I want to eat healthier, I want to be healthier. As some of my regular readers know I’ve put myself on a bit of a diet and upped my daily exercise as well. Every morning I’m biking three miles over uneven terrain. Not only have I cut back on the size portions I consume but I’ve begun to eat regularly, none of this silly forgetting to eat breakfast and lunch deal, and I’ve added a ton of greens and fruits to my diet. I’ve noticed a marked difference already even though I’ve only managed to knock off 5 pounds thus far.

One thing that hasn’t changed though is the fact that it’s still hard for me to get up and going until I’ve had my morning caffeine boost and I’m not just talking a cup of coffee here either. I literally cannot start my day until I’ve had glass of soda, usually Dr. Pepper., and then and only then can I start moving with my eyes wide open and in a much more pleasant mood too. I’m essentially addicted to soda and while I know that it’s not the most healthiest beverage to consume and it is addicting I can’t help but to need that one glass every morning to get going. I can forgo soda for the rest of the day now, but only if I’ve had that one glass to get me started.

Considering my level of addiction I can’t help but wonder if this is what helped those extra pounds to sneak up on me and what prevents me from successfully getting rid of them. I’ve been considering switching to diet soda but then I came across BenSpark’s Refreshing Soda-Club Contest. I’ll be frank, at first glance I didn’t think much of it but then I started reading about the what the prize is and I became very intrigued. Up for grabs is a free Soda-Club Home Soda Maker which allows you to make your own Soda-Club soda at home. Not only does this product allow you to make your own soda at home, and what soda-addict wouldn’t love that, but it’s proven to save you money, is healthier than the commonplace soda brands found on store shelves, and is environmentally friendly to boot. How cool!

For a better idea of what the Soda-Club maker is and how it works watch Ben Spark’s video:

On the Soda-Club site they have a “Show Me the Savings” banner which requests a few tid bits about your soda consumption and then calculates savings and benefits for you to switch to using Soda-Club. These are the questions it asks you:

• Number of people in your household: there is actually three of us but I’m the soda drinker so I only put 1
• Type of beverage consumed: I drink mostly regular Dr. Pepper
• Consumption rate: of the choices available of course I picked “I’m a fizz addict”
• Price paid: This one was hard because when there is a sale I do stock up on it because I drink soda almost all day and everyday, but if I run out I’ll pay full price regardless of what that price may be. I ended up choosing “If I need it I buy it…usually at full price” because if I need it I will buy it.

After inputing the necessary information here are the results I received:

Health Wise:
Calories - You’ll consume 111,586 fewer calories - that adds up to 32 pounds!
Sugar - You’ll reduce sugar intake in soft drinks by 66% - that’s 5,736 teaspoons
Carbs - You’ll drop 28,678 grams of the carbs in regular soda by making the switch!
Sodium - You won’t miss the 5 tablespoons of extra sodium contained in some store bought drinks

It goes on to say that 1,200 fewer aluminum cans will be manufactured because I’ll be drinking Soda-Club soda instead and that I’ll save about $173 on soda per year. Wow. To tell you the truth I hadn’t even thought about how much money I spend on soda until I did this. It’s scary.

Actually no, that’s not what is scary. What’s scary is that I just found the flavoring they have called “Pete’s Choice” which is their Dr. Pepper equivalent. On their flavor’s page take a gander at the classic flavors, there you’ll find Pete’s Choice (among others) and if you click on them you’ll be provided with an image of the container’s label which contains the nutritional information. As luck would have it I don’t have a 12 liter bottle lying around of Dr Pepper, which is what that one small bottle will make, but I do have a 20fl oz bottle in the refrigerator. Now here’s what is so scary, I’m comparing their bottle of flavoring that makes 12 liters to a 20fl oz bottle and their’s is at least three times healthier than a 20oz bottle. Is anybody else freaking out about this?! I know I am! Here’s what I’m seeing:

Dr Pepper:

Calories: 250
Total Fat: 0g
Sodium: 100mg
Total Carb.: 66g
Sugars: 64g

Pete’s Choice (Soda-Club equivalent)

Calories: 37
Total Fat: 0g
Sodium: 1.6mg
Total Carb.: 8.5g
Sugars: 8.5g

That is just, yeah the only word I can think of is amazing and that doesn’t begin to cover how I’m feeling right now after reading that and comparing it with my own eyes.

To be frank even if I don’t win the grand prize, which is a Soda-Club Home Soda Maker, I’m going to buy one anyway. I really like the idea behind this appliance and can definately see the advantage of buying and using one.

None the less my readers, I hope that when the time comes (and I’ll be sure to tell you when) that’ you’ll vote for me and help me to win one of these hot babies for myself.

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