I was off all soda from January 1, 2012 until July 3, 2012 and was feeling so wonderful that I had finally kicked that nasty habit. Unfortunately stress kicked in with all that I am going through and I faultered.
Good News I have weaned myself down to one can first thing in the morning and the next step is off completely AGAIN! I just don't know if I can accomplish this soon with all the stress in my life.
Do you mind if I ask why you aren't drinking soda? I can't have it because of the artificial sweeteners, but I am always curious when other people try to stop drinking it.
I gave up soda because of the chemicals but only in bursts. Then I go back on them and then off them again. I figure that it's better to try and fail than not try at all.
Do you mind if I ask why you aren't drinking soda? I can't have it because of the artificial sweeteners, but I am always curious when other people try to stop drinking it.
I stopped because of the empty calories and because I can't drink it in moderation. One can becomes a six pack becomes a case and so on and so on and so on.
It sounds like you feel like you are fighting yourself. It also sounds like you are going through a pretty tough time, so maybe it's ok to be compassionate with yourself.
For me, consistently making progress toward losing weight (even if it is really slow progress) has involved reframing how I think about my choices. Instead of thinking about sticking to my plan as good girl behavior and cheating as bad girl behavior, I see it all as free choices that I, as an adult make. I am choosing to lose weight. I know that combining diet and exercise to get below 1400 net calories or so will make me lose weight. I do a lot of the same things every day -- eat a lot of the same foods, do the same exercise. When I eat less than what I usually do I think "I'm making the choice to try and amp up my weight loss this week." When I work out more than what I usually do, I think "I'm making the choice to try and get to my fitness goals faster or to put more calories in the budget so that I can eat more later," and when I lie on the couch instead of working out I think, "I'm either choosing to not meet my goals today, or choosing to eat less to make up for them, or choosing to do more later." What I find is that I don't have the big blowout binges any more, nor go more than a day or two without working out, nor feel like a failure anymore. I learned my lesson from this past winter when I stopped paying attention to my diet and gained 8lbs. It took me nearly 5 months to lose it again and get back to where I started! So now, as the scale creeps up I think, "Do I want to lose another month of progress?" and I make a different choice. But there is no sense of failure, no sense of self-punishment. And I feel like that feeling of, "It's all too hard, I'm terrible at it, I might as well not try," just never comes.
Have you considered allowing yourself an occasional diet soda? I know many have issues with artificial sweeteners, myself included, but I'm fine as long as I don't have aspartame. I also don't guzzle diet down the same way I used to regular, since I was a sugar addict.
I own a soda stream machine, so I can make my own diet sodas and flavored carbonated water, and best of all, I can control the ingredients! I also occasionally buy Diet Hansen's (aspartame-free) and Zevia (aspartame and sucralose-free). They're a little more expensive than regular soda but so worth it for an occasional treat. I also pick up the store brand flavored water at Albertsons sometimes, which is also aspartame-free.
As a general rule, I dislike the "all or nothing" mindset simply because I personally feel it sets me up for failure. The only things I've cut out of my life are cigarettes (for obvious reasons) and anything I'm allergic to or have bad reactions with (seafood, apple juice, aspartame).
and with milestones there are failures :(
Just remember that you've done it before and can do it again!
You go girl!!
