I have had a passionate love affair with soda for years. When I worked in construction I enjoyed close to 5 liters of Mountain Dew a day. I have cut back drastically since then and at times (health kicks) I have even stopped completely. These time I am usually tired and plagued by headaches that drive me back to the sugary substance.
When my readers chose healthy eating as their subject of discussion I decided to do 2 blogs. The first "What Would Jesus Eat", looked at eating from an almost spiritual perspective. This allowed me to not only to study the Bible, but also the newest scientific data on healthy eating. I was almost surprised to see that red meat and sodas were on the same playing field at the top of the food pyramid. I decided to quit drinking sodas for one week and inadvertently I also took a hiatus from red meat as well.
What is wrong with sodas? Where do I begin? Well, there is nothing wrong with their taste. They are delicious beyond compare. The problem lies with how they get that way. The fizzy goodness of carbonation robs the blood of the oxygen needed to perform any strenuous task. The sugar content provided by high fructose corn syrup is almost unrecognizable to our digestive system and stored mainly as fat. The sodium content guarantees that we will stay thirsty for more. The caffeine included is essentially an addictive drug, the likes of which have americans lined up at Starbucks every morning. Some sodas also contain phosphoric acid. This is the same acid used by dentists to remove tooth enamel before drilling.
The sad thing is I have known all of this for a long time. It is you the reader who has compelled me to step back and take a second look. I chose to take one week to test the waters of soda free living. I decided to chronicle my journey. Below is a journal of my soda (and red meat) free week.
Sunday: Today I had a small cup of coffee and two Advil to relieve the headaches that I was getting. I drank 2 liters of water within 2 hours time. Why doesn't water relieve my thirst? My body must be craving the sugar. I am beginning to doubt that I can do this.
Monday: No soda and less headaches, only one Advil today. The downside of today was that I had 5 doughnuts. I think that my body is craving the sugar it is used to getting. I couldn't stay awake past 11:30pm (I am normally up until around 1:00am).
Tuesday: No headaches today! I cut out the sweets but I feel famished. I can't seem to eat enough to make up for the calories I'm used to. I had 3 and a half sandwiches for lunch (usually 1).
Wednesday: I am starting to look at food differently. I ask why I want something and whether I should eat it. I went to a steakhouse today and had fish, a sweet potato and water. I didn't even want a steak.
Thursday: I still find myself avoiding junk food. I usually eat chips or a frozen pizza at night. I have been eating almonds or fruit with water all week so far. I still cannot seem to stay awake at night.
Friday: My energy level was up today and I am loving the water. I can't wait to have a soda on Sunday! We went to CiCi's and I had two salads with olive oil (what's wrong with me?).
Saturday: Plain yogurt and blueberries for breakfast, went to the park, and stopped by Krispy Kreme in Salibury. Hey, it was "HOT NOW" so don't judge me! I am feeling great, and I honestly do not know if I even want a soda tomorrow.
12 comments:
Diet Mt. Dew is your friend.
Awesome! Fyi, I heard Pepsi is going to remove high fructose corn syrup from ALL its products soon. (It's in their Minute Maid, etc. along with all their sodas). The more people become aware and speak out, the more companies will start to realize they just can't keep getting away with what they are doing or they will start to lose business. Anyway, great blog and funny too. :) Sooo, did you have yourself a soda today?? Everyone wants to know!
Nope. No soda yet today, but I don't know if I am ruling it out LOL. I think the Pepsi thing is a limited time deal. They just did the throwbacks with sugar only, but they taste different (not as sweet), so who knows if they will go over well. You can stock up on Coke at passover each year. They make a switch to sugar to make it Kosher and have white caps instead of red. The coke in bottles on the hispanic food aisle of most grocery stores contains sugar.
Oh yeah and Jason, not only are diet drinks disgusting (to me), but aspartame is linked to far worse things than obesity.
Thanks for the comments.
Scratch that Tiffany, the passover Cokes have yellow caps.
like what nate, every science study I have ever read on says
Aspartame has been tested for more than three decades, in more than 200 studies, with the same result: aspartame is safe
Nate, where have you been hiding all that fat you are talking about?
Good for you, Nate. You should try to talk your brother out of drinking soda. I do find it strange that not drinking soda would make your body crave healthier food. I rarely drink soda, and I unfortunately still love junk food. :)
Well I ended up having one can of soda today. It was not as good as it was a week ago.
Good for you Nate! You weren't even falling asleep in service yesterday :) I find it interesting that the effects are very similar to someone that stops drinking alcohol. They crave sweets and eat more food. Interesting . .
well done for trying n getin rid of soda! never drink any of it my self, just water n my vice tea! lol
kicked the soda habit about a year ago. Lost 15 pounds, just from not drink soda. However to do enjoy a tall ice cold glass of sprite every once in a while.
You call Sprite a soda? LOL
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