My Cola Addiction

This is the God's honest truth.

There are days I drink NOTHING other than a cola product.

There. I said it. I have Cherry Coke Zero for breakfast. I drink one or two Diet Cokes at work during the day. (OK, sometimes three.) If it's a weekend and we got out for dinner or lunch, there's more diet cola. (You know, you ask for Diet Coke and the server says, "Is Diet Pepsi OK?" Yeah. Whatever. Carbonated brown water with no calories and plenty of caffiene. Just. Bring. It.)

I know it's bad for my teeth. I know the artificial sweeteners are carcinogenic ... if I drink 50 gallons a day. I know the caffiene screws up my sleep.

But I love it. It's the only thing that quenches my thirst. I don't like plain water. I don't like milk. I don't do coffee or tea, iced, sweet, green or otherwise. Juice has too many calories and too much acid. I actually DO like carbonated water and would drink it if the machines at work had it. But they don't.

Diet Coke it is!

So when CC reader HR Girl said she had gone diet soda cold turkey, I took notice.

She did it because she knows the aspartame is bad for her. Isn't that brave and remarkable? She threw the damn gauntlet and I had to see if I could do it.

The plan was to FULLY enjoy my beloved Cherry Coke Zero in the morning and then drink only natural and good for me things after that. No aspartame or artificial flavors. No other chemical sweeteners.

I started Tuesday. I made it all the way through Tuesday according to plan. Mostly by not drinking much at all. Not a sustainable method.

Today is Wednesday. Epic fail. I caved and added one of those Crystal Lite-like packets to my insulated cup at work. I spaced out and ordered the sub "meal deal" at lunch and poured the Diet Coke before I realized what I was doing.

But I'm going to try again tomorrow. HR Girl ... I sort of hate you right now.

And I'm grateful you made me think about it.

You have to admit that this is a thing of beauty, no?