Naturally...

I love it when things happen naturally. I didn't set out ever to give up pop, it just happened.

Over the years, I was always known to have a 32 ounce (or bigger as the world supersized) pop with me at all times. It was always Diet Pepsi. I never cared for Diet Coke.

I was a frequent flyer at convenience stores, always buying fountain pop. I always had cans of the stuff at home. It was my thing.

A year or so ago, I can't even remember when, I realized that caffeine was triggering anxiety issues. I stopped caffeine immediately. No more Diet Pepsi. I switched to Diet Sierra Mist. Now this was not something that was served via fountain, so I had to rely on cans or bottles at convenience stores. I drank and drank and enjoyed, never really thinking twice about it.

And then there was the kidney stone episode--the surgery and aftermath. (Yeah, I know I talk about it ad naseum.) I drank my pop after the surgery but I also started up with more water with lemon in it, doctor's orders.

I do not know when it happened, but it did. I realized one day that it had been days since I'd had a pop. Days. Unheard of. My husband couldn't believe it.

Now I drink about one pop a week, if that. I may even have one today as my stomach is very upset and pop helps me when I have an upset tummy. I haven't popped one open yet, so I may not. I will keep it on hand, but the desire is no longer there.

Go figure.

And another thing...it's not just pop that has gone away in my life. Yesterday my husband woke me up (he's an early bird, I am not.) He said he'd make me a pot of coffee. We have two pots because I like Starbucks and he likes Folgers--both decaf. So he pulled the basket out in my pot, and I had left grounds in there and they were, um, growing. I was flabbergasted, as was he. I could not remember the last pot of coffee I had made! It had been awhile. We cleaned the basket and pot up and I did have my two cups of coffee.

What happened? Well, I naturally fell in love with water. I am supposed to drink 8-10 ounces every hour. I have a magnetic timer that I set for 59 minutes. I measure my water and drink throughout the hour. If I have not finished when the alarm goes off, I gulp it down and fill up with ice and pour another cup of water in my glass.

Note: if you drink a lot of water, buy stock in your favorite toilet tissue. Make sure you always have an ample supply on hand.

I now crave water. I wake up in the morning feeling dry and go straight to the fridge where I have a glass prepared the night before waiting for me. I'm so not a morning person, and I love the grab and go.

Who knew. I never set out to do this, it just happened.

I believe one of the reasons I developed kidney stones is I was dehydrated. That is the number one cause of kidney stones. The only time I drank water was when I worked out. I would fill a big BPA free mug before my workout and drink it all. After that, though, I was done with water.

Looking over my notes/charts of my post-surgery weights from all three surgeries, I gained weight with each. (Gain weight, no brownies or fun food--how unfair!) One nurse told me I was well hydrated now. I had gained a lot of weight the following morning. Oh, the horror. Now I know that my body was just craving water.

So nature took its course, and it's a good thing. Water is my drink of choice now. Who'd a thunk it.

Here's a great video that explains why pop is bad. It is the best explanation I have ever seen--logical and scientific. It's almost nine minutes, but well worth the time.