One of my biggest struggles in trying to get healthy is trying to stop drinking diet cola. There is more and more research that points to the fact that diet soda is REALLY bad for you, and I drink at least a half gallon a day.
Besides lovely things like kidney problems, it’s been found that diet soda actually contributes to obesity! From what I understand, the sweetness of artificial sweeteners tricks your body into thinking it had sugar, and triggers an insulin response. Because you didn’t eat any carbs/sugars though, the insulin doesn’t have any sugar to process, and you have a state called hyperinsulinemia. Now your body thinks it needs food, because insulin is high and there are no sugars for it to process. The result is you get hungry and want to eat, and you don’t feel energetic because your body thinks you may be starving and conserves as much as possible. If at the same time you’re taking in more calories than you need (imagine a typical burger, fries, and a diet coke scenario), the extra insulin very efficiently helps store the extra as fat. All this from diet soda!
Ok, so I know why it’s bad for me, but why can’t I stop?! I’m actually down from a gallon a day a few years ago, so that’s a start, but right now I’m having two particular problems. One is in the morning on my way to work. That’s when I really feel like I NEED a soda, because I use it for my wake-me-up caffeine kick. My solution here would be to drink iced tea instead, but iced tea takes 5 minutes I hate spending in the morning, plus a cup from home I have to cart around all day and then bring home and wash. I know, first world problems, but seriously, diet soda is at McDonalds, and I go there anyway, and it’s only a dollar! Ugh. The second time is easier. It’s at lunch. I already have my soda cup from breakfast, and a refill is 50 cents ay the cafeteria. I have a choice there though, I can get iced tea instead. My current roadblock is that the iced tea is usually out when I get there, so I get…a diet soda. Aaargh.
What about making or finding healthy drink options (I am sure some of your W.W. friends might know) that come in a can or that you can make ahead of time, and bring with you in a commuter cup. I use to keep Ice Tea in my fridge when I was home so I wouldn't drink so much coffee. It worked
ReplyDelete