I had a bit of a scare a little over a year ago. I felt pressure in my chest and my heart would feel like it was gonna burst out of my chest with the rapid beating it was doing. I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

I went to see a doctor and they plugged me up to an EKG and found nothing wrong. I then went to have a physical and had some blood drawn. Apparently, I was near diabetic levels and what I was feeling were reactions to sugar. THAT scared the crap outta me.

At the time, I was drinking about a pot coffee every morning loaded with sugar. Think Cafe-con-leche style. It's what I grew up with and what my grandparents would give us to go to sleep. I still don't know how that worked. Aside from the coffee, I'd also have some sort of carbonated beverage for lunch and dinner. I was almost 300 lbs at the time.

And. I. Didn't. Care.

At least until that whole faux-heart-attack scare thing.

I had to learn to drink coffee without cream and sugar. Now I love it and WILL not give it up. I went from regular Coke to diet to none within a years time. The reason I've gone for none is that I started having, um . . . intestinal issues associated with gas. Now I may drink a full on "Mexican" Coke (glass bottle) during a weekend. You know, because EVERYONE knows that it has real sugar. And it tastes better than home-grown Coke.

So within about a years time, I've gone from about 300 lbs to floating (Ha!) around 250. The ONLY carbonated beverage I have now is beer. Arrogant B@st@rd, Stone, Sierra Nevadas Torpedo . . . I CANNOT give up beer. I'd rather eat brown rice and unseasoned chicken for the rest of my life, if only for the beer.

So, to conclude my story I've gone from:
a loaded pot of coffee a day to a medium size mug of black coffee a day (maybe two)
Carbonated beverages with lunch and dinner every day to water, tea, juice or beer (or coffee and an occasional "real Coke")
and most importantly from a vegatative lifestyle to actually looking forward to doing something active during and after work!

GD