I just got spanked. HARD.
Cutting down on Diet Soda took me to school.
About three weeks ago, I began a mission to focus on improving my health. <—
I broke it off with my carbonated mistress,
And ended up here:
(Sunlight streaming through the window indicating the life I was missing)
Diet soda is a trickish witch.
Once I decided to cut my ties, she had me bare-butt across her knee in no time flat – just like that quiet, innocent friend in grade school who turned demonic when you got in a fight – knowing exactly your vulnerable spots, exactly to strike.
I had no idea I was so…addicted. So vulnerable.
Let me re-cap. I drank diet soda morning, noon and night. I’d wake up, chug Diet Mt. Dew and it wouldn’t stop until evening when I switched to caffeine-free diet sodas like Sprite Zero or Fresca. (Diet Cherry 7-Up was a particular favorite.) I wasn’t trying to “curb my appetite” or anything…it was just what I did. For years. Water? I’d go days without.
After ditching Diet Smack I experienced EXTREME FATIGUE. Body aches, chills, feverishness…it was gross. I woke up, I slept, I ate, I slept, I slept, I slept…I even called in sick to work one day.
I knew the whole time if I drank 8 oz of soda I would feel like a million bucks. That made me realize how nasty that crap is.
Nasty. Vicious. Witchy.
It wasn’t caffeine withdrawal…I’m drinking tea.
(and slowly weaning myself to the unsweetened variety)
It’s something chemical in that toxic sludge that I was addicted to. Freaky! Maybe I don’t eat enough and was fooled by the energy the soda gave me? I’ve been thinking about that a bunch.
It’s been THREE WEEKS and I’m still taking a beating. Yet, I’m slowly coming back to life.
Here’s what has helped:
Morning cocktail:
I’ve been drinking lukewarm water with lemon and apple cider vinegar each morning on an empty stomach. This helps me start the day right, reminds me I’m on a mission, makes me feel clean and energized.
No, this is not some crazy diet technique. If you’re interested to try, do not attempt this with standard ACV- you need raw and unfiltered.
I’ve also been taking advantage of sparkling waters, mineral waters, and seltzer. I’ve always loved mineral water, but the sodium makes me shy. Perrier is the lowest sodium content by the way.
And, you know, I’ve been drinking water.
Check out my cool headset! Sexy, no?
And these roses “the boss” got me for Valentine’s day. Aw….
Anyhow, conquering this addiction has been empowering and makes me psyched to do more. Once I realized how miserable I was trying to “get over” my habit, I found it repulsive. Recovery from any addiction or habit is probably the same way.
Going backwards is so unappealing.
Are you hitting the Diet Smack?
Stop now! (if you want)
- What are some habits and addictions you’ve struggled to break. Did you succeed?
- What are some things in your life you’d like to kiss goodbye?
AHHH! That sounds scary! Soda is so so so horrible – I’ve never liked the stuff to be perfectly honest with you. I drank diet for a few years in college with my cocktails (which those even make me cringe now). I love how you pointed out it wasn’t a caffeine withdrawal as you are still drinking caffeine. So crazy! I’m glad you’re finally feeling better!
Yuckity yuck. I agree.
You love your coffee, I know, and that’s fine. It’s something gross about the toxic sludge.
Yay for water! I’m one of those weird people who could probably just drink water and unsweetened iced tea and no other drink. I rarely drink soda, only diet, and I know it’s so bad for the body. However, I would like to stop pouring mostly water in my cereal and only a tiny bit of soy milk to get it wet because I’m “scared of the calories”. I mean, come on, it’s probably only 50 at the most, no biggie! I just can’t do it, though.
I’m glad you’re feeling empowered by kicking the habit. You go, girl!
I’m jealous….I wish I never had a diet drink. I recall marveling at my neice and nephew one day…”wow. they live without caffeine!”
Okay, so Ash? Increase the amount of soy milk little by little and can I encourae you to try unsweetened Almond Breeze Vanilla? I believe 8 oz only has 40 calories…please work on it! In a week you won’t remember why you ever added water!
You are strong woman! I am so happy for you, in a heart felt way. It will get better. Is kombucha helping? I hope so. Keep going!
My “mother” attempts have been fails. My wallet is empty. I am resisting the urges to but some…considering ordering online.
I’m addicted to diet mountain dew. Well I used to be-I gave it up this year as part of my new years resolution. I still have it on occasion but I’m doing a lot better then last year ha.
Great work girl!
Mountain Crack. I actually gave it up for a few months last year and was just drinking diet coke. I eventually relented and then just dove in.
Hollie, quit the crack! LOL.
Way to go! I honestly haven’t ever been one for soda/coke/pop of any sort. It burns my esophagus…so it can’t be good for me, right? tee hee. I drink Kombucha and water. I’d like to kiss worrying goodbye forever, but at least I’m improving with that!
Gotta admit….the worrying is probably harder than my soda habit but you can do it.
Kombucha….that’s another mistress. I’ve had to cut it out cause I just simply cannot afford it. I am trying to grow a mother. But that’s for another post.
I’ve been lurking but wanted to break out and say hello. I used to be huge on soda: I get free fountain soda at work. But I’ve been cutting it out: I find that artificial sugars are extremely bloating, and am working on subbing stevia if I need some little sweetness. Bloating is so so much better!
I’ve been drinking a lot of tea and water. My next step would be my coffee addiction, but one thing at a time.
One thing at a time and yes! I agree about the bloating! Just be sure to get fluids…I found myself skimping on fluids once it wasn’t the soda…yuck.
And Thanks for de-lurking! I love to know ya!
Oh I totally know how you feel – I used to drink so much diet mountain dew (I actually had to go to the hospital once because I was having heart palpitations from all of the caffeine).. I finally stopped drinking pop all together back in November and I now feel like a new person – I will never go back! It looks like you are finding a ton of great alternatives! I love adding a fresh squeezed lemon to my water (with an ounce of aloe vera juice).
Oh my goodness…it is mountain crack!
That’s so nice of your boss!!!!!
I’ve been fortunate bc i’ve never liked soda (pop where i’m from) so I haven’t had to ween myself off…you’ll accomplish it I know you will-you’re way too strong of a cookie not too!
Lucky duck….maybe that’s why you look so great! (skin, teeth…)
I’ll be honest I do drink diet sodas. But I can go for several days without one. In other words I’m not addicted. Gah, that just sounds like such an addicted thing to say doesn’t it?! Haha!
I have noticed that I get slight headaches if I don’t have coffee or tea in the morning though. I didn’t know that I was as dependant on them as I am! Coffee’s goooood!!!! Can’t give it up
Several days without = it’s all good. I HAD to have diet soda in my viscinity at all times. Out of Diet Dew? Even though I had Diet coke I’d still run to the store./
You’re fine girl. And caffeine is supposed to be beneficial (this decade lol)
I totally feel you when I stopped drinking diet coke. Every time I drink it now, I feel just gross and realize how nasty it is! Addicting little thing! I was shaking and had massive headaches for days! Insane!
I’ve found that flavored water has been good for me….I like having a little flavor (not the Crystal Light, never liked that stuff). It is funny, I didn’t even realize it when I hadn’t had it for weeks on end. All the late nights are kicking my butt and sometimes, I’ll cave in.
Must get back on the no diet coke band wagon
Kudos to you!!! It is hard to break that addiction!
I had a coke zero last weekend to help my migraine…The first sip was like WHOA! But then it was good…like a little treat…I also drank it so much more slowly. I think it’s best to treat them as treats….or late night butt savers.
I agree, “as needed Diet Coke”
I hope reducing is going well for you! I eventually decided that I had to reduce my drinkage as I had too much ED crap associated with Diet Coke!
I actually think most people should stay away from Diet Soda…You never know how much “false energy”it is giving you.
Good on you Missy! The withdrawal must be awful, but your body will thank you for it. Keep up the good work and continue chugging the water.
M
Oh goody! You have a blog, too! It wasn’t showing up before. Can’t wait to check it out!
I relate to “Sunlight streaming through the window indicating the life I was missing” soooo much and it is a horrible feeling
.
Whenever I feel either physically, mentally or emotionally unable to do anything but cower in my bed, and I realise that it is a beautiful day outside, I feel so guilty that I am not out there “making the most of it” (I suppose I define myself as an outdoorsy kinda girl). Instead of feeling guilty it would probably be more helpful to feel determined to kick the butt of the demons that are keeping me stuck inside.
Anyway… great job with breaking the diet soda addiction – sorry to hear it’s been so rough. One thing I do want to say to you is please be careful that your eating disorder doesn’t try to sneak in on another front while you’re busy fighting the diet soda battle. You know what I’m trying to say? It’s a sneaky beast, make sure you regularly take a look around to see what it’s up to….
Keep fighting, x x x
It’s like I feel guilt and anger….like why did I do this to myself! Because diet coke withdrawal or not….I spend a lot of time like you see up there…isolating myself and missing life.
Thanks for the advice about the sneaky ED creeper…because actually this past week or so has been…not my best. I’m on auto-pilot and just skimping on my food and trying like mad to talk myself out of it.
I used berry and lemon/lime flavored La Croix/H20/general seltzer waters to get myself off of diet pop. Still a waste of money (c’mon, tap water = FREE!!!!! not $1/24 oz), but it really, really helped. Chemicals, bloating, aspartame/Splenda was messing me up. I binged a bit about 2 months after (while on vacation), but forced myself to come home and STAY AWAY from it again. You can do it!!!! Actually, the bubbles in sparkling water also seem to really help when my tummy is having (ED related
) digestive problems….
Hey, when on vacay? All is well…I never had any idea how much my drinking habit was contributing to my bloating and feeling yucky and gross.
And man, the mineral water I like? San Pellegrino and Garolsteiner…not in my budget!
I’d like to kiss my bad habit of working out late goodbye
That might be hard depending on your work/school/social life….but yes. working out late for me means by the time I get home, chill and all that It is usually 10 pm before I eat dinner which does not make a good night’s sleep.
Especially since I FEAST after not eating for so long.
I had a nasty caffeine addiction. I still do drink coffee, but it’s nowhere near the amount I used to.
Freshman and sophomore year I jumped full force on the coffee wagon and ended up drinking about 6 cups per day.
Probably because I consistently only allowed myself 4 hours of sleep.
Bad idea. Very Bad Idea.
I had to go without one day b/c I ran out and was snowed in. It was ridiculous how sick and weak I felt. Bone tired. I decided that enough was enough. The rest of the school year I weaned myself down to about 2 cups per day, and that summer I went coffee free for a month!
I still drink coffee because I love it, but now I drink 2 cups regular, 1 cup decaf each day, tops. Now when I have more, I start feeling sick!
Have you ever tried Kombucha? It’s a fermented tea that is bubbly and chock full of probiotics. It does taste kind of weird and it’s unsweetened, but I think it’s yummy! It contains some alcohol, as it’s fermented, but it’s classified as a non-alcoholic drink b/c the content is less than 0.5%
I think they sell it at most Natural/Whole foods stores/co-ops. Which means it’s kind of expensive
And way to go on breaking the diet soda habit! Not easy to overcome, but you’re conquering it
Nicole? Where have you been? LOL….I guess I have sort of kept my little Kombucha addiction under wraps but witness the evidence here:
http://missymiller.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/img_00431.jpg
Count the bottles…that’s one week’s stash…and approximately $45 bucks. I’m tying to grow my own.
Scary!! Now I’m glad I gave up pop a few years ago (totally worth it). Pop is gross and you will soon start to feel better then ever!
I have to admit, I almost had a little heart attack when I saw that you would go days without water. Eek! I can’t even imagine doing that!
I know…so gross. I drank plenty….just never water. I’d say even weeks!
Ew! I am grossing myself out.
Oh. My. God. Girl, trust me, I feel you. I have been SEVERELY addicted to that yummy caffeinated poisonous wonder for years. On Facebook there is a photo of me lying on the ground with my arms wrapped around a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi with the caption reading, “My One True Love.” I have tried to quit so, so many times (I’ve written a few posts about it over at my blog) and I’ve never been able to last for more than a few days. You are a braver woman than I.
“Chemical toxic sludge” made me laugh out loud. So true. But so darn delicious. Ugh.
The worst was that I expected a “few day” hump and I got a three week wallop!!!
sigh.
Oddly enough? Back in the day *feelslikeyesterday* I hated diet pepsi. I liked diet cherry pepsi, though and Pepsi One. BY THE WAY they are bringing that back! And I drank Pepsi Max, just for the crank factor.
EW! Just reading all my comment replies makes me realize even more how GROSS I was…i was like a coneissuer.
Hi, my name is Sarah and I’m a diet soda addict.
Gah…I can’t get off the stuff either! All the power to you for tackling this, girl! Water is so much better for us. Plus, I agree with you that the caffeine in diet soda probably gives me a lot of the energy I am not getting from food…which is bad. Any false sense of fullness or false sense of energy is not good in terms of ed.
I would like to tackle this soda addiction sometime too…(maybe…LOL). Please keep posting about it and tell us how you’re feeling in the near future!
I love you, Missy! ((hugs!))
Sarah
I will and I urge you to cut back just a little. Not sure if you were as bad as me, though. Morning. Noon. Night. EVERYDAY.
I am so happy that you commented on my blog so that now I could find your blog. Thank you for sharing with me your struggles. You are absolutely beautiful and I KNOW that you are doing awesome and keep fighting the battle honey because YOU ARE STRONG. I used to be a total diet soda addict but my dad bribed me 1.5 years ago to quit and I feel so so much better. That stuff is crazy. I hope you have an amazing weekend and yay for new blog friends!
Thanks so much! I love, love, love your blog. And I don’t even run or eat candy…lol….you just have that “thang”
Impressive pretty lady, getting rid of soda is tough. I’ve done it. I am a fellow no can do water girl. I will go days without regular water. I have begun to drink water with lime in it, or vitamin water. Have you tried vitamin waters? If you haven’t please do! I think you may fall in love with the Energy one! Hope you have a good weekend, what beautiful flowers too!
I’ve been drinking the seltzers above…but I actually had to cut out energy drinks a while back (which was hard) because they made me work out like a maniac without real fuel — part of me (the sick part) really loved that. Years ago I cut out the red bull and stuf but I recently discovered that Smart Water Zero and (my Favorite) LifeWater Zero have caffeine, ginseng, taurine and lots of other stimulants. I loved the one with Taurine…lol. That gives you wings.
So no energy drinks for me anymore. (Maybe today – I have a wedding to go to and I’m debating treating myself to a soda or a Lifewater.
I’m completely not one to talk, seeing as I’m nowhere near any sort of ED recovery…but then again, that also gives me the paranoid mentality to say this:
Ditching diet soda is fine, but ditching the ED is better. Though aspartame and carbonation weren’t doing your body any favors, they’re far less destructive than anorexia, and devoted enthusiasm toward overcoming a less-beloved vice can be a convenient excuse (even subconscious) for neglecting a more important, more difficult fight.
I know I’ve had more than my fair share of duplicitous “wellness campaigns”: oh, I’ll quit procrastinating/skipping class! (and “forget” to eat in the process); oh, I’ll quit purging! (and quit eating entirely); oh, I’ll cut out animal foods/processed sugars/wheat/caffeine/trans fats! (and “not realize” i’m not replacing the lost calories). It’s an easy cover, to others or to your own better judgment, to keep the ED out of the spotlight.
Your optimism and enthusiasm are inspiring, and you’re an amazing woman. But at some point…actions speak louder than words, no matter how right those words are.
Again, I know I’m in no place to judge, but I do know how this disease works, deception and brave-outer-face and all. Take care of yourself–I know you’d tell me the same in this situation.
Thanks for drawing that to my attention — you have such a way with words. Wow.
Sadly, you make a very VALID point — anoher comment mentioned the same thing and I am sorry to say I am neglecing my other fight a little.
I have to get my act together!
AGH I am so addicted too!
it’s what i chug when I’m stressed, it’s terrible.
I can go like a week without it and hten the cravings hit… I don’t think it’s much of a physical addiction for me though (I have like one a day, not quite every day) so I don’t feel TERRIBLE when I don’t have one I just crave it, y’know?
good for you for quitting! I need to get back on that bandwagon :/
You’re fine. Me? DAY AND NIGHT….errday. 365. So it’s all good. Have it once a week. I can see myself doing the same once I feel “safe” enough that I won’t be sucked back in.
Yeah, that’s definitely an issue for me… SOmetimes it’s easier to just not have it at all and when i start again I go back to having it every day! Oh well.
I also started with some naturally-sweetened things like sobe lifewater, coz they’re calorie-free but sweetened with something or other that’s not splenda/unnatural…
lots of good wishes for you <3
Sobe Lifewater….that caught my attention for quite a while. Gave me LOTS of energy…I have to stay away.
I’m sorry you’ve been in so much pain, but feel VERY proud of yourself for fighting through this! You are strong, my friend.
Thank you for sharing your struggle with this with us, as it is truely an eye-opener of the dangerous aspect of diet soda ( or any kind of addiction).
I was addicted to a lot of things, mostly chewing gum and sugar- free pastilles. I’m trying to let go off them now, and I’ve noticed a wonderful effect of eating more : reduced desire to chew gum
Keep fighting, you’ll win this war!
I’ve heard quitting chewing gum is a beast….congrats!
I have never been addicted to diet soda because my parents don’t buy it but I am def. addicted to COFFEE!
Oh wow! I dont drink soda and never really have. I actually dont really drink anything except water, besides when I take G2 gatorade to swim practice.
That’s the way I wanna be when I grow up. (0:
HAHA the (if you want) is a great ending! I love sparking water SO SO much. why is it so expensive
I guess most things that sparkle are expensive.
You can make your own seltzer I have heard.
I kicked the biting my nails habit!
I’d like to kick my ED to the curb (but we already knew that)
Yeah…I’m still trying to do that too!
I kicked the diet soda habit several years ago. It took me a long time in general to “like” water, but I finally did and do drink a fare amount of it, along with tea, coffee (not addicted but love it), and chocolate soy milk. I do admit, there are some days I crave a diet coke or a fresca, and really, I think that is okay.
Other habits I do need to work on is less splenda. and biting my nails. I’ve had that one forever!
Yup….every once in a while is no big thang. Mainlining it like I was is a problem. LOL.
Good luck on th enail biting! I’m trying to reduce the sweeteners too…but I’ll always have them in my life.
Good for you, Missy!!!
I’m luck in that I never fell into the soda trap. But, I can understand how hard it is to get out of it.
You’re doing great, lady! Also, hope you much better and completely ‘non-addictive’ soon.
<3
It is a trap!
I have some occasional diet soda, but very moderately. I enjoy learning moderation in many areas of my life now. Moderate feelings, moderate reactions… moderately rich treats.
I’d like to say good-bye to calorie counting. I have kept putting on grams. Do the same dear. I can only say that I feel better. Aches are going away. Liberation.
Moderation…that’s the ticket!
I believe I’ll have a diet soda once in a blue moon.
And good for you for saying goodbye to calories! I did that while back and it is hard to turn off the auto-calculator!
Eesh sorry it’s hitting you so hard — BUT I’m SO proud of you for taking this scary step! I’m actually slowly starting to cut down on all artificial sweeteners myself, so I’m with you on how hard it can be. We can do it!! <3
The artificial sweetener is on my list, too.
It makes me feel so string to succeed at these little challenges.
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