Making the Switch

I am not one who denies my problems. I readily admit when I have weaknesses and it's confession time. Most of you know I am gripped with addiction to coffee. That isn't actually the real problem though since the caffeine doesn't bother me and coffee has zero calories. The issue is that I must, must, must have half-n-half to go in it. I have tried everything to change this preference, trying fat-free half-n-half, skim milk, 1%, 2% and whole milk, powdered creamer, even the creme brulee' coffee mate, plain coffee mate, and everything in between and outside those lines. No matter what I've tried, in any amount, nothing even remotely suffices. I prefer to go with no coffee rather than put something other than half-n-half in it. I have gone to great lengths at times to acquire half-n-half, even sending John out or going myself at midnight so I'd have it the next morning. So it was with dismay that I actually observed myself buy a 32 oz container (that's a quart) of half-n-half Friday afternoon and watched myself empty it by Tuesday morning. That's the same size as my little water jug there in the picture, baby. I can say that I am not the only one who uses the half-n-half. John uses it as well, but for only one cup in the morning. Othewrise he drinks his coffee at work.

The problem that results from this prolific consumption of fat and cholesterol is that despite my active lifestyle, the scale tends to the upward trend rather than going down the way I prefer. I will admit to being a first-born, slightly obsessive, perfectionist individual, so I do focus on the scale, clothing size, calorie intake and all things weight-related a bit more than I should. However, just for the sake of proving I can, I am determined to disentagle myself from this vice. I have at times, gone cold turkey--like my two pregnancies, and the frightening year I gave up coffee for Lent. However, I am going the more difficult route and employing moderation.

So here are my rules:
-1 pot of coffee gets made in the morning and when it's gone, the pot stays off (I'll get about 2 travel-mugs out of the pot). I can easily make and drink 3 pots a day with the accompanying half-n-half.
-NO buying coffee out except for my once-a-week non-fat latte at Starbucks on Friday, grocery day. No telling how much I get when I order "extra-cream" at Dunkin' Donuts.
-I can drink half-n-half in my cup, by I am going to gradually make the switch to the fat-free stuff.
-After my coffee is gone (generally by 8:30am), I will be drinking 2 of these 32 oz jugs of water by bedtime. Watch out, toilet, here I come.

Your job is to ASK me how I'm doing. I am not known for enforcing my own rules, so only public humiliation will work. Perfectionists hate to fail in public ;)