I have been thinking about what to write about and I have some products to review and some websites and other weight loss blogs to review but I guess I haven’t been really motivated to do any of those things.  So I decided to write about what I was thinking about and that happens to be what changes that I have made were harder than the others.  Some of the biggest changes I have made include:

• Stop drinking soda (not only for the caffeine but because after weight loss surgery you aren’t suppose to drink soda because of the carbonation and it can stretch your stomach and make it uncomfortable for you on top of that!)
• Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day.
• Sleep at least 8 hours a night.
• Take all my vitamins every day.
• Increase my protein intake.
• Increase physical activity.

I used to drink 2 liter bottles of Mountain Dew (various flavors) straight from the bottle.  Plus I have a problem with migraine headaches and the pills you take when you have a migraine almost always have caffeine in them.  Sometimes I would take 6 a day (even though you weren’t suppose to… ) so I was seriously addicted to caffeine.  I have tried to quit several times in my weight loss endeavors and would be successful for only a few months at a time.  I hate the taste of tap water and I can barely handle drinking bottled water.  For some reason it always tastes metallic or dirty no matter what filter or bottled water I use.  I drank Propel for a while then Vitamin Water.  Propel has a 15 calories and 3 grams of sugar per serving while Vitamin Water is almost as bad as drinking soda nutrition-wise.  Vitamin Water has the next line of 10 drinks but it is still 25 calories per bottles (there are 2.5 servings in a bottle) and 7.5 grams of sugar.  In my recent attempt to stop drinking soda I have started drinking Fruit2O flavored bottled water.  They taste good and have 0 calories and 0 sugars.  There is 35mg of sodium per serving (87.5 grams in a bottle) but that only accounts for about 2.5% of your daily consumption.  So overall, Fuit2O is a much better choice for me then Propel and Vitamin Water (regular or the new deceiving 10 brand).  I buy it by the case (24 bottles in a case for about $9-10) so it’s even cheaper then soda.  I am on week 6 of no caffeinated sodas (there has been 2 or 3 times were the beverages available at the places we have had meals out at did not have options like raspberry lemonade (I know it has a lot of sugar but it is so delicious and like a treat for me) so I ended up getting Sprite or caffeine free diet Coke.  But aside from a week where I had the worst migraine ever and got a migraine prescription from the doctor that had caffeine, I haven’t had any in six weeks.  I have also managed to increase my water intake by drinking the Fruit2O in place of soda so I am drinking at least 64 ounces of water, usually more.

So I am still working on the 8 hours of sleep and increasing my physically activity.  Best thing I have done to help my sleeping is getting a sleep mask to block out light.  It works great and I get to sleep much sooner than when I don’t wear it.  I am also going to bed much earlier then I have been in the past.  I aim for 10-11pm but sometimes I am not quite sleepy by 11 and stay up to midnight.  But this is much better than the 3-4am bedtime I was keeping and sometimes not even going to sleep at all.  I walk the boys to and from the bus stop every day.  So that’s about a quarter mile of walking total.  It’s not much but it’s more then I was doing!  I am hoping to start walking around the complex with another Mom after the kids get on the bus starting next week on the days the weather is good.  So I am making small progress in that area.  I am hoping to start using the apartment complex fitness room soon and making use of the Wii Fit here at the house.  Right now I weigh too much for the board so all I can do is the running.  I am almost there to be able to use the board.  In fact, that’s my goal this month; to lose enough weight to use the Wii Fit board!

I take my vitamins every day (for the most part sometimes I do forget) and I have increased my protein intake now that I am more aware of it.

So the hardest things for me so far- quitting the soda drinking and increasing the physically activity.  Anyone else have these same struggles?