Change: Give Up Soda

I originally started this blog to document changes I was making in my life to be healthier. I'm still making changes, lots of them, every day. And not just to be physically healthier, but I'm working on changes to be spiritually and emotionally healthier too. Most days, I have to start over.

But today I want to annouce that I have been soda free for one whole month!

My main motivation behind giving up soda is part of a larger change to cut back on all refined sugar, but this is all about "many small changes" and not one big one.

Though this is a change I've been trying to make for years, the following really helped this time:

Living With PCOS and Treating it Naturally

The Word of Wisdom

Can mormons drink caffeinated sodas?

Eat Your Veggies!

I added water, and I'm still doing pretty good with that.

I added exercise, and I've done really well with that -- I've only missed one day completely in the last few weeks and I felt so guilty about it, I'm sure it won't happen again.

I added fruit, and as long as I have it in the house, I eat it. My husband went on a banana kick, and we ran out of fruit before I made it back to the store.

I started recording what I eat, and that's gone okay. Nobody is looking at it but me, so I don't feel like I have much accountability.

My next change is going to be adding veggies. Like fruit, just one serving. I think this one is going to be hard for me. I don't really know many veggies to eat. I can't convince my husband that corn isn't a vegetable, and he is in charge of dinner right now. Carrots and broccoli just get boring. If you have some good ideas about how I can add more veggies to my diet, please share them. Otherwise, my fingers will be stained with the orange of baby carrots.

Discouraged

I woke up Sunday morning, used the toilet, and stepped on the bathroom scale. I weighed 207 lbs. I know that I didn't expect big changes. I haven't changed my eating habits enough to notice a big loss on the scale, but I certainly didn't expect to see a 4 pound gain. It made me want to cry. So, I ate a bowl of ice cream for breakfast. I know that is not an appropriate reaction. I know it is a really inappropriate action. Then I beat myself up about it all day, and felt terrible. So, I had a bowl of ice cream for dinner. Then I beat myself up about that, and I didn't want to go for my walk. My husband was trying to encourage me, and finally I did cry. I told him how discouraged I felt. I wondered why I should even bother going for my walk. He said he was sorry and he encouraged me to keep at it and he told me how proud he was of me.

So, I put on my shoes and my heart rate monitor. I stretched a bit, and I set out. I jogged twice and had my best time yet -- under 30 minutes. I felt encouraged. I felt good. I felt like I can do this. I even did some push-ups when I got home.

To be successful I'll need to tackle my emotional eating. I don't really know how to go about it and it seems like such a tall mountain to climb. For starters, I will work this week on keeping a food journal. I'll write down everything I put in my mouth, and I'll try to write down why I'm putting it in my mouth.

Change: Add a serving of fruit

I was hoping my 'weeks' would go Saturday-Friday, or Monday-Sunday, but it doesn't seem to be working great that way. I am continuing with one change before moving on to the next. My problem this week is that I'm having a really hard time deciding which change to make next.

We are almost out of Pepsi in the fridge, so it seems like a perfect time to give that one up -- but I'm not sure I'm ready to give it up completely. I've tried that in the past, and it seems to me that it is too big of a change for one week.

I've decided instead to add a serving of fruit. That is, I'll make sure to get at least one each day. Most days, I'll admit, I don't eat any.

Change: 30 minutes of exercise every day

Drinking more water has gone pretty good. Some days I had to drink it just before going to bed. Most days though I was able to drink the 16 ounces (or more) during the day.

The next 7 days, I will excersize for at least 30 minutes everyday. Just a half hour every day. I'm going to make it really easy on myself and start with walking. I can even break it down into three 10 minutes chunks if I can't get away for 30 minutes at one time.

Change: drink 16 oz of water a day

I thought I would be pretty specific about my changes, especially this first one. I want something I can measure, so that I can know I'm being successful. I know that 16 ounces of water isn't a lot. I know that in the past I've consumed almost a gallon of water a day. I've recently realized that some days, all the water I consume is when I'm brushing my teeth. That's not good! If I drink more, great! It's a start. And I'm starting today! Even though it's 10 pm and it means that I'll probably be up all night using the bathroom, I will drink 16 ounces of water before I go to bed.