My Guys Love Me Since I Quit Drinking

Oh, yes--this is a real statement made by one of those crusty old shipbuilders at work. I about fell out of my chair laughing. Few people surprise me, but this man absolutely amazes me. I try not to judge people until I get to know them, but this guy's reputation preceded actually meeting him and he kind of scared the hell outta me. Since then, I've learned that his bark is way worse than his bite (or maybe I've just been lucky and stayed on his good side.) That's not really the point here...


He was going on and on about how great life has been since he quit drinking. He doesn't come into work in the morning all spun up, he can relax more in the evening--it's been great for him. What he is referring to is caffeine. Cold turkey, he stopped his morning coffee and all-day soda habit (I know I've been away from Texas too long when I'm not calling all brands of soda "cokes".) I met him while he was still "addicted", but I can't really attest to his new attitude because I never witnessed his "bad side".

He firmly believes this will help him lose a few pounds and help him feel healthier in general. I know he's onto something because I stopped drinking "cokes" last summer due to the swealtering heat onboard the ship I was working--the only thing that quenched my thirst was water. I shed several pounds--I know some of it was due to the type of work I was doing, but I also believe it was because I stopped drinking sodas. And I drank Diet Dr Pepper--so it wasn't because of the sugar. Not sure if it was due to the caffeine, either--but whatever it was, it worked.


That's not to say I will give up caffeine completely--see below:


Sometimes I think my husband allows me to go to Starbucks more than once a day due to these effects...