Tuesday 12 February 2013

That's it. I'm giving up...

Lent starts tomorrow.

I know this because the Boys insisted on pancakes this evening - and because I am, in a slightly woolly, pick and choose sort of a way, a Roman Catholic.  This time of year brings back memories of interminable weeks of Denial as a child: denial of  whatever treat it was that I had decided to give up, denial that I had in fact given up on Denial and sneaked whatever treat it was I was supposed to have given up (for some reason dark chocolate Bounty bars spring to mind here), and denial that the distinctive red and white wrappers in the kitchen bin had anything to do with me once they were discovered languishing at the bottom of it.  (Quite why I didn't dispose of them elsewhere I have no idea.  Must try harder on the subterfuge...)

So the thought occurred to me; should I give up anything this year? And if so, what? My life is quite sick-makingly boring in many ways at the moment;  I don't drink alcohol (most) Monday's to Fridays (and although all bets are off at the weekend, the drink-driving laws here make having even half a glass of wine, if you're planning on getting behind the wheel within 24 hours, a bad idea), I don't smoke, I scratch cook, I try and eat/drink my 5 a day.  Yes, I have a chocolate habit but even that's been curbed significantly in recent years, due mainly to the fact that nowadays I have decided life is too short to eat bad chocolate.  If we were living back in London then of course that would probably not impact significantly on my consumption levels, but here in Moscow the subsequent supply problems - not a Green & Black's 70% bar to be purchased for love nor money, for example - do rather put the stops on my galloping addiction...

Of course, there is always the polar opposite approach, that of doing something extra like, say, walking for an hour every day, or offering my services to carry a babushka's shopping across the road, but I think in the latter case I would probably end up being arrested, and in the former wasting so much petrol driving through the traffic to somewhere different each day to take the walk, that both seem counter productive.

So.  That leaves me with one thing.  One glaringly obvious thing I can try and do without for the next 40 days.

I am going to try and live without Diet Coke until Easter Sunday.

What - you didn't think I was going to give up the blog, did you? You should be so lucky...

May I just say; this is no small undertaking. I have been known to speak directly to my cans of Diet Coke in the past (usually to tell them that I don't need them and they shouldn't get big-headed about their regular 11am appearance in my day).  In fact, I actually don't expect to manage it.  The problem with leading such a boring lifestyle is that the 'little' indulgences like dark chocolate - which, by the way, was never under discussion as a potential 'giving up' target, since I have it on good authority that in (cough) small amounts, it's actually good for you - and Diet Coke assume a wholly disproportionate level of importance in your routine.

Quite how I'm going to manage without my daily fix of it remains to be seen, but I suspect that my parameters on what constitutes 'bad' chocolate may be about to change somewhat.  Dark chocolate Bounty bar, anyone?


6 comments:

  1. I am glad to hear this. Not because I think you should deny yourself anything for Lent but because Diet Coke is VERY BAD FOR YOU. Seriously. You'd be better off with sugary coke. Ok, lecture over. I may consider giving up telling people what to do for lent, but then my children would just run riot (oh, wait..)
    xo

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  2. trying to work out what it would take for mew to give up Diet Coke. I'd give up food first.

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  3. You can give up Diet Coke and drink regular Coke instead. Now that would be a hardship, wouldn't it? I'm sure there must be another minor habit that you have that you can give up instead. If I drank Coke, I would never give it up because I do like it with lots of ice cubes in it. Do think this over carefully. xox

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  4. MTFF, I know, I know, I know. But - it just tastes so good... (And bearing in mind I had such a pedestrian youth I suppose I tell myself it's my reward for being so well behaved back then. Pathetic, I know.

    DG, I know what you mean.

    Irene, am not saying I will give it up for good - just seeing if I can do it until Easter... As for regular coke, it may come to that but I actually don't like the taste!

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  5. Good luck - have decided I'm going to have more booze free evenings and try and do the 30 day shred for Lent (my Mum always insisted on something positive AND something negative for Lent..)

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  6. I always think of you if I buy Green and Black's chocolate. (I hope you think that's a nice thing to be associated with in my mind.) Now I'll have to add dark choc Bounty bars to that, but I never ever buy those.

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