I’ve been trying to live without drinking cola for the past two weeks. There are two reasons for this. One is because I am lazy and don’t want to go to the supermarket. Even though I signed up for a club card four months ago, my name and phone number are not yet in their system, so I never receive any member discounts. I thought the point of buying food was to simply buy whatever is cheapest and deal with the lousy taste? I don’t want to pay six dollars for twelve cans of Coke. That seems absurd. I don’t know why, but it just does. The other reason I have been trying to live without cola is because I keep reading about how unhealthy it is. Maybe living with a health nut in a city filled with health nuts is starting to wear on me. Too many empty calories in the form of refined sugars, no vitamins or minerals, diabetes risks, rotten teeth and disturbed sleep cycles are not exactly what I would consider a valuable asset to my diet.
So, how have I been doing in my recent decaffeinated life? Terribly. I think the problem is that I put a plan into action to immediately curtail my caffeine intake by one-hundred percent, instead of gradually cutting back my intake. I actually took naps last week because I had no energy whatsoever each afternoon. Before then, I am pretty sure the last time I took a nap was during elementary school. The headaches were relentless and immobilizing. I finally caved and had a bottle of Vanilla Coke two nights ago, and a bottle of Diet Pepsi yesterday. I guess one cola each day won’t lead me down the path to the dreaded Mountain Dew Mouth.
I am fully aware that I could simply replace the cola with coffee, tea, yerba mate or something else, but where’s the fun in that? Those options lack the refreshing, effervescence of my sweet, sweet colas. I have never liked the taste of coffee, and mate drinks are foul. Tea is certainly good, but it is not quite what I need on warm days, or while eating hot foods. I know in India they drink hot teas all the time, even when it is 120 degrees outside, but this is not India. I don’t “get” their customs and have no desire to adopt them. Like I said, I crave the cold, sharp bite of a soda pop when consuming a hot meal. Maybe I should resign myself to the fact that I am indeed an addict, and there is not much I can do about it.
Are you off caffeine? Are you on? I used the pronoun “I” too much today, right? Well…sorry.
