Money and Pop (or Soda)

So, on my lunch hour yesterday I realized 2 things...and I'm sure your DYING to know! 

First things first....probably the BIGGEST change in my lifestyle since April 2nd of this year is that I no longer drink pop like my life depends on it!  GASP!  Yes...I know, shocking. 

And actually...it wasn't hard at all.  I thought for sure I would get headaches and feel miserable for a few days but during those first few days...I think I drank so much water that I think it deluted my system so much that I didn't crave it and didn't have any side effects from the lack of caffeine.  And this is coming from a girl who could drink a can/bottle of mountain dew and go right to bed afterwards and sleep fine.  Caffeine didn't make me shaky or feel more wide awake....that's how much I drank it.  Baaaaaad Sarah!



the green stuff

 I used to drop Hailey off at daycare and stop at the gas station and get one of those Big Gulp drinks for on my way to work.  Then at lunch I would have another!  There are 275 calories in just 1 20oz bottle!  And I had at least 2 of those a day!  That's 550 calories in just drinks I consumed.  Now that's almost half of what I eat in calories for an entire day.  YIKES! 

And this isn't to say that I don't crave the green juice anymore...I do...I still love me some pop!  However, I can't handle drinking that much of it.  There is a 20oz bottle of mountain dew that I grabbed Saturday afternoon while running errands and it is still in there and I think it's only 1/4 gone! 

Even though I still enjoy a good pop every now and then, it always ends up biting me in the bootie because I either feel gross afterwards and get a headache (odd how that works huh?) or I'll drink some and get my little taste and be over it and be done with it. 

Plus now...to me I don't want to waste my daily calories on what I drink...seriously have you ever felt full and statisfied after drinking a soda?  I'm gonna say no to that.  It's not worth those empty calories that literallly do nothing for nutritional value for your body.  And if  your like how I was...you drink so much of it the caffeine does nothing for you because you drink so much...you just THINK you NEED the sugary goodness.   I know that's how I was. 

Also yesterday while I was on my lunch I was going through my purse and realized how much change I have in my wallet.  It made me realize too how much I am actually saving by eating healthy and aiming to lose weight.  Being a single parent I could totally get away with going grocery shopping once a month, however, now I go weekly on Sundays typically to get our fresh produce and yogurt for the week ahead.  And even by doing that more, I'm still saving money. 

Money Money Money!!!  MONEY!

- We no longer order pizza like we used to, now its once a week if that and I try to make a home made pizza vs something from the delivery guy. 

- No more vending machine trips for that afternoon pick me up snack.  I pack my own breakfast, lunch and snacks for work. 

- Trying to lose weight has just made me more aware of what I was eating and was it really worth the calories to go out to eat vs just eating at home?  No it's not. 

Everything is in moderation.  We still get ice cream weekly...but we do it once a week instead of 2-3 times and most of the time we go get FroYo!  I plan out my meals a week at a time so we've always got good leftovers to eat.  I pack my lunch, which this has saved a ton and kept healthy snacks in my drawer at work in my office. 

Just a little planning and it has gone really far and saved us some money I know!  I mean my wallet is heavy right now because of all the change that's in there and that NEVER happened!  That'll be going into Miss H's piggy bank vs a vending machine now! 



I look scared here or like I'm trying to not pee my pants b/c I gotta go to the bathroom for the 123rd  time this morning!  But posts are boring without pictures...so deal. 

Happy Friday!  Think of me tomorrow morning at 9am when I run my 2nd 5k!  Let's hope I can even run a mile...this week has been rough with running!  Supposed to be a hot one!