30 days pop free!

I don't usually post much here unless it's running related, but I have reached a new accomplishment and wanted to share it, because it's a BIG deal to me.

I've been a pop drinker for as long as I can remember. I mean, as I kid I drank the usual juice boxes and things, but I know every now and again I would have a pop after a soccer game.

Eventually, as I got older, it became even more frequent. Once college hit, I think it became a one can of pop a day kind of thing. I've always tried to cut back, or give it up during Lent, but it never stuck (or went very well). Honestly, any time I tried to cut back, it made me want it more.

This year I set some pretty lofty goals for myself, including running a ton more miles than I did last year. With more miles I knew I needed to up my water intake (even without the miles, I knew I wasn't drinking enough). I've never been a big fan of water—too plain and I get tired of it quickly, which was a reason why I had trouble drinking enough of it. 

Since water wasn't my thinking, I ended up drinking a lot of Nuun. Unfortunately for me, they changed their formula and I'm not much of a fan. I know they changed it to make it with natural ingredients and less chemicals, but it's not my jam anymore.

I found these cool water bottles online (called Motivational Bottle) that have a timeline on them. So, you drink to a line on the bottle every hour until empty, refill, and go again. This helps so instead of being like I need to chug this cup of water pronto, it's just drinking a little bit all day long. It helped me a TON. Plus, I found water to be more interesting to me than it used to be. Yes, I still need to add flavor here and there, which is why I'm glad I found Skratch Labs (yum). I mix up my drinking with plain water and flavor so I don't get bored.

I've also found that by having fun water bottles, it makes me drink more, for whatever reason. I've been loving the Starbucks 'You Are Here' 18oz glass bottles. I have one from Chicago and one from California and I use them all the time, too.

I honestly wasn't even trying to not drink pop, but one day I realized it had been 5 days since my last one. And I didn't even crave it anymore. It was a natural phasing out—I was just drinking more water. I think if I had actively been thinking about it, it wouldn't have worked. Suddenly, it was 10 days without, and so I figured let's try to make it 30 days. And I can't believe it's been 30 already! The time flew.

I've also found that I enjoy sparkling waters more than I used to. Maybe since I'm no drinking as much sugar, they taste better to me than when I was younger. Whatever it is, I've found some La Croiz that I enjoy (cherry lime is my recent favorite). 

Now that I reached the 30 days, I'll allow myself a can of pop here and there, but I'm happy to report I don't feel that craving or need to have a can a day. I can eat pizza with water and be happy. My oh my, have I grown up! haha.