Today is the last day of my personal cola challenge, my resolution for April. The month-long goal to get rid of a bad habit may have been met, but I think for it to have any lasting positive effects, I need to consciously intend to keep my consumption down (or nil) for longer than just a month(which is the whole idea of Project Resolution anyway). I expect that won't be too hard, since I'm sure Coke must taste waaay too sweet for me now. But I have "relapsed" when trying this before, so I need to keep in the front of my mind that I am not a Coke drinker anymore.
Discussion and updates...
At this point, it's still just the idea of a Coke that attracts me. There are plenty of negative ideas I have about it, too, don't get me wrong. But some days after a long day of work, when I step out into the sun, I just want to go crack a coke and enjoy. Filling that urge with sparkling water has proven surprisingly successful... and if I want a little extra sweetness to go with the "crunchiness" of the fizzy water, I just tip in a bit of apple juice. So maybe this, too, shall pass.
I still haven't weighed myself at all this month, so I am not sure if there has been any effect of quitting colas on my weight, but like I mentioned in an earlier post, I am feeling much more comfortable in my won skin and have noticed my regular clothes fitting me better the past week or so. Shirts that I bought last summer but haven't wanted to wear because I felt uncomfortable in them are now fitting normally again. Of course, any kind of progress like this really helps solidify my desire to leave Coke in the past.
So, I'm happy with my success in April. I am also really pleased that I didn't cheat, not once, even though I was sorely tempted several times. I was expecting that I would let myself down, at least once. But I think posting about my goals here and having a set time frame (after which I could indulge if I wished) really helped.
January update: Still going strong with my budgets. I have noticed a creep upward in the amount of money I spend every month, by about 30-50 bucks or so each month, but I am still coming in under budget and paying down my debts. I think that quitting soda actually helped a lot with the budgeting, because the few times when the man and I went out for food, I didn't tack on an extra two bucks each time with a soda. In April, I barely cleared my budget, and deferred payment on one bill until this month, so I will have to tighten the belt a bit again in May. I also need to acknowledge how much easier this has been with the support of the man, who has been tightening the wallet strings beside me. (Except when he bought the Airstream, but that's a totally different thing! The day-to-day savings have been the most helpful.)
February update: Still running, though I took a big break this month when I went to Bikram's for a week straight and slightly injured my back. I still love it and still look forward to running, even when it rains on me (which is still does, frequently).
March update: I am still keeping my daily gratitude journal, which I absolutely LOVE as a daily practice. The blog is updated at least twice a week, which I think is fine unless something interesting is happening (and with the Airstream, I will probably have more interesting things to post.) Unfortunately, my daily work writing and weekly creative writing have both become a bit lax in the past week, since we got the airstream. Actually, I haven't written anything creative since the first week of April, so I need to get back on top of that. And the work writing was down to 3 times last week instead of 5. I am buckling back down this week.
I am happy that I have maintained my goals and habits as well as I have, but I acknowledge that I have gotten a little lax about March's goals and need to step it back up to remain happy at work and with writing. Otherwise, I can see all of these pieces coming together to form a better foundation for a much happier me.
I still haven't weighed myself at all this month, so I am not sure if there has been any effect of quitting colas on my weight, but like I mentioned in an earlier post, I am feeling much more comfortable in my won skin and have noticed my regular clothes fitting me better the past week or so. Shirts that I bought last summer but haven't wanted to wear because I felt uncomfortable in them are now fitting normally again. Of course, any kind of progress like this really helps solidify my desire to leave Coke in the past.
So, I'm happy with my success in April. I am also really pleased that I didn't cheat, not once, even though I was sorely tempted several times. I was expecting that I would let myself down, at least once. But I think posting about my goals here and having a set time frame (after which I could indulge if I wished) really helped.
January update: Still going strong with my budgets. I have noticed a creep upward in the amount of money I spend every month, by about 30-50 bucks or so each month, but I am still coming in under budget and paying down my debts. I think that quitting soda actually helped a lot with the budgeting, because the few times when the man and I went out for food, I didn't tack on an extra two bucks each time with a soda. In April, I barely cleared my budget, and deferred payment on one bill until this month, so I will have to tighten the belt a bit again in May. I also need to acknowledge how much easier this has been with the support of the man, who has been tightening the wallet strings beside me. (Except when he bought the Airstream, but that's a totally different thing! The day-to-day savings have been the most helpful.)
February update: Still running, though I took a big break this month when I went to Bikram's for a week straight and slightly injured my back. I still love it and still look forward to running, even when it rains on me (which is still does, frequently).
March update: I am still keeping my daily gratitude journal, which I absolutely LOVE as a daily practice. The blog is updated at least twice a week, which I think is fine unless something interesting is happening (and with the Airstream, I will probably have more interesting things to post.) Unfortunately, my daily work writing and weekly creative writing have both become a bit lax in the past week, since we got the airstream. Actually, I haven't written anything creative since the first week of April, so I need to get back on top of that. And the work writing was down to 3 times last week instead of 5. I am buckling back down this week.
I am happy that I have maintained my goals and habits as well as I have, but I acknowledge that I have gotten a little lax about March's goals and need to step it back up to remain happy at work and with writing. Otherwise, I can see all of these pieces coming together to form a better foundation for a much happier me.
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