Seven days without (completed!)

I made it! I've not had one drink of soda since Wednesday 24 February. Nine whole days. And what a journey.

It took almost twenty-four hours for the high levels of caffeine and sugar to wear off, as I said last week, with my severe headache and tiredness. It took a few days before my every second cravings of "Oh, gods, I NEED a Mt. Dew" wore off. And another day or two before I stopped counting down the seconds until I was finally free of my pledge. Yesterday I went into the grocery store to get some apple slices for breakfast, walked right past the soda coolers, and made it out to my car before I realised that I didn't once pine for a Mountain Dew while I was in the store.

Even today, right now, a few hours away from my first soda in nine days... I am surprisingly unexcited. I look forward to it, but if it didn't happen, that'd be okay, too. I think I'm going to try giving up soda on a daily basis. I've already proved I can do without it; however, I don't think there's anything horribly wrong with having a soda from time to time. My goal was never to give up soda completely, but to bring back the pleasure I found in it. At this moment, with my some-what-unexcitement with being able to drink soda again, I'm not sure how well I succeeded in that goal. Have I gone from love/addiction to disinterest? In nine days?

Seven days without

I am giving up soda. Not forever. Not even for a month. But for a week. Technically, my week started yesterday, but I'm going to have my first soda on my drive home next Friday.

I love Mountain Dew. So much so that I've even made a ranking system of what Dews I like best (Fountain Dew, in a can, in a small bottle, in larger bottles... but never bad fountain dew or off-brand.) Almost two years ago, I would have one soda a day, usually a can, so 12 ounces. And somewhere along the line, I started having two a day. And then three. Until recently, I've just been drinking a soda whenever I happen to be slightly thirsty. And I just don't love it anymore. I used to take a lot of pleasure in my one soda a day. It was my treat. But now, it is nothing special. And I want that specialness back!

Hence my giving up soda. Yesterday was my detox day, and it was awful! I crashed about 1pm. I was just dead tired and had a somewhat horrible head ache. Luckily, it went away and hasn't come back.

I find it slightly amusing that I am doing this during Lent, although I'm sure their sacrifice isn't so they can reclaim the pleasure of something. But perhaps the fact that many other people are giving up things that they may like or enjoy just opened the way for me to do the same. So while the Catholics are giving up chocolate, or meat, or alcohol for their god, I am giving up Mt. Dew for myself! Who knows, maybe after this week is over, I just won't want it anymore. (Doubtful!)