It's been a very busy three months. I've accomplished a great deal since I last posted on May 28th and I'll be posting some of those tales shortly.
Tonight, I want to talk about two new experiences that start tomorrow, September 1st: Give up Diet Coke (and all soda) and drink 64 ounces of water daily for 30 days.
I used to be an avid water drinker. No matter where I went, I always had my water bottle with me and I drank 64 ounces without effort daily. There have also been times when I drank no soda. Over the past three or four years, however, my intake of Diet Coke has increased and my intake of water has decreased.
I know that drinking diet soda is not any healthier than drinking regular soda and that drinking lots of water is the healthiest choice of all. I also remember how good my body felt when I didn't drink soda at all.
Over the past year, I've had a few medical issues that are being treated, but I know that if I simply cut soda out of my life and returned to drinking 64 ounces of water per day, my body would naturally become healthier and I'd feel better physically and emotionally.
As part of my 100 New Experiences, I'm giving up Diet Coke and all soda for 30 days and replacing it with 64 ounces of water. My ultimate goal is to never drink any soda again, but I'm starting with 30 days. When I celebrate my achievement on October 1st, I'll start another 30 day regimen of no soda and 64 ounces of water. Then I'll keep going until it's just a natural habit.
Given that caffeine is addicting, I imagine that I'll be experiencing a bit of caffeine withdrawal this month. Hopefully, it will only last a few days, but I want to apologize now if I'm a bit irritable.
Wish me luck.
I'll keep you posted on my success.
Damn. I closed the window before hitting send.
ReplyDeleteI grew up w/ a Mom, who as a hoarder was the grocery shopper, who believed that Kool-Aid had too much sugar in it and that apple juice was too expensive. (I'm allergic to dairy and oranges/OJ.) Her own poor eating habits and soda addiction dictated that she bought soda routinely and it was readily available. She didn't teach by example and "I'm thirsty" was never met w/ a reply to get a glass of water. Neither parent monitored my soda intake, so I developed a lifelong soda addiction.
Now? I try to drink more water a day than soda and tea and coffee, instead, but I can't eliminate soda completely. When I try, I get maybe a few months in, before I just need the feel of the carbonation in my mouth. Inevitably, when that happens, one drink, leads me to drink more soda and then, I'm back on the soda exclusivity bandwagon and I hate that. So, I try to limit my intake while allowing myself to indulge slightly.
It's an admirable goal, though... to go completely without it. I wish I could, but I don't think I ever will completely.
Good for you for being conscious of of where your caffeine/soda addiction came from and working to change it. It's definitely not easy. As for me, Day 1 isn't going well. I desperately need to go grocery shopping, but am sick. I've been chugging water, but Diet Coke is tasting mighty fine at this moment. Tomorrow is another day.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! This is super hard, and way to go for giving it a try. I went cold turkey off diet coke in college. I had a migraine for what seemed like a week. For years after, I would binge on DC when things were super stressful at work, but like you said, I always felt better when I was just drinking water. Now, I maybe have a soda once every few months, if I have a bad headache that just won't quit, but I always choose a regular coke. Three or four sips in, I've had all I want and I end up dumping the rest out, which is OK by me. But, when I was struggling with cravings, I would opt for sparkling water, like Perrier. You get the benefits of water and the fun of bubbles! I didn't keep that up long, because it's an expensive habit (I bought it by the case at Costco for like three months last year), but maybe it'd help to try!
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