Published by JPLand on 08 Jul 2008 at 02:09 pm
Hard Habit to Break
(My apologies to Chicago for ripping off their song title, but it’s appropriate.)
I have this little habit that I’ve been working on for about 5 years now. It’s called Mountain Dew. Oh boy, do I love a cold MD. Some would look a my situation and say that I’m addicted to this juice of goodness. To that, I reply “I DON’T CARE!” Back when I was in college, I refused to drink caffeine because I wanted to know that it would keep me awake in case I ever needed to pull an all-nighter. Turns out I was way to lazy to ever attempt such a thing. But when I started work with my own office and installed a little fridge, I’ve been drinking about 3,000 gallons of Dew a week. [Please Note: This amount is just an estimate. Actual consumption varies depending on how long the week seams.]
There’s this small, insignificant voice in my head that tells me that I don’t need the insane amounts of sugar, preservatives, caffeine, or radioactive green that is supplied in my daily allotment of two cans. And there are those goody-goody types that seem to be able to do accomplish a reduction in their intake of similar chemicals. So, I decided a couple of weeks ago that it was time to kick the habit. [Reality Check: MD was not on sale at Kroger and I wasn't about to pay $5 for a 12-pack when cokes are only $2.50 per pack. That probably had a lot more to do with my decision.]
Here was my theory. First, I’d gradually reduce the amount of caffeine that I take in. I’d go from 2 Dews [54 mg of caffeine each can] to 2 cokes [34 mg]. Then I’d drop down to 2 Barq’s root beers [22 mg]. Eventually, I’d drop those all together and have nice refresshing water all day long. The theory was sound…the timing was not.
My body had settled into the 2 coke routine and I was working on 1 coke and 1 Barq’s when the girls got sick. The nights with just a little sleep left me needing a little pick-me-up for work in the morning. I’ve read somewhere that an apple does a better job of waking you up in the morning than a soft drink does. That’s a load of rubbish. The apple made me mad. It was the Mountain Dew that helped me through the day.
And so, a week after falling off the wagon (and happily doing so, I might add), I’m left with a decision. Should I try, try again or should I just enjoy the green goodness as it was intended for me?
Carmen on 08 Jul 2008 at 3:12 pm #
It’s hard to find, but they do make a Caffeine Free Dew. Dew is my one non-diet soda vice. Whilst Diet Coke has won my heart, I occasionally have to have the “real thing” and I run for the Dew. Diet Dew is awful btw.
JPLand on 08 Jul 2008 at 3:20 pm #
Diet Dew should not even share a similar name. They should call it “Dirty Mop Water”. Then, to make the process more efficient, they should pour it straight into the toilet so that no one has to taste it.
Pre-Wife on 08 Jul 2008 at 5:18 pm #
I agree Diet Dew is gross!
Alana on 08 Jul 2008 at 8:54 pm #
The way I kicked my soda habit was during Lent. I’m Episcopalian, and every Lent I give up whatever things I think are tying me down that year. One year it was all beverages besides water. So I drank only water for 40 days. After the 40 days, I didn’t want soda so much anymore. Now I only have it every now and then, and when I do it actually does taste amazing and special. So I think you should challenge yourself to give soda up for 40 days and see what happens. It will be good for you. As extra motivation, make it a spiritual challenge and take the money you save by not buying soda and donate it to charity.
JPLand on 09 Jul 2008 at 7:10 am #
Wow, Alana. Now you’ve elevated my “problem” from something that’s just a health risk into a moral and spiritual obligation. For me to be able to accept that challenge, I’m going to need a really strong mental constitution. That way, I’ll be able to ignore all the wrong that I’m causing in the world every time I drink a Dew.
Really, it’s a good suggestion. The problem is that I don’t see anything in it for me. No Dew…charity gets the money. Next thing you know, I’m going to be doing things like “community service” or “volunteering.” It’s a slippery slope.
Alana on 09 Jul 2008 at 10:00 am #
Ok. How about this reason: your girls? Pretty soon they’ll be old enough to notice your habits. They’ll see that one of your dietary priorities consists of a sugary acid drink and possibly want to do the same thing you are doing. You probably shouldn’t regularly keep food in the house that is off limits to your kids. Do you want your kids drinking two Dews a day? Or eating a lot of processed food in general? (Ok, maybe you don’t care if they do, but I bet money that awesome wife of yours does. She strikes me as the brains of this bunch.) Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those people who think kids should never be allowed to have sweets. But I wouldn’t want mine drinking soda every day. And how’s this for another reason: you quit running and you’re getting older. I didn’t say old. Just older.
Alana on 09 Jul 2008 at 10:00 am #
Yeah, that’s right. I hit below the belt.
JPLand on 09 Jul 2008 at 10:13 am #
I’ll address only the points that I think I have a come-back to -
I’ll grant you the point about the wife being the brains of the bunch. I’ve always held fast to the wise saying that “you’ve got to be smart enough to know you’re not smart.” (It sounds much better coming from an old Calculus teacher with emphasis on the word “smaahht”) And I certainly know where my intellectual position in the family is. hint: the dogs look down to me.
I’ll have you know that I didn’t quit running…running quit me. Don’t you feel bad for bringing that up? You should. Now go think about that for a while.