Small Change #1

Seven and a half years ago, Nancy made the decision to lose 60 pounds.  She knew that just losing the weight wouldn’t be enough. She had done that before and as soon as she was off “the diet” the weight came right back. She had to get into some new habits but she had to start slowly. You can’t realistically say you are going to change immediately all the habits you have spent your whole life developing.  It took a year to lose the weight.  She used that time to relearn her eating habits and now all this time later the weight is still off.


Let’s just start with one of the habits she learned or this blog will take you four hours to read. It would be fascinating reading, of course, but who’s got four hours?

Nancy completely and totally loves Diet Coke. It’s a bit of an addiction, and it cannot and will not ever be given up completely. If you expect her to give it up, you will be disappointed. And we do not want you to have disappointment in your life so don’t ask. However, even though Diet Cokes don’t have any calories, they aren’t exactly what you would call “good for you.” Nancy decided to replace them gradually with water, eventually getting down to just one in the morning. Occasionally she has one in the afternoon, but not every day.

If you drink regular sodas, this switch will really help you kick-start any weight loss goals. Think of all the calories you will save just switching out one soda a day for water.

Try having a bottle of water in the morning (in a reusable water bottle, for anyone out there who worries about landfills) and another in the afternoon, especially if exercising. You want to shoot eventually for six to eight 8-oz glasses of water per day. Yes, that sounds like a lot of water! But move to it gradually, stay within sight of a bathroom until you adjust, and soon you won’t feel right if you DON’T have it.
So today’s small change is: if you are drinking a bunch of sodas every day, think about cutting down. Don’t say you are going to give them all up tomorrow and never drink another one. That will last about a day and a half. Just start switching them out for water, one at a time.