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I kicked the habit!


Guest Lizzie McTrucker

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Guest Lizzie McTrucker

Two days ago, well, maybe it's 3 days now, I challenged myself to go an entire day without drinking soda. Now keep in mind, I didn't say without caffeine, that would be crazy talk. :P During the day, the urge to have a soda was always there but armed with water and every now and then stopping for a cup of hot tea, I managed to get through most of the day. As my day started ending, my desire to have a soda was now trumped by my desire to not fail my personal challenge. By the end of the day, I had consumed one cup of coffee, several large bottles of water, and I think 4 cups of tea (of various kinds, but they were either green, white or oolong tea). I estimated my caffeine intake was about 1/3rd of what it normally would have been, and my water intake was about 3 times what it normally would have been. I went to bed feeling empowered, albeit with a little bit of a headache.

The next day, my desire to have soda was even less. Just like the previous day, I stuck with water and hot tea. Turns out I really enjoy hot tea. (though I haven't tried black tea, I've been sticking to the lighter kinds). I suddenly felt like I was in control of my soda intake, so periodically during the day, I'd take dainty sips from a 20oz bottle. Since I was already drinking plenty of water during the day, the little bit of soda I did have felt more like a guilty pleasure than a necessity. The day ended with that 20oz bottle, the only one I had that day, still around 50% full (or empty depending on how you look at it)

Yesterday, the desire for soda was now just a fleeting desire. I ended up finishing off the rest of that bottle with lunch and that was the only soda I had. Yesterday I noticed a few things though: my craving for sweets has dropped tremendously. My desire to snack periodically during the day dropped considerably. The soda I did have just made me thirsty (which is part of their plan so you'll drink more), which annoyed me more than anything and as a result it just made me want to drink water instead.

In my fridge right now are still 2 bottles of soda that I bought 3 days ago, still unopened.

I also noticed that my jeans fit better around the waist. One of the things I hated about these jeans, although they fit well everywhere else, is that the waist digs into my tummy when I sit down. Since I'm driving most of my day, that can get really annoying. Today, they felt comfortable and didn't annoy me at all.

I'm also eating better this last week which may have something to do with it. I'm tracking what I eat and the calories involved so that accountability has helped in keeping calories either at my daily limit or below. Before I kicked the soda habit, I was almost always over on calories and some times meeting my goal. The last few days I've been below my goal and totally fine with it.

I don't want to say that I now eat like a girl (is there such a thing, really?) but I can say I don't eat like a glutton any more like I used to. I knew with my job, I pretty much have a sedentary lifestyle so cutting back on calories and either quitting soda or severely cutting back would be two things I could easily begin with to lose weight. Eventually I think I may have to figure out a way to get some exercise out here on the road. Some truck stop chains have exercise rooms, I may have to check those out in time.

But for now, I'm just soaking in how good it feels to no longer be addicted to soda. Having the equivalent of one can a day is much much better than the 2L I used to drink daily. Plus now I only drink it if I want to, so I feel more in control of my soda intake that way.

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Guest Kenna Dixon

Good for you! There are a lot of health benefits to be realized from cutting back on soda - even diet.

The worst period of my life in terms of eating habits was when I was delivering auto parts nine hours a day without a break for lunch. Chocolate milk and trail mix are not a meal!

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Guest Cyndysub

Lizzie that is great news indeed. You will be much more healthy without them. Studies have shown that even the diet sodas are bad for you as well as the ones with sugar. The diet sweeteners actually affect your blood sugar the same way that sugar does, sounds weird but it's true. I got off of those this year and feel better for it and my pocketbook agrees with this also.

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:score: :score: :score:

Congratulation on kicking the habit, Lizzie. :friends:

I have never drank much soda in my life. Sweets are a different story.

Having started HT my current cravings are pickles. I will be concerned when my care givers recommend starting prenatal vitamins.<giggle>

It does feel good when our clothing fits better as well. Not to mention the benefits of the reduced sugar intake.

Good on you Girl.

I did have an acquaintance who consumed 6 liters of soda a day.

Huggs, :wub:

Joann

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Hi Liz,

There was a time when we bought Coke by the 12-pack. And then we switched to stuff with Splenda instead of sugar. Now, we drink flavored seltzer water that has no sweetener in it at all. It's guilt free, and still has those refreshing bubbles. Give that a try as an alternative.

Love, Megan

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Guest Cyndysub

Just watch out and read those labels. Some food companies are sneaky with their labels. They sometimes hide ingredients by sticking it somewhere in the label that hides it like in"Flavors" or "Juice" and they load it with sugar or "High Fructose Corn Syrup" Their chemists have come up with a new sneaky stealth attack on unsuspecting consumers. Look out for something called "Sweetmyx". Pepsi is going to start using it in their soft drinks. Check out what Dr. OZ says about this at http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/addictive-new-ingredient-hiding-your-food

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Oh I love a good soda. I drink the hard stuff too (Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc). However, to kick the habit (because I never could stand the taste, or lack thereof, of water) I started drinking Sobe Life Water. If you grab the ones like Fuji Apple Pear, they are basically water and some other kind of fruit or vegetable juice lightly mixed in to give it just enough flavor to taste very good. You can buy 20 oz bottles at Wal-Mart for like $1 and they are SOOOO good. Plus I think all of them are like 20 calories or less. Most are 0 calories.

Now I need some Sobe. Yum.

Ashley

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Guest April Kristie

IMHO, stay away from things that are mfg simply to deplete your wallets, the food industry and it is a mega business will do anything and everything to get you to buy their product with no regard for you their consumer. This sweetmyx sounds like it affects the brain like a drug, don't be a guinea pig for another batch of chemicals, termed to make things better for your life. HRT can be dangerous enough all by itself, why complicate matters.Again IMHO.

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Guest Lizzie McTrucker

Thanks for the info, however I really don't plan on drinking very much soda going forward. Those 2 bottles in the fridge are still there unopened.

I use the MyFitnessPal app on my phone to keep track of calories and it does a very good job with keeping me in-line and on-point. One thing I noticed is that mindless snacking can quickly add up, calorie-wise. I've been making sure to only eat the serving size of larger bags of chips or candy. If the label says 13 chips, that's all I eat is 13 chips. I either count them out while I'm eating them, or I portion it out on a napkin and put the bag away. I have a box of M&Ms that's 2.5 servings and I would say it's still half full, despite me grabbing a small handful twice a day. Since I can see where my calories are going, I'm able to see for myself if I can either spare that 130 calories for a snack, or if I better not in case my dinner options are limited. Then usually I remember I still have that half of a subway sandwich in the fridge and that's going to either be dinner or tomorrow's breakfast.

I'm being very aware of how much I'm eating and the calories coming in

Anyway, in my travels tonight I stopped at a truck stop in Minnesota to use the bathroom and take a little lunch break. On the way in to the ladies room I noticed a scale so on my way out I decided to pop a quarter in to see what it would tell me. I wasn't expecting a big change but I was at least hoping the number went down instead of up. Now I don't know how accurate these scales are, or if they're accurate at all but if it is, then I've lost 13 pounds since I was home last month.

I'm really hoping it is accurate because that would be a great motivator to keep going.

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Guest Lizzie McTrucker

Oh, I totally forgot to mention this in the very beginning. This is what brought on my day without soda challenge:

I was looking through my HRT blood work and comparing numbers of the most recent results to the results from 6 months ago, and then the prior 3 month test before that and the initial result. I noticed that my glucose numbers were increasing each time and this most recent blood work the numbers were at the top of the normal range, whereas 6 months before, that same number was a little lower, and 3 months prior, they were lower than that. I looked it up and WebMD explained that as that number gets higher, the more likelihood of developing diabetes.

!!!

Since my most recent number was at the upper range of normal, I decided I needed to act now to prevent that from happening, so that's when I decided that I needed to either eliminate or severely cut back on my soda intake and I needed to start losing weight. I figured cutting out diet soda was a great place to start and that could easily be one way to bring that glucose number down. Losing weight should help with that, also.

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  • Forum Moderator

Lizzie that is a great self improvement project. I very rarely drink soda anymore. Like you it was once a staple or me. I do let myself have one if i'm at a party that serves alcohol. I can feel like a big girl with some original coke (with no coke) on the rocks. Certainly better than starting back into alcohol addiction.

On a different subject i was hoping to see you at some truckstop while i was driving the country. You came to mind often as i filled the tank and walked through all of those guys to use the ladies room. I was glad to see more women truckers than i had remembered.

Best to you on your journeys.

Hugs,

Charlize

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Guest Lizzie McTrucker

That's AWESOME. Quitting a habit is tough. Doing it "cold turkey"? Brutal. Seems like you fought the good fight. Well done. Best wishes.

Well, I tried cutting back my soda intake and increasing my water intake, but that didn't seem to be doing it for me, or I'd under estimate just how many diet sodas I had that day, so I knew if I was going to do this I was going to have to go all in, 100% all or nothing. I think going without for the first day really helped set the pace. Now, I could have a few sips if I want...or I could not.

I used to drink a 2L of soda a day, now I'm drinking about a 2L of water a day...and a few cups of hot tea. (green tea, not black tea). :)

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Guest Lizzie McTrucker

Have you noticed any weight loss yet?

Well the first time I weighed myself I was down 11lbs.

Today I weighed myself and found I was down another 8lbs

So, yeah, so far I've lost 19 lbs. :)

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Guest MaryGennaeAngelina

I wont ever be there. When my doctor told me I had gained too many pounds I put myself on a diet of my own making and decided that my one chemical passion, Mountain Dew could not be violated. I went back again and found that I had lost twenty pounds. I am still working at losing weight but sacrifice my....lovely.....stuff?? I just.....cant. :) Hey, it's the only chemical vice I have!

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Guest Cyndysub

MaryGennaeAngelina

As far as the mainstream selling regular caffeinated sodas Mountain Dew has the highest level of caffeine of that group. That might be the drug that has you in its hold.

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Guest Lizzie McTrucker

So I just checked yesterday and despite thinking maybe my number might be up one or two pounds, it turns out I was down another 5, making it so far 23 lbs lost. I almost get emotional when I sit down in a restaurant booth and it's not a tight squeeze any more.

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Guest Shelly1

CONGRATS Lizzie! It's great to hear success stories in overcoming eating/drinking habits! And the associated weight loss...you must be very happy at these results!

In the early spring of this year, at the advice of a body-guru/very healthy nutritionist acquaintance, she challenged me to kick all diet pop and eat better.

The mild vertigo and certain muscle twitching that I chalked-up to stress of everything I was enduring completely disappeared immediately! (that stress was the toxic stew of emotions we feel before that fork-in-the-road moment of transition happens) Evidently my body severely dislikes diet pop

She told me "learn to love water". I did. Took me a few months. I still love coffee, too. Mostly black, sometimes with cream. Still all good compared to what was being consumed in my body.

*I'm from the midwest, I say pop, it's harder to quit calling it pop than to quit drinking it! :)

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*I'm from the midwest, I say pop, it's harder to quit calling it pop than to quit drinking it! :)

You're in the south now baby. :) Round here we call all of it Coke. "You want a Coke?" "Yes, please, a Dr Pepper."

You always should specify what flavor Coke you want round here or else you'll just get a Coke.

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Guest Shelly1

*I'm from the midwest, I say pop, it's harder to quit calling it pop than to quit drinking it! :)

You're in the south now baby. :) Round here we call all of it Coke. "You want a Coke?" "Yes, please, a Dr Pepper."

You always should specify what flavor Coke you want round here or else you'll just get a Coke.

LOL! That’s so very true. Orange Coke always makes me chuckle

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