Sunday, October 23, 2011

So long, so-da


This week I am giving myself a HUGE pat on the back!! So...take a moment...imagine me patting myself on the back. Good. Thank you! Actually, you know what...imagine me patting myself on my shoulder because I can't really reach my back...lol...gotta be realistic! ;)
Anyway, in my last post I made a commitment to myself to exercise every weekday morning. And...are you ready?...I DID!! Woot Woot!!
I can't thank my friends enough for joining me and making it SO much more enjoyable! I walked 1-2 miles each day, I went to the gym twice, and I had a blast doing Kinect Sports at home. I am SO proud of myself!! And, normally I would say I should have done more. But, I am shutting myself up, and congratulating myself for getting my BIG butt off the couch/computer chair and  moving my body. I tend to forget that I am not a teenager anymore and I am carrying around ALOT of extra weight...it's that whole distorted mental image of myself, I think.
So now,since I accomplished one challenge, I have a new challenge that I am posing to myself. And, honestly, this one scares me more than exercising. So, here it is...I have decided... to eliminate... caffeine and soda! **GASP!!** Yes, I know, you're saying to yourself, "But, Jill, how will you stay awake?!" And, my answer to that question is...chocolate, candy bars, sugar...oh, wait, sorry, I'm missing the point here. That's right, healthy...gotta get healthy.
This is how I see it, caffeine or soda, in general, is NO good. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it magnifies a lot of other bad things. And, I am not blind to that, I just chose not to do anything about it. It makes me hungrier, more aggitated and irritable, turns my teeth yellow, and lately it has gradually been replacing water way too much.
Ever since I was pregnant with Sydney, I retain water like a camel. But, unfortunately, my water isn't stored in my humps...haha. My water likes to hang out right above my ankles mostly, but it goes all the way up to my hips. Which is miserable because my legs feel like dead weight. I am actually on medication for my water retention...which I would love to get rid of. Oddly enough, the less water I drink, the more I retain. So, it's time to replace that soda with water. And I know, I will see lots of changes in the way I feel and how I can move.
Here's a funny story about my water retention. When I was pregnant with Sydney, if I would cut my leg, instead of it bleeding, it would ooze water. Not just a little, it would actually require me to tape gauze or sometimes even a washcloth over the cut, to get it to stop. So, I told Mike to poke a bunch of little holes in my legs and I could be somebody's sprinkler system...plus it would get rid of some of that water. He didn't do it though...can you believe that?!...the nerve! My legs, were so tight, that I couldn't even bend my leg to sit on it!
So, getting back to my challenge. This challenge, is another one of those small steps to the bigger goal. I keep telling myself, one thing at a time. So, I am trying to pick things to focus on that will improve other bad habits at the same time. And, the method to my madness with eliminating soda, besides what I listed above, is...I think I will eat less fast food because of it. I don't buy soda at the store very often because I know I will drink it nonstop. So, to get my fix, I go get fast food. And, to me, fast food doesn't taste the same without soda, so...with that being said, I think, I will eat less fast food. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone, right?
So, there it is folks...no caffeine for Jilly...yep, no caffeine for me...no soda is going to touch these lips. I'm hoping, if I keep saying it, it might make it easier to do. Think it'll work?
Well, this is it. "Goodbye soda...you will be missed." **sniff sniff** Na Na Na Na...Na Na Na Na...Hey Hey Hey...Goodbye! Man...this is going to be tough...ugh!

3 comments:

The Bennett Family said...

Jill, I here you about the soda thing. I never felt the need for soda until after my mission. While serving my mission I was given a coke at most houses and I was told it was rude to say no so I drank it. Needless to say became addicted to it. But hopefully I have finally said no it. Since a week after having Jeff I have not had a caffeinated soda. I rarely drink a caffeine free type of soda but I allow myself them for when I am really craving it. How I stopped the caffeine soda's was that I bought caffeine free pepsi for two weeks and when I realized I only really liked it cause of the energy I was able to get them out. I actually prefer ginger ale if I am not in it for the caffeine kick. Good luck but remember you may need to do baby steps on this one too, Caffeine is really hard to stop. I've done it once before but after I had stopped for 4 months I thought it was safe to have one while eating out and next thing I knew I was back on it. So this time only caffeine free beverages. Like I tell my husband, I gotta stay away from the sauce.

Leah Haas said...

YOU HAVE TO GO COLD TURKEY for at least two weeks. Speaking as a person who also had a Soda addiction. Its so bad for you. I just stopped soda and eating out. It took a little while to get the mentality. Its so easy to drive through. I quit it cold turkey and guess what, the kids don't mind. Sometimes they get sandwhiches and canned corn and quess what...they don't mind. Even my hubby will eat a sandwhich now that my food intake is restricted. Everyone is willing to help.

The Whittacres said...

First, Congrats on your accomplishment...may we continue on that success. Second, you're right this next step is probably going to be the hardest you will make. If you do go cold turkey...warn your husband and your kids. The first two weeks you will be screaming, onery, and frankly hard to deal with! You may call and want to cancel walking and I am going to tell you NO! When Nathan gradually weaned off caffiene even though he didn't go cold turkey when he finally stopped the caffiene althogether the next week or two was HORRIBLE for the rest of us. He had major mood swings and often I thought to myself. I love ya...but could you please go back to work. LOL! So good luck in this next step! I am behind you 100% even with your mood swings. YOU CAN DO THIS TOO!