The Last Diet Coke

I got the idea to start this blog two weeks ago while working at Explo, an enrichment program for 8th and 9th graders based at Wellesley College. For seven weeks, I subsisted on The Three P's: pizza, potatoes, and pasta. And that's not all--I was supplementing this diet with candy and three to four glasses of diet coke each day. For obvious reasons, I felt weighed down and sluggish. And despite the fact that I was getting plenty of sleep, I had no desire to exercise. My mouth also felt like it was constantly covered in sugar, most likely because I would turn to diet coke and atomic fireballs each time I needed an energy boost. Healthy, I know.

After eating particularly poorly one day, I remembered reading about Gwyneth Paltrow’s detox program and being intrigued. I know, I know...had it really come to this? While I had never felt the need to cleanse (and my parents will still insist that the whole idea of removing toxins from the body is complete hocus pocus; perhaps they are right), I suddenly felt the need to do something to get my eating back on track. Much to my co-workers' dismay, I printed out Gwyneth’s plan, bought a juicer on ebay, and decided to start it the Monday I got back to LA (tomorrow).

As the summer wore on, I got to thinking that I wanted to do more than just cleanse for a week. Like many people, I absolutely love sweets, so much so that I can’t keep them around. I also have a dependency on diet soda and drink at least one can a day. I got to thinking, “what would happen if I cut out all added sugar and processed food and drinks? If you look at a diet coke can, you will find a variety of chemicals including Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate (to protect flavor), and Aspartame to name a few (there are more). This simply can’t be good for the body.

If I were to “eat clean,” a lifestyle philosophy I’ll later discuss in detail, for an extended period of time, would I simply stop craving diet coke and caffeine? Would I truly stop craving sweets? How many weeks will it take for me not to want soda and candy? Will carrots and apples really have the same energizing effect as diet coke? Will a fruit smoothie really suffice for a brownie like the so-called fitness experts say? Or will I just turn into a cranky witch? How will this affect my social life? Is it possible for a busy, working person to prepare fresh and nutritious meals every day, or is it only possible for someone with a personal chef? Is this lifestyle even affordable?

I am literally drinking my last Coke Zero as I type, and thinking about all of the questions I have. The ones above are just some that I will attempt to answer over the course of the next year. Fitness and health experts constantly tout the benefits of clean eating and detoxing, but I’ve never followed their advice 100%, partly because it seemed difficult for the average person.

So this is my quest: This next year I will be writing about my Non-Chemical Romance, or my life as I attempt to ditch my diet soda addiction and reliance on artificial sweeteners by eating healthy and nutritious foods every day. I don’t think it will be easy, but I hope to see if a normal, non-celebrity can actually make these changes. Stay tuned…

And just a quick picture of my colleagues who inspired me in the first place!