The First Hundred Days

In Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first 100 days in office, he got 15 major bills through Congress.

In my first 100 days off diet Coke – reached today -- I'm quite sure I saved the equivalent of at least a couple of weeks of grocery bills. (The liter bottles I'd drink were about £1 a pop, and I easily could drink several in a day. I know, gross, right?)

I didn't go off diet Coke to save money, though – I went off it because drinking as much of something with that many chemicals cannot possibly be good for my health/teeth/skin/etc. I'm someone who doesn't even like to take over-the-counter drugs unless I'm in agony – partly a vestige of then-unknown side effects of drugs coming back to haunt my mother in a big way. And yet every day I was pouring gallons of stuff I couldn't pronounce down my gob.

I've noticed a huge change in my sugar cravings – basically, I don't. I'm highly suggestible so if I see something sweet I still consider eating it, but there isn't that gimme-it-now type craving. (All bets are off for that kind of behaviour mid-binge, for the record. Then it's gimme-everything-now. But binges for me are not set off by sugar cravings). As for the diet Coke itself? I only yearn for it when I'm hungry (I think I did use it a bit as an appetite suppressant, or at least as a way to keep my mouth/stomach busy until it was time to eat again) or when I'm tired and I'm out and about and it would be a good, quick source of caffeine. (I hate coffee and tea is hard to grab on the run. And Red Bull, you ask? Totally is out of the question.)

Of course, the ridiculously long and cold winter we've had – combined with what
seems to be my growing inability to handle cold – has probably helped. I haven't minded and in fact have needed many cups of (decaffeinated, usually herbal) tea just to function. I'll be curious to see if the diet Coke cravings intensify as it gets warmer.

Speaking of hunger pangs, today I went to a lunchtime yoga class. I used to be a regular at a once-a-week lunchtime yoga class when I worked in an office, but the last one I attended I think was sometime in October 2008. I nearly didn't go today because (I know this is lame) the class was at 12:30 and I was already hungry at 11:30. But once I was halfway through the class I remembered something I used to love about yoga: It requires enough focus that even someone like me – someone who never, ever forgets to eat – forgets about her stomach. At least for a little while. It was nice.

In less Zen news, the scale went up another 2 pounds this morning – despite all the clean eating and exercising. WTF? I am committing right here that I will not weigh-in again until Monday morning.

Sorry for a rather lacklustre post. I'm exhausted from a bit of work drama that has been dragging on for the past six hours but – fingers crossed -- is going to work out all right. I don't think I'll know until tomorrow morning.

Whittle My Middle Challenge:
Front plank: 3 minutes, 15 sec
Side plank: 60 seconds each side
Torso twists: 21 reps (using 7 kg weight)
Plank ups: 10 reps
Boat pose: 30 seconds
Bicycle crunches: 2 sets of 30
Side plank with twist: 10 reps each side