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  • #31
    I, too, gave up soda recently. It was sort of for Lent (not Catholic but a lot of CWs are so I used it as a starting point). For me, it the carbonation I miss. Seltzer water and the like just isn't the same.

    As far as the cravings, they are finally getting easier. I am at the point where I am undecided if I want to continue past the end of Lent.
    Now, if you smell the roses but it doesn't lift your spirits, you're either allergic to rose pollen or you need medical intervention. ~ Seshat

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    • #32
      A note about sugar, then a note about soda, then my personal history:

      Sugar is sugar is sugar. It doesn't matter what the source is (sugar cane, beet, fruit, agave), your body treats it like sugar and it fits into the same chemical "locks." Sugar from one source is no better or worse than sugar from another source.

      High Fructose Corn Syrup, however, may be different (the jury is still out). Due to a chemical process, HFCS is a highly-modified version of corn syrup designed to concentrate the fructose and result in a thicker version of what is already a very thick syrup. This allows them to use less of it for the same result, and provides a textural accompaniment to the carbonation. There's a reason why real-sugar sodas are thinner in texture.

      Soda, due to not just the sugar, but the combination of sugar, carbonation, sodium, and various other colouring and caffeinating compounds, is dangerous in high quantities. Even in small, regularly-consumed quantities, it has an addicting effect, as well as being tied to problems with insulin resistance, low potassium, and breakdown of calcium deposits (bones and teeth).

      I'm saying this, partly to dispel some of the myths, and partly to mention the addiction note.

      Starting when I bartended, I drank a ton of soda. Enough that between that, the daily dose of pasta, and the high quantities of alcohol, ballooned me up nearly 60lbs (5'3", originally around 100lbs). I'm now back down under 130, but that's only after completely cutting out soda and mostly cutting out alcohol (which immediately cut my weight to around 140-145).

      Cutting out soda was the hard part. I had to pay attention to what I was ordering at restaurants, and what I was buying at the store every day. I increased my coffee intake threefold. I felt like crap for WEEKS. It was clearly withdrawal.

      And then... I started feeling better. More energy. Healthier. Less gassy (seriously!). My mouth didn't constantly taste icky. My skin was...well, my skin will never be good. But it was slightly better.

      Now, I occasionally drink soda (there's really nothing like an ice-cold can on a blisteringly hot day), but it's not a regular part of my life, and I limit myself to an 8- or 12-oz can. Any more than that and I start feeling sick.

      It's doable, but like any lifestyle change, it's incredibly difficult, and takes a lot of willpower.

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      • #33
        Quoth KiaKat
        And then... I started feeling better. More energy. Healthier. Less gassy (seriously!). My mouth didn't constantly taste icky. My skin was...well, my skin will never be good. But it was slightly better.
        Yeah I had a similar withdrawal cycle coming off my sweet sweet caffeine. For your skin, get a blood test for food sensitivities. Seriously. My skin has never been great and no dermatologist could ever figure out why. Till my doctor ordered some blood tests recently and it turned out to be farkin' gluten. My whole life everyone said I just had hormonal problems and it turned out to just be an allergic reaction to fscking bread >.>

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        • #34
          I've done most of the exclusion tests. I just happen to have really horrible eczema, and the autoimmune tests wouldn't reveal any new information, so I'm just stuck slathering lotion and trying to not scratch like a meth addict all winter.

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          • #35
            They just performed one comprehensive blood test on me for food sensitivities and I ended up sensitive to the entirety of western civilization. Now I'm just trying not to starve to death before I learn how to cook again. -.-

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