I'm a coke addict

The title for this posting could have been numerous things..."I'm turning into my mother", "Making a deal with the devil", "Drinking yourself to fabulosity", and the one I chose "I'm a coke addict"...only because it was the most dramatic and drama is my thing.

I'm a coke addict:
I know all addicts have a 12 step program and I'm not really sure what the steps are but I'm pretty sure one is admitting you have a problem. So here is the description of my problem: I have to have a 44 oz diet coke every day from Race Trac. It must be from Race Trac because they use filtered water so you don't get the weird metal/garlic taste from our great "Plano water". They also have crushed ice and thick straws which are both key to a good coke. Not to mention that Race Track is on the corner of Plano Pkwy and Independence which happens to be on my way to work and literally a block from my office. I have yet to get to the point where I stop on the way to work but I do leave to get one over lunch or at some point during the day if I'm too busy for lunch. I'm on a first name basis with my dealers "Chris" and "Tammy" and we have agreed to a set price of $1.07 including tax. Who knew there was tax on coke???

I'm turning into my mother:
My mother was an addict FOR YEARS. Isn't there something in the 12 steps about inheriting your parents bad habits? I don't remember my mom ever not being a coke addict. She has a slightly different addiction. Her cokes have to come from McDonald's and must be real coke not diet. She even drinks cokes for breakfast and has since she was a child. I vaguely remember doing this as a child as well. Maybe coke addicts were more accepted in the 70s??? She has completed rehab and claims she has been clean for awhile...though she falls off the wagon every now and then. The verdict is still out on this one.

Making a deal with the devil:
Since my mom is a recoving addict I discussed my problem with her. I told her I could cut back and ONLY get a coke if I had gotten up early to workout. That way the coke was a NEED as I would NEED it to get through the day since I had gotten up so early and physically exhausted myself first thing. She politely informed me that I was just 'making a deal with the devil'. I could justify it anyway I wanted but it was still an addiction. Ok, so maybe she learned something in rehab...

Drinking yourself to fabulosity:
I get really busy at work and can't make it out for lunch so I just eat something I brought from home and drink about 3 liters of water and my huge diet coke. I think I get so full on liquids that I don't eat as much as I usually would. Not to mention if you drink a gallon of coke a day you pretty much can just go, go, go to the point that you can't stop. I sometimes need red wine at night to calm myself down ;o) Since I've been on this water/coke/wine 'liquid diet' I have lost about 5% of my body weight. I think I'm on to something here...this could be the next fad diet. I have just enough 'scientific proof' to write a diet book so if you see a book entitled "Drinking Yourself to Fabulosity" on the shelves at B&N you'll know where it came from. The book might have a disclaimer that states "Diet works best coupled with a stressful job and lots of hours at the gym"

So I'm not really sure where to go from here...do I keep my addiction and stay on my liquid diet? Do I contact Dr. Drew to spend some time in Sober House...do you think Dr. Drew could help me?