Coke Is A Fashion Statement.

On Monday, I had the day off. I spent almost the entire day laying in bed catching up on reading blogs. I read about 200 blog posts in a few hours...Okay...So maybe I skimmed a few.  I started writing a few posts as well, but they ended up being way more involved than I realized. With that being said, they are not finished yet... Today, I updated my Facebook...I fixed my job and my city location.  It still said Las Vegas. It made me so sad to change it. That might be really stupid, but I loved it there. I didn't really have friends, and I wanted to get a new job, but I wanted to stay. Leaving there was a sad occasion that I really wish I didn't have to do.  Maybe some day I'll return to live with the palm tress...Who knew I was such a desert rat? I sure didn't. Guess sometimes we surprise ourselves. Okay...Anyway, now I'm going to get to point here.  As you might know, I quit drinking soda.  I didn't realize it was such a big deal until I started telling people that I quit and everyone was treating me like I had done the most amazing thing in the world. All I did was give up Coke!  But Seems how everyone has been asking me how I did it and what made it easier, I figured I would share my secrets. Maybe it will work for you, and you too can give up the bad habit and change your life. 

Let me preface this by telling you this:  I was a coke drinker to the max. Two or three 20 oz bottles a day. A can in the morning. One after my work out at the gym. I drank maybe one glass of water a day and I craved Coke all the time.  It was truly an addiction.  It really was not easy to kick it, but a few of these things worked for me. 

1.  I told myself that I did not drink soda instead of tell myself I could not drink soda. It became something that wasn't disallowed, but something that was simply a part of my daily life. I didn't do that just like I didn't smoke. 

2. I didn't make allowances for anything even similar to soda. No energy drinks, no non-caffeinated soda like Sprite, no sparkling...whatever. It made it so I couldn't make excuses to drink a soda. 

3. I found something flavored that I liked instead of soda. I drank blue Powerade when I wanted something sweet or ordered lemonade at restaurants. The key to this one, is not completely replacing the old vice with a new one. I didn't drink half as much Powerade as I used to drink coke.  I just drank it every now and then when I really wanted a coke. 

4. I drank a lot more water. When you aren't thirsty, there is no reason to look for other things to drink.

5.  I told myself there was no choice in the matter. I'm not a coke drinker anymore. I hope I never will be again.

I'm going to be completely honest with you, blog, when I wrote on my list that I wasn't going to drink soda anymore, I thought I'd crack after a few days. Well, it has been an entire month and I haven't slipped once. I can run faster.  I sleep better.  I have more energy.  I lost weight.  I saved money, and I drink twice as much water as I ever did. 

A part of me still misses the Coke...I even have a shirt with the Coca-Cola Logo on it...It's my favorite. Unfortunately, for me, Coke is now just a Fashion Statement. 

Stay tuned for a review of how my other goals went this month!