Exactly a year ago, if you remember, I began my three week epic mountain adventure in British Columbia. Unintentionally the start of that trek was also the start of me giving up Coke. I used to be an avid Coke fan. I grew up with a Coke machine at home. I always upsized my combo for a larger Coke. I used to drink the stuff like water.
After spending three weeks in the woods Coke free I decided to keep it going once I returned to civilization. I’m not completely sure why. I remember once hearing that if the average person stopped consuming soft drinks they’d lose ten pounds in a year. I’m not sure if I’ve lost ten pounds or not, but I feel better.
To be clear, I haven’t just given up Coke. I’ve given up all soft drinks, or ‘pop’ as it’s called here.
It’s been a surprising year on the pop-free front. The weirdest things I’ve noticed? I’ve had absolutely no cravings for it. This surprised me. Another thing is that everyone drinks it. I’ve had a hard time avoiding it. Often soft drinks are the only drinks offered and I have to resort to water. At fast food joints (which I try and avoid) Ice tea and Lemonades are good substitutes.
Over all it hasn’t been too hard. I’ve actually enjoyed it and will continue to abstain. My body thanks me for it daily. No more Wendy’s hangovers.
I’m also in an experimental coffee free phase…..not sure how that’s going to work.
Comments
Chris - September 6, 2004 9:34 pm
I once tried to be coffee free.
It sure didn't work. I wish you the very best of luck!
Johnny - September 7, 2004 9:34 am
In a shocking coincidence, I gave up Diet Coke (I was a heavy user having 3 or 4 a day) a year ago and am now experimenting with decaffeinated coffee. I think in 20 years or so Coke will be the new cigarettes.
Steven Garrity - September 7, 2004 10:05 am
Yup - Coke will be the new cigarettes and driving while over-tired will be the new drunk-driving.
Peter Rukavina - September 7, 2004 10:32 am
The summer I was 14 I worked at the local YMCA teaching gymnastics to young kids. The gym wasn't air conditioned. It was a hot summer. I was allowed to run a tab at the tuck shop downstairs. I think I consumed hundreds of cans of Coke that summer. I must have been addicted. But boy did it ever hit the spot. At the end of the summer it came time to settle up my tab; they couldn't remember how much Coke I'd consumed (their tab-keeping system obviously didn't work very well), so I think I paid $25 and we called it even.
During the winter months, I had 'Y' leadership training every Friday night. For some reason, part of training us to be the leaders of tomorrow involved working us really, really hard in the gym and in the pool -- I recall some sort of intensive "sprint" thing in the pool that completely exhausted me every time. My Dad used to pick me up at the 'Y' on Friday nights, and often we would stop at the Beehive Restaurant, at the top of Clappison's Corners, for a hamburger and a Coke. It was fountain Coke there, and I swear (as did Dad) that it tasted better than any Coke anywhere else.
About three years ago, I was having trouble sleeping at nights, and I was feeling a little too "jittery" during the day. At the time, I was probably drinking a Diet Pepsi (<I>de rigueur</I> here on PEI) or two every day. I went cold-turkey. All of a sudden I could sleep. I still had cravings for several weeks, but they subsided. I was certainly an improvement.
Since then, the only times I've slipped off the wagon are when traveling overseas where I've been forced to find a thirst-slaker in a hurry. Coke's global brand domination kicks in, and I have a Thai Coke or a Spanish Coke or a German Coke ($7 in the Frankfurt Airport; has scared Catherine off Germany since).
I've had two tastes of the demon pop this year: last month Johnny and I bought orange pops and hamburgers from the Bergmark and Hammerlund charity barbeque. And yesterday I lusted after a Diet Pepsi after a time at the beach (that was probably the trigger), and so I ordered one at Reuben's Fish Cafe in Darnley. Boy was it ever good.
Rob Paterson - September 7, 2004 10:24 pm
As a small boy I was compelete addicted - maybe 10 a day when I lived in Ghana. Then I went to boarding school back in England (aged 8). I never drunk it much again and toady you could not pay me to drink pop. I bet your palate will do the same to you if you can keep this up. Think of all the weight you wont put on
Ian Morse - September 8, 2004 10:00 am
Good for you Dan! :) I tried the no coffee thing earlier this summer. I think I went for a couple of weeks. After that I decided that I could be coffee-free for all eternity, but I just enjoyed it too much. Since then I have limited myself to one a day (two on very rare occasions) and that has been working great.
Best of luck. Keep us posted on how it all turns out.
Alan - September 8, 2004 2:02 pm
For a time in the era of when we were listening to the new Talking Heads and Clash albums after grade eleven let out for the day, we would stop on the way to someone's rec room at the Royal Pharmacy on Inglis in Truro for a fountain vanilla coke. I have never liked Coke much except for its burp inducing powers but that stuff was different.
Mandy - September 9, 2004 9:26 am
Good show.
You are correct, it is hard to give something like pop up. I'm not a coffee drinker period, so that I'm not concerned about, but I'm trying to give up pop as well. I don't drink "dark" pop to begin with (Coke, Pepsi), but still to the lighter pops such as Sprite because of the lesser amounts of caffeine in them. But in a few places, light pop is not even a choice. Believe it or not, it took years before the Subway on The Ave actually got 7-Up as a choice.
Keep up the good work.
John - September 10, 2004 9:32 pm
This post made me want a Coke.
I love the stuff, but I have cut way back since high school. I was easily drinking six cans a day at that point. Now it's more like 1, maybe 2. If I'm "rich" one of these days, I'd like to have an antique Coke machine that holds the glass bottles (the best way to drink Coke, it's like a delicacy) in my house. Or just a fountain in the kitchen...
Dan James - September 11, 2004 12:43 am
Hey John,
Here on PEI (Prince Edward Island) ALL of our carbonated beverages are in bottles. We have a provincial laws that requires it (for pollution control reasons apparently). People here crave coke in cans.
John - September 11, 2004 9:51 pm
Another reason to admire PEI from afar... I really don't understand why you'd crave it from a can when you've got glass bottles, though. It must be a classic case of "the grass is always greener."
Dan James - September 14, 2004 9:14 am
UPDATE: I've started to have to get up early due to Becky's early morning university classes. I proved I could give up coffee. I'm back on the mug.
jake - September 17, 2004 4:47 pm
Well I dunno about 10 pounds... But my younger brother gave up soft drinks around his freshman year of college. Along with lifting weights at the gym and trying to eat a little better in general he accomplished losing about 85 pounds. :) Maybe it would have only been 10 if he didn't work out? I dunno, it's not like he went running all the time or something, just the lifting mostly.