Even as a teenager in my first internship, I knew I had a drinking problem. As the other office comrades cultivated their cups of coffee with artificial sweetener and international creamers, I plunked a quarter into the glossy red machine and was rewarded with a firm icy cold can of coke.
"How can you handle so much sugar and caffeine so early in the morning?" one red-haired father of 5 accountant asked. A quick movement of my eyes from his - down to his steaming cup of sugar and caffeine - and back spoke volumes. It's the same thing I thought.
But it's not. Not at breakfast and then at lunch and then at dinner. Not at 140 calories a can. Not over 20 years...
One year I supported a friend and gave up sugar for lent. All sugar. For 40 days. It was difficult at first and difficult towards the end. I'd never had much issues with eating candy or dessert but had dreams that I'd eaten M&Ms by mistake and blowing it all. The first things I wanted when released from lent? Sweet tea and a frosty from Wendys.
When I was pregnant I did much better - only 1 or 2 cokes a week with my first son and maybe 3 a week with my second. It was amazing, I couldn't keep the weight on. And afterwards, while I was breastfeeding them and staying away from the caffeine, it's what I craved but I was adamant about keeping it away from the babies. It's not healthy for them! (duh, but it's ok for me to have 4 in a day now!?).
So fast forward 4 years and here I am. A sweet-tea-aholic and I'm not teasing. After dropping the kids off at school I just want a fix. A need. A large McDonalds sweet-tea over ice fuels me for an entire day. If I put it off and go straight home then I reward myself with one coke. It starts with one. But, just as a junkie, I'm not sure how many I have in a day anymore. It may be from a few days or from a week but I see many empty cans around me now.
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