The Stiletto Philosopher

Addiction can be a funny thing, my fellow philosophers.  To me, it seems like one of those things you can never identify until after the stranglehold of your addiction has passed.  A caffeine addiction is no different.

Yes, I’m the first to admit I was a full-blown caffeine addict.  Diet Coke was my drug of choice.  Ahh…truly the sweet elixir that makes all life possible…

But I digress.

I used to joke about how I couldn’t start my day or get anything done until I’d had my first dose of caffeine.  Though I love the smell of it, I never quite acquired the taste for coffee.  Since I was just drinking Diet Coke, I never thought I could be hurting myself.

But I was.

In more ways than I could imagine…

Think about it.  People always load their coffee with cream and sugar so no way is that good for them.  And I think we all know that regular soda is full of sugary syrup and empty calories.  With no calories listed on the label, Diet Coke was totally the best option for me.

Here’s what they don’t like for you to know: Companies can put zero calories on the nutrition label even if it has up to five calories per serving.  Of course, I knew that; I just didn’t care.

I’m happy to report I’ve been off the Diet Coke for nearly two weeks now.  I really thought it would be more difficult to kick the stuff than it was.  I mean, it used to be that if I went a day without my fix I’d end up with a killer headache.

Why did I cut out the caffeine drinks?  Was I concerned about my health?  Was I trying to save money?

Nope.

I was actually at home with the one-two punch of a cold and a UTI.  It was one of those situations when I would just naturally drink nothing except water.

The thing is, when I felt better, I found that I REALLY felt better.  I wasn’t even craving caffeine.  I also realized I was a lot happier.  Surely my sweet and precious Diet Coke hadn’t been making me unhappy.  Not possible.

That’s when I really got to thinking.  I always knew there were people out there who preached the evils of aspartame.  When your options are between empty calories and terrible side effects of a chemical you know nothing about, well…it was a no-brainer for me.  I went the superficial route thinking it would help me keep the weight off better.

Truth time. After only a few days without all those chemicals chasing through my system, I had gobs more energy.  The minor blemishes on my face cleared up.  My headaches seemed to get a bit better.  Despite the increase in allergens in the air right now, my allergies haven’t been as bad.

I’ve even dropped half a pound a day (on average) since I gave up Diet Coke.  Didn’t change anything else about the way I ate or the amount of physical activity I got.

At this point, I’m beginning to question if all the chemicals I was regularly pouring into my body were the reason my thyroid went haywire on me…

Here’s my new philosophy: If you can’t pronounce all the ingredients on the label then it’s probably not something you should put into your body.  Yeah, yeah…I can pronounce aspartame; it’s the other stuff I’m talking about.

Like all addicts, the temptation to dive back into the pool of my addiction still exists.  I wanted a Diet Coke so badly the other day that I nearly made a detour to the fast food place with the best stuff on tap.  Nearly.  Very nearly.  So far, willpower, water and fruit juice have been on my side.

Will this be a permanent change to my lifestyle or is it just a phase I’m going through?  No clue.  I guess we’ll see…

So what’s your off-the-wall addiction story?  Have you kicked a habit?  Wanna brag?  Tell me all about it.

Jen

“The difference?  I make sarcasm look good.”

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