Weight and Eating

I've been reinforcing some terrible eating habits for a long time now, so making positive changes hasn't been easy, at all! In fact, I slipped off the wagon last night.

I broke down and had two sodas while at my parents' house last night: 1 Coca Cola and 1 Mountain Dew Code Red. I'm not proud of this slip, but I accept it for what it is - the result of an addiction. Now that I've had 1, I might be able to go the next couple of days and not feel like I "need" one. For the most part, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't want to have a soda, so it's hard.

Now, by nature, we try to substitute one addiction with something else. Recently, I've used ICEEs to fill that void. Last night, I finally reached my saturation point with those, so I'm looking for something new to hopefully fill that void left by regular soda consumption. While I am able to eat Kellogg's Mini-Wheats or Nature Valley granola bars more often than I have before, these items just don't fill that void.

I feel like I need to find something to fill that void so I can stop having these soda cravings. I thought maybe it might be the phosphorus that my body wanted, but now I'm not so sure. I researched further, and discovered that Coca Cola uses the spent leaf of the cocaine plant (all cocaine has already been extracted) to keep the soda fresh. This may sound strange, but it's similar to the process of using a spent hop to preserve beer. Beer makers can use spent hops to keep the flavor of the hop from influencing the flavor of the beer while still getting the preservative effects of the hop.

How do we know all the cocaine has really been extracted? How do we know that there aren't very low cocaine levels in the soda?

I guess I'm just looking for a plausible reason why my body would crave this drink on a regular basis if it's considered safe by the FDA. My own personal experience is really causing me to question not only my own food choices, but those that are considered safe to eat by the FDA.

As a result of all this questioning, I'm trying to be more natural, which means I do not eat anything with artificial sweeteners in it anymore. While HFCS is considered problematic, I'm making sure to reduce my intake - anything in moderation.

However, I'm also becoming more concerned about what I'm not getting because my food allergies prevent me from eating healthy foods. Since we've discovered that probiotics are good for the body, and are now available in yogurts and other foods I'm allergic to, I'm beginning to realize that some of my digestive problems could be caused by what I'm not eating.

So, I'm one of these people that need to use supplements. Believe me, I would much rather like to consume foods like vegetables and fruits to get these things, but my allergies do not permit this. In many cases, my body considers these healthy things toxins and will usually expel them before my body has a chance to digest them.

Right now, I'm starting a supplement regimen and keeping a pill diary - what I taken when and if I'm experiencing anything strange. I'm not posting anything right now on that, because I want to give myself some time to adjust to the regimen and see what reactions I'm having.

I'm feeling pretty good today in terms of my ankle issues (sprained it heavily July 2010) and this past week, I've finally been able to go up and down the stairs without feeling any pain in my ankle. Yay! I can walk normal again!