La-di-da

How did I get to the point where I don't drink soda any more? I think I recognized that it did nothing for me, health-wise, by focusing on my RDA's and realizing that all it added was sugar. After that, there was less motivation to drink them. I also avoided places where I thought having a coke was just part of the entire experience--certain meals were not mentally complete without a coke! Eventually, it became less of a question of whether I would have water or soda. Every time I go in a restaurant, I don't have an internal struggle about what to drink. I can leave the five remaining cokes on the counter for over a month (Dr. MM drinks them), and not even want them.

I wonder what will be my next healthy habit to build or unhealthy habit to break? I can do it, but it does have to be a small step. It also has to be something that occurs daily. Could I walk a mile a day? Could I eat a serving of fruit with each meal (this would be hard because of how often I eat in restaurants, but I like it)? Could I go to the rec center every day for 30 minutes? Could I have a 10-minute clean* every day? Could I read my devotional book every day?

I think I could do any or all of these things, although walking a mile a day would probably be more annoying than any of the rest of them. Don't ask why I think that's annoying, because I just do! I think I will work on the fruit and 10 minute clean habits, since they are the most interesting to me. It means that I will have to buy and bring fruit with me during the day, but if I eat at home more often it shouldn't be a problem. Plus, you can buy pineapple and fruit cups on campus usually. The 10 minute clean will help me prioritize my at-home time a little bit better, since I have a tendency to sit at the laptop from the moment I get home until I'm so exhausted I have to go to bed. I admit that I have replaced tv watching with computer use, but since most of the time I used the laptop while watching tv I still call this a victory.

What I think will work for me, and what has worked for me with respect to RDA's, is adding activity to my schedule rather than limiting what I'm already doing. Technically, I will be limiting myself since I can't do as much of X when I add Y in--but I feel better about adding rather than limiting myself. This isn't really what happened with soda, but that's because I had a strong realization that drinking soda was a complete waste of a nutritional choice. Very few other things are quite as absolute.

*A 10-minute clean is when I set the kitchen timer for 10 minutes and then clean up as much as I can in that time. You can get a lot done in 10 minutes, and it helps me when I'm feeling overwhelmed.