I am a Diet Coke Fiend. I have been since I was 18. Over the years, it has become almost exclusively, the only thing I drink. I accept no substitutes. If there is no soda in the house when I wake up in the morning, I run to the local Mobile to get some before Kevin leaves for the day.
Sure, I have water after a workout. And, occasionally I have a glass of wine. Rarely do I touch milk. And, I never drink juice. So, probably 98% of all fluid intake is Diet Coke. Over the years, I've tried to cut back every once in a while, but it never works for longer than a few weeks. At most.
Well, last Saturday, I decided that I'm done with Diet Coke. I bought a 20 ounce bottle around lunch time, and by the end of the day, still had about 8 ounces left. I haven't had any soda since.
Has it been hard? Not too bad. Only in the middle of the night when I wake up thirsty. Only during the work day when I hear the vending machine calling my name from the other end of the building. If the office is quiet, I am sure that I can hear those cans spinning around in their slots, waiting for me to come and liberate them from their prison. And it's only a little hard when I'm standing in line at the store, and the person behind me puts a 2 liter on the counter. I thought briefly of offering her $5 for her bottle.
But honestly, by today, it was okay. I only thought of DC 3 or 4 times. But, once I'm home from work, I'm safe. There's no soda here, and I don't want to go out to get any. So, I've made it a whole week!
Will I make it longer? I think so. I don't like to fail at things. And, I did find a delicious tea that has been saving my butt every afternoon.
When I think about getting a soda, I remember what a friend in recovery said to me, "You don't have to commit to the rest of your life. You just have to decide for today that you won't drink."
It's very much like a strategy I use for biking: I don't have to promise to ride up every hill, I only have to commit to the one directly in front of me at the moment.
How bout you? Have you tackled any personal hills lately?
2 comments:
Very proud of you mama!!
I've been attempting to cut back on my Mocha latte intake... It's been working, but I think only b/c I have a cold so I've been drinking a lot of tea this week... We'll see how next week goes...
There is an awesome blog that deals with cutting back/ eliminating stuff etc (zenhabits.net)
Congrats on your victory. I suggest making a calendar with check boxes every day (if you haven't had soda - check mark)
Also don't forget to reward yourself. Went two weeks without soda? Go to a movie, have some delish meal, anything really.
Have a good day :)
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