Water

I was drinking a cup of coffee (decaf) yesterday and it dawned on me... I don't really like coffee.   I mean, I like Starbucks special coffees loaded with sugar and milk, but is that really coffee?  And, to make matters worse, it takes me a couple of hours to drink a cup and because of that, I don't drink any water during that time.  So, why do I drink coffee?  It's not something I need - I drink decaf or 1/2 decaf all the time so it's not a caffeine addiction.  I think Im going to start passing on the coffee.

We all know that we're supposed to drink a lot of water, but admittedly it really is hard to get down the 8 glasses a day even if that's all you're drinking.  Bring in coffee or juice or sweet tea and it's virtually impossible.  In fact, the caffeine we drink can actually work against you.  Some suggest that if we drink a cup of caffeinated coffee or soda, we need to add another glass of water to counter balance the effects.  Someone close to me drinks very little water and a LOT of Iced Tea every day (you know, the presweetened kind you buy at the grocery store).  She asked for a recommendation on how to start transitioning to drinking more water and less tea.  One thing I say is don't try to go cold turkey (unless there's another driving motivation to help keep you on track like Lent).  I suggested that she try alternating water and Ice tea - one glass of tea, next one glass of water, and so on.  Gradually wean off whatever it is that you're trying to change.

Events such as Lent can be really be helpful in providing extra motivation.  I'm not Catholic but I like the  rituals of Catholicism like Lent.  This past Lent, I gave up sugar - no dessert, no soda, juice, no coffee, etc.  I also gave up snacks and french fries.  It was a great jump start and although I eat/drink those items again, I do so in much less frequency.

Have to admit, I am pretty proud of myself today.  I had my shake for breakfast and then was really hungry for lunch.  I had some leftover turkey tacos.  After 2 small ones, I was still hungry.  I started to have a 3rd one and then decided to wait for 30 minutes to see if I was still hungry.  I had a glass of water and kept it moving.  Well, 45 minutes later, I was still hungry, so I had the third taco and felt good about it.

So, try to make the right decisions, but accept that you won't always be successful.  If you falter, get back up and keep it moving.