Nope, not heroin.
Not alcohol.
Not pot.
DIET. COKE.
This list summarizes my love affair with Diet Coke.
Don't get my wrong, I'm jonesing just writing the words. I LOVE Diet Coke. In a 'would marry it' kind of way. It has been my poison of choice since I was eight years old.
But something has changed, and that thing is watching my mother dissolve into Alzheimer's. As far as a way to shake you up and make you rethink your life choices, seeing something like this happening is pretty impressive; particularly when you read about causality and other links to disease. I ended up trying Isagenix on a friend's recommendation, and thus having access to a great number of people who seemed to be worried about the same thing I was (i.e. not having my brain fall out).
In addition, at the clinic where I get my acupuncture, there is a naturopath- so I asked my acupuncturist about her, and she recommended her highly. So off to the naturopath I went!
I finally confessed to the scope of my habit, and she (as a professional) said, "well, you should definitely cut down on the Diet Coke" [paraphrasing]. She also suggested the GAPS diet, as I struggle with anxiety and depression; but she warned me "it's pretty extreme".
How bad could it be?
Note: This motto could be my epitaph.
So I looked up the GAPS diet and reviewing the Isagenix 30 day cleanse plan; and decided that is probably a great way to 1)detox from the aspartame, 2)detox off the caffeine,and 3) regain some control of my wayward brain and gut.
Honestly, numbers 1 and 2 were my biggest priority: studies have warned about the health impact, some others naturally contradict it. But on the GAPS diet, aspartame is a no-no, and on the SCD diet it's flat out called a 'neurotoxin'
And apparently it helps keep us fat by wanting even more sweetness, so my beloved Diet Coke was about to leave my diet. I have found some real help online, in the form of another Diet Coke Addict, Susan Shapiro and Tracy made me realize I wasn't alone with this embarrassing habit that I just couldn't quit.
I figured cold turkey was the best way to go. Bearing in mind it was pretty much the ONLY liquid I drank, this was going to take some doing. I drank my last can on Friday, September 5th, and started my cleanse the next morning.
I'd be lying if I said it was any fun. I spent the first 48 hours with screaming behind-the-eyes headaches, and generally feeling like death was a great alternative to this existence. However, the ends justify the means, right? So even though my husband was all, "SERIOUSLY JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT" by day 2 (though I hadn't threatened to kill anyone, so really how bad could it have been?), I refused to give in. I have had more water in the intervening days than I think I had in the past decade! Others have been in this place, and say it takes at least two weeks to really clear out.
So we're now on day five, and so far, so good. I can honestly say I have consumed less sweet things after killing my "beverage" habit (because DC and chocolate are meant to go together, right?), but I'm trying not to stress to much about eating.
I think the bubbles were part of addiction in the truest sense of the word:
Inability to consistently Abstain;
Impairment in Behavioral control;
Craving; or increased “hunger” for drugs or rewarding experiences;
Diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships; and
A dysfunctional Emotional response.
Yep.
All of the above.
Snarkychaser's blog has a great article on the subject of being addicted to this stuff.
Slowly but surely I will work myself free, but it's more than just aspartame singing me its siren song.
It's the whole ritual around the beverage that has made it what it is for me, so part of my detox is changing the behaviours that surrounded it. Another large part will be the nutritional changes to support the new habits.
*For more on the Isagenix system I'm using, click here.
