Diet Coke Detox...Day 2

Happy New Year, everyone! OK, so it's actually been really FUN talking about my plans to quit drinking Diet Coke (and any diet colas...Diet Coke just happens to be my all time favorite). I'm overwhelmed by the support! I even had a friend ask me on a walk yesterday if I was the type of person who likes to be asked how they're doing on a resolution or goal, or if I don't want to be 'bothered' by that. How thoughtful...I had to think for a minute on how to answer! I guess I just assumed people might ask me about it occasionally since I've been so public about it (here, Facebook, talking with family and friends). And asking about it is just fine with me - I went public to help hold myself accountable!

Today is Day 2, but actually it's been less than 24 hours. I had my last Diet Coke around lunch time yesterday and switched to just plain old water. I do like the bubbles in sodas so I was thinking about getting some sparkling water too, but my sister-in-law said to watch out for sodium in sparkling water, which can make some people feel (ironically) dehydrated! Wow...I honestly have never looked at the labels on water before - good to know! Thankfully, plain "still" water is fine too...I do actually drink a lot of it during the day and at my most recent job - which happened to be in the health insurance industry - EVERYONE drank water all the time. There was usually a small line at the water dispenser in the cafeteria to fill up water bottles! Now THAT was good peer pressure.

So I embarked on my new journey this morning by not cracking open a Diet Coke first thing, but pulling out the coffee maker and grinder. I recently purchased some whole bean coffee from Forza Coffee Company, a coffee I had never heard of until recently. Sadly, the Forza Coffee Company in Lakewood, WA (near Tacoma) is where 4 cops were murdered in late November. I figured purchasing some coffee from there was a small way to honor the 4 and their families, and the business where they were sitting that morning just doing paperwork like they always did on Sundays.

Call me crazy, but the sound of my coffee grinder brings a smile to my face. I use it only on special occasions. A pot of decaf for dinner guests. Or, coffee in the morning when I have a man in my life. So romantic to linger over coffee and the paper together. Sigh, today it's just me. And to throw in an even healthier dose of goodness, I whipped out a bowl of granola and skim milk. Usually it's all I can do to cut off a small hunk of cheddar cheese, brush my teeth, put on lipstick and dash out the door to get to work. But I'm back to full time job hunting, so no more daily commute for awhile.

People have shared numerous stories about quitting Diet Coke, from how it wasn't any big deal, to having severe, fiery withdrawal headaches, screaming and sweats before finally busting through. I am scared, but more excited than scared. If I can get rid of some bloat and extra pounds that have likely crept up as a result of sodas that will motivate me even more to get in the gym and train for my next 5K.

I'm not sure if I believe all the hype going around about Diet Coke and its links to heart disease, or that is causes mutiple sclerosis, leeches calcium out of the bones and on and on. I do know that whenever those emails get fired up they end up in my inbox, as my friends often send those "reports" my way. I guess diet sodas are nothing but chemicals, and all those chemicals can't be good and have zero nutrition, so they aren't any benefit for sure!

You know what I hate about coffee? Coffee breath. Yuck. Any ideas on how to combat this other than brushing teeth and chewing gum please let me know.

And there are so many more goals ahead for 2010: 5K training, weight loss, finding a new job...wondering, wishing that the pro bono work I've been doing could really take off and turn into something great (and paying for the entire team!). We've now got shared office space in a great location, so we're moving on from having meetings in the library!

I will continue to post about how the Diet Coke detox is going, good, bad and ugly. Now, where did I put my water cup...and Motrin?