Finicky, yet jitter-free...

I am, like a lot of people, a creature of habit. I like what I like and I am extremely finicky.

For most of my life, I drank soda. Or pop. Or soda pop. Call it what you will, but I grew up on the fizzy crap, probably drinking it more than milk as a kid. Over a year ago, after cutting back to diet soda a while back, I quit cold turkey. No more carbonated beverages. No more caffeine-laced time bombs. No more soda, canned, bottled, litered, or otherwise.

Since then, other than the very occasional beer, I drink either water or Vitamin Water. Here's where the finicky part comes in: After much experimentation (yes, I admit it...I succumbed to peer pressure and tried what all the other kids were trying), I found I liked only two flavors of Vitamin Water: Essential (which was citrus/orange) and Lemonade (which had some other fancy name, too). And only in the Vitamin Water 10 kind. I can't stand regular Vitamin Water.

The good news was that that "10" thing meant 10 calories per serving, while the regular VW is 50 calories per serving. So I stocked up on Essential 10 every chance I got.

And then suddenly, much to my horror, it disappeared from store shelves.

I could occasionally find a batch of it in Target or Ralphs and I'd buy all I could, as if I was preparing for the coming apocalypse (which, in California, has a more urgent meaning). But eventually that supply train ran out, too.

I started to see a new product, Vitamin Water Zero, appear on shelves, but only in very limited flavors. Lemonade was there, but no Essential. No orange. I loved my orange. I thought I might have to resort to a new drink like bourbon or something.

So imagine my relief the other day when I found a big stock of Vitamin Water Zero "Rise" on Target's shelves. It's my beloved Essential in an even smaller calorie category...like none. (I'm confident Zero will not be replaced by something such as Minus One. I don't think anyone can invent a drink that helps you lose weight.) It tastes pretty much the same to me, so I'm happy. Or at least my form of happy.

The moral of the story is good things come to those that wait. Unfortunately, that's not true in this blog post. If you've read this far and haven't yet fallen asleep, it might be because you're still drinking caffeinated beverages. Shame on you.

Comments

[Gary]

No on the sparkling water part. Carbonation really bothers my stomach, so one of the primary reasons I stopped drinking soda was to avoid carbonation.

Thanks for the advice, tho, and sorry to hear about your poodle...

[Melanie Preschutti]

Drinks with caffeine went out for me a couple of years ago... what you need to do is buy a juicer. Yes, (the horror) a kitchen appliance. Then buy some sparkling water. Yes, (the horror) sparkling water. Mix the two, at will, and enjoy life!

PS... my Pooftah poodle died this morning. Sad day here.