Goodbye To Diet Sodas...

DISCLAIMER: I am not a Doctor - just a computer nerd!

I have heard both sides of the argument for a lot of years. I think we all have. One says diet soda will kill you. One says prove it. Blah, blah, blah.... I decided to do a little personal test with so many people's drink of choice. In fairness I did not just use diet coke - I drank several brands that were all diet. For week one I drank diet sodas as normal. "Normal" for me is between 2-3 per day. For week two I did not drink any diet soda - mainly water, but one daily cup of coffee and powerade during my long training run.

Results for me were staggering.

Week 1

Drank my sodas as normal. Did about 18 miles on Saturday that felt normal.

Week 2

By the end of the first day I was jonesing for a soda. Not really shaking with the sweats, but I just craved the taste. I noticed my four mile run the next day felt a little different. Almost like everything was clicking better if that makes sense. Anyway, I went without soda for the rest of the week without much effort. I don't think I am as hooked on the bubbly stuff as I originally thought. My long run last week was at least 25% easier at the same distance of around 18 miles. Now I could have just been having one of those great days where it comes easy. Time will tell.

At this point I am walking away from diet sodas all together. I have not really come across hard core proof stating they are awful for you, but I feel that they do hold me back on the long runs.

So just like that....Goodbye Sodas.