Lesson Learned: Why Soda and I don't get along

Last week, I did something highly uncharacteristic: I decided on Sunday night to go the next morning to the beach — for 4 days. I can be spontaneous in small things, but to just up and leave town for a few days does not happen — especially with small children and a job that I cannot just leave to someone else.

But, we did it, and it was a blast. Somehow, I stayed calm and fun and just enjoyed myself. And then the binge started.

We went to the grocery store on our first night there to stock the refrigerator. I requested some root beer, and we ended up with a 12 pack of both root beer and Dr. Bob. That’s where the trouble began.

For the next three days, other than the milk I might have had with some cereal or the few sips of coffee I had, the only thing I drank was soda. I didn’t have but maybe two gulps of water on any given day.

The result? I felt bloated. My face broke out. I felt tired.

When we got home, I weighed myself. My fears had come true: I’d gained 5 pounds in four days. That’s awful! What’s worse is that I knew exactly why. It wasn’t the food I was eating — we had actually been eating rather well. It was the blasted sodas I was guzzling.

So, clearly the sodas are out of the picture now (even though they stare me in the face when I open the refrigerator drawer). I made Aaron “solemnly swear” to slap me in the face if I pick up or even try to order a soda in the near future. Ok, he didn’t swear that. He just promised to give me the “stern face” if I tried to find a reason to order one and then remind me of how awful I feel right now.

Since the soda debacle, I have lost three pounds. That puts me back OVER my 2 pound weight loss. It’s ok. I know what mistakes I made, and I have the skills and tools to keep it from happening again.