What is the history of YOUR every day?
by David Wright on February 2, 2009
in weight loss
“The history of every day– What is the history of every day in your case? Look at your habits that constitute it: are they the product of innumerable little cowardices and laziness or of your courage and inventive reason?”
Nietzsche – The Gay Science
Humans are creatures of habit. We do the same things, eat the same foods, hang out with the same people, go to the same places. Sometimes, those habits lead to unwelcome results.
For several years, I drank massive quantities of regular (as opposed to diet) soda every day and night. I worked at a convenience store on the midnight shift and soda was just the thing to keep me WIDE awake – and get me fat as a cow!
I LOVED soda. Still do, in fact.
However, a few years ago I was tipping the scales at nearly 400 pounds and the doctor said I needed to make some changes or I would die. When a doctor delivers such a message, you have two choices – ignore it as hyperbole or change!
I chose the latter.
Replacing bad habits with better ones
I started eating healthier foods, trying to do everything I could to avoid giving up the one thing I most wanted to cling to – soda. I hated the taste of diet soda and couldn’t imagine not drinking the regular stuff.
It wasn’t long before I realized that I had to make a change. And I did.
I made the switch and dropped nearly 50 pounds almost immediately!
Since then, I’ve been hovering at around the same weight, give or take a few pounds.
For the first time in years, I’m starting to lose weight again. 16 pounds since November!
Now I need to implement some more changes in my life.
This is a short list of things I am going to do starting today. Some of them I have been doing with various levels of success since November. However, I have yet to put it down in writing. Doing so will help me follow through on all of them, all the time.
- Limit fast food to once a week (at most)
- Take a multivitamin daily
- Drink less diet soda (I can’t give up just yet)
- Drink more water
- Exercise EVERY day
- Eat veggies and fruit EVERY day.
- Ger MORE sleep.
That last one will be the most difficult as I tend to be constantly working on several projects at once. However, without sleep, everything else is all for naught.
The quote which begins this post is one of my favorites. I don’t use quotes often because all too many of them, many on sites just like this, are full of platitudes. This quote has always struck a chord in me, though. It causes me to think when I’m more inclined to just act.
The history of every day is made up of each of our actions. It’s time to make those actions mean something, to add up to more, so our history is one which we write – not one that is written by our inaction.
So, what is the history of your every day? What new habits would you like to create?
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I sit in front of the computer too much every day — and sometimes late at night. I need to get out and be more active, which I am doing. I just need to do more of it. I also need to get more aggressive at working on the myriad of projects around the house and property.
I used to drink a lot of diet coke. Then, several years ago, we went to the Coca Cola museum while I was on a business trip in Atlanta. It was impressive, but by the end of it, what I was impressed with the most was that so much money is spent on what is basically flavored water with carbon dioxide added for fizz. So I quit — cold turkey. The only diet cokes I’ve had since then is an occasional mixed drink. The only carbonated drink I have is a Sprite once in a while with a burger and fries. Most of the time when we eat out I have iced tea and at home I drink lemonade or water with meals.
Mike Goad’s last blog post..The Sun Has Lost Its Spots
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“are they the product of innumerable little cowardices and laziness or of your courage and inventive reason?”
Ouch! That just rams it home, doesn’t it? Interestingly, tomorrow’s rant is about a change the Lion and I promised to make this winter but never did. I won’t give away the details, because that would spoil it, but it’s definitely falls into the category of laziness.
Thank you for sharing this post. I am actually going to write it out and keep it handy. It’s a good one to look for those times I am about to do something the old way, when it really should be done the new way.
A side note of pops: can’t stand any of them. Way too sickly sweet. Like Mike, I order iced tea when we are out, and I drink lemonade, milk, and water at home.
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Mike – I want to visit the Coca Cola museum, but that would mean driving through the crazy Georgia traffic again and I don’t think I care to do that anytime soon. I would like to visit my Mecca, though. How did the cold turkey go? How long did it take to get past any side effects of caffeine withdrawal?
Urban Panther – Thanks, like I said, it is one of my favorite quotes. I look forward to your post tomorrow.
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Mike Goad Reply:
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Oops — I never meant to imply that I went cold turkey on caffeine. I still drink coffee, but never with meals — except for breakfast. Going cold turkey from cola was surprisingly easy. I just stopped drinking it. But, then again, when I finally succeeded in quitting smoking in ‘82 that’s how I did it — I just quit –, though I had tried many times before.
Mike Goad’s last blog post..The Sun Has Lost Its Spots
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I’m with you on the habit thing.
When I finish my evening meal I have to follow it with something sweet. I don’t care what it is, cake, biscuit, chocolate (who said fruit? No not healthy sweet, something with additives. Something really really bad for me because I eat it all the time).
But the thing is, I’m not hungry, it’s just a habit I’ve got myself into and I need to break.
And don’t even get me started on Diet Coke. I know how bad it is for me, and the bad stuff packed into it’s every drop, but I cannot give it up. I’ve cut right back but every now and again it just hits the spot!
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You’re absolutely right – it’s a habit thing.
When I was pregnant, I got gestational diabetes which forced me onto a strict diet because the last thing I was ready for was a needle to be stabbed in my belly. The strict diet was instantaneous – no chance to think about it or anything. I just had to do it because, well, it was no longer just my life affected. It was another.
With my family background and all – it wasn’t looking too great and I realized I needed to live a different lifestyle. That lifestyle eventually turned around and I was no longer wanting/wishing to be more like someone else. I became someone else, and now I teach fitness classes. Teaching is habit-forming, and I never would have guessed in a million years that in such a short amount of time, I could have gone from never stepping into a gym, to being the one at the front of the room telling others they can do it.
Whatever your habit, it’s gotta be something you enjoy, so find healthier things to enjoy and you’ll miss the old much less.
Daisy
P.S. Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for your amazing accomplishments already!
Daisy’s last blog post..Incredible 6 Min. Demo Class
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barbie girl Reply:
February 13th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I’m the same Daisy, my mum has diabetes and my gran had it as well – they both went blind from it as well as other complications, so it was a shock when I did a one-off test last June and my fasting glucose level was over 8, so I cut out all unhealthy snacks (replacing them with fruit and veg/handful of nuts) and upped my exercise level considerably. Despite a bit of a blip over Christmas, I have now lost a stone and a half. I’ve had a bit of a hard time these last few months as well, my dad died suddenly in September after a fall so it has taken a lot of willpower to stay on the straight and narrow. The best thing is, I bought a testing machine and my BG levels are now resolutely non-diabetic and I am in a size 12/14 (occasionally size 10 jeans woo hoo!) Now all I need to do is persuade my autistic teenager to eat a bit more healthily!
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I am working on getting back to sleep after this nightmare of a pulled muscle and torn ligament. I eat very healthy right now so I don’t know how to change that except to get on a better timed system I eat my dinner about 2pm and that is too late 1pm works better.
Your quote is great. Getting the computer and phone fixed has taken me out of the loop with in person friends. I really need to remedy that.
When caffeine free came out – I got hooked – now I can’t understand what I liked about it other than it did not make me get cysts.
Oh David, this is such good insight and writing….thank you for sharing this good stuff. It is greatly appreciated.
Patricia’s last blog post..Increase Your Emotional IQ
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