It wasn’t until the day before Lent began that I decided what I wanted to give up. I hadn’t even been really thinking about giving up something for Lent because I’m not Catholic and every other time I’ve tried giving something up, I’ve failed miserably.
But the night before, I was sitting in the living room chatting with my mom and I just decided: I would give up sweets at work, and I would also give up soda (all the time, not just at work).
I am so proud to say that I made it through the entire Lenten season without drinking soda or eating sweets at work. Giving up sweets at work wasn’t too much of a struggle. I set up my work-from-home days so I wasn’t in the office on the days when we had cake for birthdays (something we do once a month), and I stayed far, far away from all my coworkers who have candy jars on their desks. (And, thankfully, I think there were only a handful of times when someone brought in a treat to share. I just stayed out of the kitchen until they were gone!)
Giving up soda, though… was so, so tough. I remember when I gave up soda in 2013 for 30 days that once I got over the hump of caffeine withdrawal and cravings, I was fine. No such thing happened this time around. While I didn’t go through caffeine withdrawal (since giving up soda the first time around, I don’t drink it nearly enough to be addicted to the caffeine), the cravings did. not. stop.
I really wanted to come to the end of Lent and feel as if I could cut soda out of my life completely. That was my ultimate goal. But I discovered through this journey that I derive joy from soda. And I know that’s maybe not a good thing, but it’s true. I just enjoy the taste of an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. It makes me happy. That’s what I kept realizing every time a craving hit me – I missed the joy and happiness that Dr. Pepper brings me.
So, I craved soda almost every single day. And goddddd, it was so hard to make it through those cravings. I couldn’t think of making it through six weeks without soda. I had to take it one day at a time. I just had to make it through Monday or Friday or Sunday. That was the only way I made it through the cravings because I honestly wanted to give up within the first week.
I am so proud of myself for not giving in. Because usually, I am the type to give in. Life is too short to not eat/drink/do the things you want, right? Well, sometimes. And sometimes, there’s no more empowering feeling than not giving in. To shutting down the cravings. To telling yourself no.
It’s funny how you don’t really know how capable and strong you are until you give yourself the chance to be that way. I think that’s what I learned the most from these past 46 days. I learned that I can be strong and I can see myself through a challenge, even when it’s so hard that I don’t know if I can make it through the next moment.
I guess it’s a good metaphor for life. Because life gets hard. And you have to keep going on. You have to make it through the difficult moments… the moments when you don’t think you can walk a single step further. But you do. Somehow, you do. And that’s the beauty of life.
Nice work on sticking with it through those 6 weeks! I gave up sweets for Lent and it was SO HARD. I gave it up last year and it was easier last year because I was single and had more control over my environment whereas this year I have Phil back in my life and he always seems to have sweets around his house! So I had extra temptation – EVERYWHERE. Plus I had some peanut butter cups and mini snickers in my drawer at work that I didn’t finish before Lent started so I would see them every time I opened my desk drawer! Oh the agony!!!
I like doing things like this, though, as it shows us that we have more will power than we think we do!
This may be my favorite part of your post: “You have to make it through the difficult moments… the moments when you don’t think you can walk a single step further. But you do. Somehow, you do.” True to so many aspects of our lives! I knew you could make it without the soda and I’m so happy & proud that you made it through 🙂 We are stronger than we think!
Wow! Nice job sticking with it! I can imagine that was not easy if you were craving it every single day.
Well done! Sometimes I give things up “for Lent,” too, because none of my Ohio friends are Jewish & most of them observe Lent, so it’s always made for an easy season to find support in trying to break a bad habit. This year, I, too, gave up soda because I was drinking A TON of Diet Coke & wanted to call it quits. I didn’t make it all the way through – I had a Diet Coke from a breakfast buffet at a hotel in Philly where no coffee was available – but that was my only blip. I’m pretty proud of myself for it. And though I definitely miss Diet Coke (when I hear someone open a can across a room, it’s like all my Sppidey-senses are on edge!), I’m trying really hard not to pick up the habit again. I’m healthier (three pounds down!) & overall crave sweets much less when I’m not drinking Diet Coke on a regular basis. I can’t say I’ll never have one again, but I’m hopeful that I’m over the hump.
Holy man that is AWESOME! I’ve been flirting with the idea of giving up sugar (at least for right now) and the idea scares the bejesus out of me. I have the worst sweet tooth in the WORLD.
That really is awesome… good for you! It’s so hard not to give in to those temptations, and I know how you feel about soda (and sweets) because I feel the same way.
Congratulations on giving up soda for so long! That is really awesome. I would never fully give up pop because I LOVE an ice cold coca-cola occasionally, and there are some foods I especially love it with, like sushi (random I know). But I don’t ever buy pop to have at home so if I am drinking pop it’s when I’m out and about somewhere so I tend to drink it a lot more on vacation!
Have you ever tried Apple Juice + sparkling water as a substitute for Soda? It has much less sugar (obvs), but you still have some sweetness and carbonation… I’ve never been a big soda drinker, but could see how the juice + sparkling water would be a good alternative.
Also: good job for making it through ! 🙂
Good for you for giving soda up for so long! I totally stuggle with resisting soda, too. Even though I know it’s bad for me, I still crave it sometimes and give into that craving. I’m currently doing a 40 Day Transformation program at my yoga studio and one of my goals is to not drink soda during the program. I hope I come out successful like you did!