As loyal readers of this blog know, during the time that I weighed over 450 pounds, I was Diet Coke’s best customer. I needed 3 to 4 cans of it just to begin my day (to help quench my food hangover from the night before) and then would continue to drink it throughout the day. I would always have several with each meal, convinced that the bubbles were helping me digest my gargantuan-sized meals. “At least I have one aspect of my eating life in check,” I would gloat to myself — not realizing that the 144+ ounces (approximately 12 cans) of Diet Coke I was drinking a day was doing me more harm than good. Wait… Make that all harm, no good.

Back in the day, my reason for getting off the stuff was because I was finally trying to ingest all-natural products into my system — including any and all beverages I consumed (meaning I switched to mostly water — both plain and sparkling for a little variety). Although I realized then that the many ingredients in Diet Coke couldn’t be good for me, today there’s even more evidence that this stuff is potential poison for our systems.

Wondering what’s really in your Diet Coke? Check out this interesting article from Men’s Health, which dissects what Diet Coke’s Caramel Color, Aspartame, Phosphoric Acid and “Natural flavors [that] are derived from the essential oils or extracts of spices, fruits, vegetables and herbs” (according to Coca-Cola) are all about.

And speaking of the ingredients, a recent study published by General Dentistry states that constant exposure to the citric and phosphoric acid in soda (without proper dental hygiene) can be just as damaging to teeth methamphetamine or crack cocaine.

Fox News reported on the study’s findings, in which a woman in her 30s who drank 2 liters of diet soda every day for 3 to 5 years. When her teeth were compared to a 29-year old methamphetamine addict and a 51-year old crack cocaine user, the levels of tooth rot and decay were very similar.

Sure, the woman admitted she hadn’t seen a dentist in years, but still — why would we continue to put this stuff into our mouth? Much less ingest it? And since we know it’s virtually just as addictive as hardcore drugs — why would we be surprised at these findings?

Men’s Health also reports that when researchers from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio compared the waistlines of diet soda drinkers against a group of non-diet drinkers, the diet soda drinkers had 70 percent greater increases in belly bulge over the course of the 9.5-year study. You can read more reasons why diet soda makes you fat by clicking here.

So I ask you… Have you canned the diet soda habit yet?

I have heard from many of you in regard to having an addiction to diet soda. And believe me, I understand. But there’s really no better gift you can give yourself than to give up diet soda cold turkey — 100% — starting now. If you’re addicted to the caffeine, try some black coffee instead (just enough to avoid headaches — and be sure rinse and brush your teeth after, since coffee does your teeth no favors, stain-wise).

I’ve always said that the three major components of successful weight loss include a 1) healthy, balanced and moderate diet, 2) exercise and 3) lots of water. So why not give up the diet soda and start that “Lots of water” thing today? You just might find that you not only feel and sleep better, but also that you’ll lose weight faster — perhaps because your body is no longer having to sort through and process the many artificial ingredients found in diet soda.

The makers of diet soda may have taken the calories out, but they’ve put other things in to replace those calories. Perhaps it’s time for you to cut the ingredient of diet soda out of your life once and for all.

Photo Source: Wellsphere.com