A few weeks ago a colleague and I were chatting over beers. At some point in the conversation about him spending time with his brother while traveling, he mentioned how he couldn't believe how much Diet Mountain Dew his brother drank. He said he often looked like hell, was tired all the time and seemed to generally feel poorly. He also said that his brother threw back diet soda like it was water ... all day long.
The "ping" of a light bulb turning on sounded in my head. I knew that fate was giving me an obvious clue: You've been feeling the same way, fate was saying.
I discovered Diet Coke in high school in the early '90s. I've never had much of a sweet tooth so the sugary tastes of Dr. Pepper and regular Coke didn't appeal to me. But that weirdly sweet flavor of Diet Coke just tickled my fancy. I've been drinking it on a daily basis ever since. Every day: a can in the morning, one for lunch and one in the afternoon or on my way home from work.
I stopped drinking Diet Coke once when I was dating a guy who was trying to lose weight, but it didn't stick. And that was many years ago when my body was still young enough to take a beating and still feel OK. I also stopped drinking Diet Coke while I was pregnant. But that only lasted 10 months.
Now my body is beginning to feel just a tad more fragile when I eat and drink stuff I shouldn't. Sleep has always been a very important health issue for me, and for several months I've felt sluggish, droopy and dreary all day until about 8 p.m., when I suddenly zinged to life when I should be winding down. Also, my digestive tract seems to have more specific requirements for regularity and feeling healthy; the more Diet Coke I drank the more bloated I was and it would last for several days. Clearly the sodium intake was a factor.
Almost two weeks ago I quit cold turkey. The first day was fine. The second day was rough; I had headaches and used ibuprofen to relieve the pain. The third and fourth days were heinous: headaches, severe fatigue, crankiness, insomnia and cravings. I didn't think I could make it through that first week.
Detox was hard and I still crave it every day, though I hope the cravings will subside in time. I'm not quite sure if my sleep has changed for the better yet, but my energy valleys and peaks have certainly flatlined and the bloating seems to have subsided after two weeks of drinking only water all day. My pants fit me better too; a tangible benefit that feels a little like a reward.
I don't know that I will never have a Diet Coke again on occasion, but that's not what it's really all about. It's about listening to my body and making better choices, more healthy choices, because it's the right thing to do. And I can't forget the impact on my pocket book either. I'll be saving a fair amount of coin by not buying bulk Diet Coke at the Costco.
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Comments
Of course the addicting part is the caffeine. I don't drink coffee so I suppose Diet Cokes throughout the day is my way of getting a jolt.
...been thinking of quitting, but haven't quite mustered the will.
What's worked better for me was having smaller meals and more snacks throughout the day. I try to eat about every two hours. The headaches are caused, for me at least, by low blood sugar and being dehydrated. Drink a glass of water when you drink those DCs! Caffeine dehydrates you.
Even better, a nap in the afternoon when I can swing it is the real trick. Hallelujah, as I'm reaching 40, naps are my fountain of youth!
reminds me also of a post by dana douglas about losing 100 lb!!!
it sounds like you may have been going partly through caffeine withdrawal. and think about that seriously-- lots of other stuff has caffeine in it, incl chocolate!!
so maybe caffeine is the thing thats messing up your nervous system....
It took me a full month of agony to get over this addiction to caffeine. I could barely wake up in the morning. I felt like a zombie at work - couldn't keep my end up in conversations, just sort of sat there while the social world went on around me. One of my colleagues actually took me aside to find out what was the matter because my personality had changed so radically. I couldn't help but compare this withdrawal process to quitting smoking, which I did over one week without much problem and no regrets, even though I had smoked 3 packs a day! Getting "off" of caffeine was so much more traumatic for my body!
Fifteen years later, I have no trouble popping out of bed and off to work every morning. The rest of the staff huddles hopefully around the coffee maker in the worker's lounge while I don't. And my heart has quit the erratic behavior. It was well worth it - but not easy!
I was lucky enough to grow up in a soda free household so never got into the Cola habit, but my daughter did and had to wean herself off when she started feeling sluggish from it (or was it just her nightowl lifestyle).
Caffeine is also found in green tea, but it's delivered differently. I heard it described once like this: Coffee/Cola drinks act like a spring and give you a jolt, while green tea/tea caffiene is more like an elastic band stretching slowly giving you a long term boost. It's the high/low that does us in!
I do think the aspartame causes its own set of problems.
I've never drunk any kind of soft drinks regularly but would sometimes have a diet coke when I needed some caffeine and wanted it cold and/or that's all that was around. I always noticed it was followed by odd symptoms: first, more thirst not less (same as with sugared soft drinks), jangly feelings (different from just caffeine vibe) and bladder symptoms similar to early stages of a urinary tract infection! That stopped me.
Both coffee and black tea have some health benefits along with their caffeine (yes, coffee too - e.g. lower risk of Alzheimers and I believe pancreatic cancer as well). I have a cup in the AM and sometimes an ice tea at lunch in hot weather. I don't use sugar in either. I also make hot and iced herb teas. Mostly I drink tons of plain tap water, which makes me feel best of all.
So it's not the caffeine. I drink a cuppa joe when I feel a migraine coming on, and just in general once in a while. I can quit coffee or tea caffeine with ease.
I truly believe it is the artificial sweetener. There is something it does to one's body chemistry. I don't know why studies don't show it is addictive. But my last box of DC is in the fridge right now, and I am going to quit. Cold turkey. I'll drink unsweetened iced tea or coffee or, best of all, water. You have brought it yo my attention again, and for that I am grateful.
Hey - I'm getting older too. Seems like a couple of age years every calendar year. What we put in our bodies must be a part of that equation, sight?
Bluesurly: Thanks for always reading and commenting; I appreciate the loyalty. Yes, I can imagine the Diet Dr. Pepper is just as bad. Doesn't it have more calories too? I can't remember.
ZZ: Lots of good luck to quit the DC when you're ready! Thanks for commenting.
Rosemary: Seriously, naps are a MUST for me. Too bad I only get them on weekends.
Vzn: Yeah, it's more my digestive system that the caffeine is affecting, but I know what you mean. So far so good, though!
717judie: I don't know that in this case weaning myself would have worked. Drinking DC is a habit for me; like when I get hungry I drink a DC, when I get thirsty I drink a DC. My mom used to get after me because there would be like five half-empty DC cans in various places around the house throughout the day. It was just a habit to grab one from the fridge and sip it all day long. Cold turkey was best for me.
Lisa: I'm not a fan of getting older, but gosh darn it I'm going to do it gracefully. Thanks for stopping by.
Peterpan: Thanks for the great info on the difference between coffee/cola caffeine and tea caffeine!
Grifftan: Ha! If I drank as much beer all day as i did DC, I'd be in bad shape! Thanks for stopping by.
Z: I'd take a glass of champagne.
Cruel: I hope you can find your way out of the clenches of the Diet Coke. It's a bugger. Hope you feel better too.
Guera: Lucky you!!
Capt'n: That's the god's honest truth.
Hi Patricia: Thanks for coming out. There are more like us than I knew. I agree that the artificial sweetener isn't an innocent ingredient.
Dennis: Welcome to Diet Coke's Anonymous. It's no joke.
Sandra: I have faith that I'll get to a point where, like you, I'll be able to drink one or two occasionally. Thanks for reading.
Thank you for sharing and good luck to you!
Hi Somyr,
Yay for you; giving up Diet Coke is huge. I didn't realize that you were that fond of it, but you are extremely fond. We all have our addictions and/or things to purge from our lives. Don't you think you drank it in moderation only? I thought you did. I do remember the days of finding a lot of half-full cans/fountain drinks at home. I just thought you either forgot about it or just weren't that interested. Sounds like others have the same thing going on. Look at Uncle Sherm; he drank diet Shasta by the case full. Daily. He traveled most of the time for his work and his cooler was ALWAYS full of this soda. Didn't go on the road or anywhere without it. Ever. Look where it landed him.