Certainly, there are worse things to be addicted to but my choice of poison is caffeine. According to WebMD, caffeine addiction is not real. I beg to differ. 

***

Recently I decided to kick my, I'm ashamed to say it, five to six Diet Cokes a day habit; partly because I am a poor college student and can no longer afford it and partly for health reasons. 

If I were to add my cost of drinking Diet Coke it would go on like this.

$13 for 3 twelve packs

1 twelve pack ÷ 6 Diet Cokes per day = 2 days

3 twelve packs x 2 days = 6 days

30 Days in September ÷ 6 days = 5 stops at the store

5 x $13 = $65 a month on Diet Coke

3 1/2 months of school (so far) x $65 = $227.50

I'm slightly embarrassed that I have spent over $225 on Diet Coke alone and to be truthful, I know I have spent more than that.

When it comes to health reasons, there were a number of things that made me want to kick the habit. 1) The carbonation makes you bloat and I have been hitting the gym way too hard to have soda bloat my belly! 2) The artificial sugar makes your body think things are sweeter and blander than they are. 3) Sadly, its connected to Diabetes Type 2. I already took control of my life so I wouldn't have to take cholesterol medicine; I am not about to lose my hard work over a soda. (I can do a blogpost about how I, as a 20 year old, dropped my cholesterol, if you are so interested.)  4) It stains your teeth (and even breaks down the enamel…ew!) and in my line of career, I need to keep those pearly whites, well white. 

***

Now, as a Diet Coke addict, I can truthfully say, I never cared about any of those health conditions. Okay, the bloating would cross my mind while wearing a crop top out but whatever, I was in a happy relationship with my Diet Soda. 

I was in a full on, head over heels, in love, in your face relationship with Diet Coke. 

Once I hit $5 in my bank account, I was forced to take a break from my one and only. It was either, eat or continue my relationship with soda. I chose food. Let's be real, I could live without Diet Coke but food is kind of essential.

***

The Detox is the worst. I have given up Diet Coke before, two summers ago and I was successful until I came back to school, so I knew what was going to happen. My body would shut down and hate me. The first week is the worst; you have headaches on end, moods swing, your body feels week and you never realized how dependent on Diet Coke you had become. My roommates were shocked when I knocked out at 8:30pm, three nights in a row! It was easier to just sleep than deal with the pain of no Diet Coke in my life.

I’m on day 7 of no Diet Coke, which doesn’t sound impressive but for me, it is. I have learned that water isn’t that bad. I also learned that I was using Diet Coke as a meal (by accident!) so now I am actually eating healthy food, in attempt to balance my body. This journey has just begun and I am not going to lie, I may go back to my one true love at some point in my life. But as for now, this much needed break is happening and I pray that this doesn’t come back to bite me (or drink me)!

***

Caffeine addiction may not be real but Diet Coke addiction is so real in my eyes. To all my fellow Diet Coke lovers out there, I believe in you; whether you continue your relationship or give it up cold turkey like me, know I believe in you.

I’m off to drink another liter of water.

XOXO –M.S.