My 30 Day "No Soda" Challenge - Part 2

OK, it's only been 4 days.  Surprisingly, these first 4 days have been pretty easy.  I've only had a few moments where I thought, "Oh man, I could really go for a cold soda right now."  Somehow I managed to stay in line and not give in.  Whew, narrow escape.

So in 4 short days I've noticed  2 pretty big changes:
1.) I'm sweating more.
2.) My face is shinier.

In regards to sweating, you might be thinking, "Well duh, it's July.  Everyone sweats."  Well actually, yes, but at the same time, not so much.  While drinking soda, my body was more than likely so dehydrated that I hardly ever sweated.  Seriously.  Yes, I would get a little sticky while working in the garden, but my body never worked up a really good sweat like you would expect.

I noticed this evening, just while working in the kitchen and cooking dinner, that I was sweating pretty good.  You might think it's gross, but I felt like it was a small victory.  If so inclined, you can Google why sweating is good for your skin.  Some say it flushes toxins from your body.  Some say your pores open up and dirt is released from your body.  Some say it helps increase your metabolism.  I'm not going to go into all of that and cite sources - feel free to look it up for yourself.

On to number two...my face is shinier!  Already!  And also a lot softer, which might go back to sweating a lot more.  And who doesn't want a healthy, shiny face?  I hate wearing make-up, because I hate putting it on and then having to take it all back off.  So when I have healthy, glowing skin that looks good enough to not need make-up, well, that's a self-esteem booster right there.  I can actually say that I feel prettier today.

That's all for now.

My 30 Day "No Soda" Challenge - Part 1

I'm addicted to Pepsi.  I don't know what it is, or why, but you know how coffee drinkers need their morning cup of coffee?  I need my daily ice cold Pepsi.  I wish I were a coffee drinker, because then perhaps I would be addicted to coffee and not soda and surely coffee is a slightly better alternative.

I've actually given up soda several times in the past, but there seems to always be a stressful situation hat triggers me falling right back into the old trap.  I've never documented my challenge, though, and it's hard to remember what life was like soda-free when you're in the midst of a glorious, delicious, carbonated gulp.

Please spare me all the articles, comments, and details about how bad soda pop is for you.  I already know.  And yes, even with knowing, it hasn't prompted me to change.

So why the change now?  Honestly, there are several reasons.  One, I am about 40 lbs. heavier than when I got pregnant with my first son.  And when I think about diets, workout regimens, and all the healthier choices I need to make, I get overwhelmed and just want to crash and burn that baby before it even gets started.  So I have to do this in bite-size pieces and naturally, the first step (and probably easiest for me) is to give up soda.  I can manage this one change.  Baby steps, I tell myself.

Second, I've just been feeling like crap lately.  I've been on a soda binge big time and my skin is icky, I keep breaking out with acne, I can't sleep at night and then when I do get a full night of rest I still feel exhausted and lethargic in the morning.  I'm grumpy, cranky, and irritated.  I feel awful about my self-image and my self-esteem is in the dumps.  Need I go on?

Last, my soda habit is costing me a lot more money than I realize.  I tried to not keep Pepsi in the house, because then I drink it too much, so I would easily spend $1 a day to run somewhere and get a $1 Pepsi.  When we went out to eat and I ordered a soda, that was at least $2 right there.  Add up those bills here and there and I'm like, "Well crap, I could have bought that spinning wheel by now."  Or that new laptop.  Or whatever expensive thing I have my mind set on at the time.

So thank you internet and blogger for the ability to document my challenge.  I told myself I would stick with it for 30 days and post updates on how I feel, or how I think my body has changed, and then after 30 days I could make the decision to stick with it or go back to my old stinky ways.

I'm hoping that by 30 days I will have lost a little bit of weight and it will motivate me to keep going.

I won't post daily updates, but just as I notice changes or something of significance.  All right...bottoms up, you dear glass of water.  We are going to be really good friends for the next 30 days.