Wow that’s a lot! I take a lot of classes that are 50-60 minutes but a full 80 minutes is a big investment — I’m impressed 🙂 Actually working out is what makes me drink a ton of water! I get SO thirsty when I run around!

I do exercise every day for between 60-80 minutes which is better then I did a year ago back then I did 0 minutes a day.

Haha, definitely chime in on that one!

Yes feel free to link. I could ramble on & on about these topics…haven’t even touched on the dangers of aspartame & artificial sweeteners and how taxing it is on our system to overload it with things we were never meant to ingest! But I will stop the doom & gloom here & save it for the next health post 🙂

This was so interesting to read, thank you Becky! I will link to your comment in my upcoming post, if you don’t mind.

I feel you, I was a 2-3 can a day drinker (let’s be real… it was three.) Even better out of a fountain! I went cold turkey at first too though I never intended to make it permanent so I do still have the occasional one. Maybe once a week? I love some of the environmental points you brought up which I frankly hadn’t even considered. Thank you for making me think about them!

Funny you mention them, I actually stayed right next to the Tone It Up girls in Jamaica and saw them doing some filming! I’ve been meaning to check out their workouts ever since… thanks for the reminder!

Aaah, Alex! So much to say in such a little comment box. I am hugely ashamed to admit I was a 1-2 BOTTLE a day drinker. I think they were 500ml? So ya, that’s part of your environment question answered. I’ve reached my single use plastic quota FOR LIFE. But as I’m sure you can relate, the addiction is sooo specific. I would actually refuse DC in a can or even poured from a larger bottle. It had to be personal sized, in plastic and I had a little ritual around going out to get it. I didn’t stock them because a) I didn’t want to make it too easy on myself and b) Perhaps I always hoped I’d wake up one day and not need one?

When it was time to finally FINALLY quit, I went cold turkey. Now that I think about it, I was actually in a similar situation to you where I was looking to shed the 10-15 pounds that had been slowly creeping up on me. Nothing was working so my Mom suggested the South Beach diet. This is something else I’m ashamed to admit because there’s a lot in the diet that doesn’t jive with me now BUT 6 years later, I do practice my own tailored version of it. Anyway, part of the protocol is eliminating caffeine for 2 weeks which meant bye bye DC. I’d already been wanting to kick it for various other reasons (my dentist was always scaring me with the potential of eroded tooth enamel — do you realise what a thin, delicate layer of white we have on our teeth?) so I felt ready, but it was NOT easy. Probably the most trying aspect of the diet. But I am pleased to say that A) The diet was a complete success & I’ve kept the weight off to this day (for the most part. Health in the land of pints & pies is a new challenge…). B) I didn’t go back to Diet Coke.

For the first year, I’d very occasionally have a secret one (again with the ritual. I couldn’t be a normal person and order it from the fountain at hungover brunch. Had to go it alone to a seedy corner store and guzzle it while my boyfriend was at work). After that, it faded away. It’s probably been 4 years since I had my last sip and I never crave it or think about it. Until now!!

Back to the environmental aspect…in addition to the plastic waste (for those who don’t know, most plastic doesn’t get recycled even though it’s technically recyclable. And even so, it’s better not to use at all than to recycle which requires resources), there’s the issue of supporting a corporate multi-national focused on short-term profits vs. the health & safety of its customers & future of the planet. Such a giant topic but basically, soda production involves a lot of chemicals, mostly untested and while I don’t know stats, almost all industrial processes are highly polluting & resource intensive (water, land etc). As much as possible, I try to give my money to small, local and / or sustainable businesses who have way more accountability and transparency.

I know it’s much more difficult to be choosy about sourcing when traveling. Hell, it can be difficult in a major city! I guess the best we can do is keep educating ourselves and making those small changes that add up to something big for our health and the future of our precious little world? Let’s hope.

Ooooo Becky now I want to hear more about your DC kicking journey. Do you drink it at all anymore? I still do occasionally — HOW BEAUTIFUL IT FEELS to be able to just “occasionally” have one! But at the moment I’m sitting here trying to remember when the last time was and I think it was perhaps my post-Songkran hangover, so about a week. For someone who used to go through 2-3 a day (embarrassing) it’s wild to think about. When you say environmentalism do you mean the can recycling or something else?

And thanks for the podcast rec! I’ve started enjoying some solo hiking lately and listening to podcasts while I do it… will check it out.

Please do Amy! I’d love to read it!