11:43 am
It’s only been less than a week, but totally minimizing my Diet Coke intake and for the most part, cutting out “fake sweets” (i.e., candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, pudding, etc.) in favor of either granola bars (sure, they’ve got sugar, too, but it’s “good” sugar=LOL) or yogurt (pectin-free, but sometimes the cane sugar-laden stuff) has kind of totally reset me.
I feel better, overall. I feel… Well, let’s itemize the Awesome:
1. I’m no longer jones’ing for a Diet Coke (DC, from here on out). That was fast, I have to admit. I mean, quitting drinkin’ was SUCH a fucking drawn-out process, mentally and emotionally, that I thought that cutting out the DC was going to be the same. NOPE. See, I fasted once, for five days, and at the end of those five days I had absolutely lost any and all craving for Coke. Of course, I “picked up” again, but I remember that reset happening with practically no effort on my part, simply falling back on my physiology–the body is an amazing machine! This time, I think my body was just like, OK, bitch, stop this nonsense. I had reached my fake liquid sugar limit. The first couple of days, I had to wean myself after experiencing noticeable lethargy and moodiness, but after the third day, I suddenly started craving “real” sweets over liquid ones. Now, about a week later, I waited until 5 pm yesterday to have my first sip of DC, and I almost immediately felt dizzy. I don’t know what’s going on with that, but at least now I know I can possibly link the two…
2. I feel like my inner “satiety meter” has been fine-tuned back to normal. It’s hard to explain this, but when I started drinking and eating too much sugar, I felt like my hunger sense was off: not only did I not know what I wanted to eat (like, did I want a burrito, or did I want tofu?), but I couldn’t seem to control my sweet tooth. Now, I prefer to have a real sweet OVER a can of DC, mainly because if I really want to shed a few pounds, I can’t have both. And, how great is that? Who doesn’t want a real sweet over a can of DC, if you have to choose? And, I guess I’m forcing the choice, but it’s left me actually looking forward to eating sweets again–because I can.
3. I feel like I’m doing myself a favor, and that positive mental health affects my mood.
4. I hated feeling enslaved by yet another fucking craving. Oooh, is there going to be Diet Coke at the party? OMG, what if there is no Diet Coke? How many cans do we have left? Ugh. I mean, OK, on a scale of 1 to 10, with wine being at 10, my DC addiction feels like it is at about a 0.1, but still; it’s the same voice. Baby wolf, wolf puppy. It’s cute, but don’t be fooled, it’s STILL A WOLF.
So, there you have it. By no means am I not eating or drinking sweets, but I’d say that I’ve actually got it a bit under control now. Which feels good. I can finally start using food to my advantage instead of having it use me.
LOTS of great posts out there today; I’m so proud of you all! As for me, tomorrow I’ll be heading down the slope: 1.5 months to go to reach my 6-month mark. I have never gone longer than 23 weeks…and this past Monday was 19 weeks! 25 weeks is September 9th, and 180 days is September 14th. And, I’m not even thinking about drinking anymore. Sure, I get a craving here and there, but I realized last night a gradual process of letting go is happening. Like a scab that’s slow to come off, I’m slowly but surely letting go of the idea that drinking at night would be fun, or a good idea, or somehow an improvement or “fix.” I just don’t think that way anymore, and it makes this sobriety thing start to ring a bit truer for me. I actually don’t think about drinking anymore. (And when I do, there are the hundred and one stories of drinking and drinking-gone-wrong to remind me of why it sucks. I’d link to them all, but all you have to do is read the news and see just how many of the tragedies out there are somehow drinking-related…)
Unicorns and glitter balls all around! Because…why the fuck not? 🙂
Drunky Drunk Girl 
Oh.. just wrote about sugar and shit myself. It’s a constant annoying fucking hard battle to fight.. sigh… but it is unbelievable how related sugar is to mood. I get that totally. Great post and good on you for giving up the DC..xxxx
Woo hoo, you are sounding so positive! I am thrilled that the cravings and the fuck it’s are hardly noticeable…light at the end of that tunnel. I’ve got one month to six months too. Got a nice ring to it eh?! Can’t wait to see what new feelings it brings. We are getting the hang of this alright. Stay up Cx
Sugar is my second Wolfie – seriously understand exactly what you’re saying, and since tomorrow is only 20 days sober for me, I often feel justified in shoving fucking donut olds in my mouth at a fast and furious pace. Ugh! But it is another way of coping with stress, at least for me. Good for you on getting off the DC – that is a really big positive step!
Donut holes – not olds – damned iPad auto correct! 😉
The sweet tooth has kicked in for me. I’m on day 9 of sobriety and already consuming a LOT more sugar than I used to. When I was drinking I always craved salty things. Whenever I stop, the sugar cravings go through the roof. Since I am still early in my sobriety I’m letting the sugar thing go for now. Eventually I will have to address the issue.
Congrats on the DC! 🙂
Congrats on cutting back on the DC. That shit is seriously bad for you. I mean, obviously we know which addiction is more important to fight but at this point it sounds like you’ve gotten that in hand.
I think that choosing sobriety has us choosing a lot of other more healthful things and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as we’re kind to ourselves and give ourselves plenty of room to grow and make mistakes. Cheers to you and your good decisions!