100 Days of No Soda–DONE!

Today is the day is the day! I’ve finally completed my 100 Days of Summer Challenge–No Soda!

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Did I celebrate by drinking a Coke? Well….

I did take a sip lol!

I honestly didn’t wake up with an urge to consume 6 cans of Coca Cola. While I was going through this challenge, I’ve had a lot time to reflect on what I’ve learned.

I am a lot stronger than I think.

When I would shock friends by declining a Coke, they were always impressed by how serious I was taking the challenge. Self-discipline is something that I continuously struggle with but one thing I gained during this challenge is the knowledge that I am in control of what I put in my body. I know that I could have cheated or “treated” myself to a drink, a sip, a can, whatever but each time I made the decision to not to.

I make the decisions.

When things are 100% up to me, I feel like I have the responsibility to make the best decisions. I will have no one to blame, no one that I can say put me up to it.

It kinda makes me feel powerful.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this (and many people asked me why I was doing it) was that I was genuinely curious to see if I could do it. I knew myself. I knew that I succumbed to excuses very easily and this would be something legit challenging.

To me, going 100 days is such an accomplishment. I chose a number I knew would be difficult. A month, I could’ve done no sweat. But I knew I wouldn’t feel/see a significant difference. One hundred days makes me feel like a badass. Each day, saying no became so much easier. I remember going to a Pizza Hut Express and ordering a pan pizza and breadsticks and the server telling me that it was only 30 cents more to upgrade to a meal and get a soft drink. I told him, “Nope! All good!”

I’ve changed.

I definitely feel like my confidence has soared because of this challenge but the biggest thing is that my overall perspective on drinking soda has changed. Not only have I become more comfortable declining something I once felt I needed, I truly feel like I don’t anymore. That’s not to say I’ll never, ever drink it again. I know that’s just not realistic. But, I do feel like I’m more conscious of when I really want it. With a meal I feel goes great with a soda? Sure! Just because it’s there and I want something to drink? No.

My body has changed.

The summer weather hasn’t really let me see how the challenge has helped me with running but I think being able to maintain decent paces (for me) despite the heat is a definite win. I know that I would have been dehydrated drinking soda through summer trying to train for a marathon. The extra water intake has been a huge factor in me staying healthy and hitting my targets.

I absolutely feel like it’s prepared me for the upcoming fall season. That I set up my body the best that I could for the races to come.

I’m not going to lie. I was really curious to see how/if my body would change.

It has.

The scale says I lost 7 pounds. I went down a pant size. I’m the thinnest I’ve ever been. But, even then, the biggest difference is just overall health. I don’t feel as sluggish or tired or weighted down. When I once felt that soda gave me energy, I feel like I’ve had more without it. While there were days where I’ve felt like a soda would give me an extra boost, I would remind myself that the challenge was mental. Could I think of other ways of getting that extra energy?

People notice.

It kinda became contagious. When I would decline soda from friends and ask for water instead, it wasn’t rare that they would change their minds and put their own soda away.

At restaurants, I would always order water (with no lemon!) and my husband would follow suit. Then whoever we were with would go with water too. This wasn’t always the case, but we saw it happen more often than not.

My husband was completely on board with the challenge and went the 100 days with me. The person we felt noticed the most was our daughter. Because we drank a ton of water, she would often ask us for it herself. Lauren has always been a fan of water and preferred it more than anything–she must be the only toddler who doesn’t like apple juice!–but I think seeing mommy and daddy constantly drinking water really contributed to her love of it. We smile every time she finishes her sippy and says, “All done agua!” Or when she says, “Mas agua!” (more water!)

I know that she will continue to be an influence in me keeping my soda intake to a minimum.

Overall, I feel like the challenge was worth it. I know that I can hold myself accountable for something, that I can stick to a goal if I set my mind to it, that I can do things that are difficult.

What I’m excited for the most is not so much that I can drink soda now but the fact that I’m just so much more aware. I’ve seen how my mind and body has changed and it makes me feel like I don’t want to ruin the hard work I’ve put in. That is what I think will keep me from going back to my regular drinking habits. I know that I will drink a can or two here and there, but I can confidently say that my days of drinking 6 a day are gone.

I will keep you posted. Thank you for sharing this challenging journey with me ❤

helly

–What is a health related accomplishment that you’re proud of?

–Think you could go 100 days doing something or doing without something? What?

It’s June!! 100 Days of Summer Starts Now

Those of you who decided to join me–and there is still time for you to still join if you haven’t–today is the day, 100 Days of Summer Challenge. Now ’til September 8th I will be going with NO SODA. As in zero, zilch, nada.

I made sure to clear out my fridge and pantry of any leftover 12 packs of coke by binging this past week lol! Luckily, my husband doesn’t care for soda so he doesn’t mind going without it at all.

I’ve been thinking. There are quite a few foods that I eat because it tastes good with a cold coke. Pizza, In-n-0ut, popcorn, basically anything salty. I have a good feeling that because I’ll be leaving the soda out, I probably won’t want to eat too much of what I ate before. This could really work in my workout and training favor.

The response for the 100 Days Challenge has be really cool. I’ve loved some of the ideas people have been sharing on Instagram and on the blog (and in my moms’ group).

–no phone at dinner
–writing down something positive about yourself
–taking off make-up
–saying something nice to your significant other
–substituting something unhealthy for something healthy
–adding 5 minutes to a workout/run

To name a few. I’ve mentioned other ideas in previous posts.
I’m excited to see how everyone does and how long we can go. Maybe we can make some of things a permanent fixture in our lives 🙂

Hope you’re having a good weekend and that you decide to join in the summer fun!

–Are there things you eat because it goes good with something else?

The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th.

The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th.

It’s Getting Hot in Here {and an Ignite Naturals review}

Living in Arizona, I’m used to our hot weather. Really, I don’t think there’s anywhere else I’d rather live.

But running here is hot hard.

We typically don’t see crazy heat til June but it looks like we’re in for a long summer as my run on Tuesday was in above average temperatures.

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Before my run

After my run. Not much of a difference lol!

After my run. Not much of a difference lol!

I made sure to hydrate and even tried out a new product by Ignite Naturals.

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The box comes with 10 packets of three different flavors-Blueberry, Dragonfruit Lemon Lime, and Tangerine Passion Fruit. For my run, I tried Blueberry.

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The instructions say to add 1 packet with 8-12 ounces of water depending on taste preference. I grabbed a bottle of Dasani (16.9 oz), took a swig, and then poured in the pack. My thought process was that after I drank from the bottle, I would make it around 12 ounces of water. I might have over shot my drink. Once I mixed the contents and tasted it, it tasted really good but also really fruity. I blame it on my very scientific way of having made my drink so I don’t think it’s always this way.

I tried it again the next day at track, giving Tangerine Passion Fruit a shot. This time, I took a small sip from my water, then mixed in the contents. Much better. It was still on the fruity side but definitely not as concentrated as the previous mix.

Pluses:
*100% Plant based
*Vegan
*Non GMO
*Gluten Free
*Tasty
*Convenient on-the-go packaging

Cons:
*A litte on the fruity side for me (they do have other not so fruity flavors though like prickly pear and coconut water)

I like trying new types of electrolyte drinks especially because of the aforementioned heat wave that’s started. And also, since I’m planning on going 100 Days without soda, I’m going to need some alternative options.

I was really pleased to see that people were excited to keep me company in my new venture. Some things people are planning on going 100 Days doing:

–eating a bowl of fruit
–no sugar
–sit ups
–no alcoholic beverages

Remember, it doesn’t have to be deprivation of something. You can add things that you struggle doing and hope that after a 100 Days it becomes a habit.

Two more days before we start–join in!

The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th.

The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th.

–What’s the weather like where you’re running?

–What do you think you can go 100 Days doing?

–What type of electrolyte drinks do you like?