Water just wasn’t cutting it. It didn’t have flavor, sugar, or any pizazz. It was dull. Bland. Overrated. As long as I drank SOMETHING it could be whatever I wanted it to be, right? Drinking a liquid meant I was hydrating myself, right? WRONG.
Before I started to explore clean eating and being a healthier version of myself, I was pretty unhealthy. I ate out a lot, I had tons of processed food in my house, and I bought all the “low-fat” and “fat-free” versions of everything.
F.Y.I. in case you’re wondering about that, low-fat and fat-free are usually NOT healthier versions of foods, but just as bad. C’mon, low-fat Cheez-it’s aren’t real.
I drank a lot of soda too. Like, a lot. From about 11am until the end of my waitressing shift at the end of the night (I worked doubles 3 times a week), I could crush Dr. Pepper like no-one’s business. Occasionally I would drink that bland water, but most of the time it was my love; my sugar; my Dr. Pepper. It gave me energy and tasted GREAT, so why not drink it all day? What was the problem?
Little did I know, I was dehydrating myself. I was also probably spiking my insulin levels which was causing me to have that crashing feeling throughout the day, everyday. I was doing damage to my body and so incredibly naive to it. I was drinking my life away.
In my transformation stories I have shared in the past, I often talk about how I was always SO tired. I was very lethargic and never wanted to do anything. I often feel like I wasted so much time in my early twenties doing nothing – and it was all because of how I was fueling (or NOT fueling) my body. I would tell myself, well soda has caffine so it will help me wake up. It would, for a very short amount of time and then I would feel awful again. And I would often times pair that soda with chips, Cheez-its, pizza, fast food, Mexican restaurant food, Panda Express, etc. and then finish off my meal with some kind of dessert.
I look back now and think, NO WONDER I felt so awful. I re-evaluate my old diet and am blown away at how horrible it was. I thought I was doing so good and if I had really, truly taken the time to sit down and look at what I was eating on a regular basis I would have realized how horribly I was treating myself.
Now I love water. I drink it as much as I can remember too (still working on it but WAY better than I have ever been)! I don’t find it bland or tasteless. I find it refreshing and revitalizing. If I’m feeling tired, I now know it’s because I probably haven’t drank enough water and pour myself a glass. I know if I drink coffee, I need to follow it with water. If I’m hot or working out, you guessed it! H2O.
I can’t drink soda. I have had the itch for a cola a time or two recently and every time I get one I end up throwing it away because it’s just SO sweet I can’t take it. It makes my stomach upset and gives me a headache. I view this as a GOOD thing though. I don’t want to think that soda makes me feel good – if I drink it I want it to remind me that it tastes horrible and makes me feel awful.
I want to listen to my body.
I want to do good by my body.
My body is the only place I have to live.
I want to live somewhere I love and take good care of it.
I love my body now and care for it like it’s the most precious thing to me – because it is. Without my body, I cannot be me. I cannot care for my amazing children the way I want to. I cannot be the wife I want to be. I cannot reach all of my goals and achieve all of my dreams when I don’t take care of me.
Take care of you!
