For as long as I can remember growing up, I loved a certain soft drink, made famous in a small Texas town, which has the same name as a city in a country that belongs in the United Kingdom. Those are the only hints you get.
I remember when this soft drink came in 10 oz glass bottles from the gas station on the corner just a couple miles from where I grew up. All the way into adulthood, I loved drinking the beverage which had about three pounds of sugar mixed with it. Then I discovered that after drinking four or five of them a day, I didn’t feel that great.
I made several attempts to quit my nasty, but refreshing, carbonated habit. Each time I would tell myself I could limit myself to just one every couple of days. In the end, the taste of high fructose corn syrup always won me over. Until last October, that’s when I drank my very last can. In the months since, I have had other soft drinks, all of them equally as bad as the one I loved for so long.
But as of this writing, it’s been two weeks and two days since I’ve had a soft drink of any kind! I’ve had nothing but water (and a few choice adult beverages) to drink morning, noon and night. I feel proud of myself. I can’t say I feel that much different, health wise. But I have found I’m not tired around 2:00 in the afternoon from a sugar crash. Knowing that I’m off of sugary drinks is liberating and it’s better for my body, as well as my wallet since in most places water can be found for free if not relatively cheap in the bottle variety.
On that note, I’ve noticed that when I go into a restaurant and order only a water for my drink, the wait staff practically give themselves whiplash rolling their eyes because they figure a water drinker is also a cheapskate when it comes to gratuity. Not true! I’ll save that for another day.
Now, these are just baby steps towards the overall goal of a healthier me. The next step is cutting out so much fast food. But first, I think I’ll have my morning breakfast on a bun with hash browns. Salt is good for you, right?
Robbie Hoy
