Tricky Tricky

First, let me tell you a story.

It was January 2011. Mid January, that is.  And a Sunday.  My good friend Alex and I were in line waiting to get food at the potluck after church.  We were discussing how we hadn't made any New Year's resolutions yet.  And how we should have.  I don't remember exactly how the conversation went down, she might remember better, but I probably said something smart like, "you should give up french fries", which then caused her to give me a death glare that would scare anyone.  Because she is serious about her french fries.  Especially if they are from McDonald's and you are dipping them in ranch.  And don't EVEN get her started on those waffle fries from Chic-fil-a.  I can even attest that those are "slap yo mama good!!!" With some Chic-fil-a sauce.........................

.............................yeah...i may have just drooled.

Moving on.

So she came back at me with, "well you should give up soda" to which i probably gasped.  Because, I am addicted to soda.  All kinds.  But especially diet coke.  Shut up it is so good! haha.  (I know I shouldn't be addicted to anything...but the first step is admitting it, right?) So we laughed for a minute and then we joked back and forth that the other couldn't do it.

And then a bet was made.

And the prize.  $100

$100!!!!!!! Yeah, i said one hundred dollars!

(Which we probably shouldn't be betting either.  And certainly not in church.  But Alex and I are a little unruly. And you are getting me off topic. lol)

We shook on it.  I remember thinking that this was the dumbest thing I could be doing.  How the heck was I going to stop drinking soda cold turkey??? So we decided to start like 2 days later. You better believe I drank as much soda as I could get my hands on that next day.  I was probably drinking it until 11:59.  For real.  I am kind of surprised I didn't go into sugar shock or something.

Tuesday it began.  And it was hard but every time I wanted to get a soda from the gas station or when I was in line at a fast food place, I thought about giving Alex a hundred dollar bill, and that Hi-C orange crap started to look better and better.  haha

Just so you know Alex and I made it until June or July which is pretty good for us.  We never exchanged money because by the time we told the other it was well past the time we had both caved.

My point in telling this story is that sometimes it really hard to give up food or drink things that we loooooooove so much.  And are (maybe) addicted to.  So, you could make a deal with your friends for a hundred bucks.  Or I have come up with some other handy ways to trick yourself out of indulging.  (And when I say that "I" came up with them, I really mean that I came up with some of them and stole the others)

1. Eat baby carrots.  I know that sounds really random, but it works for me.  I don't mind carrots.  It's not my vegetable of choice though.  And i find that if i am eating them plain, I just get so bored with eating.  Like, it just takes so long to chew each carrot.  I wouldn't mind so much if they tasted like cake, but they don't.  And it can just get tiresome.  And then I get full on carrots and I tired of eating.  Problem solved (for the next few hours).

2. Drink water.  I know everyone says that but it does help.  And its so good for you.

3. Herbal Tea.  I like to sip tea because it is something that I get to put in my mouth and it tastes pretty good, but also my belly feels satisfied because it is hot and it takes so long to drink the whole thing, that i have distracted myself for quite some time. (That was the worst run-on sentence.  I'm not fixing it.  Get over it.)

4. Crystal Light.  I freaking love that stuff.  And only 5 calories.  Done.  I actually prefer it watered down too, i end up drinking a lot of water but it tastes great.  Awesome!

5. Chew gum.  At least my mouth is moving.  That sometimes helps.

6. Eat lean protein.  It fills you up, keeps you full longer, and is good for you.  :)

7. Seltzer Water.  I learned this from Bob Harper. As in the trainer from The Biggest Loser.  Not that he came over and personally told me this.  Although, I wouldn't mind.  He is pretty :).  I am reading his book "The Skinny Rules." I usually add lemon to my water at restaurants.  So I tried his suggestion and bought some carbonized water (seltzer water) and squeezed some fresh lemon into it.  It doesn't taste amazing, but its not bad, and it gives me the satisfaction of drinking soda.  And there is nothing in it besides water and lemon.  No aspartame, no sugar, no carbs.  Nothing.

There are tons more suggestions out there.  Google it.  Try it.  Let me know what you think!

Love ya!