Energy drinks aren’t anything new- they have been around for decades. And I’ve always been of the opinion that they taste like crap- at least the sugar free ones. Years ago I had a sugar free Monster in a white can (don’t ask me what flavor it was) and it tasted like sucking on pennies. I’ve had sugar free Red Bull but I had it as God intended- with vodka- so that improved the flavor quite a bit- ha.
Lest you think I’m on some kind of a health kick, even without energy drunks I get plenty of caffeine every day through diet pop. Lately I’ve been on a Zero Sugar Wild Cherry Pepsi kick, but normally my go-tos are Diet Dr Pepper and Diet Mountain Dew. So along with caffeine I’m getting my daily amount of artificial colors and probably 17 other things that are bad for me without a single energy drunk passing my lips.
But a few weeks ago everything changed.
One afternoon I was dragging ass BAD at work. I was genuinely worried I would fall asleep. Large amounts of water, a couple pieces of chocolate and a brisk walk around the building just weren’t cutting it. So, debit card in hard (I usually don’t carry cash) I head to the break room. I was planning on buying a full sugar Dr Pepper, which is something I NEVER have but again, I was desperate. Right next to the Dr Pepper I saw it. A light blue can of Monster. It was sugar free and had fun images of palm trees on it. In my compromised state I made the decision to take that instead.
I cracked it open, fully expecting that metallic flavor that had always made me wonder why anyone drinks these things. Instead, I tasted non-specific fruit flavored goodness. It was delicious! I thoroughly enjoyed it while powering through the afternoon.
A few days later I was in a convenience store to grab a breakfast sandwich on the way to work. I headed to the beverage section to grab a pop. I noticed that Monster was on sale and there sat a row of those cute light blue cans. So I bought two (to take advantage of the sale) and had one that morning and saved the other for the next day.
Since then I’ve bought quite a few cans. A couple days ago in a different convenience store I noticed a purple can next to the light blue one and decided to try that one. It was even better!
As I’ve already said, I’m aware that diet pop isn’t a health food. But I’ve been drinking diet pop since college, and as a diabetic I can’t switch back to regular now even if i wanted to. Coffee smells amazing but tastes awful and tea doesn’t even smell good to me, let alone taste good. And I’m not giving up caffeine. If drinking Diet Mountain Dew is what kills me I’m OK with that. But I’ve always thought that energy drinks are even worse for you. And many experts agree they are. But that hasn’t stopped me from reaching for them a lot lately. And I’m not sure if can stop, or even if I want to.