#DeanNoSoda17

I thought it'd be a great time to tell you more about our no soda challenge, how it came about, and how it's going.

Have you ever had this nemesis that you can never seem to defeat? Maybe it has so much control over you and you can't figure out how to shake it? Well, if so, then you understand the relationship I have with Soda/Soft Drinks/Pop, whatever you call it. Growing up, Friday or Saturday Nights were often the night that someone came home from the store with a big 3-liter of delicious, sweet soda. We mostly drank tea and kool aid, but for movie night (courtesy of the local GO video rental store) we'd splurge a little and have Coke or Dr. Pepper and some popcorn. By the end of the weekend, the soda would be gone and back to drinking the traditional refrigerator stocked tea or kool aid. As I became a teenager, I eventually found a love for Mountain Dew, although I distinctly remember not liking the taste until I was at least 14, maybe 15. Anyway, the obsession began and although I didn't drink too much more as a teenager, as I reached college and it's availability became ever so prevalent I began to drink it morning, noon, and night. For the next several years, I went through bouts of trying to cut back and then back to addiction, so on and so forth. Fast-forward to July 4th weekend 2008...Tim and I decided to drop soft drinks with caffeine. I had never really gone without them for more than maybe a month, so I thought, maybe I'd try it. It seemed easy enough. We thought we'd try from July 5 to get to the holidays. And try it I DID! I lasted from July 5 through Thanksgiving weekend. I was so proud of myself. It wasn't easy, but it was a challenge and it was motivating.

SO....why NOW? and Why the whole family? and Why an entire YEAR?

First, why not? Like I said, it was EXTREMELY motivating to have a challenge to it. Tim participated for a few months before he gave in, but I still felt motivated and it was fun to keep going even when he was out. I've learned that I function much better without caffeine in my system. It's easier to sleep, my digestive system works more properly, and I don't have those up and down bursts of energy. So, why the whole family? Because the easiest way to succeed in this task is to eliminate it wherever you can. By not having it in the house, takes out the temptation to drink it. Not only that, but the food budget really likes it when we drink WATER, because it's FREE. Roman has become much more of an addict than Raiden, but it's good for both of them to take a break from soda. Not to mention the havoc it wreaks on their teeth. So, when Tim and I started talking about it, the boys wanted in, pretty willingly. So, why an entire year? Well, probably because I've done the 6 month thing before, so I wanted a greater challenge, but also because a year seems like it will help make it a more permanent change. It also helps that the New Year was approaching, so that made the terms easier to decide.

If it's just a challenge, why a reward?...and why can everyone win?

Well, you know as well as I that challenges with rewards are just more fun. Originally, I pitched the idea without a reward. Just to challenge each other to see who could do it longer, but then I realized that a reward might sweeten the pot a little and make others want to win. At first, it was just going to be a challenge with just one clear winner, but then I realized that because I've done something similar, and because not everyone in my family is as competitive as I am, they might just give up as soon as we started. So then I thought, if there's a reward for everyone, maybe each person would find their motivation to complete it. $100 is a lot of money to pretty much anyone (well, maybe not if you're loaded, but we are definitely not rich). In our family, Christmas is the only time you get anything that costs close to $100. Since we have an entire year to plan, we thought $100 would be a great reward, not to mention, we'll probably save about $100 per person over the year if we don't drink sodas.

What are our starting thoughts?

We are using this as a great experience to talk about setting goals. We've talked about how we are going to reach our goal and what barriers we might face. For example, we all agreed that not having them in our house will take a HUGE pressure off of us, but our biggest obstacles will be when we are on the go. Think about all the times you stop and get a drink at the store, that's how many times we'll have to be vigilant to choose something other than soda. Another big barrier that I ran into last time, that even the boys have already mentioned is when you go to a party or over to someone's house and all they really offer to drink is soda. I'll admit, we've been those people. Thankfully, more and more people are becoming more health conscious and we suggested to the boys that we can always take a bottle of water when we are heading to a party or to visit someone.

So, on New Year's Eve, just minutes before the ball dropped to celebrate the new year, each of us took our last sips of soda or maybe some of us chugged it, but either way, we savored the last of them and after midnight we threw away the last of the soda in our house, and our CHALLENGE BEGAN!

Raiden has already asked me twice today what was in the cup I was drinking. I guess he has become the new drink police. The boys seem really excited about the challenge. I know the excitement will fade but hopefully, the routine will set in and they will feel good about the healthy changes they are making. Maybe the enticement of the reward at the end will also help them make it to the end of 2017, we will see. This morning the boys asked if the littles were participating as well. At first, I said no, but then I realized that they are participating just as much as we are. They only drink soda when they steal it out of our cups, so I guess they are playing along as well. Best of Luck Dean Family! I hope we all win (even though I better start budgeting NOW, if we're going to pay out $400 in one swoop).