Canceling My Dr Pepper Appointments

It has been four weeks since I last had a Dr Pepper, or any type of soda for that matter.  I guess you could say I was addicted.  While being addicted to Dr Pepper won't deplete your savings, land you in jail, or push your family away, constantly losing the battle of will with your addiction takes its toll.  About a year ago I decided to relax my diet a bit.  Not that it was ever good, but I decided that I would be okay with a few Dr Peppers in moderation.  The plan was stop after a week or so.  The "or so" part turned into a year, much of which was spent struggling with trying to stop, and feeling more and more powerless and out of control.  The harder I tried to stop the more I consumed.  The bottle I drank at lunch turned into a bottle at lunch and one with dinner.  Those two bottles were joined by another at break.  Before long the diner bottle was accompanied by an after dinner bottle.  I was consuming 1000calories everyday in Dr Pepper alone!  I always felt bad about it in a self-loathing sort of way.  The days I tried to break the cycle are too numerous to remember.  There were countless times when I would tell myself, "Today at break, no Dr Pepper" only to find myself in the store with one in my hand.  "What the hell is wrong with me?", was my thought on several occasions.  I would immediately begin bargaining with myself.
"Okay, since we're here and all, go ahead and drink it but tonight you have to go for a run."
-"Sounds fair."
"Agreed then, Dr Pepper now, and a run after work."
-"We got this!"

2012 Goal #2: Increase Fitness

My second goal for 2012 is the thing I have struggled with the  most, in the past.  Eating right and exercising regularly are not things that come easy to me at all.  Just as I typed that last sentence I felt a powerful disturbance in the force.  It was as if millions of voices suddenly cried out with a collective WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! and then fell silent.  Yeah I get it, everyone has this problem.  There are things that I want to do that I am unable to do because of my level of fitness, so I have begun to make some changes.

Maybe that's the problem.

I have recently become a member of the wellness committee at work.  Personally I feel more like the prime example of someone that needs the help of a wellness program than someone on the committee, so I was surprised when they asked me to join.  People outside my immediate work area know me as the guy who runs and does all sorts of crazy races (clearly they haven't read the blog lately) so they thought I would be a good person to have on the committee.  Maybe if people still see me as that "fit" guy I don't have as far to get back as I think.  In conjunction with the Wellness committee there is going to be a weight loss contest starting at work and I volunteered to coordinate with the participants.  Usually when things like this happen at work it is anonymous, people sign up do their thing and never know if anyone else is participating unless it is being discussed around the water cooler.  We are a large hospital and have hundreds of employees so even if there is a leader board it is possible to not recognize a single name.  I saw this as a huge deficiency in the program and suggested that participants have an opportunity to get to know one another, giving them a sense of camaraderie working toward a common goal.  I was told that if I wanted to lead it then it would be a great idea.  Seems like an actual wellness professional would be a better candidate to lead a wellness group rather than an air conditioning mechanic but if they don't have the time to make the program a success then I will gladly do it.  After all it was my idea.

I have also started cooking more so I have left overs to bring for lunch (saves money too).  Often I go to the cafeteria and get whatever seems like it might be good, and by good I mean taste good, not necessarily healthy.  I am still struggling with my Dr. Pepper addiction, and maybe addiction is a strong word but it seems I have the least willpower to resist a couple Dr's appointments every day.

So I am making progress.

I don't want to dwell too long on this one since everyone has their own issues with food and exercise.  I just wanted to put it out there as a goal.  Maybe it will help this time.

I know many of you might have a similar goal for the year so I wish you the best of luck, and if you need a hand let me know, maybe we can help each other.