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48 here, healthy as a horse as far as I know, been drinking Diet Coke for 30 years. If I drop dead tomorrow, you are cordially invited to my funeral to come say "I told you so."
48 here, healthy as a horse as far as I know, been drinking Diet Coke for 30 years. If I drop dead tomorrow, you are cordially invited to my funeral to come say "I told you so."
I used to have a serious Diet Coke addiction too. I didn't drink quite as much as you, but I drank A LOT. I did it for decades. Two years ago, I gave it up. I knew there was absolutely nothing good about it (except for the taste), so for my health, I gave it up. Haven't had any kind of diet drink since. These days I drink mostly water and some unsweetened tea.
Here are the changes I've noticed since giving it up: nothing. Absolutely nothing. I read all these articles about how much better I would feel, I would lose weight, etc. Nothing happened. I don't feel any different. I haven't lost any weight. Nothing.
That said, I will not go back to drinking it. There are just too many risks with consuming that much aspertame and other chemicals.
First off, I want to state that I'm fully aware that Diet Coke is not a healthy choice of drink and that it contains aspartame (which, by all accounts, is truly bad for the human body) and that, without question, I should not drink nearly as much as I do each day. I also want to admit that I probably am legitimately addicted to Diet Coke and that, besides drinking what will likely be considered an inordinate amount of every day of my life, I rarely drink anything else. Ever.
With that stated, here's the reality of my situation: I drink (realistically) about 2 gallons of Diet Coke every day of my life. And I mean that literally.
I have a 1-gallon pitcher that I get refilled at Circle K literally everyday; and, most days, I will get it filled twice. I also have 60-ounce styrofoam cups that I use to drink out of. While I do not always drink a full 2 gallons of Diet Coke, most days, I typically drink at least one full gallon refill and 1-2 of the 60-oz cups of it. Usually, when I go to get my gallon pitcher refilled at Circle K, I will also refill my 60-ounce cup. So, almost without exception, I drink over a gallon of Diet Coke literally every day of my life.
I am currently 40 years-old and I have been drinking diet soda for 25 years now (since I was 15). I have alternated between Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi over the years, but, for the past 10 years or so, it has been Diet Coke and Diet Coke only. The reason I drink diet soda has nothing to do with my weight; it actually has to do with me being an extremely hyper child who loved junk food and soda (Dr. Pepper, at the time). So my mom took me to the doctor and explained the situation and it was this doctor who suggested that, if I was going to drink soda, that I should try to drink diet soda instead, since diet soda does not have sugar in it. He suggested this, because, apparently, I was hypoglycemic; which meant that my body makes too much insulin. And he said that if I were to continue to drink so much regular soda (and consume the sugar that's in it) and not take better care of myself, that I would possibly/likely end up causing myself to have diabetes (or something to that effect).
Well, here I am, 25 years later, and I drink more soda that anyone I know or have ever met. In the doctor's defense, he surely did not condone nor was he trying to encourage me to drink a gallon of diet soda everyday. He simply meant that it would be better for me to drink diet soda instead of Dr. Pepper, since there's no sugar in diet soda. Also, back in 1990 when I saw this doctor, I don't know that it was commonly known that aspartame was in diet soda (Nutrasweet), or, if it was known, that it was considered to be harmful.
With my backstory out of the way, I want to ask: Is drinking this much Diet Coke seriously harming me physically? And/or mentally? And if so, can it actually cause severe damage to the body and/or mind? I've heard that Diet Coke/aspartame causes your veins or blood vessels to constrict (which definitely seems to be happening to me) and also that it can have harmful effects to the central nervous system. And with the amount that I currently consume each day (and have been drinking for the past 5-10 years), I think about this literally everyday. But, it's hard to get myself to change after doing something after 25 years. Especially, when it's not illegal, is readily-available at basically every convenience store on the planet, and is relatively inexpensive (my refills typically cost me $1.00-$1.85).
With this almost finished, I'd like to ask if anyone can offer some suggestions or advice on how I can work towards slowing down on how much Diet Coke I drink and to eventually stop drinking soda altogether?
I'd also like to add that I rarely drink anything other than Diet Coke, including water (which I might regularly go a couple weeks without even having a drink of). Honestly, I want to drink Diet Coke with everything that I eat, whether it's cereal, pancakes, eggs, french fries, mac & cheese, a sandwich, or literally anything that I eat (I should also admit that typically eat a terrible diet). And when I say that I am addicted to Diet Coke (dependent, may be more appropriate), for example, if end up sleeping for like 10 hours or more (which isn't that often), I will pretty much always wake up with a headache, and I'm almost certain that it's from having slept for so long and not having had the Diet Coke/caffeine in my system for those 10 hours.
I'm sorry for writing so much. In case it's not obvious, I suffer a little from the O.C.D. (which may have something to do with why I drink Diet Coke so excessively/why it's so difficult for me to stop drinking it). I fully acknowledge that the amount of Diet Coke that I drink is unreasonable and completely unnecessary. And I want to make it clear that I am genuinely asking for some potentially helpful advice, suggestions, and ideas, because I know that it would be good for me/my health to stop drinking Diet Coke and because I would really like some help doing so!
P.S. In case it matters, as I mentioned, I am 40 years-old, I am 5'10'' tall and I weigh around 210 lbs. (which I know is overweight, but I don't look like I'm that overweight, because it's mostly in my pathetic, fat gut; which, somehow, is fairly well-hidden by my clothing). I should also add that I do not smoke/chew tobacco, have not had a beer or any alcoholic drink in like 3-4 years, and I do not do any drugs at all (I haven't ever even tried any illegal drugs, including, marijuana).
P.S. 2 - I'm going to try to attach some pictures in my next post, to show that I am not exaggerating about my refill pitcher and cup.
We will all die from something. I am a 69 year old Male and I started drinking Coca Cola when I was a Freshman in College. There was a Coke machine in my dormitory and when I was up late at night studying it was really great to have a cold Coke just down the hall to "pick me up". I drank at least four or five 12 ounce Cokes daily until I was 42 years old. In 1988 a Doctor gave me a "glucose tolerance test" and He advised me to switch from Coca Cola Classic to Diet Coke or quit drinking Cola drinks altogether. It was a lesser of two evils so I switched to Diet Coke.
Fast forward to today and Diet Coke is still my beverage of choice. I drink a small pot of coffee in the mornings and in the afternoon I sip on Diet Coke and ice from a 52 ounce insulated mug. I use old two liter Soda bottles cut in two and fill them with water and freeze them in my deep freezer. I place this huge ice cube in my 52 ounce insulated mug and added DC when it is empty. I usually sip on this during the night and when I wake in the morning the ice is melted but the last of my liquid is still cold enough to finish off. A two liter Diet Coke lasts me almost two days. I have gotten so used to drinking DC this way that I cannot drink it straight from a can. When you figure in the amount of ice that you are adding to your fountain Diet Cokes your two gallon a day habit may be more like a one gallon a day habit. Maybe not the best habit but it probably won't kill you as fast as a gallon of beer every day or two packs of smokes a day.
Ive noticed that many people who are avid diet soda drinkers are also smokers. I'm curious if the OP is a smoker.
OP already said he does not smoke. (Although, admittedly, it was a long post to read.)
I have no comments except to stop drinking that stuff. Why drink soda at all, especially when there are so many alternatives? I don't know why that stuff is bad but it just is! And there isn't anything in it that's good for you either.
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