They Put Crack in McDonald's Fountain Drinks, Don't They?

They do put crack in McDonald's fountain drinks, don't they? I think they do. Why? Because although I have given McDonald's up on principle, I can't seem to boycott them entirely.

I love their fountain soda. The taste of a Diet Coke from McDonald's is so much better than anyone elses. Why is that? It's the crack! Okay maybe it's not crack, but it's got to be something. Sugar, maybe? It's just too damn tasty to be entirely diet.

So this is my problem. I like the bad stuff. Soda is bad. There is nothing good about it. There's a rumor that coke can take rust off a bumper. That may not be true, but there may be some truth in it. I'm sure it's eroding my stomach lining as we speak. Literally. There is a 32 ounce diet soda from McDonald's sitting to left of this laptop as I type. I went through the drive through specifically for the diet soda and nothing else. I have a problem!

The truth about soda, even diet soda, is that it is unhealthy. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Some studies suggest that eating non-caloric food confuses the body, rendering it incapable of judging how many calories its ingesting. Other studies suggest the pavlovian effect of intaking sweetness causes us to release insulin even when no calories or sugar has been ingested. Scary.

So this is the tip of my food iceberg. I often substitute the diet soda for other things I might be craving. Things much higher in calories. So what do I do? Will going off soda for a week mean I'll replace it with something worse?

When I quit smoking, I started using food as my primary motivator/reward. Out one bad habit, enter five more.

So my challenge to myself - and to those readers out there (assuming there are any) is to give up soda for one week and see what happens. I will keep a "soda journal" and will post the findings here in one week.

You're encouraged to do the same.