Often the best way to figure out if something is going to work is just to do it. I'm a firm believer in learning from mistakes and working out kinks while actually doing what you said you were going to do.

That said, I've realized fairly quickly that I need to revise my list of goals for this month. Only slightly, but particularly my goal to only drink one soda or less per day. While it has been pretty easy to cut out my mindless first-thing-to-the-office soda and replace it with a ginormous cup of water, there are other times of the day when I really crave a soda. And, actually, there are times when a fountain soda can pretty quickly curb my desire for something sweet from the vending machine.

There have been several occasions, too, when I've found myself rationing soda. In other words, when I look at what I'll likely be doing during the course of a day, if I see a soda, say, with a meal I can consider whether or not to have a soda in the morning when I crave it or if I can fight the craving and have a big glass of water instead. It's slightly empowering to be able to think so far ahead and to be able to give myself some room to breathe.

I'm doing pretty well with my other goals. Having the sticky note on my computer screen with my five goals for the month is actually pretty helpful. Several times during the day I look at that blue, lined note and think about how many of the goals I can check off for the day. With the identical note on the cabinet at home where I keep my diabetes supplies-that I wind up looking at several times a day-is equally helpful. Slowly but surely I'm making this happen.