According to an attending I once had, the worst two "substances" that people take in are:
1. Cigarettes
2. Soft drinks
This is up for a debate, but I see where he was coming from. The argument for cigarettes is pretty obvious, but soft drinks maybe not as much.
About three years ago, I gave up soft drinks. I used to drink a can of Coke every night with dinner, and I decided to stop doing that. Partially because it was a little horrifying when my child would take my empty Coke can and pretend to drink from it when I was done, but also because I slept better without pre-bedtime caffeine.
My husband continued to drink Coke BID, including at dinner with us. He decided to give up with nighttime Coke when I relayed a story to him about a conversation I had with our daughter when he was coming back from a trip:
Me: "What are you going to give Daddy when you see him?" (I was looking for hug/kiss as the answer)
Daughter: "A coke!"
It can actually be challenging to only drink water when dining out. It's fine in a restaurant, but say we go to the food court at our local mall. If you ask the vendors for a cup of water, they'll look at you like you just asked to get your whole meal for free. Then maybe they'll give you some tiny plastic cup half-filled with water, about one sip worth. Sometimes I'll beg for a real cup, saying I'll pay for the cost of the cup.
The other option, of course, is bottled water. I hate buying bottled water. It's like $2 for something that tastes identical to the free stuff. Especially Dasani, which is like filtered tap water. It's an outrage that I have to pay more for water than for a soft drink.
Anyway, I'm getting a little off-topic here, but I do think it's wrong how soft drinks are forced on us.
If you wanted entertainment, get that attending and Dr Grumpy in the same room, and watch the ensuing massacre.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'm a big milk drinker... and people look at me like I'm crazy when I ask for any. If they even have it, it generally ends up being whole milk, and costs twice as much as soda (with no refills)
ReplyDeleteMore and more food court vendors are offering unsweetened iced tea. This is my drink of choice when tap water is not easy to come by.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple Sigg bottles and try to bring my own water. We like Panera a lot where we can make our own lemon water.
ReplyDeleteWe do drink Diet Pop. I have given it up only to get sucked back in, many many times. I don't think any of it is good for you, not even diet (although the science of the studies that say diet is bad kind of sucks in my opinion) and I would add a slash to the pop. It should read Pop/Fruit Juice.
Lately, I've done some cool stuff at home, like puree strawberries and make pink lemonade. Or juicing an orange and adding seltzer to make orange 'pop'.
M
Keep asking for that water in the fast-food restaurant or food court. Soda or Pop, which ever part of the country you are in, is the big money maker in the food industry. It costs less than 5 cents for a large soda fountain drink, and they charge you many dollars for it some situations. That is why coupons for buy one get one free on meals says with a drink purchase, you are almost paying for the damn meal.
ReplyDeleteIn Israel the law requires all restaurants to offer tap water for free for anyone who eats in a restaurant. The waiter then brings out a pitcher of ice water - all at no charge.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the ice is part of the law or if the restaurants decided just to be nice.
Dasani, as far as I know, is the product of Coke's dehydration synthesis of monosaccharides into polysaccharides. The monosaccharides are corn-based, so Dasani is, essentially, a 100% corn product.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I gave up all soda years ago. And I've never been one for tea. So the only things I'll drink when I'm out is water, or occasionally a lemonade if it's available. I hear you, it's frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI gave up all soft-drinks cold turkey when I was in grade 10, having previously been at least a BID (if not more frequent) drinker, for health reasons.
ReplyDeleteI too share in your frustration at trying to find things to drink while out for dinner/at a food court. I also found that alcoholic drinks were severely limited for me, as I could really only have beer, straight liquor, and a few simple mixed drinks (G and T, screwdriver) because everything else contained a soda product.
Mobius: I forgot about Dr. Grumpy and his Diet Coke. But I don't know if diet colas count, since they don't have sugar.
ReplyDeletePOP: I don't think I could be the kind of person who brings my own water places, mostly cuz I'm too forgetful.
NP Odyssey: Recently I bought some food at the food court and the drink was an extra 10 cents. They seemed pretty aggravated that I still wanted water.
Moshe: In sit down restaurants, it's not a big deal... they generally will bring you tap water. It's more of a problem at food stands or fast food places.
iamnothouse: I gave up alcohol too five years ago when I got pregnant, so I am a real pariah :)
I don't drink soda. Haven't. Ever. Like Jonathan, I get weird looks when I ask for milk. But I don't have any problems with asking for water at fast food places because most places - even food courts around here - have self-serve drink stations. So you get your spiffy water only cup and serve yourself.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was waitressing, I hated the cheap people who would order "water and could you bring extra lemons out on the side" and then dump twenty packets of sugar to make their own free lemonade. They never tipped well.
Hello Fizzy - when my son Ben was a little boy, and we asked him "What would you like to be when you grow up?", his answer was: "A construction worker - so I can drink Pepsi out of a bottle!"
ReplyDeleteWe never had soft drinks at home, and the only people he (apparently) ever saw drinking them were these construction guys! :-)
Sounds like your attending was Happy Hospitalist.
ReplyDelete