March has been a lot harder than I was expecting; January and February were tough but this month affected me physically. I haven't been this sleep-deprived since I had exams.
The good
Well, I'm sure my sugar levels have gone down.
At least I could have chocolate.
The bad
I miss beer.
I miss diet coke.
Inability to sleep.
The ugly
Have you seen the bags under my eyes?
Would I go without again?
Definitely not by choice. I can't believe I once went without carbonated drinks for six months and survive.
Would I go without for good?
Not a chance. Hello carbonation, I've missed you!
In April I boycott caffeine. If my bubbles deprivation was bad, caffeine is going to be a biatch.
So it's almost the end of March and this is my second post for the month. I've been a bit... well, flat this month. My sleep pattern is off, I've barely slept through the night and am constantly exhausted.
And I keep almost accidentally ordering carbonated beverages. I'm lucky I have wonderful supportive friends who remind me that I can't have the beer because it's carbonated. So I drink wine instead. Or rum and OJ (which, BTW, is a lot better than I expected).
I do miss beer though. Only two more sleeps and I can reacquaint myself with Greenoch Brewery micro brew...
The deal No carbonated beverages for the 31 days of March. No beer. No champagne. No soft drinks... and, it goes without saying, especially no Diet Coke.
Any exceptions? No. *sulks* Am trying to work out a loophole for St Patty's day. And my little brother's 21st. Maybe if I donate money to charity?
My hypothesis Diet Coke was hard but at least I had lemonade. But can I do a month without bubbles? Does effervescence make you bubbly or is it all just a sugar high? I'm not so sure. I have gone months without soft drinks before but that was ten years ago. No, literally ten years ago. History can repeat itself, right?
Yes, I know it's a third of the way through March but life got in the way. Sue me. I would normally write about my thoughts on going without for the month but since there's another month and a half of diet coke deprivation is on the cards (carbonated bevs followed by caffeine is going to be a killer) I'm goikng to reserve my judgement.
Having gone 38 days without, I can definitely say, I miss yoooouuuuuu.
Friday night: dinner followed by Taylor Swift concert.
Saturday night: birthday barbecue followed by hens night.
Sunday: gym followed by Vanity Fair.
Number of Diet Coke cravings: about seven billion. Almost ordered it with tea out of habit but held off admirably. Was also disappointed by the Entertainment Centre's lack of postmix beverages. Beer it was then.
Saturday I remained cola free, admirably assisted by lemonade and grape slushies. And the stripper, obviously.
Meanwhile, today I did a 5km run (why, yes I would love a medal - I already have the chest to pin it on) and didn't even reward myself with the sweet synthetic cinnamon taste... Halfway through the month today - am telling myself it will all be okay. Eventually.
I couldn't go through Diet Coke month without mentioning the Diet Coke man, now could I?
The original is always the best. It may be the fact that the early 90s fashions have dated but the women in this commercial look like women who work in a normal office (and not just Conde Nast) and the actual Diet Coke man looks like he earned those muscles working, not in the gym. That's right, it wasn't all happy pants and scrunchies - the men were manly!
It may not be 11:30 but I'm sure you want to take your Diet Coke break. More diet cola men after the jump.
Yes, I know this was on the 7pm Project tonight but it's topical and it's relevant. According to a study carried out by the University of Minnesota and the National University of Singapore, I can now add soft drinks to the already-giant list of Stuff That Will Kill Me. Other members of that list include cling wrap, plastic water bottles, aerosol deodorants, red meat and aspartame.
The scientists followed more than 60,000 men and woment over 14 years and of those, 140 people died from pancreatic cancer. Those who consumed soft drinks more than once a week (the article is a bit shaky on the frequency so maybe we'll go with regularly) were found to have almost twice the risk of contracting the cancer, after taking other control issues such as red meat consumption into account.
The link: high consumption of sugary soft drinks causes the pancreas to secrete more insulin, which has been found to cause an increase in the number of cancer cells.
So there's a seven in 3000 chance that I might get pancreatic cancer (big leap, but let me have my numerical inacuracy please) due to my soft drink consumption. Is this a common ailment in diabetics, I wonder. Ooh, ooh, hang on - loophole! Diet soft drinks are less likely to cause the cancer as they aren't made from sugar. Diet Coke - we're still on as soon. The first day of May is looking better and better.
