I’ve been trying to watch my calorie intake lately– suffice it to say, my abdomen has grown to large proportions, which would be great if those proportions consisted of muscle rather than fat. In doing so, I’ve noticed an alarming trend, namely, that many of the calories my body has to deal with are derived from the sugar-laden soft drinks I so often have with my lunch, dinner, and the occasional snack.

In fact, I’d love to start drinking diet sodas to cut down on a significant number of calories. After all, it’s a logical choice for someone who wastes around 500 calories a day on beverages. Unfortunately, there’s one slight problem with that approach: I absolutely loathe the taste (or should that be aftertaste?) of NutraSweet™®© and its synthetic brethren. Doesn’t matter whether it’s Diet Coke, Diet Sprite, Diet Dr. Pepper, or whatever it may be– I can quite readily taste the artificial sweeteners within, and it’s a flavor I don’t particularly care for.

“Well, then”, you say, “why not just drink water instead?” And I do, in fact; I quite often try to substitute good old H₂O for more caloric drinks. But in some cases– especially the above-mentioned meals– water just seems too…bland…at times. And there’s always tea, of which I drink a good amount, but whose calorie content is not much better off than the canned, carbonated drinks with which I’ve a love-hate relationship.

I guess I’ll just have to exercise more, then. A lot more.