in january i mentioned wanting to do smaller, month-long challenges over the course of this year. a big fan of the ‘go big or go home’ strategy, i decided to start my year with a pretty big challenge for myself: no dr pepper.

here’s the thing. i can go without dr pepper. i lived without it in india, and while i got it sporadically there was definitely at least one yearlong stretch – if not longer – when i wasn’t able to procure one. i don’t need the caffeine so much as i enjoy the taste of it. i had cut down on my consumption quite a lot in the first half of 2019, but then once the summer hit i turned to it for comfort and never looked back. by the end of the year i was drinking nearly one every day and knew it had gotten out of control.

enter my january challenge to not drink any for an entire month. i knew it would be tough, particularly when eating out because it’s so easy to order one. i knew i might slip up and include it when ordering a drink somewhere. i knew i was going to crave the taste more than once.

but i also knew the benefits: i would be healthier. i would save a significant amount of money. i would be laying the foundation for some larger lifestyle changes.

so how do you think i did?

well. outside of one from burger shack when i had to go to helena with my parents, i had no dr pepper in the entire month of january. and let’s be real: that was my first visit to helena in 3.5 years, and it’s pretty much criminal if you don’t stop at burger shack, so i’m not beating myself up about that one.

i am very proud of this accomplishment. there were a few times when it was so tempting to order one [i’m looking at you, huey’s and gus’s], but i also knew i had the resolve to stick with it. while i don’t plan on cutting it out permanently, i do hope this will lead to less consumption on the whole.

and now it’s on to february’s challenge: no paying to eat out for an entire month. this one is going to be tough, and i’ll take all of your well wishes.

xx