J's Got a Tough Fight Ahead

I’m departing from my fascination with all things diet soda today to get your thoughts on a personal matter. My best friend (let’s call her J) has decided that she’s finally going to quit smoking. J’s been smoking since we started college and has finally mustered up the courage to try and quit.

Having never been a smoker myself, I wasn’t able to give J any advice but I did direct her attention to a Web site called www.whyquit.com. If this site doesn’t help you quit then I’m not sure what will. It’s got stories of people who died early of heart disease and lung cancer, articles on fighting cravings, message boards and so much more. I skimmed the site and I got so freaked out I had to leave. I’m a wimp, I know but leave me alone.

Anyways, J decided it would be good for her to make a list of reasons why she’s quitting to help her remember when she’s not quite as motivated down the road. She also made a list of “safe” foods that she can consume when she’s trying to right a craving. Her “safe” foods are:

Diet soda – well naturally I’d get my diet soda into a post! But in all seriousness, diet soda is calorie-free so it won’t cause you to gain weight and maybe the caffeine will help fight the craving for nicotine.

Carrots – they’re good for your eyes and relatively low in calories. I actually turned orange in high school once from eating too many carrots. Beta-carotene was NOT good for my high school image! Even my finger nails were orange. Don’t worry, I wanred J about this issue.

Celery – primarily composed of water and very low in calories, celery also has a satisfying crunch that helps to satisfy cravings.

I’m wishing her well on this difficult task that lies ahead but I know she can do it. Did anybody have a successful experience trying to quit? If so, any tips to offer J?

One Point for Bloggers...O'Doyle Rules!!!

I read an article the other from the Wall Street Journal and it made me realize just how much power bloggers really have. According to the article, Mr. Rui Chenggang of China noticed there was a Starbuck’s located inside of Beijing’s famous Forbidden City. Mr. Chenggang is a blogger and wrote about the situation stating the Starbuck’s “really is too inappropriate for the world’s impression of the Forbidden City. This isn’t globalization, this is the erosion of Chinese culture.” Mr. Chenggang wasn’t necessarily opposing the notion of Starbuck’s, just the fact that it’s located in the Forbidden City.

Within a week, this blog post became known throughout the country and journalists parked themselves outside of the café to report on the story. Even authorities began to consider shutting down the establishment. A decision has yet to be made but it certainly makes you stop and think.

I must admit that when I read this article, I thought to myself, “Ha! Bloggers might even be able to take on Starbuck’s. Not that I have anything against Starbucks – half the time it’s the only that keeps me functioning throughout the day.
What’s the moral to this story??? If you see something you don’t agree with or something that irks you, your blog is a great place to go and you might even get a little attention by doing so.

Give Me Soda to Start My Day

This article from WTOP discusses a recent soda phenomenon that I’ve been noticing lately as well: drinking soda in the mornings rather than coffee.

When I was in college I lived religiously on coffee. I would drink it at all times of the day or night in order to stay up cramming for an exam. After four years of constant consumption of coffee, my stomach began to feel the effects. Being that I usually skipped breakfast, three cups of coffee in the morning started to make me a little nauseous. Go figure.

So, that’s when I started drinking soda in the morning. Like Johnny, I’m a lover of Dr. Pepper. But because I was so used to consuming coffee in the morning, I often found that one Dr. Pepper just wasn’t enough caffeine to help my brain function properly. So, I started drinking three sodas throughout the morning and my waistline quickly reflected that.

That’s how I made the switch to diet soda. I started drinking diet soda in the morning and would often bring some to class with me. It was much easier on my stomach and it had no calories, which is always a plus in my book. Soon, I began to prefer the taste of a diet soda to that of regular soda.

According to the article, “consumption of soft drinks at breakfast eaten outside the home has nearly doubled in the past 15 years.” I can safely say I’m a part of that statistic. How about you? Are you a coffee drinker or are you too a part of the masses that loves an ice cold soda (regular or diet) in the AM?

Don't Mess With Me and My Aspartame

I had to miss work on Monday due to an embarrassing incident (more on that later) that happened on Saturday afternoon. Because of this incident I had to undergo a series of tests. While I know I’m fine and a rather healthy 24-year-old if I do say so myself, my doctors decided to test me for every disease he could think of. It was like he just picked fifteen or so random diseases and tested me for it. And boy did I feel the pain of those tests!

While I was there the doctor asked me to rattle off some of the common foods and beverages I consume on a daily basis. Chocolate…check. Fruits and veggies…check. Lean meats…check. When I got to the part about diet soda my doctor’s face suddenly grew alarmed. Diet soda, he asked shrieked! That’s where your problem lies.

He went on to tell me that aspartame, a low-calorie sweetener found in many diet sodas, causes every disease under the sun. He advised me to cease and desist my use of diet soda or risk death.

Now up until this point I trusted my doctor with my life. But after he made what can only be called an idiotic comment, I had to set him right. Aspartame has undergone numerous studies (around 200, I think) and all have proven it to be a safe compound. In addition, millions of people use aspartame everyday and the majority of them are very healthy people.
So, in other words don’t believe everything that your doctor tells you.

Living on the Edge

Not really anything to post about today. More diet soda news tomorrow. Actually, right now I'm sitting at work sipping on...gasp, a regular Coke!!! I know, I know, this is not typical Elaine behavoior and I've got to be honest and say that it feels a little strange straying from beloved diet soda. But hey, it's 2007 and I feel like living on the edge a little.

Enough of my lameness. The real reason I'm drinking a full-calorie soda is because they vending machine at work is broken and the regular stuff is all they've got, which is fine. I've got nothing against the occassional full-calorie soda, I just prefer the diet variety.

I would like to wish a very, very happy birthday to Ms. Lauren who's turning 25. Folks, she's practically a senior citizen so I know she won't ever read this blog. She probably doesn't even know what a blog is but I wanted to send her my best wishes anyways. This is a gal who will wizz by you in a marathon and obliterate you in a game of trivia but can also just sit back and enjoy some Mexican food and diet soda with you as well. Happy birthday LD!

SodaRatings.com

I recently found out about an awesome new soda Web site, SodaRatings.com. This site allows people to rate virtually every soda out there from the diet variety to the non-diet variety, from caffeinated to non-caffeinated.

I did a little experiment and tried to find a soda that Patrick, creator of SodaRatings.com, might have missed and I must admit that it seems as though he’s got pretty much all of them.

I went through and ranked my favorites, naturally most of them were diet, and then looked to see where my favorites ranked in comparison to other popular sodas. I then realized how incredibly dorky I was to be so obsessed with diet soda that I would spend two hours on a Web site devoted to those fizzy drinks! In all actuality, I think this Web site is much needed and very cool. I’m always on the lookout for new and different types of diet sodas but am never sure where to look.

Also, it’s never fun buying a 12-pack of a new kind of soda only to take the first sip and realize it’s disgusting. Now I check out a sodas rating on this site before purchasing. Anyways just wanted to let you in on a little diet soda (regular soda) resource that I think is pretty darn rockin’.