the diet coke diaries: the beginning of the end

I'm a HUGE diet coke fan.

It's actually freaked me out for a while now, how much I love it. And other people too. I feel like if you are a diet coke drinker, that's all you drink as far as pop goes. If you're a pop drinker in general, it seems like you don't care much for diet coke. strange. I realize there are probably a million exceptions, but based on the people I know, we LOVE our diet coke.

I started drinking it more in college I think. We never really had pop in the house growing up. But in college I could get it in the caf, which was awesome. And then when we were in Spain, I remember going to Gibraltar and FINALLY getting "real" diet coke, as opposed to Coca Cola Light, which is NOT the same. I even took a picture of myself drinking it I was so happy. So clearly, somewhere in those 4 years, I became what some my call an addict.

And then we moved back to the States where it was available all the time. I started drinking it more often, and always had it in the house. Even through my pregnancies, it seemed like I craved it MORE than ever, and if you don't know me at all, I'm not really a "by the books" kind of person when it comes to that. I probably had at least one a day (probably more) during all my pregnancies, and nursing for the whole year after, even though you're not really supposed to have caffeine.

And then at some point I started having one with my lunch and my supper without exception. Which makes two a day. at least. for a LONG time. and maybe occasionally I'd have one in the afternoon when I just wanted something refreshing.

oh, and I NEVER drank water. hardly EVER. or milk, except with cereal. It was really the main source of liquid in my life for a very very long time.

I know all the info about aspartame, and how horrible it is. I even tried to quit drinking it a number of times. And it worked, for a while. but then I'd buy a box again, and that was the beginning of another cycle.

In the last couple years, I finally decided to stop trying to quit drinking it. People have their guilty pleasures, and mine was diet coke. I was a diet coke drinker. end of story.

But then...
while I was on vacation, and my hubby was home working...
he got an idea...
to CUT CAFFEINE FROM HIS DIET.

and he informed me over the phone. and in that moment, I decided to stand by my man, and do it with him.

So, after I finished all the diet coke that I brought home from the cabin leftovers, we quit drinking caffeine. So I started to buy caffeine free diet coke. :) but seriously? it just wasn't the same. so...DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN......

I quit. altogether.

sort of.

I don't buy it for the house anymore. so if we go out, I still have it. which is what sort of means.

Ok, so the only problem was that it TOTALLY messed me up. after having two or three a day for the better part of 7 years, and cutting completely off, I was a mess. falling asleep in the middle of the day, dragging dragging dragging all day every day. and then when I'd have like ONE glass, I'd be up til like 3 am going stir crazy in my bed. I was a total mess.

And then my kids were gone for a week, and it was my "crank it out 2011" time for the pinkadink, so I NEEDED to be productive. and, well, productivity=diet coke. and I drank A LOT of it that week, because I also took the week off of cooking too, so we went out a lot. :)

but then it was back to the grind. back to the exhaustion. but I survived. and didn't really regret my week of indulgence. :)

and that was like 3 weeks ago. I think I'm doing good! (don't you????) :)

I keep thinking I'll get to the point where diet coke actually grosses me out. and I'll wonder how in the heck I drank so much of it every day. But I'm still FAR from that place.

I think about it every day. at least twice a day. probably more.

I miss it. I miss it soooo much.

I still go crazy when I do have it, and can't sleep at night. but my productivity skyrockets, which is awesome. and totally worth it, which is really sad.

so, my friends, this is the diet coke diaries. I'm hoping it's short lived. that very soon I'll be writing my "grossed out" post. But this is my journey, where it started, and where I am now.

it's one step at a time. so tonight, since it's Friday Night Movie Night, I'm sipping diet coke with my pizza, and loving every minute of it. and the good news is that Monday is my birthday, and we'll be going out to eat, and I might give myself the gift of a diet coke with my meal.

oh, and ah....I have a dentist appointment in a couple weeks, after not being there for almost SEVEN years, and drinking one or two or three diet cokes every day since then. so. yeah. I'm thinking the "grossed out" post might come after I pay that bill. good chance it will.