The Last Day

Today is the last day of my thirty day immersion experience. I have learned that caffeine is a powerful substance and definitely has its uses but is not a good thing to become addicted to. I think that I will probably start drinking Pepsi again because I miss the taste of it and I definitely miss chocolate. Life on a diet really sucks and I really disliked preventing myself from having the kind of food that I want. I will make myself one promise though, I will not let it get so bad that I drink a case of pop in a few days.

New and Improved

The journey is nearly over now and I believe that I have noticed a few benefits to having done this. I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping, I would lay awake at night for at least an hour or so trying to fall asleep but unable to. Now when I lay down I'm out within minutes. I'm guessing this is because I no longer have caffeine in me preventing me from sleeping. But other than that I feel generally about the same as when I drank alot of Pepsi. I didn't know what to expect but I am just glad that the withdraw is over.

Lent?

It have been asked a few times why I am doing this immersion experience. People tend to assume that I am doing this for Lent and are surprised that what I am doing has nothing to do with it at all. In fact, I had no idea that Lent was even going on right now. I am a bad Christian, I know. But maybe I should just tell people that I am doing this for Lent, they will never know.

The Friends

You know, my friends have been a very big help in getting me through all this. There have been times when I wanted to break and get a candy bar or Pepsi... And those times were met with a swift smack upside the head. It has definitely been a long road but im glad that I went through it. What have you given up lately?

I Haz a Ponder

So, the 30 day immersion experience is ending relatively soon. It shall be about 5 days until the caffeine free period ends and the decision will be upon me. Do I keep  my caffeine free diet or do I run back into the carbonated arms of Pepsi? Maybe I should accept caffeine but limit myself. But is that even possible? What do all of you thinks? Gives me some suggestifications here.

Speaking of Fathers

My father usually buys me a few things during my school year at college. He gets me a 24 case of Pepsi, and the largest bag of candy bars that he can find on sale. I neglected to mention to him that I had quit drinking and otherwise consuming caffeine. So rather than break his little heart and tell him that I don't want the presents that he had purchased for me I went ahead and took them. They now sit on the floor in my room in quiet melancholy waiting to be consumed. I haven't made up my mind yet as to whether or not I will go back to consuming caffeine.

But Why Pepsi?

So here is a story for you. When I was young, like very young, my father worked in a factory and he took his lunch with him everyday. When he came home from work I figured out very quickly that in his lunch box there would be two things: a candy bar and a Pepsi. And it became an everyday ritual that my father would come home at 2:30 and I would sneak into his lunch box and eat the candy bar then chug the Pepsi. And that tradition never really stopped and evolved into what is currently my addiction to caffeine and chocolate.

The fruit of my labor

Okay, so I really hate 99% of all fruits. In fact I think that the only fruit that I really like would be grapes. But now that I have this gaping hole in my diet im finding myself in need of new things. Grapes have now become a part of just about every meal now and it's really not that bad. In place of the Pepsi that I would normally drink with every meal, I have taken a particularly strong fondness to apple juice. But really I have been expanding and trying the other types of juices and I discovered that they really aren't that bad either. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing.

The Evolving Diet

So now that I have eliminated caffeine from my diet, there is a significant hole in my meal plan. I have had to replace what was usually the Pepsi and Chocolate part of my diet with other items.. Items that I would not normally eat.. That would mean juices instead of Pepsi, especially apple juice, and God help me, fruit. Now, eating fruit is a big deal for me because I generally hate fruit. But a new revelation has hit me, I like grapes. So now when Im trying to sort out my 7.55 dollars worth of food, my tray looks alot like the top of that cats head.

My Fridge.

So, this picture basically explains what my fridge used to look like. In fact im pretty sure that neither I nor my room mate have ever had enough room in our fridge to put anything in there other than the drinks. The Pepsi cans would take up nearly all of the room in our fridge. But as of right now, instead of Pepsi there are apple juices and Gatorades lining the walls. How much room in your fridge does your soda take?

The Gravity of the Situation

So, it was brought to my attention during that presentation I was telling you about that I never really made it clear why exactly I am doing this. WELL, I have been drinking caffeine for basically my whole life. Now for some people that might not be a problem but for me... well... When I started college last year my habit increased severely for a few reasons. One, I was stressed out because I had never been to college before and caffeine helped me have some consistency in my life. And two, the availability increased greatly because Pepsi is easier to get here and I spend less time in class.

So how bad had it gotten by spring semester of my sophomore year? Last month, before I started going through this, I was drinking around seven bottles/cans on a week day or nine on a weekend. So yah, I needed this.

Withdraw Number 2!

So, I actually just gave a presentation yesterday about how I was feeling fine even though it had been two days since I had Pepsi. But today is a new day... And today the groginess has set in. Though as of yet im happy to report that I have no headache to speak of. Im not really sure how to describe what im feeling though, its like it takes my brain several times to understand things that should only take once. It is very unhelpful in classes that require a great amount of concentration. Wish me LUCK!

He's Back!

So, Spring Break was good. However, staying on my caffeine free diet over the break was more difficult than I had imagined. I may or may not.... have cheated. Okay I did. But I never had more than three or four caffeinated drinks each day so I'm still better than I was about three weeks ago. Lets not talk about the chocolate.... Well I'm back on the band wagon now that spring break is over though so wish me luck!