"Hold Ya Water!"

Hello!

I've been stewing around a few ideas for my next few posts. I mentioned this one when I started this blog last year, but I never wrote it. So, here it is...

MY LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH WATER!

I am not a water drinker. This is not an exaggeration. You could ask any one of my friends, and they would probably tell you how rare it is to see me drink water. (Unless, of course, I had a glass of liquor in the other hand.) That being said here's a small list of things I would prefer over water.

1. Coke
2. Tea (preferably peach)
3. COFFEE
4. Coke
5. Pepsi
6. Coke
7. Dr. Pepper
8. Coke
9. Coke
10. Coke

Get the picture? I LOVE COCA-COLA! Honestly, I love any soda, but Coke is my number one choice. Bubbly, brown, yummy, delicious, sugary, burns as it goes down COKE! I LOVE IT! It's an addiction, and that is not an overstatement. I have a problem.

This is not the first time I have quit drinking sodas. My second year in college, I gave up soft drinks for 6 months. Then, I came home for the summer, started back at the fast food restaurant I worked at, and fountain drinks were free when I was working. Yes, the fountain machine had water as an option, but the smells of the restaurant seeped into the paper cups and made the water taste funny. So, I obviously opted for soda. Poor decision on my part.

I have attempted to quit drinking sodas multiple times since then to no avail. I would always look forward to "cheat meal" because I could have one. I craved a coke multiple times per day, every single day! I still do. It wasn't until I gave them up again 3 days again that I changed my mindset.

It's an addiction, and I have to treat it as such. I cannot give into the cravings. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not four years from now... and definitely NOT on "cheat meal" day. The problem with having one on "cheat meal day" was the fact that it was never just one. I would drink 4 or 5 in one sitting. Then, I would tell myself, "It's still cheat day. I can have another." Need I remind you it's "cheat MEAL" not "cheat DAY." Then, a few days later I would say, "I haven't come close to meeting my calorie count. I can totally sneak a soda in today. Hell, I could even have two," and I would! Then, it turns into not eating just so I can have more and more sodas. EMPTY CALORIES! No nutritional value... just SUGAR!

WATER, on the other hand, has no calories and all sorts of health benefits. Here's a chart from http://visual.ly/benefits-water-body

Water is important. Our bodies are 70% water. So, I drink water, and I'm learning to love it. I still crave Coca-Cola multiple times a day. I probably always will, and it is something I will learn to live with. Why? Because living life as fully as possible and being the healthiest version of myself while doing it is far more important than drinking soda every day.