Lent

40 days and 40 nights of Lent success!

by Courtney on April 4, 2010

I’m happy to report that I successfully stuck to my Lent sacrifice of 40 days and 40 nights with no Diet Pepsi! I’m such a good little non-Catholic!

Back in February, I vowed to give up my biggest vice, which is drinking way too much diet soda. And honestly, I didn’t think I’d really do it 100%. I just thought it would make a good blog post! But much to my delight – I did it – and I didn’t cheat once!

It really wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. The first week was almost a piece of cake. But then I went to Cabo San Lucas with my girlfriends in the second weekend and I was practically foaming at the mouth to drink an ice cold Diet Pepsi as I nursed a hangover in the hot sun. From that point on though, it was pretty easy.

Quiting diet soda does not = weight loss!

At first I was thinking if I didn’t drink Diet Pepsi my only other option was water. I even went to the movies that first weekend and had a big tub of buttery, salty popcorn and washed it down with a bottle of water! GA-ROSS! I mean, water so doesn’t compliment movie popcorn – not in the least! I realized quickly though that I had other options besides just water 24/7. I could drink lemonade, iced tea (sweetened), green tea (sweetened), and when I really needed caffeine – Mountain Dew (hey, it’s not diet!). Of course with these other options come added calories! I’ve heard people say you will lose weight when you stop drinking diet soda. That’s horse shit. I guess if you stick with nothing but water you can, but c’mon, that’s such a bland life to lead!

Today after church and Easter brunch, Jeff and I decided we’d have a movie day and make popcorn at home. Suddenly, it popped into my head – I can drink Diet Pepsi today! LENT IS OFFICIALLY O-V-E-R! As I poured my first glass of Diet Pepsi I almost felt guilty. Like, maybe I should just never start up again. But where I’d usually have like two or three on a Sunday afternoon lounging around the house, I only had that one glass.

So I’m not giving up diet soda for good. But if anything, this Lent sacrifice has taught me that if I put my mind to something – I can do it. If I cheated during these past 40 days, I’d only be cheating myself. After all, I already know Jesus loves me no matter what!!

So how about you guys? How did you do with your Lent sacrifices or pledges to be a better person? If you stuck to it, then share your success story! If you didn’t, then consider this your Catholic confessional, and tell me your sins… I’ll forgive you!

Share

{ 6 comments }

My BIG Lent sacrifice…

by Courtney on February 18, 2010

Being the good non-Catholic that I am, I’ve given something up for Lent every year since 2008. You see, my husband Jeff is a shopping cart strict Catholic and so I do this for him. Last year I even gave up chocolate and I only cheated a couple of times in 40 days, so that’s not bad for a non-Catholic. But this year I think that it’s time to step it up a notch. It’s time to give up something that’s seriously going to hurt.  After all, it’s not a sacrifice if I’m not bitching about it daily, right? Well my friends, I’m giving up Diet Pepsi. I should say Diet Coke too just to be clear.

This is going to be mucho difficult because I don’t drink coffee. And, I NEED THE CAFFEINE! Hell, I usually go to bed at midnight because I’m constantly up late blogging or screwin’ around online, so what else is going to get me through the AM? I’m just going to have to suck it up and get used to flavored water or something.

To lay it all out there; I have between three and four Diet Pepsis a day. I feel like a total sloth just admitting that. The facilities manager at work told me today that he’s thinking of signing me up for a 12-step program to wean me off of Diet Pepsi. Basically, he’s sick of calling the vending machine guy to refill the damn machine! Oh I’m so embarrassed!

It’s not my fault really. My mom put Pepsi in my baby bottle. JUST KIDDING, MOM! I know she’s going to call me as soon as she reads that. She didn’t put “Pesi” (what I used to call it as a baby!) in my bottle, but I believe I started drinking it around age 3! In fact, around that age I remember begging my Granny to let me have some Pepsi as she stood firm in front of the out-of-my-reach cabinet saying a definitive “N-O!” And then we heard my brother scream bloody murder from outside as he had just stabbed a giant tree trunk with a humongous construction nail causing a pack of bees to come out and swarm his head. Granny raced outside and I raced up the countertop to grab the Pesi. Hmm…victory never tasted so good!

And so the story goes; my name is Courtney Rice and I’ve been a Pepsi-holic my entire life. And I know it’s SO not good for me. I drink diet to avoid the calories but then there’s Aspartame which is supposed to suck for you. Of course we’re always hearing about how researchers are claiming that diet soda intake can be linked to cancer and stuff, etc. etc. But the most compelling reason to quit diet soda is that I hear you can actually lose weight! Imagine that! I guess you eat more when you’re drinking it and you also feel bloated from the carbonation.

So anyway, I’m blogging about this because I feel like if I say it to the world (or my three readers) then I’ll have to stick to it. I’m going to hate it and I might be pissy here and there, but I’ll deal. I like a challenge – never tell me I can’t do something because I’ll show you I can!

So alright all of you Catholics out there, whaddya giving up for Lent? Now come on, it’s got to be something good. No, it’s got be something that’s going to suuuuuuck for you! I don’t want to see anyone cheating and giving up something they never do/use/eat/drink. For example, Jeff told me he was giving up ice cream. He probably eats ice cream like once in a blue moon. What happened to his usual 40-day ban on hard booze? So c’mon, if this non-Catholic can do it, then surely the real ones can! But hey, I encourage all the other “nons” out there to do what I’m doing. Give something up that’s going to be a healthy change for you and just blame it on Lent! The good ‘ole Catholic guilt will pull you through!

It’s going to be a long 40 days and 40 nights, but we can do it people. I’d love to hear what you’re giving up if you are indeed participating in this annual sacrifice!

Share

{ 9 comments }