Tag: Diet Coke

Nearly One Week Diet Coke Free

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I didn’t want to jinx myself by announcing it here before I did it, but I’ve decided to give up my Diet Coke habit once and for all. I’m not saying I’ll never drink it again, but certainly not in the massive quantities in which I’d been drinking it. And since last Wednesday, I haven’t had a drop.

You see, last Tuesday night I went to the grocery store to return my myriad of bottles and cans and was given back $5.70 (i.e., $0.10/can or bottle). Somehow, seeing that huge figure (and the ginormous bag of bottles and cans) really did a number on my psyche … causing me to just go cold turkey last Wednesday.

I simply don’t want to be putting those nasty chemicals into my body and I feel much, much better without it.

I admit, it was weird to go out to eat and not order it (it’s my go-to beverage of choice) … but unsweetened iced tea and water are just fine and a helluva lot better for my body, to boot.

Just wanted to share!!

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A Tale of Bloat

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Though I’m ashamed to admit it here — and though I loathe the bloated, distended feeling I get after consuming it — I think I have finally concluded why I drink so much Diet Coke:

It fills me when I’m hungry, so I’m not obsessing about food.

Not exactly a healthy mindset, huh?! Sigh … looks like I have a little soul-searching to do. (Hanging head in shame).

I believe in healthy living and clean eating … but am essentially a hypocrite if I’m not living it, myself. Continue reading “A Tale of Bloat” →

To Korea or Not to Korea?!

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A few months ago I talked about my need to cut down my Diet Coke consumption with the goal of saving money to go visit my brother in South Korea.

While I’ve cut back quite a bit (yea!), sadly, my savings account isn’t much more padded than it was in October (mostly due to the holidays and a plane ticket to N.J. that set me back some).

But all hope is not lost. Continue reading “To Korea or Not to Korea?!” →

More Proof Diet Soda Is Dangerous

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When my friend C. shared this link yesterday with me, “What Soft Drinks Are Doing to Your Body”  she noted I was ahead of the curve in wanting to get rid of my addiction to Diet Coke, and with good reason.

Now, there’s more evidence just how dangerous soda–diet or regular–really is.

“…You may come to the conclusion that diet or sugar-free soda is a better choice. However, one study discovered that drinking one or more soft drinks a day — and it didn’t matter whether it was diet or regular — led to a 30% greater chance of weight gain around the belly.

Diet soda is filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin. These artificial sweeteners pose a threat to your health. Saccharin, for instance, has been found to be carcinogenic, and studies have found that it produced bladder cancer in rats.

Aspartame, commonly known as nutrasweet, is a chemical that stimulates the brain to think the food is sweet. It breaks down into acpartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol at a temperature of 86 degrees. (Remember, your stomach is somewhere around 98 degrees.) An article put out by the University of Texas found that aspartame has been linked to obesity. The process of stimulating the brain causes more cravings for sweets and leads to carbohydrate loading.”

Continue reading “More Proof Diet Soda Is Dangerous” →

Shameless Self Promotion/Day 1 Diet Coke Free!

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tales004This is a screen shot of yesterday’s post on my Diet Coke obsession, which ended up being one of WordPress.com’s featured blog posts of the day.

While it certainly wasn’t my most exciting topic OR best writing, I’ll take the free PR 🙂

And it was good — 1,811 hits as of 9:30 last night … surreal, for such a niche blog. The interesting thing will be seeing who — if anyone — returns. Continue reading “Shameless Self Promotion/Day 1 Diet Coke Free!” →

Holy Soda, Batman!!

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change-for-change-2271I’ve mentioned I’m addicted to Diet Coke.

It is, in a word, crack. I’ve tried to ban it, to no avail.

Ironically, I grew up drinking very little soda and if anything, it was regular Coke and drank sparingly.

In fact, I never even tried Diet Coke til 2005 when, at work one day, I decided to see why my boss was so obsessed with (he drank it like it was going out of style).

Then suddenly, I couldn’t get enough. Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally?) I started gaining weight around then (OK, not really gaining, but I stopped losing and then later, gained).

Anyway …  I live in one of those lovely states (Michigan) that charges you $0.10 for every can/bottle of soda consumed.

If you return it to one of a myriad of locations that accepts returns, you get that $0.10 back in the form of store credit (see image at right–no, that’s not my hand!). Hurrah, credit! Continue reading “Holy Soda, Batman!!” →

Murphy’s Law

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Wouldn’t you know it, that after my post about midnight waking/eating … I’ve now woken the past two nights, but somehow not been in so much of a stupor that I was actually able to go back to bed after using the bathroom.

Murphy’s Law, I tell you!!

What was different? I don’t really know. I’ve said before, it’s something that seems to “happen to me” versus me doing, since it’s like sleepwalking. But now I’ve had two ok nights … since that post!

Last night I ordered unsweetened iced tea (and agua) at dinner out vs. Diet Coke — less caffeine. That could play a role; I never thought caffeine affected me, but maybe it — or the fake sugar in Diet Coke — does. Hmmm ….! I’ve tried to quit it in the past but now my consumption is just “less.”

Just wanted to share that little update. Have a great day!

I’m Banning Diet Coke

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I’ve talked about my Diet Coke addiction in the past, but after last night’s therapy session, I’m more convinced my habit has to die a quick death.

Thursday night, we talked about how my perfectionism and anxiety are lessening, and how I feel I’m at a better place now than I was even a few weeks ago. (Yea! Plus, 31 days with no chewing-and-spitting!)

Then I brought up Monday’s binge … in gruesome detail and, after asking me if it was really a “catastrophe,” (something we’re working on — not catastrophizing every little thing) my therapist hit on something really good when she asked me if I eat a lot of things with fake sugar.

I thought for a minute. “Hm… not a whole lot … I like fat-free sugar-free pudding, but I don’t put Splenda on everything or anything. And my maple syrup and jam are sugar-free … and I like sugar-free gum but I’ve been straying from that lately …”

She nodded. Then she asked if I drink a lot of diet soda. I paused. “Yes, why?”

Turns out, she seems to think this midnight eating business might actually be more physiological than even emotional … and that my Diet Coke addiction (particularly aspertame) could be part of the problem. Continue reading “I’m Banning Diet Coke” →

Just for the Taste of it?

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Does anyone else remember those hokey Diet Coke commercials from the mid-80s, where the obnoxious jingle at the end was, “Just for the taste of it…Diet Coke!”

Yea, well I think there was something much more sinister going on behind the scenes at whatever ad agency Coca-Cola was using at the time.

Sure, they marketed it to consumers, encouraging us to buy it “just for the taste of it” but really, I’m absolutely convinced it was a conspiracy. If you ask me, I think Coca-Cola’s engineers, quality control team and ad people all knew that Diet Coke is, in a word, addictive. They banked on the gullible American consumer falling for the trap.

Case in point: I waitressed in my hometown each summer between college semesters, and would get exasperated at the tables where everyone was drinking Diet Coke. Literally every five minutes, I’d be flagged down to fill their empty glasses.

I could have had a tray in my right hand, a glass of wine in my left hand, and a pen falling out of my pocket, but their eyes told me that they needed their Diet Coke. Stat. Continue reading “Just for the Taste of it?” →