[calluna]

After much soul-searching and reading the recent thread on soda-drinking, I've decided to quit my beloved Pepsi for once and for all. And, since I need a little accountability, lest I slip back into my vat of fizzy brown liquid, I figured I'd start a thread of my own.

Anyone out there who is in the process of quitting is welcome to join me here.

I've been drinking soda as long as I can remember. (My father has often said that my mother drank so much soda when she was pregnant with me that he was surprised I wasn't born with the Pepsi symbol imprinted on my forehead.) My intake used to be about a six-pack of cans a day, down lately to about 3 cans a day, or one of the 24-ounce bottles.

I wish I could say I was motivated by health concerns -- I lost almost all my teeth by the age of 23, you'd think that alone would have made me quit -- but no, I'm quitting because I have recently developed a soft, squishy midsection. A soft, squishy, ghostly-white midsection. It is not attractive.

I quit caffeinated soda several years ago. I've always had frequent, severe headaches, and cutting off the caffeine did help control the frequency. So I shouldn't have the nasty side effects of caffeine withdrawal.

And I do like other beverages. I can drink water, especially if I keep it in a wide-mouth cup or bottle and especially if it's cool. I've found lately that I like other things diluted with water -- juice, Gatorade in summer, iced tea. I adore lassi in all flavors, particularly mango. I just need to re-train myself to grab one of those things FIRST.

I have quit before....usually I last about a week. Then, something stressful happens, or I'm in a store and I see a good sale, and BAM! I'm back where I started. Hopefully, having to "report" will keep me in line.

I don't want to tell myself I can never have another Pepsi, ever again, but I do want to quit for at least 30 days and then see how, or if, it still fits in my life.

So: I had my last soda on Saturday afternoon, and since it was a fountain-drink I'm happy to say it was disgusting and gave me no pleasure at all. It was a good way to end it. I'm tired -- I've come to rely on those sugar rushes to power me through the day -- and cranky and vaguely headachy, but since waking up at 4:30 this morning, I've downed a good 20 oz of water, which in the past is more water than I've had in a week.

Calluna