Do you know what I just did? Seriously. It's amazing. You'll never guess.
I just drank my fourth big glass of water for the day.
Do you know what else?
I've only had one pop. The whole day. I've only had one pop...the whole day.
I mean. Would you ever have guessed? Me neither.
I grew up drinking lots of pop. My best friend, who lived across the street in the town where I lived till I was 11, loved coming to my house because she got to drink pop. It was a novelty for her and a normal pattern for me. I grew up and kept up the habit. Actually, truth be told, I got a lot worse when I was on my own. Up until mid-spring, I drank five or six cans worth a day. Yup.
I decided early on in the process of losing weight that I had to cut back. I still have no intention of giving it up entirely. I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, and I only drink socially. A little pop isn't going to do that much damage, even if it does nothing for me nutritionally.
As I said in an earlier post, I started the process of cutting back by making myself have one big glass of water in between each can of pop. Before long, I was down to about three cans per day.
I always thought water was boring, while pop was delicious. And still calorie-free since I drank diet. After awhile, though, I noticed that I didn't really mind water. I still preferred pop, but I was content either way. Then I noticed that I actually craved water sometimes. I also noticed that my pee was no longer nuclear yellow...the downside of that being that I had to go a lot more often.
Lastly, I noticed that my stomach and esophagus felt less....oogy. I don't know how to describe that, but it turns out I had a constant feeling of....oogy...that I had learned to ignore until it went away as I decreased my pop intake. After I detoxed a bit, I noticed the feeling coming back on days when I drank too much pop or even just drank it too fast. So I decided to cut from three to two.
Then I decided one to two. And that's where I am now. No more oogy feeling (as long as I sip, not chug). Yesterday I drank way too much of it (along with a not-so-healthy diet). Oogy. Today, just the one can. No oogy. (Along with a very healthy diet, apart from that banana bread for breakfast...but it's grandma's homemade banana bread so it's mentally and emotionally healthy if not nutritionally so.)
Guess what else (I love games). I have not had a serious zit since I cut back. I have not had oily skin all summer. So that's a bonus I can live with. People have actually commented on my skin looking healthier! That's partly the other healthy things, I imagine, but I think the water has a lot to do with it.
I guess this isn't a radically different post from my earlier one about making slow changes rather than big ones, but I just wanted to point out another reason why the changes are worth it. If it seems too hard to cut out something you love, just think about the potential positive outcomes that can come from the alteration! It's not just losing the weight. It's the hidden oogies that you don't even know you feel. Maybe it's acne, maybe it's dark circles under your eyes. Maybe it's sleep disturbances (of which more later). Who knows. Some ill effect lurks that you may not be aware of, and making a needed change will allow you to discover and eliminate them! Who can argue with the joy of eliminating oogies?
No comments:
Post a Comment