Monday, August 20, 2007

My New Drink-June 1, 2007

Well, I have a new drink. I'm trying to wean myself off Diet Soda because it's been really fingered in the news lately as being super-bad for you. I believe it, I've always known it, but the evidence is so "in my face" now that I feel like I would be remiss in continuing to drink it. I told my husband I was quitting the bubbly, and he said "you'll probably live longer." He's right.

My new drink is, on the surface, rather disgusting. But I drank 3 glasses yesterday, and I've had one glass this morning, and I have to say I'm actually developing a bit of a tolerance, even a taste for it.

Here it is. 1/2 tsp Bragg (organic) Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 packet of splenda, lots of water (12 oz) and lots of ice. I've done research on Apple Cider Vinegar, and it appears to help with weight loss. One of my previous successful diets had you drinking 2 tsp of lemon juice every morning in hot or cold water, with a similar effect. The Japanese drink lemon juice quite regularly before or after meals, and you don't see the national obesity rate in Japan as high as it is here! In fact, Japan has one of the lowest obesity rates of the industrialized countries.

Anyway, there you have it, my new drink.

I'm off to Phoenix today, and my biggest temptation to overcome will be having a few drinks with friends. I'm planning on going out with an old friend tonight after my mom goes to sleep, and I always get in to trouble when I decide to have a drink. One drink leads to two, leads to me throwing the towel in completely for the weekend. I cannot have a repeat of the Easter week, when I went to Phoenix for 8 days and gained 17 lbs.

This will be a test of everything I stand for, everything I have desired for myself since starting this program. I have to look at the choice as such a poor one (having a drink) that I won't do it. It is imperative. I should print off my blog and take it with me for encouragement, and just read and re-read it. Yes. That is what I will do. Keep myself motivated that way.

I want to focus on my mom, and my dad, and not food or what sweet thing I can have next or when I can get to Trader Joes to buy the yummy chocolate-covered caramels. NO NO NO!

And I absolutely cannot have a gin and tonic on the plane. That will be a big decision point for me, no doubt. The temptation will be to just go ahead and order one, because I'm flying into a stressful situation and it would "take the edge off". But I can't. I need to let other things take the stress off...for example, I have some awesome Spearmint Essential Oil I bought at Whole Foods, and I've been adding a few drops to my bath water during the day. It has been very restful and relaxing. So perhaps I can take a bath this morning, and then take the Spearmint with me to add to the bath there. Sounds like a plan to me.

I think ultimately it is about finding coping mechanisms, and planning ahead. If I don't have a plan, and haven't formulated a coping mechanism or "escape strategy" I will feel cornered into a bad decision. It's funny how when we feel cornered into a bad decision we look for someone else or something else to blame, instead of taking responsibility for it ourselves. "They just had to bring that" "He just had to make that!" or "Why did they ask me if I wanted any, they KNOW I'm on a diet!" As if we are entitled to NOT be tempted. A good friend and mentor of mine once said "Victory is not the absence of temptation, victory is succeeding in the midst of the temptation." So, yes, I could put myself in a little white room in a little white straightjacket and never have another temptation! But what kind of life would that be, and what would that teach me? That my success is everyone else's responsibility? No no and no! I do this for me. I do this. I do. It is me doing the doing if that makes sense. That is the only way I will succeed in the long term.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings, if you've made it this far! Have a great weekend.

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