100 Days without Pop??!!

At some point around the time of the Super Bowl in early February a friend mentioned that the Monday after the Super Bowl is as popular a time to start eating healthy as January 1. We were talking about small changes we could make to help us make better choices. It was never meant to be about making huge leaps from having candy, cookies and pop to suddenly having carrots, celery and water. It was about the small things. I decided that one thing I could do without was pop.

The first thing I did was try out a few apps that keep track of streaks. Most didn't work out, but this one was so simple to use and it reminded me every morning to check off the previous day. You can download Habit Streak Plan here if you have an Android phone.
I more or less quit pop cold turkey. I went from drinking at least 2 a day to drinking none. The only exceptions I made were 2 Saturdays early in the process I had half a Sprite. This was because I go out to eat with my job every other Saturday and in a panic chose Sprite.

It hasn't been easy, I assure you. At least once a week I text my friend because I want a pop really bad. I haven't caved in yet. To be honest, I was trying to hold out until I hit 100 days before I had any. I really wanted to see that counter tell me I had hit 100 days.

Now that I've reached my goal, will I stick with it? I hope I will. I've found a whole host of other beverages, mostly water, that I enjoy instead of pop. Juice, real juice though, not the pretend fruit juice, tea, coffee even. I understand that some of these beverage choices can have quite a few calories, sometimes more than a pop. I wasn't avoiding pop purely because of the calories, though they do add up quickly! For me, pop has a very addictive quality. Once I have 1 I want 2, and then 3, 4, 5...it just gets out of control sometimes. I haven't yet found any other beverage, aside from a few adult/alcohol ones, that have a similar effect on me.

While I haven't lost tons and tons of weight since cutting out pop, I have lost a few pounds. I don't have as many issues with my acid reflux breaking through my meds either, unless I get into the orange juice and then sometimes it acts up.

On the whole I feel better. I don't have the sugar crash pop sometimes gave me, especially if I drank a few at a time, and drinking more water has been good for me also.