Update

I think its time for a little update on my word of wisdom experiment.

Its been about 6 weeks since I gave up caffeine and started cutting down the meat and upping the fruits and veggies in each meal.

So far, I've lost between 6 and 8 lbs, no where near what I need to lose total, but I'm feeling much better.

Some things I've noticed as a result of giving up the Diet Pepsi.

-my sugar cravings have all but disappeared.

It used to be that most nights, if not all, I was dying to have a cookie, a brownie, a peice of candy, anything sweet and sugary. A couple of nights this week I had some ice-cream, but it felt like a choice, not a need. As ridiculous as it is, before--it felt like a NEED. I had read somewhere that imitation sweeteners heighten your craving for sugar, and I have to say...TOTALLY BELIEVE IT!

-the first two weeks of giving up the Diet Soda was EASY.

-After that...NOT EASY.

apparently I really was addicted to the stuff because I have to make a conscious choice not to partake. There are days that seem like they would just go better if I had a big DP...but I've not had one, and I feel good about that. The benefits of not having it seem to outwiegh the temporary "Feel Good" feeling of having it.

-My appetite has shrunk BIG TIME.

I'm not kidding. Ever since giving up the Diet Soda my appetite has all but disappeared. I knew that caffeine is a stimulant, and also knew that these past few years I have eaten more per day than I ever ate before. I felt confused by it because I always felt hungry! My hunger is now normalized to the way it was the majority of my life. 3 squares a day covers it for me. Rarely am I snacking. ( I'm still a little confused about the whole healthy-snacking thing. I know its suppsed to boost my metabolism, but in my experience it just makes me fat).

So now I've discovered these things and I've also been making some other changes. Meal time is back to 3 squares. The majority of the population was not fat back when the country's understanding of a healthy meal was "SQUARE"...admittedly , our "square" meal is usually substituting an extra veggie or fruit for what would be starch in a traditional square meal, but we sometimes go ahead and do the bread, rice, or potato. Dessert is more often than not cottage cheese with fruit, served at the table with the meal. In actuality, I've been trying to return to meal plans which are closer to what I grew up with as a small child which were simple, easy to prepare, and healthy. I'm enjoying the uncomplicated meals both as the preparer and the consumer. We have enough other things in life that are complicated. Why does meal time need to be complicated too? And...in actuality, simplifying meals has really helped shift my mind from "what sounds good tonight" (which lets face it, what sounds good is rarely a healthy choice) to a focus thats based more on "we need to eat, what can I prepare to give us some energy." Sometimes its a bean burrito, sometimes its a green salad with meat and cheese. Sometimes (only very rarely) its a bowl of cereal.

Writting this out has made me realize that the changes are a little more drastic than I had thought. So, I guess I'm a little disappointed that 6-8 lbs is all I've dropped in this time, but I've still been spending too much time on my butt...but that will be changing too the 3rd week of August when I start teaching Tae Kwon Do two days a week, plus my own regular training two days a week. I think I'll start to see a difference.

P.S. if you're in the Phoenix Metro area, especially the East Valley, and you think you'd like to try your hand at martial arts, come try a free class. If you join the organization in the Month of July, 20 dollars or your enrollment fee will be donated to ACT now, an Arizona Children's Charity focused on serving the families of autistic children.