On December 10, 2014 my personal diet soda moratorium went into effect. Over a month has passed. The moratorium is still in effect. I have not seen any adverse effects. My process for selecting drinks with meals has changed. I have to make the conscious choice to order water or coffee at restaurants.
For the most part, I now only drink pure juice (nothing with any sugar added), black coffee, espresso, green tea, and water. Sometimes, I accidently consume a juice with some sugar added. Overall, I have lost weight and had more energy. Both of those things could be attributed to my increase in exercise.
I do not miss drinking diet soda or regular soda. Obviously, the diet soda moratorium was expanded to include all soda, sports drinks, and energy drinks. At the same time the diet soda moratorium went into place, I also made an effort to give up all candy except dark chocolate. I’m sure my lingering interest in dark chocolate developed after reading a bunch of articles about a looming chocolate shortage.
Plans do not always work. This plan mostly worked. The diet soda moratorium plan is still in place indefinitely. My plan to switch to coffee in the morning and green tea in the afternoon was for the most part successful. I just started drinking coffee throughout the day vs. drinking green tea in the afternoon. This month I will focus on adding more green tea to my diet.
I’m still unclear on the ultimate scientific answers related to diet soda. However, that ambiguity is enough of a cautionary tale to support my change in diet. Overall, I still believe that, “I do not need to consume diet soda.”
