San Diego Zoo

Last Saturday I went to the San Diego Zoo with my girlfriend and the Rojases. The monkeys were my favorite (obviously). Click here to see the rest of the pictures.

Soda

I think ever since I started working at a movie theater in my senior year of high school was when I crossed over from soda being a rare treat to a daily beverage. We didn't have it much in our house which was probably a good thing. When it became free on tap for employees, man how could I control myself? Now I got the treat at an unlimited supply. Who knows how much I drank while working there, but sometimes it was enough to get me shaking. Yeah, too much soda.

Then when I moved to the apartments near UCLA, I had soda as part of my necessary grocery list right along with my Mac & Cheese and Hamburger Helper. So after a couple years of that, I realized I probably don't drink enough water cuz I'm always drinking that stuff so I decided only to drink soda when I went out to eat which worked pretty well since I only ate out for lunch when I was a student.

Then I started working and I ate out alot more mainly cuz I hated cooking and now I didn't have to. Anyways, all these years have shown my friends that I can drink alot of soda. I'm like the refill king. I can drink 3, 4, or 5 glasses with a meal. I've heard all the various rumors about soda and there is probably some truth to them. I'm pretty sure it was never very healthy to drink and I drink alot more than most, but I just kept drinking it knowing one day I'd probably curb it.

Well, about 3 and a half weeks ago, I said no more soda. I have not had a soda in 3 and a half weeks. I only drink water or lemonade when I eat out. Here are some things I've noticed since I've given up soda.

1. My appetite has increased. I've been known as a slow eater for quite some time. I can't remember exactly when it started, but I think it happened around my sophomore/junior year in college. How I became a slow eater has always been a mystery. I used to be a very fast eater in high school, but I figured it was cuz I was a cross country runner and I was just burning calories like mad. So since my appetite has increased, so has my speed. Am I a fast eater now? No, I'm definitely not there. But I'm probably on the mid to slower side of normal which is much faster than I used to be. I also get hungry again while before I just ate cuz it was time.

2. I'm more dehydrated now. I used to think that I drank alot because I was a thirsty person, but if I drink water or lemonade, I may only get one refill if even that. Basically soda does have some hydration value especially in those fountain drinks since they are mostly water anyway. So now I don't drink nearly enough liquids. So I'll have to discipline myself to be better at that.

3. I sleep better. I'm not sure if this is related to this or not. I also bought a really nice latex pillow. This could be the reason. I don't know.

4. I save $2 on every meal (unless I buy lemonade). That adds up!

I figure I was probably drinking at least a liter of soda a day. That's probably 1000 empty calories per day. Have I lost alot of weight then? No, not really, cuz I think I eat more now. I probably lost about 5 pounds though. Hmm, maybe that is alot. I don't know. If you're trying to lose weight and soda is in your diet, cut it completely. Diet soda is not for weight loss. It's a scam.

I was also surprised that I didn't really get any headaches. People say you get headaches from being off the caffiene for a bit. I haven't had any. Does that mean I'm not addicted? No, I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to soda. I crave it every time I go to lunch. Will I ever drink soda again? I don't know. It depends if I can ever control the consumption. Could I reduce my intake to one serving every once in a while? Right now, I'm pretty sure I can't so I'm just not going to have any. Maybe in time I'll forget how good it was and I'll just love drinking water. Does this mean I have to give up root beer floats?