Cleanses

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Silver are you reading this? (She's been in denial...I'm convinced her bone density issues are related to Diet Coke...)

Karen, I'm like you were...there's no caffeine like cold caffeine - morning, noon, and night...probably 8/day. Unfortunately, I detest coffee and am allergic to tea. Diet Coke replaced an 8 Real Cokes/day habit (that's right - 960 calories of high fructose corn syrup each day for years)

Mr. Silver,
I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing, but if you and Silver are each drinking 8 cans of Diet Coke a day then you are certainly at risk of depleting nutrients and also increasing bone loss rate- for BOTH of you. Not to mention all the nasty chemicals as opposed to healthy beverages or just water. Do a bit of google research about aspartame/Nutrasweet, for one thing. Things to think about, for sure.
The other factor for bone loss is to make sure you are getting some weight bearing exercise- biking does not prevent bone loss, neither does swimming. Running, brisk walking, weight lifting, aerobics, jump rope, stair climbing....does. Google the latest news articles about how many men Pro cyclists are experiencing bad bone density losses due to not getting any weight bearing exercise. It's an eye opener.

A couple of possible alternatives....try some carbonated water flavored with natural flavors....they have some very tasty ones out now, like natural peach or white grape essence seltzers. These are almost no calories but have little or none of the bad things in them. Another thing is to mix seltzer with a little bit of fruit juice to make a healthy low calorie spritzer to guzzle.
You say you are allergic to tea- I assume you mean regular black tea. Well that still leaves a whole world of other interesting "teas" to try out- health/herb teas, mint, chai, perhaps green teas, fruit or flower teas, spice teas, many dozens of different flavored "teas" that are not black tea at all. You can't be allergic to all those- that would be like saying you're allergic to "plants". Experiment and find some healthy tisane that appeals to you, and starts drinking it, either hot, or iced by the half gallon pitcher. Perhaps buy a variety box of herbal teas to try. They have some wonderful gourmet variety boxes of themn at health food stores. Don't expect or seek to find anything that tastes like Diet Coke. You'd have to think new, different.
And remember that one must cut down on caffeine gradually or else get major painful headaches.
...Just some stuff to consider if you ever want to get away from the Diet Coke....

[IFjane]

Silvers - I agree with Lisa here. I was a diet coke drinker for years - but not to the extent you are/were. I also drank coffee in the morning, then usually only one diet coke in the afternoon. Even that had a negative effect on me, though.

I do like carbonation so I switched to seltzer - even plain is good as far as I'm concerned. Also drink green tea - make my own iced and hot. It's wonderful - give it a try and good luck!

[Tuckervill]

You say you are allergic to tea- I assume you mean regular black tea. Well that still leaves a whole world of other interesting "teas" to try out- health/herb teas, mint, chai, perhaps green teas, fruit or flower teas, spice teas, many dozens of different flavored "teas" that are not black tea at all. You can't be allergic to all those- that would be like saying you're allergic to "plants". Experiment and find some healthy tisane that appeals to you, and starts drinking it, either hot, or iced by the half gallon pitcher. Perhaps buy a variety box of herbal teas to try. They have some wonderful gourmet variety boxes of themn at health food stores. Don't expect or seek to find anything that tastes like Diet Coke. You'd have to think new, different.
And remember that one must cut down on caffeine gradually or else get major painful headaches.
...Just some stuff to consider if you ever want to get away from the Diet Coke....

Most herbal teas don't have caffeine, so that would make them a no go for me.

Also for me, if a change isn't convenient and simple to do, I just won't do it. The alternative has to have no baggage or inconvenience associated with it. I started replacing DC with iced tea by ordering it with my fast food meals (now I don't eat fast food meals anymore, either). Then I started buying cases of bottled water instead of cases of Diet Coke (now I use a Brita pitcher instead of bottles). I can't go all or nothing--it has to go in increments.

Silvers, next time you're replenishing DC, buy water instead. Or one of the many options that Lisa mentioned. Go for "integrity at the point of decision'

Karen

Karen

[ChickWithBrains]

Most people do "cleansing" because it sounds great! Wow, a way to "take a load" off kidneys or liver (our natural processors and filters), a way to "clean out" our colons, or a way to mark a change in our attitude, religious calendar, or life.

Guess what? Your kidneys work just as hard no matter what you eat. Your kidneys still filter the same amount of blood per minute and the solutes they remove for urine isn't metabolically different. Your liver is still processing fats -- ingested and already present -- into smaller and different macromolecules. Everything your gut absorbs gets dumped into the hepatic system for first pass metabolism, whether it's organic unpasteurized wonder fruit green algae superdrink or your usual lunch sandwich, and it takes the same amount of energy.

People say they feel different or better after cleansing. People feel better after a period of dedicated prayer, new athletic achievements, and an awful lot of different things. And sure you'll feel less constipated if you ingest a lot more fiber and fluids for a few days -- cleansing-style or not.

You're a cleansing machine EACH AND EVERY DAY. You don't need anything special to waste your money and time on, but if you truly feel better and it is not destructive, go ahead. (I would warn against "high colonic" anal irrigations, however, for a variety of medical reasons.) But re-evaluate WHY you want to do it and whether it is solely accomplished by doing a crazy diet alteration for a few days, and why you can't make sensible sustainable diet changes instead.

[Mr. Bloom]

Mr. Silver,
I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing, but if you and Silver are each drinking 8 cans of Diet Coke a day then you are certainly at risk of depleting nutrients and also increasing bone loss rate- for BOTH of you.

The problem is "I KNOW you're right!" and I still do it!

Here's a promise to you:

For one week I will limit myself to 2/day and I'll drink plenty of water instead!

In one week, I'll reevaluate

Silver, you in????

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you do that you might want to temporarily take some caffeine pills or other caffeine to ease the abrupt drop off a bit- going from 8 cans to 2 is likely to give you some caffeine withdrawal headaches- and those can be splitting (i know).
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[crazycanuck]

8 cans of diet coke a day

I hate to be rude, but isn't that why the US has one of the most obese populations in the world?

Frightening..

[SadieKate]

Um, diet coke doesn't contain sugar or calories. That's why it's diet.

Though I think I've read somewhere that the chemicals in diet drinks exacerbate the feeling of hunger. I think . . . .where did I read that?

[crazycanuck]

doesn't diet coke contain aspertaine/aspertane (sp)...I thought diet coke was bad for you..

[SadieKate]

CC, yes, diet coke does have nasty things in it but sugar isn't one of them.

Nutrasweet/Aspartame is possibly linked to MS-like symptoms. Another one of those wild controversial reports where you don't know who to believe.

[KnottedYet]

The studies that tie diet soda with obesity are pretty wild. Some folks say the nutrasweet/aspartame is an appetite stimulant. That's a bummer.

There's also the behavioural aspect, like one study that had folks who ordered giant diet sodas also ordering giant burgers and fries (thinking it was ok, cuz after all they are cutting out calories from the soda, so some extra fries can't hurt, right?)

Artificial sweetners make me and SKnot very sick, and Nutrasweet in particular causes my mom to get ill. She's a diabetic and has a lot of trouble with dry mouth, so now she sips plain tea all day.

[Trek420]

There's also the behavioural aspect, like one study that had folks who ordered giant diet sodas also ordering giant burgers and fries (thinking it was ok, cuz after all they are cutting out calories from the soda, so some extra fries can't hurt, right?)

I can attest to that. Back in the day I was a cook (that was waaaaay back) the number of orders of "I'll have the quiche, cheesecake, side order of onion rings, giant fudge and brownie sundae ... oh, and a diet coke"

I just look at the ingredients and "oh, that can't be good for me"

[Tuckervill]

The problem is "I KNOW you're right!" and I still do it!

Here's a promise to you:

For one week I will limit myself to 2/day and I'll drink plenty of water instead!

In one week, I'll reevaluate

Silver, you in????

It's much much better to change your thinking than to change your drinking. (Ha! I rhymed.)

So instead of saying only 2 a day, how about "The next time I get something to drink, it will be water or iced tea."

Make that decision several times in a row, or make it every other time you get a drink. Changes made in increments are easier to chew. I find if I give myself "unlimited" of something instead of limiting the thing I want to avoid, I have less emotional baggage attached to giving up the thing. Plus the laws of physics are working in your favor--water and Diet Coke can't occupy the same space at the same time. If you fill up that space with water, there is no room for the Diet Coke.

Both ways of thinking about it can result in the same outcome, of course, but flipping it around to "unlimited x" from "limited y" is much more comforting.

(If you're concerned about the caffeine--I don't remember any adverse affects of limiting caffeine, and it's not dangerous to go cold-turkey off caffeine. You're a grown man, you can take it. Just try to do it when you're not at work so you can suffer through any symptoms in relative comfort.)

Good luck!
Karen

[Mr. Bloom]

(If you're concerned about the caffeine--I don't remember any adverse affects of limiting caffeine, and it's not dangerous to go cold-turkey off caffeine. You're a grown man, you can take it. Just try to do it when you're not at work so you can suffer through any symptoms in relative comfort.)

Good luck!
Karen

Oh, there are adverse effects...they're not dangerous, but they're deadly nonetheless.

Day 1: One for breakfast, one for lunch - no migraine and I'll probably sleep great tonight! I've filled the fridge with bottled water for tomorrow, but I'll still probably have two more DC's...I have a lot of work to do and can't get the killer headache!

[crazycanuck]

Water is your friend.. Drink at least 2L a day.

Why not try cold Oolong tea? mmmmm There's no sugar in it at all!!!