(no subject)

[moominmolly]

I used to hate soda. I never drank it growing up, since it always seemed too syrupy-sweet and the bubbles creeped me out (and since my parents never bought any). I liked ginger ale, but that was about it. Eventually, I discovered that I liked weird yuppie fruity sodas, and even sometimes Dr. Pepper or root beer as long as it was ice-cold and still perfectly fizzy. Still, I stuck to drinking water or juice, since I knew I always liked them.

A few years ago, my sister-in-law Diane somehow managed to get me to try a Diet Coke, and it was a revelation: a non-sweet caffeinated soda! Lovely life-bringing caffeine in a cold drink, since not everybody is wonderful enough to carry iced coffee! It wasn't good, precisely, but it filled a particular niche really well. And then I started working here. Free cold soda (and juice and seltzer). Slowly, imperceptibly, I developed the habit of drinking almost a 6-pack a day. This was just pointed out to me by a coworker yesterday ("Hey, Molly, I restocked the fridge for ya!"), and I was a bit creeped out. I mean, it's the perfect environment to feed my addiction. There's as much coffee as I can drink, but as much coffee as I can drink will make me sick. But the soda, that's a much slower delivery mechanism. The constant supply of fresh cans means that as soon as the soda gets a little old (unfizzy or warm or something) I can pop open a new one. So, at the end of the day, my desk is littered with water bottles and 3/4-empties of Diet Coke.

Is it unhealthy? Is my mind going to rot away under all of the aspartame? Probably not. It still strikes me as a shameful little secret, though. Shhh! I guzzle Diet Coke! Don't tell the authorities, or they'll bust my no-tv-watchin', bike-ridin', spinach-eatin', dyke-bein' ass!

Comments

[fishfoo.livejournal.com]

Is it unhealthy? Is my mind going to rot away under all of the aspartame?

I doubt it. In high school I would drink eight liters of soda on an average day; some days as many as twelve liters. I once got through sixteen liters in a 24-hour period, which was probably too much; I damaged my throat lining and the smell of carbonation (yes, it has a smell) made me gag for weeks.

If it's available, I'll still drink two liters or more per day. And I'm here to tell the tale.

Then again -- one might argue (persuasively, even) that my mind has rotted away. My memory is terrible and appears to be getting worse, I'm disorganized and frazzled, and even *gasp* high-strung at times. Though that last is getting better.

*glug* *glug* *glug* Ahhh, Diet Coke. Yum.

[ectropy.livejournal.com]

Might I make a suggestion? Get a perscription for ritalin -- it's cheaper and often covered by insurance.

Hnr?

[fishfoo.livejournal.com]

Get a perscription for ritalin ...

Uh... You're joking, right? Diet Coke has about .13mg of caffeine per mL; your average cup of joe has around .38mg/mL. Two liters of soda a day works out to 260mg of caffeine, approximately the dosage you'd get by one-and-a-half No-Doz tablets, or three cups of coffee.

I know people who drink three cups of coffee before they walk out the door in the morning. And you think my caffeine addiction is worrisome enough to look into ritalin? Err... okay.

Re: Hnr?

[ectropy.livejournal.com]

Huh, I guess I only parsed the first paragraph and missed the second one. *looks rather sheepish* my mistake.

It could be your "beard"

[pseydtonne.livejournal.com]

It depends. Six cans of Diet Coke a day is 72 ounces, or two liters. That would be a lot. However, six cans, each of which still has 75% of its contents, is only 18 ounces. Even if the occasional can gets to the halfway mark, you're still not looking at 750 mL. A can and a half of Diet Coke a day isn't too bad.

I used to drink Diet Coke when it first came out. The taste annoyed me after a while, so I switched to Diet Dr Pepper because it tasted somuch better. Then I wondered why I would get these intense headaches. I figured three cans in a day was lethal, so I stopped. The headaches went away for good.

The only major concern I'd have is that sodas (regular and diet) are diuretics. You have to drink more water to replenish yourself, especialy if you consume soda while you're working out.

I offer another solution to your need for cold beverages and cafeine:

1. Pick up a tin of Penguin Mints -- three mints have the caf of a can of soda, and a tin can last you a while;
2. Pour a sports-bottle (like an Aquafina or a Poland Spring 20-ounce) 3/4 of the way full with water. Place it in the freezer at a 45-degree angle overnight. The sports bottles are best because the water will expand during freezing: the cap is on enough that it won't spill but is open to allow the air to be expelled. The angle gives you surface area for ice -- this will be important;
3. Bring the bottle to work and keep filling the upper chamber with water duirng the day. The ice shaft will still take up the majority of the bottle for several hours;
4. Yes, I've spent too long making sure I have cold water at work.

If it helps your paranoia, then you drinking Diet Coke could easily pass as your cover. "Oh, we don't need to bust that one... she's gotta have media-influenced anorexia to drink that, so all is fine." Phew.

-won't blow your cover, Dante

Re: It could be your "beard"

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Oh, I meant that they were 3/4 empty, as in only 25% of the soda remained. So it's only about half a fuckton of soda.

Diet Dr. Pepper has the best ad slogan ever. "Diet Dr. Pepper tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper!" Than what? Than it tastes like lemon juice? Than off-brand prune juice soda tastes like regular Dr. Pepper? I always thought it was marvelous, anyway.

The only major concern I'd have is that sodas (regular and diet) are diuretics.

Oh, you'd be startled by the amount of water that I drink. Cee always was, anyway. I'm pretty hydrated.

If it helps your paranoia, then you drinking Diet Coke could easily pass as your cover.

Ooooh, I like that. I was thinking of it more as "I'm not blindly adhering to liberal dogma, it's all accidental. See? I watch cheesy movies in the theater and drink acidic chick soda!"

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

So, at the end of the day, my desk is littered with water bottles and 3/4-empties of Diet Coke.

"What's wrong with this one?"

"It's got dust in it."

"This one?"

"A hair."

Yikes. Diet sodas! Keep away!

[srd.livejournal.com]

Seriously. The sugar-replicants in diet sodas are used to fatten up live stock. In itself it's harmless, but then your brain kicks in. "Tastes sweetish -> shove out lots of insulin. Hey, no sugar to break down, lots of insulin in the bloodstream -> I'm starving!". Instant hungerpangs. If you _have_ to drink diet stuff, eat something with sugar in it on the side, if you aren't diabetic.

And those syrup-based american sodas just creep me out. It all tastes more or less like liquid bubblegum. Yuck. I like the real sugar-based european sodas a lot more.

Re: Yikes. Diet sodas! Keep away!

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

I actually could stand to be hungry during the day, so that I don't forget to eat and throw myself off more than I already am. Still, creepy bodily responses like that are scary, and I didn't know aspartame and kin were used to fatten up livestock.

If Poland Spring made a caffeinated, unsweetened raspberry-lime seltzer, I'd be all over that. Unsweetened flavored seltzer rocks.

[tcb.livejournal.com]

You know I love that organic cooking
I always ask for more
And they call me Mr. Natural
On down to the health food store
I only eat good sea salt
White sugar don't touch my lips
And my friends is always
Begging me to take them
On macrobiotic trips
Yes, they are
Oh, but at night I stake out my strongbox
That I keep under lock and key
And I take it off to my closet
Where nobody else can see
I open that door so slowly
Take a peek up north and south
Then I pull out a Hostess Twinkie
And I pop it in my mouth
Yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good lord have pity on me

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

heh! I also have a deep and shameful love for: twinkies, "oatmeal creme pies", and cornnuts.