I Like Diet Coke, But I Like Losing Weight More

I wouldn’t describe myself as religious, but I gave up pop for Lent. It was more or less for something to do, or something not to do. With 9 days of Lent to go, according to the Offical Lent Countdown site, I ask myself, will I be giving up soda for good? The truth is, I haven’t decided yet.

I am one of the many unemployed people in the United States. I currently collect unemployment while looking for work and studying for the GRE. I spend most of my free time at the gym (Zumba(!), yoga, etc.) and/or running.

I lost about 20 pounds pretty easily after I was laid off due to less money for dining out and more time for exercise, but by mid-February, I had hit a wall where regardless of how much I ate, drank, or exercised, I wasn’t losing any weight. I was stuck at 126 pounds.

Then came Lent. I had never given up anything for Lent before and I decided it would be a nice challenge to give up something for a few weeks.

I don’t eat very much and I don’t eat a wide variety of foods so there were no food stuffs I could realistically give up for Lent. It came down to Mint Conditions from Caribou Coffee or Diet Coke. I love Mint Conditions, and I mean love. Mint Conditions, while expensive and unhealthy, are a treat and pick me up when I’m feeling blue. Giving up Mint Conditions for Lent was not an option. Giving up Diet Coke was my only option so I decided to give up all pop/soda.

Life went on as usual (minus soda) and about two weeks ago, I noticed that I started losing weight again. I am currently down to 121 and the only change I’ve made in my diet and routine has been cutting out pop for Lent.

On the downside, giving up soda has increase my alcohol intake. I am often the driver on nights out and Diet Coke with a slice of lemon was a nice alternative to alcohol. Diet Coke is not as boring and easier to drink than plain ice water, plus based on appearance, it could be a mixed drink and helps me feel like I fit into the bar scene when I’m not drinking. Since I gave up pop, I tend to order a Miller Lite even when I don’t really want or need one.

Will I give up Diet Coke for good, or will I take it back up on Easter Sunday? Only time will tell.

Filed under exercise, health, holiday, unemployment | Tags: alcohol, beer, caribou, Caribou Coffee, coffee, Coke, condition, diet, Diet Coke, Easter, exercise soda, GRE, Lent, lose weight, Miller, miller lite, mint, Mint Condition, pop, Religion, weight, weight loss | Comment (0)

Popes’ Names

With the current Pope in the news regarding the condom uproar, I realized I did not know the current Pope’s name. I remember Pope John Paul II, but who is this new guy?

The current Pope is Pope Benedict the XVI. Benedict, huh? How do popes get their names anyway?

According to the History News Network article How Do Popes Get Their Names?

One perk of being pope is that you can pick your own name. This wasn’t always the case. Originally, popes kept their given names, but in 532, when a priest named Mercury assumed the throne, he discarded his pagan name in favor of John II. By the early 11th century, new names were the rule. Marcellus II, elected in 1555, was the last pope to keep his given name.

Various popes have rechristened themselves after apostles or other important church figures; many have taken names that project an image, like Pius, Clement or Innocent. Frequently, a pope will name himself for a distinguished predecessor: in 1831, Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari became Gregory XVI because he particularly admired Gregory the Great (pope from 590 to 604) and St. Gregory VII (1073-85).

Among the 265 popes are 43 whose names have been used only once. The list includes Linus, Eusebius, Agatho, Sisinnius, Formosus, Romanus and the improbable Hilarius. It’s unlikely that the next pope will choose any of these. It is also all but certain that he will not fashion himself Peter II, after the first pope, whose name is held sacrosanct.

Generally, modern popes name themselves in deference to a Holy Father who helped them rise through the church’s hierarchy or otherwise shaped their careers. Hence, for the last few centuries, the same names have tended to recur.

From 1667 to 1774, 6 of the 12 popes were Clements; after them, 7 of the next 11 were Piuses. In fact, just six papal names – Clement, Pius, Benedict, Leo, Innocent and Gregory – account for every pope from 1590 to 1958, with only four 17th-century exceptions: Paul V, Urban VIII, and Alexanders VII and VIII.

When the reform-minded Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli became John XXIII in 1958, he signaled his break with centuries of tradition by adopting his father’s name. In doing so, he also reached back more than 600 years to his papal namesake, John XXII (1316-34).

Wikipedia states that Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger,

chose the pontifical name Benedict, which in Latin means ‘the blessed’, in honor of both Pope Benedict XV and Saint Benedict of Nursia. Pope Benedict XV was Pope during the first World War, during which time he passionately pursued peace between the warring nations. St. Benedict of Nursia was the founder of the Benedictine monasteries (most monasteries of the Middle Ages were of the Benedictine Order) and the author of the Rule of Saint Benedict, which is still the most influential writing regarding the monastic life of Western Christianity.

View a complete list of Popes here. And see Wikipedia’s List of Names of Popes for more information.

Filed under interests | Tags: Benedict, Catholic, Church, How do Popes get their names?, list of names of popes, list of popes, list of popes' names, Names, Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Names, Popes, Religion, Where do Popes get their names? | Comment (0)