Confessions of a former full-fat coke addict!

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all well.

I thought I would write up a different style of post today seen as lately all my blog has been about is beauty! I came across this blog post idea from Elle (allthatglitters21).  Did you know It takes 21 days to break a habit apparently. But after many failed attempts I am now proud to say I have been ‘clean’ for around 6 months. I am no longer a full fat coke addict!

As a child I adored a can of the good stuff, a chilled can of Coke. So every time we would go out food shopping I would pop one into the trolley as a treat. Back then as a child I liked the stuff but I wasn’t addicted to it. My full fat coke 'addiction' didn't start that long ago actually, I’d say maybe a few years? I can’t pin point on what I liked about it the most - was it the appealing packaging? The sweet taste of caramel infused with carbonated goodness? or is it the fact it gave a caffeine high and got me through stressful times?

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I actually didn’t know I had an ‘addiction’ until other people pointed it out - even then I brushed it off. Where and when did my addiction start I hear you say - back in 2010. I think I gulped down cans and cans of the stuff to get me through the dire work shifts and coursework for just over 2 years. I have only ever drank coffee once in my life, the smell and taste of it repulses me. Tea is also a no go as are energy drinks (sensitive to caffeine - yet I was guzzling down Coke?!). When ever I drank the stuff I felt awake and ready to go, hyper almost. This was obviously the caffeine doing its work. But then shortly after I would come crashing down again, I would feel like I had no energy and felt anxious - what was my solution? More full fat coke, stupidly. I wasn’t having excesses of 20 cans a day; you don’t need to have as much as that to be ‘addicted’. I was having around 6 cans a day for the majority of the time. Goodness knows how much pounds I gained…

This can of goodness would accompany me whilst I ate; lunch and dinner but as sick as it is to declare this little fact it was often my choice of drink at breakfast too. I always use to think to myself nothing starts the day better than a can of full fat Coke. It would accompany through the good times and the bad and would be a great pick me up when I was stressed. I bet there are a lot of Coke addicts out there but they just don’t know it yet.

One of the main side effects I noticed was I kept feeling anxious and uneasy, but as time went on the more I would drink it the quicker the caffeine high would wear off. I always knew I was sensitive to caffeine but I carried on drinking the stuff thinking the caffeine content wouldn’t be as much as it is in an energy drink - how very wrong I was. I attempted to reduce my intake to 1 can a day, it was a struggle. I had headaches, insomnia and mood swings!? I carried on for about a week then went back on the stuff in full swing; 6 cans of carbonated goodness. This carried on for months and months, I would attempt to come out of the addiction because it was making me feel uneasy but couldn’t bear the withdrawal symptoms so I would go back on it, I was lacking the will power and motivation required.

At the beginning of this year I started a healthy eating plan, my Coke addiction was a no-no for obvious reasons. If you did want a carbonated drink it would have to be ‘Diet’ - Me and diet drinks don't go and never will. If Diet drinks were the only carbonated drinks on Earth I would much rather opt for a glass of water. Diet drinks contain Aspartame; in the media the chemical Aspartame crops up from time to time because of the debilitating effects it can have on people. Aspartame has been linked to so many diseases as well as mental health issues that it is really not worth having this chemical in our body. Did you know it is 40x sweeter than regular sugar also? Search it, you will be shocked.

Enough was enough, I had to become in control again. I was determined to quit whilst I was on the healthy eating plan. I was following Slimming World, you are allowed treats in moderation. Whenever I was out a can of chilled full fat Coke would have previously been my choice of drink. I wouldn’t even have given the others a second thought but after started the healthy eating plan anything caffeine free I was open to try.

It was a tough a month I’m not going to lie, I had severe withdrawal symptoms and it really was debilitating but I had my end goal in mind; a clean head and possibly even the chance of losing some weight. I got through it and I saw it till the end. I only lasted on the healthy eating plan for just over a month but I do have positives to take away from it; not only did I lose some weight I also kicked the full fat coke addiction and saved ALOT of money!

Sprite is my new love. It gives me the carbonated goodness without the caffeine. It also tastes refreshing! I also much prefer flavoured sparkling water now too. It is hard but it needs to be done. For anyone reading this who has had a similar experience let me know how you are getting on. You can do it, you will feel so refreshed after doing so!

Please share your tips and advice in the comments below, I love reading comments!