Post Diet Coke Era

I want to put a disclaimer with this post. It's not controversial but I know people have different opinions about Diet Coke and aspartame. The internet is such that you can find articles to support any crazy theory you're espousing. What follows is my own personal journey with these two things. I have read some articles published by reputable people (on reputable sites) that pushed me towards wanting to make some changes. I feel like it has helped me in my journey toward healthy. It may not be right for everyone and I would encourage my readers to enjoy the article but do your own research and make the decision that's right for you.

Growing up, my family didn't drink a lot of pop. I think we always knew that it just wasn't great for you. The biggest argument against it was that it rots your teeth. Beyond that, there wasn't information about how it could contribute to the obesity epidemic. The bottom line, it was a rare treat in our house.

I started with Sprite. Coke has always, always been far too sweet for my taste. I liked Sprite because I felt like it was innocuous (seeing as it was clear) and I liked the bubbles. I didn't drink Sprite every day. I frequently didn't finish my 20 ounce bottles of Sprite. To this day, I frequently don't finish the last few drops of any beverage I'm consuming.

In any case, looking back the Sprite may or may not have contributed to my weight gain and/or difficulty with weight loss. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with Bekah (and subsequently with Doug). When I spoke with the nutritionists, I described some of the symptoms I had back in high school. They were fairly convinced that I had diabetes (or was pre-diabetic) back then. Back in the 90s, it was unheard of, absolutely unheard of, for teenagers to even be tested or screened for diabetes. If that was my diagnosis, then it seems like the Sprite did contribute to my struggles.

Fast forward to college. I was never a coffee drinker but my sleep problems followed me to college. Mostly they stemmed from me staying up too late, but nevertheless I needed caffeine to make it through the day. I still couldn't stand Coke, but a friend across the hall was drinking Diet Pepsi. Hmm, I thought. Well, it's a diet drink, so that's got to be better for me than regular. I think I'll try it.

Coca-Cola classifies their consumers as "users" and the consumer they really want is the "heavy user." Well, this fit me to a T. I drank Diet Pepsi morning, noon and night. I developed a high tolerance for caffeine and as well struggled with always craving sugar. Remember, this is the late 90s. The obesity epidemic is starting to be serious but the food companies are not wanting to take responsibility for their actions. They market Diet Pepsi (and Coke) to women, mainly, who are trying to watch their waistline.

I never made a correlation between my Diet Pepsi consumption and my sugar cravings. During the couple of years that I abstained from white sugar, I was also off of caffeine, but I still drank Caffeine Free Diet Coke. The damnedest thing happened during that period--my craving for sugar didn't actually ever leave. I still wanted to eat sweet things, even though I wasn't consuming items with sugar in them.

Over the past few years, I started reading more and more about how Diet Coke/Pepsi were not really better for you. They were starting to study the "heavy users" more closely in a lab setting and found out some interesting things. One, aspartame typically causes cravings to happen. It's a chemical that scientists developed in a lab. The scientists who created it don't eat it. That concerns me. It also concerns me that lab animals who consume it in massive quantities are contracting cancer. It concerns me that aspartame is in any kind of "diet" food, but any time I've consumed "diet" food all I end up feeling is the need to consume more.

The other problem I found for myself with Diet Coke was that, when I was drinking copious amounts of Diet Coke, my water consumption dropped precipitously. At the end of my usage, I was drinking multiple 44 ounce servings of Diet Coke. There would be weekends where we would round up the Thornton's cups around the house and find at least a dozen (if not more) empty cups. Meanwhile, I was not drinking anywhere near the recommended amount of water I needed to.

I have always been prone to canker sores, but when I am drinking Diet Coke or eating anything with aspartame, I break out in them. I had one piece of sugar free gum (sweetened with aspartame) a few months ago. Wouldn't you know, but I ended up with a canker sore a few days later. (This is a huge bummer because I love chewing gum.) In the period of time since, I've not had a single one.

When I drank Diet Coke, I felt sluggish. This would, in turn, cause me to drink more Diet Coke. That would, in turn, cause me to want to eat more sugary and other junk foods. It was a vicious cycle and I felt like I couldn't get off of it. I needed some caffeine on some days and coffee still wasn't my first choice.

Even after reading all of this information, hearing all of these anecdotes from people (my dental hygienist pointed out that the pH in soda--diet or otherwise--is highly acidic), etc., I still couldn't kick the habit. I would go for a couple of days without it and then cave and get a 44 ounce cup of Diet Coke from Thornton's.

But luckily God has a sense of humor. I knew I wanted to give it up and so I figured I would give it up for Lent. A week before, a wicked stomach flu swept through our house. The last thing I wanted was Diet Coke!! I have not had a single drop of Diet Coke for over 6 months. I mainly drink water, green tea sweetened with honey and coffee. I have had, on a rare occasion, a Sprite or a Sprite Zero. I would estimate it's been about 4 of them since the beginning of February.

Here's what has happened. One, my weight loss really took off. It did take a few weeks to a month to start to see pounds coming off. I spent a lot of March in a funk about that. On the other hand, my body was probably trying to flush all of the toxins I had put in my body. By April I had started to see regular weight loss and right now I've lost 30 pounds. Meanwhile, the canker sores aren't appearing. I don't get headaches. I don't feel sluggish. I still have a sweet tooth, but it's much more manageable and less intense than it was. I drink water and I feel--gasp--refreshed! We are saving money at the grocery store. We are not in Thornton's buying 44 ounce cups of Diet Coke and then grabbing a bunch of crappy food.

Like I said at the beginning, it took me a while to get to this point. I have dealt with other addictions and knew this was similar but wasn't willing to admit that I was powerless. Once I got to that point (and maybe God pushed me along a bit), I haven't really missed it. I have enjoyed the benefits of not having those chemicals swimming in my body. It became telling to me that the kids called Thornton's "The Diet Coke Store." I feel strongly that kids will emulate the behaviors they witness. I want them to see me drinking water. I want them to develop healthy habits because they see mommy and daddy doing it. (Brian has not completely stopped his consumption but maybe he'll have one once a month, if that. He is also feeling great after giving it up.)

I want to be healthy, not just thin. I want to develop habits that will help me camp out at healthy, not follow a set of rules that will buy me a ticket back to fat. Drinking water, tea and coffee works for me. I know for some people they've had to give up coffee. Maybe one day it will be like that for me. I think I need to do two things--listen to my body and seek God's wisdom. God is very clear that we are to treat our bodies like a temple. I feel like if I'm putting crappy food and drink into my body, I'm defiling the temple. I need to look to God to see what I should put in my body. I need to look to God, not food, to fill me up emotionally. If I'm turning to food when I'm sad, upset, angry, lonely, and not God, I'm not eating in a way that's edifying to me or to God.

I am on a journey toward healthy. I don't know what that number is going to be, but I am glad to be dropping things along the way that are going to make my journey more enjoyable and fulfilling.