Be Really Thirsty To Give Up Diet Coke by Mary Hunt on Creators.com

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Be Really Thirsty To Give Up Diet Coke

Dear Mary: Your recent article about switching to iced tea from Diet Coke may be just the confirmation I've been seeking to get off Diet Coke. Do you add sweetener to your iced tea? I like iced tea sweetened with Splenda, but I fear it is tricking my body just as the Diet Coke does, causing me to crave more sweets. I don't know whether I can get used to drinking iced tea unsweetened. Please share the answer with me. I must know!

I love "Everyday Cheapskate" and your Web site, http://www.DebtProofLiving.com. Thank you, Mary, for dedicating so much of your time to helping others. — Jennifer I., e-mail

Dear Jennifer: First, thanks for your kind words. Letters like yours charge my batteries and encourage me to keep going!

As for switching to unsweetened iced tea, here's the trick: Allow yourself to get very, very thirsty. I mean as thirsty as you would be if you were in the desert with no water, crawling on all fours, gasping with your last breath, "Water ... water!" Do some exercise. Go run around in the hot sun, but hold out against the temptation to drink.

When you can wait no longer, wait for one more hour. Then pour yourself a tall glass of perfectly brewed, unsweetened, exceedingly cold, picture-perfect iced tea. Drink until your thirst is totally quenched. Repeat as often as is necessary for iced tea to become your beverage of choice.

Iced tea is, for some, an acquired taste. It takes longer to acquire a taste for some brands.

Lipton black tea, for example, has a pungent flavor. Some other brands are milder, such as Celestial Seasonings and Twinings. You can acquire a fondness for any type of tea if you diligently give up all other sweet beverages, diet or regular.

On the rare occasion when you treat yourself to a sweetened tea, use the real deal: sugar. That will satisfy your craving. You also can add fruit juice for a sweet treat.

Dear Mary: I enjoy your column very much. How can I remove white rings from the surface of my dining room table? This table has many memories for me. — Anjie C., Oregon

Dear Anjie: There are homemade remedies, but I've had only marginal success using household products, such as mayonnaise, to remove the infuriating white marks you describe.

I suggest you save yourself a lot of time and frustration by buying a small jar of Jasco furniture white ring remover. It is inexpensive, lasts forever and miraculously can remove heat and water marks from fine furniture without harming the finish. With it, I was able to remove white rings that were more than a decade old and had resisted every imaginable treatment.

This product is a small saturated cloth that you use to scrub the marks. Look for it at Ace Hardware or stores like that or on eBay, where I've found it for $7 to $8 for one jar. Good luck!

Do you have a question for Mary? E-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including "Can I Pay My Credit Card Bill With a Credit Card?" To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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