more accurate.
It's a reminder to me of how important it is to keep up this soda challenge. I have got to get out from all the weight that I don't need. I have a goal of getting down to 120 lbs. At 5'0", that is a very healthy weight. That means I have 78 pounds to lose, and I won't lose them by drinking sodas every day. After all, I don't just want to live to see my grandkids - I want to be healthy enough to enjoy them when they are growing up.
Perhaps the weighing in is good for me. It's a little discouraging after feeling so triumphant over my dramatic losses just a few days ago, but it's an important push to continue forward and not allow myself to get complacent. This challenge is about getting control over my life as much as it is about anything else, and this is one area I definitely have allowed to get out of control.
The nice thing is that I've talked to several other people who have read my blog and follow along. My sister-in-law is at 3 years successfully living without soda. My friend, Frank, has gone 9 years. Both my sister-in-law and my friend are living healthier lives, and it did begin with giving up soda. I know the path ahead won't always be easy, but it is a better path to follow and the results will be worth it.
It's a reminder to me of how important it is to keep up this soda challenge. I have got to get out from all the weight that I don't need. I have a goal of getting down to 120 lbs. At 5'0", that is a very healthy weight. That means I have 78 pounds to lose, and I won't lose them by drinking sodas every day. After all, I don't just want to live to see my grandkids - I want to be healthy enough to enjoy them when they are growing up.
Perhaps the weighing in is good for me. It's a little discouraging after feeling so triumphant over my dramatic losses just a few days ago, but it's an important push to continue forward and not allow myself to get complacent. This challenge is about getting control over my life as much as it is about anything else, and this is one area I definitely have allowed to get out of control.
The nice thing is that I've talked to several other people who have read my blog and follow along. My sister-in-law is at 3 years successfully living without soda. My friend, Frank, has gone 9 years. Both my sister-in-law and my friend are living healthier lives, and it did begin with giving up soda. I know the path ahead won't always be easy, but it is a better path to follow and the results will be worth it.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Day 10: Measuring Day
Measurements August 30th September 8th
Left & Right Wrist 7" 7"
Neck 15" 15 1/2"
Bust 44" 43 1/4"
Waist 40" 40"
Gut 48" 43 1/2"
Hips 46 1/4" 45 1/2"
Rt ankle 10 1/2" 10 1/2"
Lft ankle 11" 11"
That is an impressive amount of change for about a week and a half of going without soda. I've lost nearly 5 inches of gut, and 3/4 of an inch in the hip. Yes, I've lost a little bit of the bust, too, but not as much as I might have expected there. The fact that the size of the neck went up might be due to the fact that I picked up a cold during my travels and its possible I have slightly swollen glands. We'll see how things check out in 10 more days.
I must say that I have heard plenty of people recommend getting off sodas if you are trying to lose weight, but I hardly thought it would have such dramatic results. It's still possible that it isn't the soda but the truth is I've actually decreased somewhat the amount of walking I do each day. I am currently in a place that's like a sauna though, so that might affect the results, too.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Days 8-9: Continuing Forward
I can proudly say that I am on day 9, and I have not really missed soda at all yet. I haven't really felt too tempted by it. I had been told when I was contemplating doing this that I could expect headaches and cravings. I was expecting both. I got neither, but that may very well be because I have focused a great deal on drinking water regularly.
What I have noticed is that I get thirsty a lot, and need to drink water more often. I wonder if perhaps the soda drinking I was doing was masking the signals for thirst and making me less aware of the need. Either way, I'm drinking water far more often than I have been in the past and I think that is probably a really, really good thing for my body.
I'm not sure how long it takes to get the last of the soda out of your system. I have seen people say that it can take about a month or so. I've got, then, 21 days until I find out for sure whether I'll go without withdrawals. However, I'm willing to wager that I'm probably in the clear in that regard.
Of course, it might be that I have restricted myself to just giving up soda at this point. I'm still drinking some caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee. I am simply making sure that the sugars I take in are greatly reduced and, for the most part, contained in fruits or fruit juices. I may someday choose to do a no-sugar for a year challenge (that would be a much tougher one, I think, because sugar is in everything), but not yet. One step at a time.
I think one of the things that people tend to do that causes them to fail when they try to break a life-long habit is try to do too much at once. Focus on one area and one area only and master that change before you make more changes. At least that's my story for right now. It's subject to change without notice, honestly.
What I have noticed is that I get thirsty a lot, and need to drink water more often. I wonder if perhaps the soda drinking I was doing was masking the signals for thirst and making me less aware of the need. Either way, I'm drinking water far more often than I have been in the past and I think that is probably a really, really good thing for my body.
I'm not sure how long it takes to get the last of the soda out of your system. I have seen people say that it can take about a month or so. I've got, then, 21 days until I find out for sure whether I'll go without withdrawals. However, I'm willing to wager that I'm probably in the clear in that regard.
Of course, it might be that I have restricted myself to just giving up soda at this point. I'm still drinking some caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee. I am simply making sure that the sugars I take in are greatly reduced and, for the most part, contained in fruits or fruit juices. I may someday choose to do a no-sugar for a year challenge (that would be a much tougher one, I think, because sugar is in everything), but not yet. One step at a time.
I think one of the things that people tend to do that causes them to fail when they try to break a life-long habit is try to do too much at once. Focus on one area and one area only and master that change before you make more changes. At least that's my story for right now. It's subject to change without notice, honestly.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Day 5: Parties and Late Nights
Today I spent with my son in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. I didn't find drinking soda a temptation today - until it came time for bowling and the pizza party with the group. That's when there were pitchers of soda bought and nothing else provided to drink, and I did feel a twinge of temptation to join in the soda drinking. However, I was well behaved and stayed away from it, choosing instead to focus on the pizza.
Tonight, I find that I'm craving a soda but I also recognize that I'm very thirsty and the craving would likely vanish were I to go and get myself some ice and drink some water. Soda is mostly tempting when everyone is drinking it and when I'm thirsty. I am learning to appreciate just what an impact thirst and social behavior has on my tendency to engage in drinking soda, and it's a fascinating eye-opener.
However, the benefit of being more aware is that I get to make a conscious decision about how I handle those cravings and temptations. I recognize the sources of them and can work to avoid them. For example, if I go to a party or am in a social situation where everyone is likely to be drinking soda I can make sure that I bring myself a bottle of water or two so that my hosts do not feel like they need to expend extra money for me to have something and I don't feel overly tempted to drink what I know I don't need to be drinking.
I think this is the main thing about breaking a habit like drinking soda: it's largely becoming aware of what drives the impulse and working to short-circuit them by preparing in advance. I am actually really glad that I've begun this challenge. It is making me more aware of what triggers impulses and by making me aware is allowing me to take control of the situation.
Tonight, I find that I'm craving a soda but I also recognize that I'm very thirsty and the craving would likely vanish were I to go and get myself some ice and drink some water. Soda is mostly tempting when everyone is drinking it and when I'm thirsty. I am learning to appreciate just what an impact thirst and social behavior has on my tendency to engage in drinking soda, and it's a fascinating eye-opener.
However, the benefit of being more aware is that I get to make a conscious decision about how I handle those cravings and temptations. I recognize the sources of them and can work to avoid them. For example, if I go to a party or am in a social situation where everyone is likely to be drinking soda I can make sure that I bring myself a bottle of water or two so that my hosts do not feel like they need to expend extra money for me to have something and I don't feel overly tempted to drink what I know I don't need to be drinking.
I think this is the main thing about breaking a habit like drinking soda: it's largely becoming aware of what drives the impulse and working to short-circuit them by preparing in advance. I am actually really glad that I've begun this challenge. It is making me more aware of what triggers impulses and by making me aware is allowing me to take control of the situation.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Day 4: The First Temptations
Yesterday was no big deal. I traveled throughout the day and I didn't encounter a single instance where I had to remind myself that I am not drinking soda. Today, I was put to the test not once but twice.
The first temptation came this morning when my husband and I went for breakfast at Whataburger. Living in Elko, Nevada you don't have a Whataburger for several thousand miles, so getting a meal from here was a rare treat. I decided to have a vanilla malt and a regular whataburger with fries for breakfast.
My normal habit is to drink my shake and then take sips from my husband's soda in order to get past the thirst the shake causes. I forgot about the thirst and didn't think to order a courtesy water with it. I found myself tempted several times to reach across and get a small sip of soda, but fought against it. I'm glad to say I didn't give in at all.
The second time I was really tempted was this evening as we were on our way to Lawton, Oklahoma for Family Day. We stopped off at McDonalds to get a few things straightened out and grabbed a couple of burgers. My husband got a soda, but I didn't want to pay for bottled water so I didn't get anything. I found myself really thirsty and really tempted.
This is when I realized something: Failing to make sure I drink enough water leads me to become tempted to drink soda. I'm fine as long as I'm properly hydrated. That's something I'll have to make a note of for future encounters.
So far, I have resisted all temptations and stayed on track. Only 361 days of the challenge remaining, but I'm feeling good about it and - I noticed - feeling better about myself. I don't know if anything has changed weight wise or health wise, but I know that I feel like I'm better because of this.
The first temptation came this morning when my husband and I went for breakfast at Whataburger. Living in Elko, Nevada you don't have a Whataburger for several thousand miles, so getting a meal from here was a rare treat. I decided to have a vanilla malt and a regular whataburger with fries for breakfast.
My normal habit is to drink my shake and then take sips from my husband's soda in order to get past the thirst the shake causes. I forgot about the thirst and didn't think to order a courtesy water with it. I found myself tempted several times to reach across and get a small sip of soda, but fought against it. I'm glad to say I didn't give in at all.
The second time I was really tempted was this evening as we were on our way to Lawton, Oklahoma for Family Day. We stopped off at McDonalds to get a few things straightened out and grabbed a couple of burgers. My husband got a soda, but I didn't want to pay for bottled water so I didn't get anything. I found myself really thirsty and really tempted.
This is when I realized something: Failing to make sure I drink enough water leads me to become tempted to drink soda. I'm fine as long as I'm properly hydrated. That's something I'll have to make a note of for future encounters.
So far, I have resisted all temptations and stayed on track. Only 361 days of the challenge remaining, but I'm feeling good about it and - I noticed - feeling better about myself. I don't know if anything has changed weight wise or health wise, but I know that I feel like I'm better because of this.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Day 2: Temptation, Thy Name Is Soda
Less than 12 hours after I made my first post, temptation walked in the door. Quite literally. My roommate, a very thoughtful gentleman who was unaware of my decision to pick up this challenge and carry it forward, went to the store and returned home with soda. Fortunately, my resolve is new enough that I am not overly tempted to drink it. If soda thought I was so weak willed as to give in this soon, it is sadly mistaken. I am determined to see this challenge through and to make the most of it.
To help myself resist the temptation on the basis of taste or thirst, I made up a very large pitcher of water into which I have put okra, lemons, and limes. Okra, I have read, helps with the insulin resistance that comes from drinking soda and therefore can help the body re-establish normal responses to food. Lemon and lime provide flavor and vitamin c. The water not only makes sure I am kept properly hydrated, but since dehydration can also masquerade as hunger, it will help me to feel the need to eat less frequently. In theory this combination should make the transition from soda drinking to not drinking much easier on my body.
I will note that it made me far less hungry than I expected to be. Whereas I normally don't find myself feeling full after eating a couple of helpings of pasta and sauce - my dinner of the evening - I was able to feel satisfied after just two bowls. Furthermore, my hunger didn't return but my thirst made itself evident. It's becoming very evident to me that I was badly dehydrated. This morning I wake up to find that I'm feeling thirsty still, so I continue to drink the water I've prepared for myself. It may just be psychological at this point, but I do feel somewhat better.
Update this afternoon: Thirst levels are drastically reduced. I think I'm finally getting sufficiently hydrated. Temptations to drink the soda in the fridge have been surprisingly non-existent. Amount of food eaten today drastically reduced from my normal, not because I haven't been hungry but because I'm not taking as long to feel full when I'm done.
To help myself resist the temptation on the basis of taste or thirst, I made up a very large pitcher of water into which I have put okra, lemons, and limes. Okra, I have read, helps with the insulin resistance that comes from drinking soda and therefore can help the body re-establish normal responses to food. Lemon and lime provide flavor and vitamin c. The water not only makes sure I am kept properly hydrated, but since dehydration can also masquerade as hunger, it will help me to feel the need to eat less frequently. In theory this combination should make the transition from soda drinking to not drinking much easier on my body.
I will note that it made me far less hungry than I expected to be. Whereas I normally don't find myself feeling full after eating a couple of helpings of pasta and sauce - my dinner of the evening - I was able to feel satisfied after just two bowls. Furthermore, my hunger didn't return but my thirst made itself evident. It's becoming very evident to me that I was badly dehydrated. This morning I wake up to find that I'm feeling thirsty still, so I continue to drink the water I've prepared for myself. It may just be psychological at this point, but I do feel somewhat better.
Update this afternoon: Thirst levels are drastically reduced. I think I'm finally getting sufficiently hydrated. Temptations to drink the soda in the fridge have been surprisingly non-existent. Amount of food eaten today drastically reduced from my normal, not because I haven't been hungry but because I'm not taking as long to feel full when I'm done.
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