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.