Diet Coke Addiction

I really, REALLY love diet coke. It's cold and refreshing, it's fizzy and sweet ... It's zero points. There's nothing quite like hearing the crackle of a can of diet coke opening on a hot day.


I'm practically salivating.


If there is diet coke in my fridge, I won't drink anything else. No healthy and delicious water with lemon in it, no beneficial green tea .. Just my unhealthy, chemically-made, artificially sweetened addiction.


I've been doing a lot of reading about the effects of diet coke / artificial sweeteners. And I'm not a fan of what I've been reading. But is it enough to keep me away from my beloved beverage?


Maybe. It was enough to be encouraged to cut back a lot. Want to know a couple of things I've discovered?


1. Nutrasweet in the morning coffee, Splenda in the yogurt, aspartame in the diet soda, xylitol in the chewing gum, sucralose in the energy bar .. That much fake is hard for the liver to take! (quote taken from The Looneyspoons Collection)

2. Studies show that drinking diet soda increases the likelihood of serious weight gain. Artificial sweeteners quickly boost the fat-storage hormone insulin, just like real sugar does. They also affect leptin, the hormone that tells you when to stop eating. When insulin and leptin are out of whack, you become ravenous. You crave sweets, you overeat, and hello belly! (or, in my case, hello booty! Ha)


3. Diet soda has zero nutrients in it. Not one. And the more diet coke I drink, the less water, green tea, and healthy beverages I'll be having.


I didn't drink a whole lot of diet coke before (since my daughter is still nursing) but reading about the effects artificial sweeteners can have on my body and my weight loss really opened my eyes. There are many more diet coke "facts" that I read about .. But I won't get into the scary science speak.

There are also a LOT of condradicting opinions too, saying that there are some sweeteners that are okay to have in moderation. But we still don't know enough about what health risks these artificial sweeteners can cause in the long-run, and I'm not a fan of the idea of being a guinea pig. Remember smoking? At first everyone thought it was safe, right?!




I've significanty reduced the amount of diet drinks I take in .. But I haven't cut them out all together. For one, I've learned that going cold-turkey with my diet coke will only result in me binge-drinking it in a moment of weakness. But I have been weaning myself off of it, slowly, only having it every now and then as a treat. (Everything In Moderation, right?!)




I've been adding carbonated water to my lemon water and assorted spa waters, and it's been wonderful! Anyone else have any suggestions for a possible diet coke replacement?! :)