Back in my college days, diet Coke was a staple of my personal food pyramid. It was one of my major food groups, along with pizza, wings and various snack cakes from Hostess and Little Debbie products. See, I didn’t drink coffee, but kept the usual college hours (particularly those associated with student newspapers) and needed an infusion of caffeine.

And diet Coke, well, it had no calories. So it couldn’t be that bad for me, especially since I was hoping to lose weight, right?

To be honest, I’m not sure exactly when I began to wane myself away from diet Coke consumption. I still have soda (or pop, as we in Western New York proudly call carbonated beverages) on occasion, both regular and diet varieties. But it’s a rare occasion. As I started to evaluate my overall health and diet, my consumption of soda decreased. And the more I trained, the less frequently I drank soda, needing to refuel mostly with water and occasionally with sports drinks.

The kicker came for me a few years ago when I heard a reputable doctor interviewed about healthy diet and weight loss and recommend drinking fruit juice. Fruit juice? The interviewer was shocked. Isn’t fruit juice higher in calories?

The doctor explained he could prescribe any number of things to help you lose weight. But it wasn’t necessarily going to make you healthy. Take the calories and the nutrients. Ditch the diet soda.

That hit home with me. My journey was to be fit, not skinny. I wanted to be in a body that could enjoy and participate in the creation of own life. That required health. Not thinness.

This piece of advice returned to me after reading article on CNN.com which asked the provocative question: Can you get hooked on diet soda? The story described mostly a psychological “addiction” to the drink although there is some small science about the affect of artificial sweeteners on the brain.

I’m not sure about the science, physically or psychologically, and while I have little in the way of proof, it seems logical to me that soda pop, diet or otherwise, isn’t meant for daily consumption in mass quantities.

Swear off diet Coke and ginger ale? Not a chance. My diet is not “perfect” nor do I strive for it to be. Sometimes my soul needs a piece of quality chocolate. Or a stack of pancakes.

But my desired outcome is not a rail-thin body, rather a healthy one which has the energy and good feelings to carry me through my various adventures — in mind and body.

Which reminds me, it’s time to refill my Klean Kanteen with some more water.