Thursday, January 8, 2009

A Coke Addict in Withdrawal

Until about 3 years ago, I was an iced water fanatic. I would drink the water because it left me with a prize: a cup full of ice to chew. The ice was just perfect for chewing after soaking in water for awhile. Yes, to all you dental experts, I DO know it's bad to chew ice. I also knew that eating ice is often a sign of anemia. I learned this when I was pregnant (and as a note of interest, pregnant women in third world countries will eat dirt when they are iron deficient; I heard about the dirt eating from a Kenyan, then read about the reason in a book). However, my anemia had never been given much attention (apart from pregnancy: Take these iron pills & see me next month). Turns out the anemia was a tell-tale sign of my Celiac Disease.

So, I got on a gluten free diet, took massive amounts of iron, and stopped craving ice. Good, right? Except I also stopped drinking lots of water every day.

You would THINK now that my body was eating healthier (at far as gluten goes), that I would be craving healthier foods. Nope. I started drinking Coke! Or Pepsi. Or even generic store brand "Cola." It really makes no difference to me. I went from drinking about 1 Coke per week to drinking about 1-2 daily or every other day. We have this great drive-in restaurant here called Sonic. They are "Drink Central" with about a zillion combinations of drinks you can have made to order (non-alcoholic). They even have a "Happy Hour" when drinks are half-price, so I can get a BIG Coke for under $1.00!

Make that I COULD, past tense, get a Coke. We are on a strict budget now, at least until the next payday. Okay, we're usually on a strict budget, but we are not even going to get half-price drinks at Sonic. I had my last Coke on Saturday! It is now in the wee hours of Thursday. I think I've only had a 'hankerin' for Coke once. Let's see if I can last all week!

Any other recovering Coke addicts out there? I know at least one of my friends is. And she's one of my 2 or 3 faithful blog readers! LOL! Let me know YOUR food or drink withdrawal story!

"I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me!" Phillipians 4:13

4 comments:

Rachel said...

I'm definitely a recovering addict! The solution has been not to keep it in the house, no soda, even when have guests. All we keep to drink is water, tea, juice, milk, and coffee...

When we go out though, I almost always get a Coke. And when I make BBQ we get a 2Liter and I end up drinking it all.

It's hard to resist when it's -right- there...

Good luck, until payday at least ;)

Anonymous said...

Yep! I was a Cherry Coke addict for a short time. I don't drink ANY soda anymore. I don't like to be 'controlled' by anything other than the Holy Spirit so when I realized that my first thought in the morning was 'Cherry Coke', I dropped it cold turkey!!! LOL

Becky Kiser said...

i was a MAJOR coke addict... until i joined weight watchers. when i realized how many calories i was putting into my body, it scared me away.

here are two things that helped take the sting away from my beloved beverage:
1. carbonated water. you can get these flavored at heb for pretty cheap. they have a flavor and still have that carbonated feel like coke. but zero calories.
2. i have become an ice addict. still not good, but better. so i trick myself into getting water, plus just add ice and you are good to go. but don't make it sweet tea or else it's just as bad as coke. i put splenda or other sugar alternatives to make it taste better.

Melissa said...

WOW do I feel your pain!!! I LOVE Coke. I used to drink 3-4 cans a day! But last year I was diagnosed diabetic, which put an end to my love affair. I am not a fan of diet soda, but I did find that Coke Zero is a happy compromise for me. It is a nice treat once in a while. I am back to drinking 2 liters of water a day, which I did for a while a few years ago. I had stopped drinking soda and only drank water -- I lost 60 pounds in only a few months by doing that! No other changes in diet or exercise, just no soda and lots of water!