Day 7 – “The Bladder Buster”
Jan 13
First week is going great… looking forward tomorrow’s weigh-in.
Every family, whether they admit it or not, has that one member they are a little embarrassed of. The butt of the majority of the jokes. The easy target. Their Stephen Baldwin. Their Johnny Drama.
In our family, that object of ridicule is my 64oz., refillable mug, known affectionately as “The Bladder Buster”. This monster of soda-delivery power is big, ugly and keeps my beverage of choice cool for the whole day… or it would, if my beverage lasted that long.
I refer to it as a member of the family because, for a while, it was bigger than one of the kids, it always seems to be around and I am constantly spending money to keep it full. But, it’s become a problem.
Not because of hearing Lucy say, “Daddy… move you bustah… I can’t see the tv”. But, because of the whole “killing me slowly” thing.
You see, my go-to beverage is Diet Mt. Dew. What harm could it do? No calories, no sugar. Gives my my caffeine fix. But, sadly, I’ve long known the research that shows what a roadblock “The Buster” is, to my health.
According to studies, even diet soda can be keeping you fat. I won’t bore you with my paraphrasing of the details. But, the results are simple and clear: When you drink a diet soda, the sweet taste (even if it isn’t sugar) sends a signal to your brain that there is food coming. This results in a greater feeling of hunger, as well as reduced metabolism when it is not followed by a meal. In addition, consumption of more than 4 servings of soda (diet, or regular) a day has been shown to result in a 30% higher risk of depression.
And the worst part of all that data is that a “serving’ size in these examples is 12 ounces. Meaning, I’m good for upwards of 10 servings, on a good day. It’s a nasty habit. But, it’s delicious and it makes me feel good. I’ve tried to quit before and I’ve always been able to convince myself that it’s not a problem. “It’s zero calories”. “It’s better than feeding my sweet tooth with a honey bun”.
Definitely, “Fat Toby” talking.
So, it’s time to say goodbye the “The Buster” for a while. And, this may turn out to be the toughest thing to give up on my challenge. Maybe, we can still be friends. Maybe, we can use his power for good instead of evil and fill him with water. But, our relationship will never be the same.
I’ve changed. We’ve grown apart. It’s not you, it’s me.
One more thing that may help: I always thought that Diet Coke was a zero sum beverage. And the research you cite has been corroborated a number of times. What I didn’t know after 50-some years of soft drink consumption is that all carbonated beverages contain Carbolic Acid. As in “acid.” So that means your smile is swirled in acid all day long. And even for an hour after you stop swilling. And it won’t rinse out. A base has to neutralize it. Hope that can help fuel your resolve, my friend. Go, Toby, go!
“Carbonic” acid, that is.
Don’t sleep on all of the sodium either. While the scale isn’t necessarily the goal of a good fitness program, the high levels of sodium will send your body into major water retention and thus less success on the scale from a pure numbers standpoint.
That being said… caffeine withdrawal is as bad as any you can experience. Consider a little bit of coffee or tea in the first few days off of the soda to make your life easier.
Plus, you’ll need to replace all of those 64oz curls in your daily exercise. Maybe your arms will finally fall back into proportion.
Clay
remodelingclay.com
Ha ha ha! He’s right, Popeye!