Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Road to Addiction Recovery

Hey Y'all,

I had have an addiction... This is kind of embarrassing for me to share. I'm was addicted to Coke Zero and Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, and Diet Dr. Pepper, pretty much diet soda. I have to speak in the present tense because "they" say that recovery is a lifelong process. I know a lot about addiction because I watched a few seasons of Celebrity Rehab on VH-1 and Dr. Drew is my favorite addiction specialist.

I don't know when my addiction started. I realized I had a problem when I was asking people back home to send me some Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi.  It's so hard to find in Atlanta (>_<) I was willing to pay extra for my fix.. There was always an open can or 20-oz bottle on my nightstand, it was the first thing I reached for in the morning. On the drive to work, mid day pick me up and with all my meals. I even love the sound the bottle makes when you open it. If I was out I'd make late night trips to the Quick Trip or conveince store...I thought it wasn't a big deal because it's Diet.. No calories... No harm....

I decided that I HAVE to start drinking water because I'm getting old *waves goodbye to youth*, my youth ends on April 5th, and I need to really start curbing my bad habits. I'll be attacking them one at a time. I decided to start with drinking water, which is really really hard. Why? BECAUSE I F$&K-ing hate water... I hate the way it tastes.. I'd rather be thirsty... I'd rather consume an entire meal with nothing to drink then have water as my choice..

I decided to start small... It's hard to quit "the bubbles". I started buying Fruit2O... I can co-sign on fruity water... It's fake fruity water. I know.. I'm sure there's "stuff" in flavored water that aren't the best, but I feel that for me this is as good as it's gonna get... I'm not cutting up lemons and cucumbers and letting it marinate in my water... No can do...Eww



Your supposed to drink eight 8oz glasses of water a day.  That's 64 ounces of torture. That's 64 shots! Taking it in shots doesn't help, I tried to do it in shots but it got kinda weird. .. A six pack of Fruit2O is like $3 for six 16oz bottles, that's not cost effective .. I needed a better option. I thought if I bought a water filter that I'd magically like water.. Then I remembered that Brita Pitcher that sat idle in my college mini fridge for years, but I decided that maybe I'd find a Hello Kitty one or something.....


I did find a Hello Kitty one, at Target but I ended up buying a  PUR Flavor Options Pitcher Filter. It filters the water and you can put flavor cartriges in the top and push it when you want flavored water. If you want plain water just pour it and no flavor comes out. There are  5 flavors raspberry, lemon, grape, peach and strawberry. You can interchange the flavor cartridges at any time. The flavoring is sugar-free and calorie-free!



I also love Propel Zero!  At Walmart a case of twelve 16.9oz bottles costs $4.99. I use them for when I'm driving because I cant find a recylcable water bottle that i like and that isn't ugly.

I'm not going to sit here and type all the benefits of water because a simple Google search will do it for you. all that water knowlege really urked me when I was adddicted to the other stuff.. I will share my Pros and Cons :)

Pros


1. I lost a little weight... I really thought this was a bullsh!t way of convincing people to drink water.  I'll admit that I felt a little bloated at first, and it happened or I noticed it about two weeks in. I didn't lose a ton of weight but I've dropped a pants and size dress and I can fit into my "hoochie" clothes in the back of my closet with ease. I love that fact that I lost a little weight while remaining firmly planted on my behind.. #winning

2. My skin is clearer. It's more glowy?

3. My pee is crystal clear.. <- Was that T.M.I.

Cons


I pee alot. I noticed over time its less frequent. That could be why I lost a little weight all those trips to the potty? Burning calories while walking to the bathroom?

Coke Zero withdrawls suck. I was getting headaches everyday and I was having a hard time sleeping.. My sleep habits really suck so I'm blaming the Coke Zero..

I live in Atlanta, which is the Coke Capital of the World. It's hard to control my environment. There's ads everywhere of happy people slurping soda..

Do I have a ton of tips to help you drink more water?  No. My only tip is to do what works for you. You may have to dig a bit to find what will work best for you. I started off by making a chart and giving myself a Hello Kitty sticker for each 8oz. I'm more motivated when there is a "prize" involved. Yes Hello Kitty stickers are prizes, to me..

I'll admit it's really hard... I'm only allowed to have diet soda if I'm at a restaurant. I don't buy it anymore for my apartment. This is an on going process so if you see me with a diet soda in my hand don't get all preachy..

Luv Y'all

Mean It!


 

 

 

 

 

3 ♥Say Something♥:

Imee said...

LOL I actually love water, so long as it's cold but I know a few folks who can't take water straight. I'll be sure to send them the link to this post =)

Tammy said...

My sister from another Mister..I too am an addict. My 'drug' of choice is Pepsi. I actually really like water too though. I've finally gotten to the point where I only drink one soda a day, it's my coffee..since I really don't like coffee. I must admit the peeing all the damn time does get frustrating though.

Keep up the good work!! *hugs*

Kendall said...

I'm glad that were out in the open about our addictions. I was at California Pizza Kitchen the other day and they had Diet Pepsi and my eyes lit up.. NO restaurants in Atlanta have PEPSI... I shouldn't say the P word out loud within the city limits.
Peeing all the time is soo annoying... I count it as exercise.
XoxO