“I used to snort coke, but I had to stop. The bubbles tickled my nose too much.”

Ok, forgive the bad joke, but tomorrow is my 2-month “anniversary” being coke free. And no, not that kind of coke… coca-cola.

But in some ways, I suppose I was just as addicted.

I’ve gone the “no pop” route before… went about 4 months or so back about 5 years ago. Then allowed myself one on my birthday. It tasted weird. And before long, I was back to drinking as much as a six-pack a day.

Could Coca-Cola be a gateway drug? Cause then there was the Monster (energy drink).

I’ve never cared for Red Bull, tried a couple other energy drinks, most I didn’t care for. But Monster… that I liked. The slight fizz… the tang that was like a mild can of Squirt. I didn’t slam the stuff, but would sip it over the course of the morning. It was a taste I didn’t mind, even as it got warm. Started out with the 16oz cans, then moved up to the 24’s. I was drinking one a day… sometimes two. In addition to a Coke here and there.

Coke Zero came out, and I liked the taste. It was pretty dang close to real Coke… though yea, you could tell the difference. I was drinking that about 60-70% of the time compared to regular Coke. I figured it was “better for me”. Maybe… probably not.

But, as part of looking in to WLS, I realized, pop… no matter what kind… was gonna have to go. The carbonation, the caffeine, even if it was diet was not gonna be a good thing. So on November 2nd, I took the last bottle of Coke Zero I had with me to my sisters when going over there for dinner… drank it… and haven’t drank any since. (I don’t think the sparkling grape juice at Christmas would count as pop…?)

Do I miss it?

You bet I do. I believe I always will.

A nice cold Coke on a hot day is going to be one of those things I know I will miss after surgery. Big time. The longest Even when “New” Coke came out, as bad as it was, I would drink it once in awhile. And the Monster… I miss that too, though not as much.

Yea, there are worse things to be addicted to… I have friends and family that struggle with those every day, so I know there isn’t a “cure”. But I know such things can be beat, I know I can beat this. After all… it’s a means to an end. I know that. I’m dealing with that.

I can live with that.

Last week, May 8th to be precise, was the 122nd anniversary of Coca-Cola. When Coca-Cola was first introduced in 1886, they sold about 9 drinks a day. Today, that figure pushes upwards of 1.5 billion. And no, I am not responsible for a majority of them.

I do drink more than my fair share of Coke, going back to when I was a kid. Probably one of the good things my step-dad did was drink Coke, so we generally had some around the house. He was from the south, so that is probably why he drank that over “that other cola” (Yes, if I am at a restaurant and I ask if they have Coke or Pepsi, if hey say Pepsi I get something else entirely). Back then it was the old 16 ounce, returnable, glass bottles that came in the eight-pack (or was it ten?) cartons. Then I remember the 8 ounce cans, the commercials showed you that they were pocket-sized, but I could never get them to fit in my pockets. Maybe it was those Sears brand jeans I wore as a kid?

By the time I was in High School, I was probably at a 5-6 can a day habit. I even kept a 12-pack in my room and had no problem drinking the occassional warm Coke while doing homework or something. All and all, life was good.

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