Candy-Free February!

So.... Juice-And-Soda-Free January was a success.  Like I previously admitted, I slipped up once and it was an honest mistake, not a deliberate act in a moment of weakness.  Looking back on the last several weeks though, I thought I should share some of my observations.  But first I should say, I'm just going to blurt this entry out and post it and then post it to every social networking site I'm on except LinkedIn because there's a lot of embarrassing stuff here.  I need to hold myself accountable though, so here goes.

First - I craved soda, and I really mean craved soda, in the very beginning and at the very end.  I figure these were my weakest points -- when I was just starting, and when I knew the end was in sight.  A few days before the end of January I flung the refrigerator door open, as if I had ANY other choice than to go to my water dispenser and fill my cup with water, and I eyed the case of Pepsi, and my mouth watered, and then I slammed the door shut, exclaiming UGH I JUST WANT A SODA SO DAMN BAD!  Luckily my studly hubby was in the kitchen and said "Just give it a few more days mama, and you can have one.  Don't fail now."  Love that man.  :)  So I filled my cup up with water and guzzled it grumpily before I could grow weak and change my mind.

Second - the original intent of Juice-And-Soda-Free January was to steer me towards drinking more water.  But that didn't quite happen.  For one thing, I have been drinking a 24oz smoothie almost every morning, and that must have kept me hydrated judging by how many times I had to run to the bathroom during the day to empty my bladder.  But I wouldn't really drink anything else during the day at work.  I'm not a coffee or a tea drinker (thank goodness I don't have that habit) - my usual drink at work is a can of soda around lunchtime.  But I really just found that I wasn't very thirsty, so wasn't drinking anything at lunch.  In fact, more days than not, around early- to mid-afternoon I found myself wanting another smoothie.  This translated into wanting something sweet.  Which segued into a terrible, embarrassing, dentist-visit-in-my-near-future habit of eating candy.  Within no time, I was eating candy sometimes several times a day.  It kind of became a joke at work.  CARA, DO YOU HAVE ANYMORE SKITTLES?  I NEED SKITTLES.  I'M CRAVING SKITTLES.  DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY CHOCOLATE?  I NEED CHOCOLATE.  I went to Wawa once and spent I think about $17 on a candy stash for my desk.  (Embarrassing!)  I hoped the girl behind the counter thought I was PMSing and not really that much of a fatty that I had to have that much candy for no legitimate reason at all (yes, being judged as PMSing is less horrifying than being judged as a true fatty, for me anyways).  For a few days (only a few) I had a bag of mini Reese's PB cups in my cabinet.  Every time I took the bag out to nosh on a few a hundred or so (sometimes more than one time a day), I wondered if the new guy who got the desk behind me in our pod noticed my bad sweet tooth habit.  I mean it was really bad, people.  I was eating king-size candy bars more than once per day.  (EMBARRASSING!)  My aforementioned-friend Cara just said to me the other day, "Cristin, I don't know what you're going to do without candy."  I don't either.  I hope she keeps her damn Skittles away from me though.

So this is how Fast-Food-Free February has become Candy-Free February.  Candy is currently the bigger threat to my health when compared to fast food.  While kicking my one-can-a-day soda habit (which most would not even really say is a habit at all), I developed a worse habit.  A habit that has probably done more damage to my teeth than a can a day for the past month ever could (I drink it with a straw so it doesn't swish around in my mouth).  But I suppose the good news is I will probably go see my dentist soon.  This is good because I haven't seen him since before my daughter was born.

To keep myself accountable, I hereby declare the following as "candy" -- any individually-wrapped, individually-packaged, mass-wrapped, mass-packaged, chocolate-covered, peanut-butter-filled, caramel-anything, fruity-chew, cavity-causing sugar concoction that can be bought at any establishment anywhere.  NO CANDY, CRISTIN.  STEP AWAY FROM THE CANDY.  (In the past month, examples of "candy" by this definition have included: Almond Joys, Snickers bars, Snickers Peanut Butter bars, Reese's PB Cups [both mini and the big fat daddy king size one with extra peanut butter], Skittles, Starburst, Gummi Bears......and yeah that's about it.)

Anyways, I know what you're thinking.  Candy-Free February?!  But but but Valentine's Day is in February!  I know people, I know.  I think my husband is going to have to come up with something to give me other than the typical box of Godiva truffles this year.  Flowers are always nice but that box of truffles always lasts a bit longer than the flowers.  Probably not this year though.  Given the way my candy habit has been going, I probably would have polished the box off in two days tops.

Today is day 2.  Today, I am 2 days candy-sober.  Well, a day and a half really.  But I don't see candy in my future today.  There's none in my house so that's a good thing.  But today, I also re-introduce juice into my life.  You know, sometimes we just want to drink something that tastes like something, and if I want to drink some OJ I should drink some OJ.  I'm going to keep drinking smoothies and water, but allow myself 100% juice, and also steer away from soda.  Last night I had a Coke and guess what - wonder of wonders - I didn't enjoy it.  I didn't even finish it.  So Juice-And-Soda-Free January was good for something.  I might drink the occasional soda here and there but, I just don't really have a taste for it.  But Simply Orange?  I love that stuff.  Gonna stock up on some today in fact.  100% juice is good for you, folks.  Drinking an 8oz serving is the same as eating a piece of fruit. 

So Candy-Free February - who is brave enough to join me in this journey?