I have now been free of Diet Coke for six days and 4 hours, not that I'm really counting! The last one I had was last Tuesday for lunch and I'm finally feeling better.
Why give it up? I came to the realization that Diet Coke, even the caffeine-free version, just wasn't that healthy. The epitome came the other day when I was grabbing lunch at Whole Foods and asked where the Diet Coke was. The worker (rather snidely) told me that the store carried only natural products and that Diet Coke was definitely NOT natural. So instead, I investigated their cold drinks section and discovered a wonderful world of really cool drinks! I grabbed a bottle of MetroMint Peppermint Water which was, well, minty.
I've since been trying all sorts of new waters out, ranging from Propel (which I drank all the time while training for the Wildflower triathlon earlier this year) to the Vitamin Water series. It's actually pretty fun!
The downside was the caffeine withdrawal -- I just felt out of it for several days. The benefit has been that I'm sleeping a lot better a night (I'm a chronic insomniac -- note the title of this blog!) and the cravings for that Diet Coke are starting to wane.
So I bid adieu to a beloved friend that has served me well for decades. And onwards to new drinks! So if you have any suggestions on caffeine-free drinks (and preferrably, somewhat low calorie), please add them to the comments!
