My addiction to food isn't my only addiction. I have always been addicted to soda also. Diet coke and Dr. Pepper were my poisons of choice. Anytime that I would have a diet coke, my stomach would start churning from the moment of that first sip. I knew what it would do to me. I knew there would be stomach pains and gas, much too much time spent in the bathroom and just an over all feeling of yuck. All from one can! But would I put it down, no. I was more afraid of being free from it. It was my comfort my shield. The same way that food is. When I was a teenager I would freeze a 1 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper overnight and have it for breakfast. I remember stopping Dr. Pepper for awhile and that first week the withdrawal symptoms were awful! I had headaches mood swings and even shakiness. This should have deterred me from ever picking one up again, but like any addict I couldn't truly stop without the help of God. 
In the recent months, God has been preparing me to cleanse my body of the poisons that I have been putting in my body. The fattening food, the Carb catastrophe, the overload of sodium, the soda and the deadly portions of all of them. I have been feeling that I am finally ready to kick this addiction to food. Food will no longer be my master. I will not be ruled by what I can or cannot eat. I will not spend countless hours planning, thinking, and meditating on food. How will I do this? Only with God's help. I am counting on the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and change my habits. I will speak more about this on Weight loss Wednesdays, but today is about water.
My love affair with water started when I was very young. My Memaw and Papaw had a pool and by the age of 6 months I could swim in it between Mom and Dad. I was definitely a water baby. When I am near water a feeling of calm and peace slip over me. I am safe I am home and I am nearer to God. I remember going to Maine to visit my best-est friend and she took me to the ocean for the very first time. I was so excited. I think it was May and the water was ice cold, but I stuck my feet in it. I had to touch it and feel it. I even made a sand castle. Then later in life I took a trip to California for church and we spent a couple of hours on the beach and I never felt closer to God. He was there making sand castles with me and watching His child be sublimely happy.
Many of the adventures that are on my list involve water. Para-sailing, water skiing, swimming with dolphins, going on a house boat, etc... These things are some of my inspirations for falling in love with water. Also the overall health of my body. Feeling good and getting closer to my goal weight. Saving the money that I would spend on soda when water is free. Teaching good water loving habits to my daughter. Today, May 09, 2011 I hear-by start my water drinking habit. No more will soda touch my lips. I will limit my tea drinking to minimum. I will drink at least 64 ounces of water a day, more if possible. I hear-for assign accountablility duty to my friends, family and internet friends, in-which you are allowed to gently scold, and direct me back to a water loving habit, should I stray. Thank you for your support, Teresa
Way to go! Water is a great habit to get in to. I personally have been trying to drink more water and less soda and have mostly succeeded. I have also found that having the right "tools" if you will help. Mine is a water bottle, not just any water bottle, but the right one for me. I know that sounds funny, but if I try drink from a nalgene I generally wind up with it on me rather than in me. I choke on the squeeze bottles (and it's not terribly attractive at work to up end a bottle of water down your throat). I also generally tend to be a slow drinker, drinking just wasn't something I really thought about. I ended up with a Camelbak simply b/c it has a straw and I can suck down a bunch of water in one shot. Maybe that's weird, but that type of bottle, plus the tick marks of how much liquid have really helped me. If you want to flavor your water once in awhile, I also really like Crystal Light (the Focus flavor has a little caffeine in it [less than a cup of coffee]), but have found that a half packet is more than plenty in 24 oz. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteI did the soda detox not too long ago (end of last year/beginning of this year) and, man, was it rough. Headaches, grumpiness, tiredness. Bleck. Now, I primarily drink water, but occasionally I will drink unsweet tea (a rarity for a southerner in the south. lol). I have had a diet coke here and there, but I find that it doesn't taste as clean or refreshing as water. Plus the texture of cola products is way too thick for me now (almost reminiscent of some sort of syrup). Yick!
ReplyDeleteYour brother and I like to drink water with some Mio flavoring (https://www.facebook.com/MiO) added for those times that flavor is desired, but you don't want juice or soda.
My main problem now is amount of water I drink. I don't drink nearly enough. You want to help me keep up drinking enough water? I'll help you drink the water to begin with. :)
Kat - you are correct about having the right tools. I have a hospital cup that also has the ounces on it. My main tool is ice. I have to have it really cold. Yesterday was hard and I drank a little more tea than I wanted to. But I did get my allotted amount of water in.
ReplyDeleteBeth- I have seen MIO here at Walmart, I am really not into water flavorings. I wish I was, I have tried them many times and never liked them. I will try and help you drink more water. I am hoping that this water helps my digestive issues.