life in my post-diet coke world

i haven't had a diet coke since may. nope, not even one. and i've had nothing but positive results. here's the scoop:

- i am saving between $20-25 a week. (yes, i really did drink that much diet coke. i know. gross)

- i have noticed a huge reduction in mood swings. even my brother has noticed--"wow, you're not cranky anymore all the time."

- i've also noticed a huge reduction in headaches. i used to have one..um..just about everyday. not anymore.

- i have more energy. i used to feel tired all the time--no matter how much dc i drank. i feel so much more awake now that i have in years.

- and here's the BIG one: my hair is getting thicker!

for years--since i was about 15-16, i've had problems with my hair falling out. most of my friends probably didn't really know, since it's not something that i ever talked about (i was super super self-conscious about it), and i did a pretty good job of hiding it. but i haven't been able to wear my hair down w/o clips or bobby pins or something since i was about 14. anyway, i've had my thyroid checked a gazillion times, all kinds of other blood work done and no one could ever figure out what the problem was. i've tried a bajillion different shampoos and other topical treatments, some kind of worked, some didn't...but my hair just kept falling out. usually the dermatologist would be like, "well, it looks like you got the genetic shaft. talk to your hair stylist about how to cover it up." so, that's what i've been doing since i was about 15...lots of highlights and clever hairstyles so that no one could see. i had pretty much resigned myself to just having thin hair. sucky, right? but there are worse things in life, so i just stopped caring. the only time it really upset me was when i would go to get a haircut with a new stylist who didn't know that i was part-bald. i hated, dreaded getting my hair done and the inevitable questions and suggestions that i should get my thyroid checked or try rogaine.

anyway, long story short, i got my hair cut a few weeks ago and my stylist (who i've been going to for over a year) was like "holy cow, you have twice as much hair as you used to! all these bald spots are starting to grow in. what have you been doing?"

i think it was the diet coke. for real.

i've never believed any of the crazy "diet coke ruined my life" stuff that you read on the internet, but i really truly believe that diet coke made my hair fall out. i started drinking it a lot around age 15-16, which is when i started to have the hair problems. and it seems as my consumption increased, so did the hair loss. i've read several other people's "stories" about diet coke, and have seen other people mention it too....i know, sounds completely crazy. and i don't think that diet coke will make everyone's hair fall out--i know tons of people with super thick hair who drink it. but for whatever reason, not drinking diet coke has made a HUGE difference in my i-dont-have-any-hair-and-i-want-to-die problem.

too much information? maybe. but, i know for me i've felt self-conscious about hair loss for years and felt like i was the only one who was dealing with it (especially at a young age!). so, for whatever it's worth, that's my story.

and now i'm off to drink a big glass of water...

image from here

water is the new diet coke

i know, i keep blogging about how i'm not drinking diet coke anymore. but seriously, this is huge. no, make that so HUGE! i started drinking it in my early teens, and never stopped. it slowly escalated into a complete addiction/obsession, magnified anytime i had a stressful day or week. i would venture to say that i haven't gone more than 48 hours without one since i was about 16. no, i'm no kidding. (my parents are total addicts too) i've "quit" before--but it was always with the 'i can drink it when i'm out of the house and/or eating out' clause.

i haven't had any for almost 2 weeks now. if you would have asked me even a month ago if i could have gone even 24 hours without one, i would have said "no way."

funny thing is, people who don't know that i've switched to h20 have even commented that i seem like i have more energy and seem happier. and guess what, i feel better--fewer headaches, fewer muscle aches, i just feel...better.

i have never ever believed in all the crazy stuff you read on the internet about how nutrasweet will kill you and makes you feel yucky...until i stopped drinking it. and now i kind of believe all the anti-nutrasweet hype out there...they just might be on to something...

more importantly though, i feel like i have control. i am no longer a slave to the coca-cola company. and controlling that is helping me control my eating.

so, that is why water is the new diet coke.