100 Days of No Soda–DONE!

Posted by hellyontherun in About Me, Healthy Eating, Running and tagged with Challenge, Goals, Health, No Soda, Perseverance, Running, Weight Loss September 9, 2014

Today is the day is the day! I’ve finally completed my 100 Days of Summer Challenge–No Soda!

Did I celebrate by drinking a Coke? Well….

I did take a sip lol!

I honestly didn’t wake up with an urge to consume 6 cans of Coca Cola. While I was going through this challenge, I’ve had a lot time to reflect on what I’ve learned.

I am a lot stronger than I think.

When I would shock friends by declining a Coke, they were always impressed by how serious I was taking the challenge. Self-discipline is something that I continuously struggle with but one thing I gained during this challenge is the knowledge that I am in control of what I put in my body. I know that I could have cheated or “treated” myself to a drink, a sip, a can, whatever but each time I made the decision to not to.

I make the decisions.

When things are 100% up to me, I feel like I have the responsibility to make the best decisions. I will have no one to blame, no one that I can say put me up to it.

It kinda makes me feel powerful.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this (and many people asked me why I was doing it) was that I was genuinely curious to see if I could do it. I knew myself. I knew that I succumbed to excuses very easily and this would be something legit challenging.

To me, going 100 days is such an accomplishment. I chose a number I knew would be difficult. A month, I could’ve done no sweat. But I knew I wouldn’t feel/see a significant difference. One hundred days makes me feel like a badass. Each day, saying no became so much easier. I remember going to a Pizza Hut Express and ordering a pan pizza and breadsticks and the server telling me that it was only 30 cents more to upgrade to a meal and get a soft drink. I told him, “Nope! All good!”

I’ve changed.

I definitely feel like my confidence has soared because of this challenge but the biggest thing is that my overall perspective on drinking soda has changed. Not only have I become more comfortable declining something I once felt I needed, I truly feel like I don’t anymore. That’s not to say I’ll never, ever drink it again. I know that’s just not realistic. But, I do feel like I’m more conscious of when I really want it. With a meal I feel goes great with a soda? Sure! Just because it’s there and I want something to drink? No.

My body has changed.

The summer weather hasn’t really let me see how the challenge has helped me with running but I think being able to maintain decent paces (for me) despite the heat is a definite win. I know that I would have been dehydrated drinking soda through summer trying to train for a marathon. The extra water intake has been a huge factor in me staying healthy and hitting my targets.

I absolutely feel like it’s prepared me for the upcoming fall season. That I set up my body the best that I could for the races to come.

I’m not going to lie. I was really curious to see how/if my body would change.

It has.

The scale says I lost 7 pounds. I went down a pant size. I’m the thinnest I’ve ever been. But, even then, the biggest difference is just overall health. I don’t feel as sluggish or tired or weighted down. When I once felt that soda gave me energy, I feel like I’ve had more without it. While there were days where I’ve felt like a soda would give me an extra boost, I would remind myself that the challenge was mental. Could I think of other ways of getting that extra energy?

People notice.

It kinda became contagious. When I would decline soda from friends and ask for water instead, it wasn’t rare that they would change their minds and put their own soda away.

At restaurants, I would always order water (with no lemon!) and my husband would follow suit. Then whoever we were with would go with water too. This wasn’t always the case, but we saw it happen more often than not.

My husband was completely on board with the challenge and went the 100 days with me. The person we felt noticed the most was our daughter. Because we drank a ton of water, she would often ask us for it herself. Lauren has always been a fan of water and preferred it more than anything–she must be the only toddler who doesn’t like apple juice!–but I think seeing mommy and daddy constantly drinking water really contributed to her love of it. We smile every time she finishes her sippy and says, “All done agua!” Or when she says, “Mas agua!” (more water!)

I know that she will continue to be an influence in me keeping my soda intake to a minimum.

Overall, I feel like the challenge was worth it. I know that I can hold myself accountable for something, that I can stick to a goal if I set my mind to it, that I can do things that are difficult.

What I’m excited for the most is not so much that I can drink soda now but the fact that I’m just so much more aware. I’ve seen how my mind and body has changed and it makes me feel like I don’t want to ruin the hard work I’ve put in. That is what I think will keep me from going back to my regular drinking habits. I know that I will drink a can or two here and there, but I can confidently say that my days of drinking 6 a day are gone.

I will keep you posted. Thank you for sharing this challenging journey with me ❤

helly

–What is a health related accomplishment that you’re proud of?

–Think you could go 100 days doing something or doing without something? What?

More than halfway done!!!

Posted by hellyontherun in Healthy Eating and tagged with Bad Habits, Challenges, Coca-cola, No Soda, Summer July 23, 2014

If you’ve been reading the last couple of months then you know that I’m currently on a summer challenge of 100 Days of No Soda. Well, I’m past the halfway point!!!

People have told me that once I’m done, I’ll probably not want to drink soda any more…..yeah……no.

I know it’s sad, but I still crave it. Like, a lot. I’m fairly certain that I won’t drink it as much as I used to–6 to 8 cans a day–but I think if I managed to keep it under 3 that would be enough for me to be content. A breakfast, lunch, and dinner soda. 🙂

I’m pretty proud though that I’ve gone this far without cheating. Not even once. And I’ve really wanted to.

People have asked me why or what my purpose in doing this is. What I wanted to see is how much, if anything, my body changed with marathon training and a healthier diet. And it has! Pre-challenge I had 5 pesky pounds keeping me from my pre-pregnancy weight. Well, 53 days into the challenge, they’re gone. I also feel less heavy in general, like the bad food I was eating was weighing me down.

I knew that by eliminating soda, I would be helping to improve my diet. A lot of what I ate (and okay, still sometimes eat) is fast food, meals that come with a soft drink. Since I’m not drinking soda, I feel less compelled to order a # whatever from a drive thru. Instead, I make something at home and eat it drinking water.

I haven’t replaced soda with anything either. I’m not a tea drinker nor do I like many juices. I’ll have a recovery drink after workouts–I’m currently loving Rockin’ Refuel chocolate milk (I don’t care that some people say it’s not good for you. Chocolate milk is amazing.) and I’ll put Tailwind in my water during runs, but besides that, I’m really just drinking plain ‘ol H2O. I don’t even like lemon wedges or cucumbers in my water. I like just water. I’m seriously a plain Jane when it comes to food.

The challenge will get harder once I get back to work in August. I’m not exaggerating when I say I drank a lot of soda. In my classroom, I have a mini fridge under my desk that I would stock with Coke. No joke.

I’ll tackle that battle when it comes…..

Any habits you have that are/would be tough to break?

What’s your favorite drink to quench your thirst?

100 Days of Summer Challenge–Quarterly Check-in

Posted by hellyontherun in Healthy Eating, Running and tagged with Dumb and Dumber, Healthy Eating, Hydration, Marathon Training, No Soda, Running, Summer Challenge June 25, 2014

Let’s all stand up and give a round of applause to MEEEEEE for having gone 25 days with NO soda!!!

I can’t believe I’ve gone that long. And let me tell you, it has not been easy.

The closest time that I thought I was going to slip up was the night of my 27k night race. I was so exhausted when I finished that all I wanted was a Big Gulp. I remember around mile 15 telling myself that I would allow a cheat day if I could just make it to the end. An ice, cold fountain drink was the only thing motivating me at the time.

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fave movie ever!!

When I did finish, I called my husband to tell him about this deal I had made myself and he was able to talk me out of it. At that point, I was two weeks in and he reminded me that the hard part was almost over. The withdrawal stage was no joke. Headaches, moodiness, yes. all of that I experienced. I knew it would happened and tried my best to not annoy my husband and practice extra patience with my kids. Luckily , I had coffee. All the coffee. Anyway, the first two weeks were the toughest and I was coming out of that stage; I could do this. Plus, he knew that I would feel super guilty the next day and told me so. I’m so happy his persuasive skills worked.

So here I am, 25 days in, a quarter of the way done with the challenge. For some reason, looking at it that way, in fourths, helps me deal with it better. I know it sounds like I’m being super dramatic about this, but seriously, I drank a TON of soda. So much so that when I meet up with friends, their jaws drop when I refuse the Coke they offer. (This happened on a play date recently. My girlfriend had bought Coke just for me because she knew I was visiting.)

My fridge pre-challenge

I’m very much looking forward to reaching the half way milestone. I think once I make it there, the end won’t seem that far away. Many people have told me that by the time I’m done, I’ll probably not want to drink soda anymore. I can say at 25 days in that that’s very unlikely. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever stop. I’ll maybe drink less, but I can’t see myself not drinking it ever again. I don’t know, I could surprise myself though.

I’ve liked how less bloated I feel but I haven’t noticed any decrease in weight or anything. My purpose with this challenge wasn’t to lose weight anyway but more to see how it would affect my training. If it would make a difference. It’s so hot here in Phoenix that hydration is so important. Would eliminating soda and drinking more water help my running? That’s what I’m most curious about.

We shall see. 75 more days!! 😀

–How have you challenged yourself recently?

–What do you think you’d struggle with doing/not doing for 100 days?