MrTumble

Hi, my name is MrTumble and im a Diet Cokaholic...

I drink 3-4 of these a night and just reading up on it, apparently it does some grim stuff to your insides and theres a host of other problems caused by it that youd want to avoid.

Is anyone else drinking DC in similar amounts? what are your thoughts?

wheresthefun

I inhale the stuff, only I stop by 5:00 PM most days because of the caffeine.

I guess I should add, for me it's not that much different from when I was a "drinker" (of alcohol). I have been a Diet Coke fiend for decades.

soberlicious

I used to be, but in an effort to drink more water, I just naturally cut back on it (my poison was Coke Zero, but same dif) and now I don't even buy it. I drink mainly water and chai tea. Now...the coffee problem...that's a different story...

MrTumble

i might see if i can "moderate" my diet coke consumption.. haha ! (im not hopeful)

Hmm, so its possible to quit? Im torn, do i really want to quit? damn !

soberlicious

idk...I mean I didn't quit drinking just so I could die from some fake chemical stuff eating my guts out from under me. But...man...it sure is deeeelisshh. Don't you kinda wish you could unread what you read about it?

Dilemma for sure. Quandry time.

FeelingGreat

Try to balance it with green tea although you might need to try a few brands to find one you like. It's not my favourite drink but I visualise it being full of anti-oxidants doing my body good. Goes down ok; it's like drinking water.

MrTumble

Oh I drink lots of green tea, every day, I adore a gooood jasmine tea, but difficult to come by outside of asia, but im english, we love tea. however, this diet coke/zero stuff hits the spot for me in the evenings, 3 cans tonight :-/

MrTumble

Yeah, I hear you... I quit smoking and booze, i should theoretically be able to rip my own eyes out without blinking after that... but its damn "moreish"

CBR

It sure beats the gallons of booze I used to consume. Diet Cola is bad for us in many ways though. The caffeine, so I drink caffeine free. The Aspartane sweetener that has many nuerotoxic side effects. Some sodas use Splenda ie Diet Rite. Also the Phosphorus in the soda leeches calcium from our bones. I bought the Soda stream machine that allows me to use caffeine free syrup with Splenda as a sweetener. It is very economical and no carrying heavy bottles. Good for the enviorment too. You can also try alternatives to Cola. But I only like the Cola. I like Diet Pepsi but Soda Stream tastes like Diet Coke.
I pick my poison and am much better off on diet Coke than Vodka any day!

CBR

Wow great job! I can't seem too kick the butts too. My next project I guess.

MrTumble

quit the smokes 13 months ago, very very very VERY happy to have invested the energy in that as it pays back like a jackpot. Its life transforming like quitng booze and 100% positive.

wheresthefun

Okay, so I know it's basically battery acid. I stopped for a few months last year, BUT unlike other "things" I've cut out of my life, I didn't feel any different, I didn't look any different, I didn't act any different... So I figured what the heck, I know it's not good for me, but do I have to give up EVERYTHING, just because it might not be good for me??? Yeah, maybe I'll live a little longer if I give up diet soda, but I actually like Diet Coke, sooooooooooooo...

Yet, I constantly toy with the idea of giving it up, go figure?

Booniecat

I had to lay off the diet soda because it was taking the enamel off my teeth. My thing is unsweetened ice tea. I can go through gallons of it. Being from the South and raised on sweet tea, it was a chores to adapt to unsweetened. Now, I like it much more.

I did not smoke but used smokeless tobacco (Skoal) from the time I got up till I went to bed. I quit tobacco in all forms in October 2012 but am still chewing nicotine gum.

I have always heard about addictive personalities and I must be the type. It doesn't matter what, I have a tendency to overdue it. Doritos - whole bag. Peanuts - whole can. Beer or vodka - as much as I had on hand. Back in the day when I smiled pot - as much as possible.

At least now the booze and tobacco are off the table. Now for the healthier eating and decent exercise.

Any of the rest of you have issues with overdoing things besides alcohol?

sweepee

i'm a diet any kinda drink-aholic. drink way more than that in a day. i know all the artificial sweetner is not good...but i have switched to no caffiene...now if i could switch to no alcohol as easily.

something i saw yesterday drinking alcohol with diet drinks is worse than regular because it gets to your bloodstream faster :/

and thinking no caffiene was a good thing, just read an article it's ok & may have benefits...wt?

:/ it's always something that's gonna kill ya in the end....

Ghostly

Yes! I think many of us have issues with moderation of a lot of things. If I have one, I'll have the whole bag. That's why I attempt to abstain from so many things.

I used Skoal too...been years, but I miss it. Got to the point where I was going through a tin a day.

soberlicious

uh...yeah..my shoe habit is bordering on the absurd. But I'm not hurting anyone and I can quit any time I want. LOL

I quit crankin' the butts 7 months ago and I agree with you Mr. T. It really feels great! I have never been able to run in my life and I will have my third 5k under my belt at the end of March. I'm slow, but hell, I'm doin' it without exploding a lung. It's awesome to breathe Not to mention the $$ saved...

legna

An author friend of mine (Cheri Huber) wrote an essay called One Less Act of Violence which transformed me instantaneously into a vegetarian. Since then I have used the message within it to quit all manner of things the latest of which is a three pack a day cigarette habit that I've carried for thirty-seven years. Today is seven weeks. Anywho, here is an excerpt out of that essay which I have been granted permission to use here:

"If we judge ourselves, if we reject ourselves for who we are and what we do, we are simply committing an act of violence against ourselves. If we would simply look, and consider the ways in which we are violent, then we could stop. Our own acts of violence are ones we have the power to control and end. There are no shoulds in this. I do what I do for me, not for them. The idea is not to change behavior because it is wrong. My work is simply to pay attention. To do something different because I "should" is to miss the point. To be present is the point. When I am present with my eyes and heart open, what do I want to do?"

The way that I would use this passage is simply to understand that if diet coke is not good for me, then drinking it is an act of violence towards myself. I would continue to research the effects of diet coke on the body until I didn't want to drink it any more. I've found stopping is quite easy at that point. By way of example, I've had one bad moment in the last seven weeks without cigarettes using this method and I got to come and post about it in the smoking cessation forum here at SR.

FeelingGreat

All you people who said you have problems stopping other stuff besides alcohol; yes yes yes that's me! I can't have any 'nice' stuff in my house or I won't stop until it's gone. Example - it's summer here and so pleasant to have a frozen ice when I get home, but I don't stop until the packet's gone.
Still pretty proud of giving up drinking though.

dox

Thank you, Mr Tumble and everyone else. I had been ignoring my addiction to diet colas. Denial, as most of us have learnt, is a powerful foe. I usually get my fix from two litre bottles bought on sale. My cola of choice is either Pepsi Max or Diet Coke with citrus zest. What a cocktail!

Recently I have tried to cut down by drinking orange juice and lemonade. But I keep coming back to the Pepsi Max -- if it's 2 for £2.50 or some similar price. I still have some Morrisons own-brand diet cola which I bought at 4 litres for a pound. Vile stuff, that is. I'd rather drink water. Perhaps (no, actually) I should.

My wife, who is not an alcoholic, has one 330 ml can per night. She often does not finish it; I do. She is the same if she opts for a beer: One San Miguel, or part thereof, and she moves on to decaffeinated tea. I pour any leftover beer down the sink. Go figure. I guess experience leaves me no doubt about some poisons.

Thanks again for raising my awareness of what I am doing to myself. The rest is up to me and . . .

dancook99

When i was struggling to give up alcohol i use to buy litre bottles of coke and drink it in a night.
I have enamel eroded away on all my teeth, therefore constant sensitivity. You cant prove beyond all doubt that it is coke that has ruined your teeth, no one has successfully sued Coca Cola company. Experiments in which teeth are put in diet coke show evidence of tooth erosion.