Skip to main content

No Soda November!

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been awhile. How many times do I say that when I post? I need to get more frequent with posts, but life gets in the way. 

While the guys have "No Shave November," I am doing my own version: "No Soda November." Corny, yes but it is necessary. I am addicted to diet soda, namely Diet Mountain Dew. While on vacation, I only drank water and didn't have a single headache. (If you know me at all,  you know what a huge achievement this is.) So why did I start drinking them when I returned? Habit, I suppose. Soon after, my headaches returned with a vengeance, as did my muscle pain. Well, last week was the wake-up call I needed. My father-in-law had a massive heart attack and has been in ICU. As part of his heart healthy program, he is required to give up Coke. He assumed it was because of the caffeine, but the cardiologist pointed out to him that it is really because of the sodium in Coke. Intrigued, I asked him about Diet Mountain Dew. The doctor informed me that the sodium is even WORSE in the diet drinks. (How many people drink them, trying to be 'healthier'?) Anyway, I made a pact with my father-in-law that if he gives up Coke, I promise to give up my beloved Diet Mountain Dew. 


I am now five days into the "NSN" and I am declaring this as a "NSV" (non-scale victory). Why? Detoxing is hell. It really, really is. The first few days were rough and my headaches were even worse than when I was drinking the battery acid Diet Dew. Now on day 5, I am thinking more clearly, have more energy, my rings are looser and notice my mood is much more even keel, aka less anxiety. Do I still crave the stuff? Somewhat, but I am realizing it is more about the habit of having it than it is the actual drink at this point. Luckily, I have the gals at ShrinkingJeans.net, supporting me and also giving up the poison for the month. And by poison, I mean aspartame. But that's another post for another day. Hey, maybe I'll actually write it this time.

Did I mention I also get to brag to my FIL about how successful I am with this challenge? That's motivation! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Day One

Today was day one of getting up at 5 a.m. to meet with my trainer. I was actually up early, fearful I would oversleep. I ended up getting to the gym early & was able to squeeze in some cardio, which was good for my achilles. In the early stages, I am not sure how long it take to warmup, drive there, etc so I figured I'd set the tone right from day one by being early.  After meeting Eli, my trainer, we went over all the standard contract stuff and took some measurements. Talk about a wake-up call. I am not going to post them here 'cause quite frankly, it is no one's business but mine. However, it made me see just how much 3 D&Cs and an achilles injury in the past 18 months has really affected my body. Putting it down on paper made it real and it motivated me to say "Never again." Getting to the gym early was easier than I thought. Yes, it's day one and I'm sure that will change, but I used to do it every single day when I was on the radio. I ...

Reflections & Realizations

After weeks of not working out and traveling, I stepped on the scale Monday to my highest weight ever. Granted a lot of it is indeed fluid, but still, it was a sign that I needed to get back to focusing on my health. After busting my head wide open and battling the concussion, I was lazy. I was lazy in not just my weight loss battle, but all aspects of my life. The doctor warned me that I might have some slight depression/mind fog from the concussion, but I just shrugged it off. Well, Monday it dawned on me that he was right and it was time to crack down on my mind crack. Yesterday, I was getting ready to head to the gym and sign up with my new trainer. (Yeah I dropped the other one. We just weren't clicking and he was way too focused on the scale. Being a recovered anorexic, I just couldn't deal with that.) I was walking out the door, realizing I had a huge sense of dread and anxiety inside me, just waiting to bust out. In the past, I would have ignored those feelings and...

Arthritis 5k Fail

I was supposed to run the Jingle Bell 5k this a.m. Ironically, I woke up with joint pain so severe that I couldn't get out of bed at a normal time, much less walk a 5k. Once again, I failed. With the recent snowstorm, I haven't moved with purpose in several weeks. I have no desire to workout. Why? I see no point. No matter what I do, the scale doesn't budge any direction but up. I'm not sure where to go from here, but I know this: I am lost.