I come from an 'addictive' family. It's in my gene's. That is one of the many reasons I don't drink very often and try to stay as far away from things I can become easily addicted too. I have seen and lived through the disease of addiction. I have seen first hand the way the disease of addiction has destroyed families, mine included. One day, I will post about it. One day....
With that being said, for years and years I have been drinking diet soda. One reason is because I don't like drinking my calories and for years I have battled my weight so this has always been my go to. Many people think they will lose weight drinking diet soda. Then a girlfriend was telling me how diet soda consumption may actually cause weight gain and increase in body fat. Not through calories, but through the way our bodies respond to it. This got me thinking.
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You get stressed, you reach for a Diet Coke. You feel like you've gained weight, you reach for a Diet Coke. You want some junk food, you reach for a Diet Coke, don't feel satisfied, reach for another, and then have the junk food anyway. Bad day with the kids, you reach for a Diet Coke, of course. As you can see, for me it's Diet Coke, for you it might be something else. Good or bad, either way, it's an addiction.
"A good thing can be a bad thing if you make it the main thing." How true is that with so many different areas in your life. Addiction can be masked even in the 'good' things in our life.
Last Wednesday, I decided to give up Diet Coke. Cold turkey. I knew I wanted to commit to a week. Keep in mind, every morning I would go to McDonald's and get a large fountain drink. I would then drink more for lunch, dinner and then at night when I was watching TV. Water would only enter my body when I would workout. Seriously, how unhealthy is this? Not until I decided to give it up did I realize how much I did drink.
Day 1. I was tired. It was that feeling when you were back in college and stayed up all night cramming for a test. It was that 2:00 mid afternoon feeling. Exhaustion. By Day 3 I wanted to hurt somebody. I was so frustrated with the fatigue. Patience level was-- zero. Day 4 comes around and I thought I was pregnant. For some of you skinny minnies this is no big deal. For me, I show the second that little stick turns pink. I looked six weeks pregnant. Bloated was an understatement. Day 6. To be honest, I was just looking forward to my week being over. I kept eating just so I wouldn't want to drink it. I soon realized after thinking for 2 days I was pregnant with Baby #4 that I was bloated because my body was taking in so much water. It's has been depleted of it for years.
Here is the deal. Addiction is no joke. I made it through the week. There is no baby #4 {Thank you Lord}. The bloating was one of the ways my body was trying to adjust. Will I give it up. Honestly, no. Every now and then I will have one. Moderation is something I am not good at but for the sake of my health I need to become good at it.
Have you ever taken a break from your Diet Soda?
Hello! I just found your blog off of pinterest (I actually came here to ask about your giant letters as well from your Christmas cards) and saw this post. I too am quitting my addiction. Your post almost could have been written from me...except I only have 2 kids :) Congrats on the first week and good luck on keeping it up! (Plus...think of that money you are pocketing from NOT drinking it! Glad to have found your blog!
ReplyDeleteI also found your blog through pinterest (seriously - where did you get those letters?? I heart that picture in a major way!). :) anyway, I am a die-hard diet coke addict - breakfast, lunch, dinner and I don't want to talk about how much in between. I am trying to cut back - but it is very hard (especially with a 3 year old and 10 month old). I do drink a ton of water which is how I (weakly) justify it. I fear the headache if I give it up, that is my biggest hold up.
ReplyDeleteCassandra I am sooo happy that Pinterest brought you here! I got those letters from Jo Ann Fabrics! They still have them. You should go get them :) Thanks for reading!!
ReplyDeleteMeggan~Thank you so much for your sweet comments about that picture. It is one of my favorite pictures! You sound just like me with the Diet Coke. You should try giving up the Diet Coke even if it's temporary. It will at least give you body a break! So happy you found my blog. I saw you went to Disney. I may need some advice in the future. We are thinking of taking our boys this summer! xoxox
I am addicted to Mt. dew and sweet tea....both of which are horribly bad! Starting on Tuesday, I am going cold turkey. I am going to be feeling this, too!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you blog about such real things so thanks for posting this one :) I totally understand addiction, I too come from an addictive family. I went through a similiar situation with Mt. Dew. I was completely addicted to it. Morning, noon and night. Not even Diet Mt. Dew, straight up Mt. Dew. How bad is that for you? :) I also had to just go cold turkey because for me moderation is a big struggle. It was soo hard, but happy to say that after giving it up cold turkey for a while now, I can now have one now and then and not totally go crazy. So here's to moderation and better choices :)
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome, Maria!! KEEP AT IT and don't give up!!!!!! You can do it!!!
ReplyDeleteI gave up soda years ago. Now I only drink it once in a blue moon (if I have a headache, a coke will sometimes take care of it). I actually gave up caffeine this summer and like you were explaining, OH MY COW...it was the worst 3 days going through detox. And I was only drinking 2 coffees a day!! I felt ill, headachey, crabby, angry, and my husband steered clear. (now i am back on coffee. i missed it. but only 1x/day).
Anyway, here's the deal w/ diet soda. Or what I learned. Artificial sweetener doesn't satisfy you. So while you're not ingesting 120 empty calories of regular soda, you may end up reaching for something else (sweet) later, because you're not satisfied.
Also, your body is dehydrated! You need to give it water. Water with lemon, if you like that. Lemon is excellent for supressing your appetite. If you always have a full glass of water at your side, you are doing good!!!!!
you go girl. love you.
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Allison~ I am SO glad you are doing the same. I think cold turkey is the best. I can't wait to hear how it goes! You will do fabulous I am sure!
ReplyDeleteKarri~ You are so right about the lemon. I have been using some natural lemon and it really is helping! It's just crazy to me all of the side effects of the diet soda. Craziness.
Rachel~ Who knew diet soda could be an addiction. Here's to both of us drinking diet soda in moderation :)
E~ Seeing your name on here made me smile. xoxox
I think it's amazing that you have been able to recognize this as an addiction and taken steps to deal with it. Feeling so proud of you!!
ReplyDeleteI worry about people drinking Diet Coke, because from what I understand, the sweeteners in it act as a neurotoxin. I just don't want to see people getting hurt from their drink. Especially because of the serious health problems I've had... I don't wish that on anyone.
Anyway, I truly hope water becomes a craved, lifegiving source for you!! That's all I've drunk the past year, and I don't miss the other stuff anymore. Except when I watched The Help on Saturday... then I really wanted a Coke in a glass bottle!! :)
Great job on giving it up! That takes some power! I, too, am addicted...I don't know if I would have the willpower to quit. I try to drink water to balance it out. Having a tervis tumbler around with flavored water seems to help. Good luck!
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