Old Habits Die Easily

"Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time."- Mark Twain.

I have never been a big fan of New Year's Resolutions. Like Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day, I disliked holidays that asked us to stop and examine our lives for one day out of the year, then go back to how we were. Ideally, these mentalities should be carried through the whole year round.
This year in place of resolutions I decided to just alter some habits I thought could be beneficial.
My goals are as follows:
1. Drink at least 3 glasses of water a day- I have never been a big water-drinker. I love the stuff, but for some reason, when I'm thirsty, everything else in my house usually sounds better. But, every time I go out to eat I order a water, and end up having 3 or 4 glasses. I don't know if I trust the old "8 glasses a day" advice, but I think starting small is the way to go. Already I'm feeling a difference. Pop has lost a lot of its attraction, which for anyone who knows me knows is a big deal.
2. Floss daily-Never been into flossing either. It's a vicious cycle; never floss, so gums are weak, so when I do floss, my gums hurt. Finally decided to break the cycle, and so far it's been way easier to remember to do it than I was expecting. And I can feel a difference- my teeth actually feel cleaner. I read somewhere once that without flossing 40% of your teeth's surface doesn't get cleaned.
3. Buy only 1 candy or snack item at a time- This is a big one. Due to a tight budget this semester, my cookie and chip funds have shrunk. I have always been the type of person that when I want something to snack on, I buy it. I don't take my own lack of funds or the unhealthiness of the product into consideration. But now I'm making sure I only have 1 treat in the house at a time. It's been tough- I've realized how much I love to mix and match my snacks (like Twizzlers and Reece's Pieces). The other weird thing is it makes me take size of the snack into account. For example, last weekend I bought a small chocolate cake from the discounted bakery aisle. Typically I'd buy this without much thought, eat a few slices, then the rest would inevitably go stale before I could finish it. Now that it's the only snack in the house, I feel an obligation to see it through to completion. It's like having homework or something. I start to think about dessert and then remember I have to get through that cake, and my heart sinks a little.
Cakes are an inherently social food. There's a reason you only see them at parties and weddings. No one is designed to eat a whole cake by themselves. Probably won't be buying cakes again for a while.