It as been such a beautiful day! We spent most of the night hanging out outside! Maybe I am starting to actually enjoy the fall weather..
Today I received an email asking my thoughts on soda. I figure it would make a good informative post.
sourceLets just say, I used to be a carbonation queen! In high school there was rarely a day I went without a sprite for breakfast (Yes, breakfast!) and a 55 oz of Dr. Pepper along with my Wendys 5 piece chicken nuggets for lunch..
Although, I was very active in high school as a member of the drill team and dance company, dancing 3-6 hours everyday. I was weaksauce.
I will proudly admit it. I hated running because it was just plain hard. (Would you ever guess that?) I literally would hide behind bushes with my friend (Hi Lauren!) and watch my teammates lap me.. (that is until my coach figured out our genius plan.)--. (Hi, Jamie!!) But I hid because I could not run without gasping for air or without stopping for a long period time.. and I was a lazy high school student. Do I blame it on just soda? No, I don't-- I blame it on poor nutrition and that soda was big a part of it.
It wasn't until I graduated that I actually took the switch to Diet Coke.. I could NOT get through my day without it and I would frequently stop at McDonalds to get my fix., even at 7 am on my way to work.
I was addicted.
I later got a job as a dental assitant and learned the negative effects that soda takes on your teeth and the amount of sugar that is contained in that small can of sweet nectar. REAL sugar and/or Artificial.
*Some sodas can contain up to a 1/2 CUP of pure sugar in a 12 oz CAN! Check out this sugar stack!
* High consumption of sugary soda breaks down enamel of your teeth causing cavities
As I entered my nutrition class in my first year of college, I learned more about the negative effects of carbonation, caffeine, aspartame and the toll it takes on the body.
*Just because its "diet" soda doesn't mean its a "healthier" choice.
* Soda is soda and sugar is sugar. Artificial sugar or not.
Read more about other effects here.
(Side note*Do I actually think it leads to weight gain? No.. I actually know a lot of fit people that drink soda.. but I also know a lot of people that are overweight that drink it. I think it is just individualistic and mostly depends on the nutrition of that person.)
I cut back significantly! Cold turkey actually. I experienced withdrawl symptoms..
Headaches, fatigue, and of course had to deal with peer pressure.
Quitting wasn't easy. But after a week I just felt better. No bloating, no caffiene crash, no addicting need to get my "fix".
After a month, I didn't even crave it. In fact, I saved alot of mulah...
I didn't have any carbonation for a whole year!!! Then I had a diet coke on a road trip and took a sip and actually had to cough like a smoker.... the carbonation was so bubbly I could only handle a few swigs and called it good!
Now, I just choose to not drink it. I do however will have a drink here or there.--(late night road trips, football games, etc.) But rarely do I drink the whole thing (just because I can't). But just enough to stay awake ;) I'm a little sensitve to caffeine now...
Now, I know alot of people who enjoy their diet coke and that is just fine. Its really your own choice. I used to drink it and it was dang good when I did. I would recommend not drinking it for a month and see how you feel.
Maybe you've done that already. Cool. No difference? I don't know, I'll just leave that up to you.
Not drinking soda is just a conclusion I came to for me.
I'll just stick to my shakes..
I added a little something to my post workout shake...
Freeze dried fruit!!!
I usually give these to the babes for snacks and they didn't finish this bag so I decided to dump it in my shake and it was SO good!!
Time to get some stuff ready for my race this weekend! I'm off for the night!
Catch ya in the morning!
Q. Whats your favorite soda beverage of choice?
I like root beer. It has to be homemade root beer.. That is something I can never pass up. Also, Root beer flavor ice cream? Yes please.
I was a total dc sddict for a longggg time! I quit cold turkey after college an only drink it when we goout to eat now. Great post
ReplyDeleteI felt like I was addicted to caffeine (for real) so I quit cold turkey in April ish this year and haven't gone back! It's been great. It was hard at first, but I'm glad I did. Sometimes I still have a little DC craving, so I'll get a small Caffeine Free Diet Coke, and I can't even finish the whole thing. I do like Root Beer though - it's hard for me to pass up a good root beer float. I also actually really like the izze sodas. I think they're delicious!!
ReplyDeleteMountain Dew was my addiction. I was working early morning stock crew at my job and going to school full time- and consuming at least 64 oz a DAY! After a while I switched to caffiene free, then after about a month or two I quit altogether. I have been dew "sober" for 6 years! And my hubby and I only have soda in the house when we're having a burgers on the grill (cause burgers go down better with soda ;) but that isn't very often. I honestly can say that I feel better in general when I don't drink soda. I agree about the bloating, tiredness and all of that. You don't notice how yucky it makes you feel until you've given it up.
ReplyDeleteI used to drink a lot of Diet Coke but stopped cold turkey too and happy I did! I will drink a Diet Hansen's occasionally now or another type of all natural diet soda, but my favorite drink is flavored seltzer water :D
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