BIGS & littles » Sacramento CA Wedding and Family Photographer

To say that I have a Diet Coke problem is a bit of an understatement.  I am embarrassed to admit just how much Diet Coke I drink.  I can go days without drinking a glass of water.  I panic if there is not a Diet Coke in my house.  I wake up in the morning and stumble to the fridge to grab my beloved beverage before I mumble a good morning to anyone.  I have been thinking about making some big changes in my life for some time now and I know that this one will be hard but well worth it in the long run.  About a year ago, I finally decided that 5 years of my body belonging to my children it was time to make my body back.  I went to the gym religiously.  I do not like to work out, but I hired a trainer and did it.  I hated doing it, but felt great afterward.  I went on a diet and stuck to it.  I really worked hard at it.   I joined a weight loss support group and actively participated.  Nothing happened.  I lost about 11 pounds total and felt defeated.  I worked so hard and dedicated so much of my time and for what, a measly 11 pounds?  Then I started to lose my motivation.  Even when I stopped dieting and exercising not much changed.  I stayed right around where I was.  But I just didn’t feel good.  I get plenty of sleep and I am always tired.  I am cranky and have no patience.  I talked to my doctor and he wanted me to take Alli and if that didn’t work then he would put me on something stronger.  I don’t want to take drugs to get healthy, I just want to be healthy.

The other day, I was describing how I was feeling to friend that happens to be a personal trainer and she recommended that I read Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels.  I bought it the next day and actually read it from cover to cover.  I felt like it was written for me.  The book talks about how the over-processed foods that we eat have destroyed our metabolisms along with the yo-yo dieting that I have done all my life.  Atkins.  Check.  South Beach.  Check.  Liquid Diet.  Check.  Some of the things that I put in my mouth are not even food, but more bio engineered experiments that someone threw a label on and called dinner.  I know that it will be hard.  I know that it will take baby steps, but I am going to really try to get the bad toxic foods and chemicals out of my house.  The funny thing is that I would never use a cleaning product that was not non-toxic or green.  I have never bought milk for my children that is not organic, (even before it was cool to buy organic) but I literally drink chemicals out of a can many, many times a day.

So today was the first Diet Coke free day of my life.  So far, so good.  My husband was sweet and made me a pot of coffee this morning and urged me to drink a cup to fend off the caffeine headache that was surely going to be brutal.  I am not a coffee drinker, especially in the morning, but it did what I needed it to do.  I went to Target and bought myself a pretty pitcher and filled it with water and ice and sliced citrus and set it out on the counter so that I would have to look at it.  I am now on my second pitcher of water and honestly, there were a few moments that I longed for a fizzy Diet Coke, but it has not been so bad.  So if you see me out and about and I am drinking a Diet Coke, grab it from my hands and remind me why I do not want to drink it.

After I kick the Diet Coke habit, the next thing I am going to kick is High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Wish me luck.