No Soda Pop

Rule #3, no soda pop.  Again, another no-brainer right?  That's the problem!  Anyone regularly drinking soda is not using their brain!  Here is a blog post I wrote about this subject 4 years ago.  "A Mindless Cup of Sugar".  Oh and then check out the article I found on soda and diet soda consumption I linked at the end of this post!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008

A Mindless Cup of Sugar

So, as I'm sitting, waiting, in the barbershop while Mark is getting his haircut, there's a 7-Eleven store next door, and I see one person after another drive up, park, get out, go in the store, and come out with a Slurpee, Snapple, orange soda, Big Gulp, etc......every single person came out carrying a mindless cup of sugar.

Now, I have had, maybe, 2 sodas in over 3 years....soda's not my thing. And I'm not claiming I haven't had my share of "all out sugar binges", but, when I eat (or drink) sugar, I know what I'm doing, and what I'm choosing. Sugar is "dessert", and I'd rather eat it as such. I don't think most people know how much sugar is in everyday meals, not just soda.  if you eat alot of processed foods you are eating alot of sugar, and crappy sugars at that.  The bun that holds your burger has sugar.  The ketchup on that bun has sugar (just throw another cup on top of your fries). That Chinese chicken salad? Yep, a ton of sugar in the dressing and the processed chicken?  More sugar and salt.  And unless you buy fresh ground peanut butter every jar of commercial pnb has sugar added.

But let's go back to the "dessert" thing......what is dessert? It's amazing to me when I stop to get a cup of coffee at any coffee shop and see almost every single person ordering a scone, muffin, cookie, "low carb" banana bread (etc.) in addition to their "Frappa Crappa"! I mean the Frappa Crappa IS a dessert!

I eat my share of sugar for sure, but when I read a recipe for something as simple as a salad dressing and it calls for 1/4 c. sugar, or God forbid 1/2 c. sugar, that salad just turned into dessert! I will not make a salad dressing with more than 1-2 tbl. of sugar or honey, and even then I count that salad as a "sweet meal", choosing savory foods for other meals that day. I mean, I can make dessert out of a bowl of oatmeal with enough sugar, honey, sweet cream, butter, rasins, etc, lol! (that's how Mark eats it BTW) As far as I'm concerned a PBJ sandwich is dessert too! (about 500 calories in one small stinkin' sandwich)

These last few months I been more aware of what it takes to mantain a healthy bodyweight, and for me, I have to make trade-offs, I don't think most people think that way. I don't think anyone goes into a 7-Eleven thinking that the soda they're drinking is dessert, that it's pure sugar, and it'll probably ruin their appetite for "good food", or that the calories in a Big Gulp are equivilent to a meal.....I think, they think they're just thirsty. No thought.

I admit I overthink food, and sometimes obsess about this calorie or that calorie, blah, blah, blah...but I'd rather be overly conscious than unconscious. Mindful and not mindless....but that's just me....just sayin'!

This has got to be one of the easiest rules to stick to, they all should!  You don't need me to tell you these things, you already know them!  Without drive-thrus, fast foods and soda the world will still keep turning don't worry!  Now bananas and bagels?  Well, that's just crazy talk....but I'm, getting there! In the mean time;

No drive-thrus
No fast foods
No soda pop
No "bars"
No bags of chips
No rice cakes
No hummus
No bananas
No bagels


No bakeries, candy isle, or quarts of ice cream!  And keep up on your journal!

Really, this is just a start.  The start of establishing different habits.  Not "better", not "worse", unless you see them that way, just "different".  If you like your life and your body exactly like it is, then don't change a thing!

If you find soda to be a bigger challenge than you thought, wean yourself off of it by watering down full strength soda with mineral water. Start with 75% soda, 25% mineral water until you get to at least 1/2 and 1/2. Soon you will prefer it that way, and then maybe you'll feel as if you can give it up forever.  It's really not adding value to your life.  Think about the things that do add value instead! Like all the people in your life that you love, and love you back enough to want you to stick around for a while!

And don't think you're getting away with anything drinking diet sodas...don't believe me?

http://www.thehealthyboy.com/2010/08/does-diet-soda-make-you-fat.html