Hey there Hey! It's Thursday! And yes, I skipped blogging yesterday, and I'm feeling deeply guilty over it. Sort of. But I have a commitment elsewhere that's demanding all my attention, so something had to give.
Full disclosure, most of today's blog is stolen from another place where I occasionally blog. In case you're wondering, it's from my blog there. It seemed like something I could share here, so here we go.
I was listening to Rachel Hollis' Girl, Wash Your Face today (again) and she was discussing when she gave up pop (or soda or whatever you call it where you're from). It reminded me, Hey! I gave Diet Coke, too--that's the specific drink she gave up.
I stopped drinking Diet Coke (or any pop) just shy of two years ago. It will be two years on September 1st.
Full truth: I have a Diet Coke addiction. Even two years out, I have to say that I'm still an addict. It'll be a super-hot day or, I don't know, a day, and I'll just randomly think, "A diet Coke would be really good right now." The cooler at the checkout lane is a big temptation. I swear the Coke Zeros just scream at me. "You want me. You want me!"
I don't think I ever understood addiction until I gave up my Diet Coke/Coke Zero. Now, I know, a Diet Coke addiction is nothing compared to other addictions that you can have. But it gave me a taste of what that's like. Because for no reason, I will just crave it. And I used to drink up to four 20-oz bottles a day. And why not? No calories, right?
Oh my gosh. Please. You don't have to tell me how bad it is for you. I know. I've heard. It didn't stop me from drinking it, though. Now that I have, I drink water and coffee and occasionally iced tea. I'm pretty fond of sparkling water, too. The fizz without all the additives.
Mostly, it's water water water water water. I actually love water now. I used to hate it. Why drink water when I could have a Diet Coke? Have you seen the movie Idiocracy where they're giving plants a Gatorade-like substance instead of water? That was kinda like me--giving myself a soft drink instead of water.
I know, I know... sodium, chemicals, etc... According to Wed MD, diet soft drinks don't necessarily cause weight gain. And that's one of the things that people will tell you. You'll gain weight even though you're drinking Diet Coke. Most articles that say so you'll gain weight because of Diet Coke cite a very small study not the large group of studies needed for conclusive evidence.
But chemicals, people... Nuff said.
That aside, I'm not going to rehash the bazillion reasons health experts say not to drink the stuff. I'm not a health expert. But I can speak to my own experience, and what's happened with me...
For me, diet soft drinks:
I find that they are somewhat mood altering. They swing me high and low (kinda like other addictions would).
They give me awful headaches. I've suffered from migraines for years, often getting them several times a week. In the past year, I've had three really bad migraines. Like three. The whole year. Yeah, I still get headaches, but migraines? I've only had a couple.
I crave a lot less sugar when I'm not drinking them. Shocking but true. I don't know why, but I'll go with it.
Diet drinks also make my joints ache. I have no idea why. I think it's something I don't want to even face, something to do with deteriorating your joints and bones. Ugh. Anyway, I can tell you from experience, it does make my joints ache.
I think those things are really good reasons to give up the stuff for good. And two years later, I feel so much better. And I know it's healthier not to drink the diet soft drinks. So I'll just keep up with that trend.
Anyhow, that's why I don't drink pop. That's why I don't intend to ever go back again.
Today, August 8, 2019
I'm still chasing my deadline. As soon as I'm done with this post, I'm back at the words. I'm 4K from my proposed word count. That's so not happening. I think I have a good 10K from the end of the book. So it'll come in at least 5-6K over projection.
Later today, I'll be chasing down an Impossible Whopper. Supposedly, they were released nationwide today and I want to try one. And I'm going to enjoy the incredible weather we're having. It's the high-seventies and sunny with a breeze. Perfect!
Oh! Don't forget The Problem With Billionaires is up for pre-order on Amazon. It will release one week from today!
Have a fantastic Thursday!
~~Brynn