Id have to check my records to make sure, but I don’t think I bought any guns in June. Might be the first month in a couple years I didnt buy a gun (or suppressor). My records suggest the last gun I purchased was the SBR lower receiver I used for the stubby BRN-180, and that was in May. Perhaps I’m finally on the downward side of this crippling gun-buying addiction I seem to have developed. Or, more likely, I’ve hit the point of pretty much running out of stuff that I really want enough to actually drop money on.
Speaking of addiction, I finally managed to quit drinking regular sugared Coca Cola. I tend to drink a goodly (and ungodly) amount of the stuff. Probably between 5-7 cans a day. I went to the doctor in January and when she asked how much Coke I drank her professional composure disappeared and she blurted out “Wow!”. And my bloodwork suggested that if I didn’t knock the sugar intake down I might have a future of sticking myself with needles several times a day. So, walked out of the docs office and forced myself to switch to Coke Zero. Tastes horrible, but more palatable than Diet Coke.
I did the math and a can of Coke has 39g of sugar. Multiply by six cans a day and you get 234 grams. A half pound is 227 grams. So, I was sucking back, on average, a half a pound of sugar per day. Thats three 5# bags of sugar a month. That equated to 840 calories a day just from Coke. Thats 42% of your RDA-suggested daily 2000 calorie intake.
Did switching to the 0-calorie, 0-sugar Coke Zero make a difference? Well, yeah. My A1C dropped by about 20% and I lost about ten pounds. I’ll be getting more bloodwork in October and I expect my triglyceride levels will have dropped from “Thats not supposed to be possible” to “a little high but okay”.
I have no discipline, but as I tell people, I can pretty much do anything when I have a gun held to my head. Staring down the barrel of diabetes was pretty much what it took to make me give up a 45 year habit.
Theres just no way I was going to be like Dan Forrester in ‘Lucifers Hammer’.
The gun addiction only cripples my wallet, the sugared Coke kinda would cripple my health.
And, before you hit the comment button, I am absolutely aware that I should give up the Coke Zero as well. Baby steps, kids.
Way to go! Like they say, the first step to getting a cure is admitting the problem. I faced a similar thing (sometimes called “metabolic syndrome”) and finally after 7 decades went for the cure. It was worth it.
I was also a heavy Coke drinker and switched to Coke Zero several years ago. About 3 years ago, I started noticing that my tongue was going numb or tingling. I finally realized it was happening after drinking the Coke Zero. I switched to regular soft drinks and that issue went away. This was after being a regular user for 10+ years.
Yeah…I know I should just switch to water but its so hard to get excited about plain boring water. I dont drink coffee so Coke has been my main caffeine vector. I look at fruit juices and Gatorade and I’m right back to huge amounts of sugar. Very frustrating.
try some zip fizz from costco…drink one every morning…lost of b vitamins, a bit of caffeine and energy for hours…the propel packets to your water aren’t to bad either…in tx it gets so hot this time of year, you can’t help but drink water…
Actually there are tasty fruit juices with zero added sugar. Ocean Spray and K-Mart are brands I use with 2 grams of sugar per serving in half gallon plastic bottles. Same with yogurt and instant oatmeal. Most have huge amounts of added sugar,, but some have none. Read labels carefully.
There’s a very high amount of sugar in those fruit juices. Enough that they don’t need the addition of refined sugar to make them as sugar-laden as Coke or such.
I buy a lot of cheap apple juice, not to drink as juice but to ferment into cider. That apple juice has enough sugar in it to ferment into cider with about the same amount of alcohol as beer.
feel your pain. just quit diet cokes after 40 years. tried coffee. had to add too much sugar/milk to drink it. tried flavored water but something about it didn’t suit. drinking tea for now, reducing the sugar each week. seems to be holding. good luck to you.
Don’t know if Menard’s has stores out there (WI based) but they sell “Water Joe” which is water and caffeine–no flavor, no sugar, no carbonation.
Slight metallic taste but goes down like water!
Good luck, a Dew drinker myself.
In college, I used to know guys who would use Water Joe when they made coffee.
Years ago I went off fully sugared Pepsi, and plain water didn’t do it for me either.
So, I went with plain water – two liters with half a lime squeezed in it. Worked very well for me.
Kurt
Adding carbonation to water makes it a lot more interesting than just plain water from the tap.
Does require some investment in equipment: CO2 tank, regulator and a suitable container such as a Cornelius keg (as formerly used for soda syrups and still used by homebrewers).
But once the gear is in hand it can be used for many things. Carbonated/seltzer water (with ot without some lemon or lime juice for additional taste), purging food storage containers of oxygen, serving homebrewed beer or sparking wine.
Like some of the others have mentioned, down here in swampy FL we add electrolyte packets to our water. LMNT is our preferred brand due to the clean ingredients (sweetened with stevia) and good tasting flavors. Our favorite flavors are Grapefruit, and Watermelon. Lots of “influencers” offer promo codes for sampler packs if ordered directly through LMNT. Since you have a blog you may want to shoot them an email and just ask for a sampler. The packets are also available from Amazon. We do have to perform a little mixology in order to get the taste perfect, as too high of a ration of powder to water tastes way too salty, whereas not enough electrolyte powder tastes blah. I always split up the packet of powder into more than 1 water bottle serving (usually a couple of 24 or 27 oz Hydroflasks).
We did not like ZipFizz.
There’s no caffeine in the LMNT but you could always take an over the counter caffeine pill, such as No-Doze, until perhaps you could wean yourself off of the caffeine.
You may even want to consider preparing some “cold brew” tea. It would be a cold beverage to replace a cold cola. You’d still get some caffeine but making your own beverage you can control the “sugar” hit by using either stevia, raw honey, or monk fruit. My preference is either Now brand liquid stevia glycerite, or raw honey. With cold brew all you do is throw some tea bags in a container/pitcher/ fill with cold or room temp water, and place in the frig for anywhere from 6 hours to overnight. Cold brewing greatly reduces bitterness in tea compared to making “iced tea” where you brew with hot water then use ice to cool it down. But, I think you can get more caffeine with hot brewing.
I completly understand what you’re going through. I used to drink RC cola right from the 2-liter bottle.
That wasn’t sustainable, much less healthy.
So, I switched to no-cal versions. I don’t prefer Coke zero (or any of the -zeros, really) but do drink diet coke, or diet Dr. Pepper. At home though I’ve pretty much quit, and drink coffee in the morning, and water in the afternoons/evening. If I’m jonesing for something with flavor I’ll put a packet of Propel fitness water into a 500 or 750 ml bottle of water and that satisfies me, with no calories and no sugar.
I was thinking ” 1 Second After ” before I read all of your article and got to ” Lucifers Hammer ” ( excellent book ) __ I first read that book in the early 80’s ( I think ) , I have reread it several times , very realistic !
My dentist was what got me off of full-bore Cokes.
But when I switched from Diet Coke to caffeine free (essentially carbonated colored water with 0 calories) several years after that, I didn’t think it mattered much.
Until I started falling asleep at 2PM, and realized half a dozen shots of caffeine a day for twenty years might have had a wee bit more effect on me than I had imagined.
Water (not tap, unless you have a really good well, or a true purifier in the process), the occasional milk, and straight fruit juices with no sugar added taste absolutely wonderful by contrast.
I save the caffeine for the few times a week when I positively absolutely have to be awake.
Otherwise, thanks, but no thanks.
Quicker way to get off even the sugar-free sodas: leave a half-finished open can of one out for a month or two. It breaks down to component chemicals. I thought a rat had died, until I found the source of the pungently fecal odor, hiding behind a stack of books on my computer desk. Yee gods, what a foul stench.
You’ll never want to put that witches’ brew of crap in your body again after smelling what the chemical stew becomes.
Haven’t drank a soda in nearly 25 years…
The main ingredient in ALL soda is; sodium benzonite…
Which is found in embalming fluid…
“Main ingredient”.
I do not think those words mean what you think they mean.
Please, show your work on that.
When last I looked, the two “main ingredients” in soda were water, and sugar. Then everything else.
Perhaps you were drinking from a different can…?
Of…embalming fluid…?
Actually its carbonated water and High Fructose Corn Syrup. Which can were you drinking from
Down here in the molten southeast I usually drink one scoop of this per day. No sugar just stevia for mild sweetness. Pretty good and at least you are getting some of the electrolytes your body needs. Doesn’t break a fast if you are into doing any intermittent fasting periodically. You can even add a smidge more salt if desired as they assume you get plenty of salt in your normal diet so its light on sodium. Give it a whirl the pink lemonade or passionfruit are my go to flavors.
Looks like its even on prime day.
Ultima Replenisher Daily Electrolyte Powder Drink Mix – Sugar Free
https://www.amazon.com/Ultima-Replenisher-Electrolyte-Hydration-Passionfruit/dp/B09Z61QN3G?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1
OK, let’s go….
My mother used to say “It is always the cobblers children that go unshod”.
I’m a nurse, so you’d think I know about healthy eating and drinking. I do. I just ignore it. Healthcare professionals (nurses in particular) are notorious for doing unhealthy things despite knowing better. You only need look as far as the smoking area at your nearest hospital; who is it populated by? Nurses and Respiratory Therapists!
In nursing school I pounded down an average of one 12-pack of straight Cherry Coke per day of class. That didn’t include my coke consumption when I got home.
When I started practicing, I was a Dark Sider (nightshift) and in an eight hour shift would typically consume 2-3 liters per 8-hour shift.
My blood sugars were getting to be problematical. I kept pissing glucose on my Firefighter exams and was in danger of losing my FF rating. I was classified as Interior Attack Unlimited and very badly did not want to be one of those guys who was limited to only one or two bottles of air before going rehab or being stuck doing exterior “surround and drowned” firefighting.
Also, my blood sugars were hovering in the 350-400 range most nights. A little peripheral neuropathy. And double digit A1C’s.
The docs wanted me to shoot insulin but I can’t shoot myself. So I started metformin (a slightly heavy does) and once a week a shot of Trulicity (autoinjector).
Massive drop in glucose levels but more interestngly I went from slamming 2-3 liters of soda per shift to only about 500nL per shift. Also, I went from pissing 6-8 times per shift to once per shift.
The body wanted to off-load glucose by pissing it out. To do that i needed fluids. the fluids I chose contained more glucose, so I would piss more, so I need more fluids, etc. etc.
Once the glucose levels dropped, I no longer needed top piss as much, was not as thirsty and thus consumed less soda.
Cherry Coke is like liquid crack and hard to quit. I was able to shift to Cherry Coke Zero and that worked alright for a while but then it was discontinued in my area. Now I mix Wal-Mart diet cola with Wal-Mart Cherry Cola in a 33/66 ratio and while it still has a decent bit of sugar, its not as bad as straight Coke and it keeps me going.
I should drink plain water but I’ve tried and thats not happening.
NurseDaddy
I do a combination of sugared soft drink and zero sugar and it helps with taste. About 5 parts unsweetened to 1 part regular. Cherry flavored sweetened seems to increase good taste, but thats probably just me.
Diet Dr. Pepper works for me.
My drug of choice was Dr. Pepper with a Coke once or twice a week. 5 or 6 cans a 12 hour day at work. I did not get the big D with the daily shots. I did get heart disease at age 47 and third attack three years later did me in. Now a cardiac cripple for 19 years. Now in hospice. Doc said there was a significant correlation from high sugar causing inflammation. Just another thing to watch out for. Now I drink a store brand flavored fizzy water with a small bit of flavorings like orange/peach/pineapple/berry/punch that come in the little squeeze bottles (like Kool Aide) but also store brands. No caffeine.
Good move, Sir. Quit the soda 10 yrs ago, and can report ZERO bad side effects. 2-3 modest servings a year and life is still good-Luck to you (RIP Dan-our survival Wizard)
I can’t stand the taste of diet cola. I switched to only buying the small cans (7.5 oz.) of Pepsi. Interesting note, the cane sugar version only has 90 calories while the regular has 110. Try to only have one a day. Make homemade tea (hot in the morning, iced the rest of the day) for my caffeine fix.
Ok, first problem is you are drinking coke!!! lol I do not drink anything that can also be used to clean the corrosion off my car battery. Rather than Coke zero, just dial it back to one or two regular cokes a day to start. I love Dr Pepper, but while diabetes is not an issue for me, acid reflux is. Oddly coffee does not affect my acid reflux, so that has become my vice with a flavored creamer, but no scoops of added sugar.
I’ve been a caffeine-free diet coke drinker for years. My main beverage of choice, though, has always been ice water. Now that I don’t have a fridge with an ice-maker (and no space to use my countertop one) I drink too much soda. Yes, we have well water, but I need the ice.
My husband drinks a mixture of one bottle of sparkling lemon ice (classic lemonade flavor) with home-made iced tea – say 40%/60% mix. I use three family-sized tea bags per gallon pitcher of tea – two caffeine-free and one regular. I sweeten the gallon pitcher with 3 tablespoons of monk-fruit sweetener.
Good for you man!
Hey. I drink a lot of cola as well. Try the unleaded. Sugar free is what I normally drink. My blood sugar was just checked and it was fine.
I suspect it universal across the country but in my region, soda pop of all varieties have basically doubled or even tripled in price. I can afford it but when you add it up, I’d rather have other things. Water and Wal Mart sugar free 2 quart kool aid powder keep me going for 1\15 the cost of a name brand 2 liter. Even though we all agree water is best, having some flavoring helps me keep my liquid input high during upper 80-90 degree weather. Also a highly insulated travel cup that keeps my ice through the day helps.
Pure Leaf unsweetened tea, all you need to drink, except beer!
Flavored water maybe? No experience here, I drink plain water. Gave up Coke many years ago. My husband likes the fruit flavored waters once in awhile. For caffeine I would suggest black tea.
Dr. Forrester knew how to make insulin.
I don’t drink Coke often, maybe once a week. Usually involves a trip to McDonald’s.
Something I discovered was doing half and half with Coke and sweet tea. Tasty and dangerous. My wife calls it diabetes in a cup.
The problem with most zero cal sodas is that some of the ingredients in it are worse for your liver/kidneys then the sugar you gave up. Lemme suggest you try to find the 12oz-bottle cokes from Mexico – i get mine at Sam’s Club – 39gr of cane sugar and 34mg of caffeine per bottle. Probably could get by with maybe one or two per day, heh.
Yup. I switched to Mexican bottle cokes 10 years ago. Generally only drink one a day with lunch. It tastes better than the American or Canuck ones that use corn syrup instead of cane sugar and are much easier on the kidneys per the doctor. They now sell it at Costco in Missoula Z if you think you are going to fall off the wagon.
I like to dump a packet of Real Lemon (or other of the Real flavors) into my water bottle or glass of water at restaurant.
https://a.co/d/guj96xm
I had been doing really well on my gun addiction, hadn’t bought a new one in almost a year. Just bought a Walther PD380.
Congratulations on taking a step in getting your health under control. There are three products that I use instead of Coke. One is a variety of carbonated water sold at Walmart as Clear American. A carbonated fruit flavored water with no sugar. I like the Black Cherry and Key Lime flavors, For when it really gets hot down here in the Space Coast area of Florida, I use either Smart Water for electrolyte replacement or Liquid IV for the same reason. The Smart Water has a slightly metallic taste, while the Liquid IV, which is a powder you mix with water has a lemon flavor, but with a noticeably salty taste. While I am sure all these products have their downsides, they are definitely less bad for you than Coke products,
There are lots of different dietary sugars. Based on my personal data the fructose found in most sodas raise my fasting glucose levels, while sucrose doesn’t have near the effect. Example, drinking a coke in the evening will see my numbers around 130 are a little higher. Drinking a glass of regular Country Time Lemonade powdered mix will keep my numbers closer to 100. I haven’t tried drinking the sucrose based Coke, but that is an experiment I may need to try
It was an an article I read about the absolutely terrible things that high fructose corn syrup does to a body that got me off of most soft drinks – except for the “Mexican” sodas that still use real sugar – and only one of those very rarely. And I’m down to one mug of coffee a day with just half and half – my cholesterol pills take care of negative issues from the half and half.
If looking for Mexican coke cola, look for the yellow screw top bottles.
Look in grocery stores that have Jewish populations during the big Jewish holidays.
That’s when I’ve bought it before.
It does have some uses just Google –
swimmers told to drink Coca Cola
May be it’s time to get a SodaStream.
Zero I find it interesting that you think Coke Zero tastes horrible. I find it so close to regular coke to be almost indiscernible in taste. But of course I only drink like one or at most 2 cans a month, usually when the wife and I eat a pizza. For some reason coke goes really well with pizza IMHO. But yeah kudos to you for kicking that bad habit. Diabetes is no picnic. My FIL ahead it and it lead to many bad health isssues for him.
Rejoice all you coke fiends. President Cankles McPedo has decreed that coke will switch back to cane sugar.