I have officially stopped drinking Diet Coke. I have tried numerous times in the past 15 years to quit the habit and drink healthier beverages. The problem is that I like caffeine. Do I need it? Probably not, but it is certainly helpful to get a jump start on my mornings. I do not like coffee. I am one of those weird people who doesn’t even like the smell of coffee, let alone the taste. The same goes with beer. I know, shocking. Especially since I was born and raised in Wisconsin. I guess I have always been a little different.

In recent years there have been numerous online articles about the potentials harmful chemicals in Diet Coke:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/428411-bad-side-effects-of-drinking-diet-coke/

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/10/29/10-reasons-to-give-up-diet-soda/

http://aspartame.mercola.com/

Regular Coke isn’t considered as bad, as it is the aspertame in Diet Coke and other Diet soda products that is considered harmful. However I do not like the taste of regular Coke. Nor am I fond of the calories.

I thought I would poll my Facebook friends to see if there was something else similar that I could switch to drinking and it would be sufficient to my taste buds, provide caffeine, and not be as harmful to my body. Here is the posting I made:

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There were 59 comments on this posting that I made about Diet Coke. I got a lot of great ideas of alternatives to replace Diet Coke. I tried quite a few. I was determined to make a switch to something new and give up Diet Coke. I did it! Thanks to the suggestions of so many friends and family! I replaced my Diet Coke with Zevia. It is a natural soda sweetened with the natural herb Stevia. It tastes similar enough to Diet Coke that I don’t feel like this change has been too dramatic. It has now been 20 days with NOT ONE Diet Coke! I drink 1-2 Zevia’s a day as well as 1 kombucha. Of course I drink a lot of regular water throughout the day. I always have a bottle of water with me wherever I may be during the day. Thank you Pati from my bible study for bringing me a Holy Kombucha one day to the bible study. After the bible study I picked up a dozen from Central Market and have been drinking them daily ever since!

I am still shocked that I made the change. I don’t know where I heard it, but the other day someone said that research has shown that Diet Coke is more addictive than Crack. Not sure how true that is, but I can say that I have never been more hooked on a single product in my entire life!! I quit though! It can be done!

Proof that the habit is permanent? I went through 8 days of all three kids getting sick, two runs to urgent care, Justin being out of town almost that entire time, and then I got sick. All the while, I never gave in to my Diet Coke habit. When I needed to run to urgent care at 9 PM and was exhausted, I was the only parent at home, and had to take all three kids…I typically would have grabbed a Diet Coke. Instead I grabbed a Zevia and smiled. My new beverage of choice is a great replacement for me. I am thankful and feeling blessed that there is even such an option available! I had no idea until friends on Facebook mentioned it. Thank you my friends!!!

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