There are certain vices that a man enjoys (or struggles with) in his lifetime. It’s time I got this off my chest and confessed a dirty and disgusting vice of my own.

I, Lincoln Adams…. am addicted to Starbucks’ Hot Chocolate.

Yes, it’s true. For a few weeks now I simply cannot get enough of this drink, especially when I order it with chocolate drizzles.

Maybe it’s because it gives me a sugar boost, but even when the drink seems flat, I still can’t stop ordering it. I realized the full extent of my addiction when I resolved one day to completely abstain from ordering any more hot chocolates, because for one, it was expensive, and two, it was very high in calories, which forced me to cut a meal out of the day if I wanted to stay within my calorie restricted diet.

So what happens? The very next day I ordered not one, but two drinks. I’m hopeless.

No, it’s not love, it’s that damned acid reflux that’s been giving me “agita” for the past few months now.

I’ve never been what you would call a healthy eater. A delivery from Papa John’s or another local pizza joint is what I would consider a decent home cooked meal, and I usually got my meals on the run from places where I could get some serious grub in 30 seconds or less. For years I’ve lead a life where I made no time to do my own cooking, and while part of it was just the circumstances of life, most of it was my own doing.

Now those years are finally catching up to me, as I’ve begun to develop food allergies and other health problems as a result of my bad eating habits, which led to my current acid reflux condition. Now I have to finally face the music and hope these problems will only turn out to be temporary. I usually get heartburn a few times a day, and though it’s not severe, it’s annoying enough that it’s negatively impacted my life and affected my moods. One of the most frustrating things about this is not only having to develop a diet that would avoid all the foods that triggers heartburn, but going through the agonizingly growing pains of learning how to do my own cooking. It also has to be a diet that won’t leave me starving 15 minutes after I’ve eaten. The past couple of weeks has seen me fumbling and stumbling towards a new regimen that would finally control my heartburn issues. Sometimes I can’t resist (I just HAVE to had that can of Coke, or a bite of dark chocolate), but I’m beginning to realize I may have to do without tickling my tastes buds for quite a while.

What’s ironic about all this is that I used to have an interest in cooking, making my own breakfast and even preparing my meals in advance. One of the things I’ve wanted to do was make use of a cookbook so I could do my own meals without caving in and calling up Papa John for some of his deliciously greasy pizzas. The problem is, I wouldn’t even know where to begin to find a cookbook that would suit me. The problem isn’t that there aren’t a lot of options and possibilities, but that there’s too many.

Regardless, it’s clear my life in the fast food lane is coming to an end. I suspect God is using the problems I have now to force me into a more sensible lifestyle and help me finally shed the weight that’s literally been a burden to me since the 21st century began. I don’t resent it though, and in fact I’m willing to accept the consequences of my poor eating ways. But I do hope it’s not a condition that I will have to learn to live with. In a way I’m lucky, especially after having read the horror stories of people whose acid reflux problems were agonizingly painful, kept them up at night, and even had cases where they spit up blood. My problems aren’t nearly as severe, but if I don’t wise up now, they certainly could become that way.

For now, it’s time to fire up that George Foreman grill that’s been collecting dust for too long. Good times are here again.