What a waist of Coca-Cola
Yep, you read that right, I did deliberately say "waist" instead of "waste". Strange I know, but it has a meaning, honest.
On 18th December I had a startling moment of realisation. I was on my 3rd can of Coca Cola of the day, plus had drank lots of shloer and other sugar-laden drinks. My gut hurt, and I realised that the belt on my jeans was now on its maximum notch it allowed, which 5 years previously had been a 32" were now a 34", and potentially I might need to go to 36". So I decided I had to change.
I stopped drinking all soft drinks on 18th December. I stopped eating sweets and biscuits. I cut out as much processed sugar as possible from my diet, and it was absolute hell.
I crave coca-cola constantly. I dream about it. I need it. My mouth waters just thinking about it. How can it be this addictive!?
I was absolutely and completely shattered. I wanted to go to bed from about 8pm onwards, I struggled to sleep properly for over 2 weeks and would then stay sleeping to gone 10am. Withdrawal hurts.
The effect was absolutely remarkable. In just 5 days I lost 1/2 stone in weight. It was absolutely and completely ridiculous. I suspect I am lucky as I have a high metabolism, but it really does show just how many unnecessary calories in the form of sugar I was consuming every day, plus all that gas in my gut I am sure was not helping at all.
Today, on the 10th January, 24 days later I have succumbed twice and drank a small amount of Coca-Cola (well it was Christmas after all). Plus I did have about 1/3 of a bottle of Lucozade sport whilst playing badminton because I was so completely shattered. In total I have lost just over 1 stone in weight, and my belt is back to notch 3 - two whole notches of difference. I'm back down to 11 stone, which is the recommended weight for my height.
I've also started doing a completely different morning routine thanks to an amazing suggestion from Liza Ackermann (amazing friend, fellow company owner and all round awesomely enthusiastic person):
Make your bed (I try to remember anyway)
10 minutes meditation (Sitting thinking about nothing in particular and letting my mind wander)
10 repetitions of exercise (I've been doing 10 sit-ups and 10 press-ups each morning before I head to the shower)
Soothing drink (but not allowed to be coffee) - strangely I normally end up drinking a large glass of Fresh Grapefruit Juice - its suitably zingy to wake me up and isn't super sweet. It's soothing because I can briefly imagine that I am on a balcony in Spain in the sunshine looking out over a golf course and lake.
Making a daily list to-do list (to prevent death-bed regret), with 3 sections:
Wellness (write down things that you can do today that will make you happy and give you the energy to do the next sections on the list)
Urgent (Stuff you must do)
Important (the stuff that you really need to do, but you usually procrastinate about and never get around to)
It's quite a new routine, and seems to be significantly boosting my productivity, and mindfulness and reducing my stress levels and sugar intake substantially at the same time. I highly recommend it to everyone!