Every once in a while I have to stand on my soapbox and make a declaration, followed by evidence (sometimes factual, sometimes in theory) that all things are possible.  

My current declaration is based on a recent personal experience with habit changes; habits can be broken and changed if you set your mind to it.  Allow me to explain.

I have been using diet sodas (soft drink, pop, etc.)  since about 1981, my first year in college.  I have faithfully, almost religiously had one daily ever since.  Yeah, I may be someone’s science project some day. Anyways, a little more than a week ago, I set out to change what to me was a hard habit to break that has spanned 25 years. This habit of drinking a diet soda in a daily basis had to come to an end.  I had 2 reasons for changing this habit. 

1)  I needed to drink more water and for some reason, diet soft drinks did not induce this habit, but inhibited my thirst

2)  A bigger reason; I have been suffering from enormous headaches 

Now, I know that all that stuff about brain tumors and cerebral palsy and every thing else that aspartame has been claimed to cause is not true.  But I am now prone to migraine headaches, and guess what, kiddies, the same amino acid that occurs naturally in some foods that trigger migraines is also a key ingredient in aspartame. Having said that, here is an account of how I broke this long standing habit; maybe it will give you some inspiration. 

Day 1

Sunday June 6^th, I start my fast from the diet sodas.   Tough!!  Especially since we are eating at a Mexican style eatery and everyone knows that iced tea is just not the same as something fizzy with spicy food.   I made it through, but the craving for my daily diet drink was killing me.  I probably would have robbed a convenience store for a diet soda that day. 

Day 2

Monday June 7^th, I am faced with a small refrigerator full of the diet stuff that we routinely offer our patients if they are thirsty after arriving for their scheduled appointments.  I gritted my teeth, and convinced myself that it is not the brand I prefer anyway, and opt for a cold bottle of water.  Low and behold, I found myself filling my water bottle 3 times that day.  I am increasing my water intake!

Day 3

Tuesday June 8^th, I wake up with a headache; I am in withdrawal!  I am convincing myself that cutting back on diet sodas didn’t do any good anyway, and I proceed to plan my falling off the wagon at about noon.  Yes, I actually planned when I was going to cheat!!!  But curiously, I noticed that all of the patients in my office that morning were drinking diet soda, and they were very heavy set, I mean my scale only goes up to 440lbs.  Hmmmm…was that a sign from above?  Maybe water with a little lemon would be a better choice after all.

Day 4

Wednesday June 9^th, I don’t have a headache, but the diet soft drink thing is just not working.  The refrigerator at work is screaming to me like a Siren.  I stubbornly go to the vending machine and find some sports drink and quaff down half a bottle to stave my craving for something other than plain old water.  It seems to work.  I was lucky I had classes that day; it kept me out of the office and the away from the refrigerator.   One more day under my belt.

Day 5

Thursday June 10^th, I am beginning to pat myself on the back for my accomplishment.  However, stress is a major trigger for me (a reason I never picked up smoking or drinking as a habit) and on my way home from work, at prime stress time, 4 PM, I stop for groceries.  With my 13 year old son at my side and 5 year old daughter in hand, I grab a diet drink from the cooler at the store.  I get it into the car.  I hear, “Mom, you are going to get the headache of your life.” And from the little one “ah-ah-ah…I’m going to tell Daddy you got a diet drink!”.  I’ve been busted!!  After 2 swallows, I put it down.  It is still in the van to this day as a reminder that I do have willpower and I can beat this thing.

Day 6

Friday June 11^th, the cravings are gone, and I am gulping water.  I did find a sports drink with less calories and without the aspartame.  I have only had one, however, because I don’t want to trade one iffy habit for another.  I share my success with my family at the dinner table that night.  It sounds silly, but I am feeling a sense of accomplishment. 

Day 7

Saturday June 12^th, I had a killer run today.  Let’s see, could it be because I am drinking enough water?  Or did the diet fizzy stuff slow me down?  I have less aches and pains.  Could that be possible?  I have less reflux, less headaches, and well, can I say it… less gas!  Could one small habit change make me feel this good? 

Conclusion:

1)      Stopping my diet soft drinks could probably not compare to stopping an addictive habit, say smoking for instance, but it was my addiction, and I kicked it!

2)      If I can change one habit in a week, think of what I could do in a year..WOW!

3)      If I can stop drinking something that I held dear to my habitual heart for over 25 years, then there is every reason to believe that I can get that extra 10-15 pounds off that I have wanted to lose. 

My tip for the day is if you try to change everything at once, go ahead and put something down to land on when you fall off the wagon.  You will probably not only fall, you will fall hard.  But try changing one habit at a time, one week at a time, you may surprise yourself and be able to make changes that will last.  It’s tough, and you will want to give up, but don’t; if I can do it, you can too. 

What will you change today?

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written by Ann B, August 21, 2007

Well, OK - as I sit here with my diet soda by me ... I will try to do this. I have many more than one a day so maybe I will work it down gradually. I am starting the wei8ght loss program tomorrow - don't want to try too many things at once.

Congrats on your achievement!

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written by Beth in CA, June 26, 2007

Great job! I too have slowly weaned myself off diet sodas because of the caffeine (I switched to caffeine-free at first)...but I have substituted soda water when I need the bubbles to get me going...it has been a good switch and soda water is readily available in restaurants so you can feel like you are having a drink - especially if you add a slice of lime or lemon! I also like Crystal Geyser's flavored sparkling water and Pellegrino.

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written by Molly V. in NJ, June 13, 2007

Wow!! Congratulations, Terri!! I get headaches from diet drinks, too, and have vowed to stay away from them...the worst is when you really need a little caffeine boost, and there are ONLY diet soft drink choices available. It's also hard, since most people don't think of diet sodas as "bad", since they are, in fact, low in calories. So it really takes personal discipline...

You did it!! Keep it up.