It has been a year since I had my big relapse and had to accept finally that I had to start living a caffeine-free lifestyle. It honestly was one of the best things that I have done for my wellbeing, and while I did not lose a lot of weight like I thought I would, my physical health benefited greatly because of making the necessary changes.

Living a caffeine-free lifestyle was one of the hardest things I had to do and while having caffeine is no longer a struggle, I am still addicted to finding the fizz in my body each day. It is a continuous battle that I hate fighting. Even though caffeine is no longer in my system, there are just the addictive features that are still there because I wake up many times wanting a soft drink.

There are times though where I can go half a day without the soda. It Is really mind over matter. It is having interests and keeping occupied and out of the kitchen and ignoring the need to hydrate with such a toxic drink. It can be hard to avoid drinking something that I find pleasure in. When I am active, I would often think about where I could get a soda, but not as much as I used to. I used to think about it a lot and that it made me cool or enjoy the time that I was having, but I had to realize that was not what it was not all that I had to think about.

There is so much more in life to think about if I really wanted to put my mind to thinking about doing something that I want to do and find more engaging than soda. For too long, all I could do was want to hydrate myself with the closest available drink, but more and more there is less availability of what I could drink so I would have to toughen up and do whatever I needed to do because I know that my mind is so much more than the addictive personality telling me that I need to have a soda.

In the grand scheme of things , was it really a life altering thing for me to not have soda. There is so much more to think about in life than the constant subliminal message that I need to have soda all the time. I do know that I need to work on doing more including getting back to the gym and at least putting in the minimal effort that is necessary for me to have some better progress weight wise.

I also know that I need to do more than what I am doing, and I am more adamant about taking care of my mental health when it comes to reducing my soda intake. There are so many more benefits than I realize, and it is important that I avert a future health crisis before it Is too late. It is important to take care of me and think of what the real dangers are when consuming soda.

I have come a long way in the past year by making sound decisions, but I still have a way to go. Battling a long-time soda addiction is not easy. It will continue to be a process and a battle to fight as I am just now starting to get back on track for a few months with my medication regimen. I am doing so much better than I was a year ago and that is something that I constantly need to remind myself of what I need to do to keep my spirit well and alive.

In the end, it is what I need to do to stay well and finally after many years of being told that living a caffeine-free lifestyle is just as necessary as taking my medication or going to therapy. Even if it is hard sometimes, it is important to keep going no matter what because I am depended on so much and it is as if my life depends on it. Here is to another year of better times ahead, understanding that is what life is like now and will forever be.