The Big Soft Drink Debate
Our nation’s diet mentality makes legislating against large sugary drinks seem appropriate. We are trying to “protect our children.”
But, this is like putting a band aid on a huge gash. It doesn’t help because it isn’t addressing the problem.
Here is the problem: People don’t eat or drink in response to true hunger or thirst. They eat and drink based on:
- Time of day
- Getting a “good deal” (that extra large soda is five cents more)
- Habit
- In preparation for a future diet (might as well eat today, tomorrow I diet!)
- -boredom- “eat-o-tainment"
Etc.,etc., etc…
But no one teaches their children to listen to their body to decide what and how much to eat or drink. Mothers read the latest fad diet or magic food combinations and indoctrinate their children. This is all done with good intentions, I know.
But, why give your child a list of rules, when you could give your child a much better, long term solution. Teach your children to respect their hunger and satiety. And the best way to do that is to model a thin mentality. Because kids copy their parents.
Back when I was a dieter, I would lug in cases and cases of diet soft drinks into my house, month after month. I thought I loved it, I was such a dieter.
When “released” from my diet mentality, everything looked different. Why would I drink six diet soft drinks in a day when one real one, or actually one half of a real one, was what answered my craving. And yes, I guess the 75 calories I drank of cola was more than the diet coke I drank, but it was also completely satisfying, and probably way better for me than quenching my thirst with huge amounts of 30-ingredient diet soda.
I no longer quench my thirst with diet drinks. I drink water. Believe it or not, I prefer that, honestly, I am not being “good.” And when I want a sugary drink, for whatever reason (who cares! it isn’t “evil”) I have it and then move on.
So, yea, I guess to protect the diet mentality people from themselves, we need to legislate against huge sugar drinks? Well how about helping people develop their healthy thin mentality instead?