The above image showed up in my Facebook news feed this morning because a bunch of my friends have liked the Diet Coke page. I’m not knocking my friends for liking their “DCs”  but there are so many things about this image that are just wrong.

Seriously, who runs on the beach and then drinks a Diet Coke? In a glass bottle???

I have a beloved neighbor who now lives over 1,000 miles away, but will always be a “neighbor”, that LOVES her some DCs! I’m talking taught at least one child to crawl by putting the DC can on the floor and because Mommy loved it so the baby had to get it! Even SHE would see the irony in this ad.

Diet Coke isn’t all bad. I mean it’s better than drinking battery acid! Sort of…did you know Coke can be used to clean car battery terminals??? Chug-a-lug!

Ok, well besides that, it’s better than drinking REAL Coke, it has no calories so it will help you lose weight, right? Nope. Study after study have shown the link between artificial sweeteners and diet sodas…and weight gain. Here’s one from a couple weeks ago in the Washington Post.

Check the ingredients below. The first and last are fine: Carbonated Water & Caffeine.

The ingredients in the middle are the chemical shit-storm that can really effect your health. Then there is the lovely disclaimer that your post-run-sitting-by-the-shore-recovery beverage contains GMO’s. Yum.

I used to be a DC addict. Yup, a can…or 2 a day…and if you got one with that special crushed ice that was a real treat! But about 6 years ago I realized that I was asking my clients to give it up and they were struggling. I felt I needed to lead by example instead of being a hypocrite. I wanted to see if I could do it and what tips I could pick up to share with them.

Diet Coke falls into my “everything in moderation” category. If you love to have one when you head to your favorite pizza shop or with popcorn at the movies – and it’s like once or twice a month, no biggie. But if you drink it more regularly and would like to cut it out, here’s what worked for me and many of my clients.

1. DC will boat you – bloating is uncomfortable. I found it’s worse from the can, so drink it from the can. Notice how you feel afterwards.
2. Cut back to 1/2 a can. Then 1/4, then none.
3. Why do you drink it?
   1. Caffeine to stay awake? Switch to green tea or black coffee.
   2. You like the bubbles? Switch to sparkling water. Plain, naturally flavored or the ones that have a lil’ bit of fruit juice like Spindrift.
4. Finally – stop buying it. If you don’t have it in the house you have to take that extra step to get your fix –  you have the drive to the convenience store or drive thru to change your mind.

As I tell clients; with any change in your life; from learning to walk to starting to exercise, eating more veggies and giving up your DCs. It’s going to feel like “work” until it becomes “habit.” Stick with it and soon it will just be what you do, you won’t even think about it. In all honesty, it took me about 3 years to not crave DC. Yup, 3 LOOONG years. But now my kids don’t see soda every day. They know it’s not a healthy choice but an occasional treat. And hopefully their healthy habits will follow them for life.

Wanna kick DCs or need some guidance making healthy lifestyle changes? Don’t know where to start or how to make sense of all the “Health News Headlines” out there? Give me a call, I am happy to help!