Sparkle!

For all you doubters out there, I've pretty much given up diet soft drinks. I used to drink over 5 caffeine-free diet Cokes a day (sometimes much more than that), but that has changed. My shrink told me that it would be better for me to cut out the artificial sweeteners altogether and have an occasional real Coke instead of sucking down the artificial goodness all the time. So I mostly drink water and munch on ice. When I go home, I have sparkling water! Gotta have that carbonation. Keeps me from feeling deprived (a tip from a trainer at the gym, for which I'm very thankful). I drink La Croix berry and orange sparkling waters. No sweeteners, no calories, no sodium. Occasionally after a workout, I will have a Gatorade. Often, I skip that, though, and come home to my lovely sparkling water. Occasionally, on days when my brain is at least semi-functional, I'll remember to take a can or two with me to work. Mostly, it's an after-work or after-workout treat.

So far, I've held pretty good to that. Once about every other week, I get to have something with sugar as a treat. What's weird is that I've gotten to where I actually prefer the taste of the diet stuff. Limeades, lemonades, and root beer seem to be the easiest drinks to get down if I'm in the mood for something with a little more punch. But I've gotten to where I'm used to my sparkling waters and actually prefer them to sodas or limeades.

La Croix is the main brand that I can find around here that has actual flavors to choose from. They have plain, lime, grapefruit, orange, and berry. Berry is my favorite. I hate to sound like an advertisement, but if you're trying to cut back on soda, give it a try.

Sparkle on, my friends!

On a side note, I am feeling much better today, though I'm still not at 100% of my normal functionality. Going to take it easy today. Tomorrow, I hope to be back in the groove.