Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 2533 of 3212

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Hi Betsy,

--- mrspayne797 <mrspayne797@...> wrote:

> Im new to the group and I joined in hopes of
> getting some input 
> on my problem. I know that my weight gain is
> primarily Coke and/or 
> Pepsi. I drink it constantly. Ive tried to stop or
> limit myself on my own but with no luck.

Welcome to the group! You got a bunch of good
responses already (Diane's in particular), but here's
my 2 cents:

You don't have a choice here. You have to get off
drinking sugar water regularly. It's liquid candy.
Yes, there are some skinny people who can get away
with this, but I doubt there are many people who
*lost* weight without giving it up. Step one is
realizing this necessity.

Step two, as Diane points out, is not despairing. This
is both necessary and possible. And being conscious of
it's necessity should make it easier, because there is
no fudge room. The burden of deciding every time has
been removed. It may take some experimenting to figure
out the precise details, it may take a few little
picture setbacks, but do not doubt your big picture
success. Try something. Get started. Don't like diet
soda or straight water? Try maybe half fruit juice and
half seltzer. Then shift down to a third fruit juice
if that works. Or lemon in water. Or tea. Coke is not
crack. You can beat this.

Yes, it takes willpower, but not more than you can
muster. Just enough to build a habit. Your willpower
maybe be weak as a baby now, but every day you succeed
you build it up. What if you try and fail after a day
or two? Try and make it to three next time. Then four.
Then five. Etc. Slash them out on a calendar if you
think this might help. Before you know it, habit is no
longer fighting you but carrying you along, your
willpower can relax a bit or redeploy to other tasks.

If it were me, I'd permit myself a nice big coke on
the weekends as a carrot to get me through the week,
but that's an implementational detail you've got to
decide. Maybe you'll find that too unsettling. In any
case, get started. Remember all those failures it
statistically takes to succeed. At the very least, get
a few under your belt. Keep us posted.

Best,

Reinhard