Leftover Soda

 Leftover Soda

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 

When I went on vacation, I left a pair of two-liter bottles of soda in the fridge for my daughter, who was feeding the cat while I was gone. I expected it all to disappear. A couple days after I got back, I noticed that most of the last bottle remained; she had put it in the door, where I don't normally keep soda. 

Today I finished eating with calories to spare and didn't really feel a need for more food. Fair enough; I don't need to eat more if I'm not hungry. I'd had all the water I need for the day, and I decided to have a glass or two of soda to use it up. 

Well. Two glasses of diet soda later, and I was craving something to eat. My sister had pointed out the relationship between soda, even diet soda, and eating more a few weeks ago. I'd confirmed it through personal observation, pre-spark. Now I had done something dumb, knowing what I already knew. 

So I did something that was hard for me to do. I opened the bottle of soda, and poured what was left down the drain. I rinsed out the bottle, and I'll claim my nickel the next time I go to the store. Childhood training sticks with me. It was hard to waste more than half a bottle of perfectly good diet soda. 

But I really, really don't need to artificially feel like I should eat more. Even one liter of diet soda was more than I should drink just to use it up. I ended up eating a bit more this evening, even knowing that the feeling was artificial; I don't need to do that two or three days in a row.