Diet Coke, I Have Defeated You

I know I've mentioned this on our blog before, but I have officially delivered Diet Coke the knock-out punch in my life.

Ok, I just wanted to give you a second to absorb that statement. That is a BIG DEAL, especially if you know how much Diet Coke I ingested in college. I would like to give a brief history of my Diet Coke addiction, dating back to my freshman year at Covenant. DC was once my crutch, but I have thrown it under the bus.

My addiction started with my freshman roommate Brigit. She came drinking Diet Coke. At first I thought that was pretty gross... how can you drink that stuff that has such a nasty aftertaste? But somehow I was lured in by the whole this-drink-has-no-calories, even though I should have figured out that you can't get something for nothing. I started thinking that Diet Coke was really good. Yumm, this stuff is not as bad as I thought diet drinks were. Hmm, this tastes almost like the real thing. Yumm, this stuff is amazing. WOW, this is BETTER than the real thing... you get the point. Slowly Diet Coke went from something I didn't care about to a real love affair.

That was only my freshman year. As the years at Covenant passed, I found fellowship with fellow DC drinkers. It was wonderful to drive down the mountain to Winn-Dixie, grab the 12 packs on sale, and pack them into the mini college fridges. We were like old-fashioned neighbors, borrowing Diet Cokes from each other instead of eggs or a cup of sugar. As my academic journey continued and matured, I began to lean on DC more and more heavily to fuel my late-night academic pursuits. Big test tomorrow? Get out the DC. Roommates sleeping but you need another can? Sneak in and get one REAL quiet. It worked like a charm.

Then I graduated from Covenant and joined the work force. My first job was a personal training position at a health club which is all well and good, apart from the fact that I had to be there at 5 AM every morning. With Josh at Covenant and me in Peoria, you can imagine that we spent a lot of time on the phone... to the tune of about 2 or sometimes 3 hours every night, lasting into the wee hours of the morning. The alarm went off at a brutal 4:15 am, and I dragged my sorry self out of bed, bemoaning my employment at such a ridiculous hour. A cup of coffee would suffice for the first part of my shift, but then I usually needed a Diet Coke to get through the second part. And not just any Diet Coke- not a can from the fridge, oh no. I needed a POLAR POP. If you live in Peoria you may know that Polar Pops are sold at Circle K gas stations. They are very cheap and very huge. Put just a smidge of ice in the bottom, fill to the brim with the drink of your choice, and drink to your heart's content for a mere 64 cents. Can that deal be beaten???

I kept up this routine until I decided I needed to quit for 2 reasons. First, I needed to preserve the integrity of my teeth. I've always had chalky, cavity-prone teeth, and I'm sure the constant onslaught of carbonation was not doing any good for them. Second, I was uneasy about the barrage of aspartame (the sweetener in Diet Coke) on my organs. Yes, the FDA says it's safe, but for someone who drank as much as I did, I think there needed to be further studies. I vowed to myself that as soon as I married Josh, I would quit drinking Diet Coke once and for all.

Now I can't say that I've quit completely... I occasionally still have a drink or two. But it's the change of heart that's encouraging to me. I am now a diversified carbonated beveridge drinker. I drink the spectrum, from real Coke to Cherry Coke to Dr. Pepper to root beer. I think getting pregnant was my biggest impetus in kicking my DC habit, since I wasn't so sure about a sweet developing baby being inundated with lots of aspartame. So folks, I'm done for the most part, and I'm not looking back. Life past Diet Coke is good.

Happy Tuesday!