I snagged this great icon from TAMN‘s blog because I completely relate. Before Taylor and I were together, drinking soda was only an occasional occurrence. And even more rarely did I consume caffiene. Enter Taylor – and I’ve become a 32 oz diet fountain drink junkie. I KNOW it’s horrible for me, and that NutraSweet and Splenda probably DO cause cancer. I’m hooked on Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Cherry Pepsi, Diet Dew and Coke Zero…especially if I can add a few squirts of cherry or vanilla syrup in.
I will add in that I typically DO drink at least 100 ounces of water per day. It’s not like my fizzy fix is all that I drink. But I have become dependent on cola, and these are the reasons I’ve figured out why:
1. I have sleep disorders – sleep apnea, daytime hypersomnia, and chronic insomnia. I’m up at all hours of the night. I’ve started snoring in the last 2 months. Since 2004, I’ve had 4 overnight sleep studies at a sleep clinic, plus a multiple sleep latency test to rule out narcolepsy (I’m borderline narcoleptic with 9 of 12 narcolepsy markers). When I lived in Utah, I had a a great sleep specialist who found out that the CPAP machine really didn’t help me, but Provigil did. It’s a non-stimulant, wake-promoting drug. As a side effect, it also causes loss of appetite. Part of overcoming sleep issues is losing weight. When I’m on Provigil, I can lose weight consistently and sleep at least 5 consecutive hours of sleep. The issue is that it’s VERY spendy. It’s $4 per pill before insurance. Every other doctor that I’ve been to since I left Utah has refused to prescribe it, and says I need to just use the CPAP. It’s my goal to find a good sleep specialist in Atlanta that will help me overcome these sleep issues so I can get the rest I need to lose weight.
2. I like the taste – I like the bubbly effervescence. I like the flavor on my tongue. I like to drink something different than water. I like the sweet aftertaste. I’m not sure if this factor will ever go away. But I don’t like the bloat, or what it does to my teeth.
3. It makes me feel good – Nothing helps a migraine like a Mt. Dew chaser after a pain pill. It gives me energy to get through a tough workday. It keeps me focused on a long road trip.
4. Taylor loves it – We are so good at sabotaging each other. Sometimes I can go a week without a soda, but he’ll come home from a trip and pour me a glass, and I can’t refuse.
Some people will tell me that I’ll never lose the weight if I keep drinking soda. I know that caffiene is an appetite stimulant; however, if given the choice of a low calorie treat…I’ll take the bottle of Coke over a low-fat fake dessert. I don’t drink coffee or alcohol, so those are two less liquid consumables to tempt me. Pick your poison, I suppose.
My goal is to stop getting any soda larger than 20 oz. No more 32, 44, or 64 ounce monsters.
I’m sorry we missed each other this past weekend. I got your message, but promptly got busy than I had anticipated. I was hoping to find some time and let you know that we could get together. It never came. I ended up having two nephews with spontanious b-day parties that day.
So I have strong opinions about soda!! I have been consistantly soda free for almost 15 years now. How did I over come? I decided to choose comfort over a very short lived, minor enjoyment. It took maybe a couple of years for me to completely squelch my desire to drink it. When it was offered to me was the hardest times. Now I have zero desire and no problem politely turning down offers.
Also, sleep issues. Loosing the weight will be huge for you. I’ve had some major health issues, sleep being one of them, and after loosing the weight I’ve been able to get rid of most of them.
Keep up the hard work!