Labor Day Resolutions

For some odd reason I use Labor Day as my "new year" when it comes to dieting. It goes back two years when I was in a similar panic mode about my weight. I had, apparently, some pretty severe sleep apnea and I kept waking myself up in the middle of the night feeling like I was suffocating. Probably I was. When I lay down, I think the fat around my neck blocks my trachea in a way that makes the intake of air more difficult.

Not wanting to die in my sleep, I resolved to get the weight off. One of my serious "addictions" was Coca-Cola. Not Pepsi, not RC Cola, only Coca-Cola. And it had to be the "real" thing - no diet cola for me. In previous diets I would always save my calories to make sure I could still have at least one Coca-Cola a day! When I wasn't dieting, I would drink anywhere from 1/2 to a full liter a day. A DAY!!!! This habit started early in life - although not as bad as when I became an adult. I remember my father expressing concern over the amount of Coca-Cola I was drinking as a teen-ager - saying I was going to destroy my kidneys if I kept on.

I didn't think I would ever be able to quit. Like an alcoholic or a drug addict, I felt as though I had to have my Coca-Cola fix every day. Of course, what's funny is that early incarnations of Coca-Cola, back when it was first developed - did have trace amounts of cocao - the deriviative of cocaine - in it. That probably got people hooked then - but what about now? For me it's likely the sugar - I'm definitely a sugar addict.

At any rate - on Labor Day 2006 I drank my very last Coca-Cola! I quit cold turkey the very next day. And the amazing thing is that I didn't miss it - never had one craving or withdrawal symptom - nothing! I've been Coca-Cola free for two years!

Being inspired by that success this time last year, I decided to go cold turkey on sweet tea - my other addiction. Being a true Southern belle - sweet tea is my preferred drink. And it didn't help matters much when McDonald's started selling large gooey sweet teas at $1 a pop. Then other restaurants followed suit so now even Mrs. Winner's - who definitely has the best sweet tea on the face of the planet - started selling their large sweet tea for a $1. What's a good Southern girl to do?

I stopped cold turkey with the sweet tea last year on Labor Day, and lasted all of 4 months! Fell off the wagon big time - unapologetically. I drive through McDonalds so often these days they practically have my order ready for me. Sometimes I've been known to get 2 sweet teas at a time!

Low and behold - I'm now at an all time high in terms of my weight. Gee...do you think the sweet tea could've had anything to do with that?

So here it is Labor Day again, and I'm resolved to start again. I joined Weight Watchers online, I went to McDonalds this morning and got my last sausage and biscuit and two final sweet teas and starting tomorrow - it's counting points and moving forward!