Several of you warned me, many of you silently watched me afraid to say anything, and some of you joined me. When I finally decided to break it off, they tried to win me back through fancy marketing (the BFF can was created with me in mind), but I resisted, and I hope that those of you I corrupted will break it off soon too. For those of you who don’t know me, I am talking about my addiction to Diet Coke.
As long as I can remember my family has been consuming Coca-Cola products. As a child we drank “the real thing”, or Coca-Cola, but sometime during high school we switched to Diet Coke. Some of my fondest memories include a Diet Coke, or maybe a few. I drank Diet Coke during college all nighters, and when I returned from studying abroad in Europe it was the first thing I wanted (with extra ice of course). When I was traveling between St. Louis and New York as a retail buyer I drank them, and when I was studying at night while completing my Master’s Degree I consumed them. During the last nine years my students brought me Diet Cokes for Christmas, my husband brought me numerous ones on his way back from basketball practice, friends brought me 32 ounces with extra ice when I needed a pick me up, and Black Friday with my sister just wasn’t the same without a Diet Coke from McDonald’s.
In January when I decided to start the journey to Real Health, Wealth, and Happiness, I knew I had to give up my beloved Diet Coke. As I started to do research about real eating, articles and reports pointed to how toxic Diet Coke is to us, and I just couldn’t justify my addiction any longer. I watched the The American Parasite (check it out on YouTube) and it made sense to me. Just recently an article about the declining sales of diet soda and the link between aspartame and health problems reinforced my decision, and my desire to encourage you to make the same decision. (http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/12974-is-this-the-end-of-diet-soda.html?c=jer)
I am not going to lie to you, the first few weeks after giving it up were a little rough, and there were more than a couple of times I drove into McDonald’s and then found my will power before I placed my order. Proudly seven months later I am Diet Coke free! I feel better, my teeth and nails are healthier, my wallet is a little fatter, and I no longer crave it. Whatever your addiction is, make a decision to stop for your health and wealth, and then find a support system to encourage you. The community we are creating at Real Health, Wealth, and Happiness is here to cheer you on! I'd love to hear your comments about what food or drink additions you have that you want to break. Please encourage others to join us on Facebook and soon on Twitter. Next topic what the heck can I eat?
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