I know I should give up _____ (food/drink item), but....
So, this idea was sparked after a trip to a new dentist yesterday. He was assessing a tooth that needs a root canal and asked me very directly if I was a soda drinker. Now, to me, being branded as a soda drinker means a 4-5 can a day habit, and definitely regular (sugar) soda. Surely my one can of Diet Coke a day couldn't be so bad....
Think again, says Mr. Dentist.
So now I am on a journey to wean myself off the stuff and save it as a special "treat". *sigh*
I know there have to be others out there who indulge in food and/or drink (alcohol is a separate problem altogther!) at the expense of their health or at least their better judgement?
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50 Comments:
Not a health issue, but definitely against my better judgment: gelatin. I haven't consumed red meat since 1996, so there should be no reason I use gelatin in my baking. I've been researching agar agar and fish gelatin on and off, but I'm not as focused as I should be to find an alternative. It makes me feel guilty that, though I use it sparingly, it's still in my kitchen.
meem21 at 9:34AM on 04/21/09
I love Nong Shim Kimchi Ramen. Love it. One bowl makes my ankles about an inch bigger around. Probably bigger. I get Kankles. There is just an enormous amount of salt in it. Does this stop me? Not really. I feel pretty sure that any food that would affect my water retention like that cannot be good for me. I continue to eat it, though a lot less often than I'd like.
chisai at 9:36AM on 04/21/09
I thought gelatin no longer contains animal products. I just try (sometimes hard, sometimes not at all) to eat less of "bad" things, mainly sweets. To try to stop all together usually leads me to binge.
emgroff at 9:57AM on 04/21/09
according to recent health releases the only thing safe to ingest is soylent green, people helping people! ;-)
huneybumper at 10:00AM on 04/21/09
butter and cream...but i just can't!
sammie at 10:08AM on 04/21/09
I love Shin Ramyun, even though it's not good for my acid reflux. I'm tempted to get a case of them. (@chisai- Kankles? because it's so high in sodium?)
and bacon. no way I'm giving it up.
hmw0029 at 10:17AM on 04/21/09
beer.
hammondcheese at 10:49AM on 04/21/09
coffee - for good baby production. oh, it's hard. i just fail over and over every day.
rachelb at 11:19AM on 04/21/09
beer for me too.
flavacrisp at 11:27AM on 04/21/09
I eat more pasta than any 3 people should. I know I gotta cut back, but it's hard to do.
Kerosena at 11:34AM on 04/21/09
Yea pasta is a problem at my house too. I blame my grandmother, she taught me how to cook and pasta was a staple in our family. Last night I did make a favorite of tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, parmesean, and mozzarella. I don't think I could live without it!
DELICIOUS at 11:45AM on 04/21/09
Baked goods. I try not to overdo it and overall, I think I really DON'T overdo it ... but I've just started baking somewhat recently, and it's just so good. Like the coffee cake I just made the other night. And I need to make biscotti...nomnomnom
joyyy at 11:53AM on 04/21/09
I am in love with Cape Cod potato chips. I try to keep it a so-so distance affair but am not as successful as my concscience would like.
stigcr at 11:55AM on 04/21/09
Butter, Stoli, pasta, rice, bread.
bessfour at 12:10PM on 04/21/09
@emgroff, nope, pretty sure Knox is still using animal products. I just read an article about being Kosher for Passover and it mentions that.
meem21 at 12:27PM on 04/21/09
I've been drinking Coke lately...not Diet either. In the last few years I rarely drank soda but lately I've just been craving it! That's just empty calories. Ugh. Plus, I'm fairly thin and petite....well, I was but I swear I've gained 5 pounds lately and it shows and it's about to be bikini season!
arm1970 at 12:35PM on 04/21/09
@emgroff - Sadly for us former panna cotta and marshmallow fans, no gelatin is animal-free. There are alternatives for most things, though (agar agar, guar gum, carragean [sp?], instant clear gel, fruit pectin, xantham gum, etc.). I actually gave up gelatin before any other animal product, because I became convinced that it was made from ponies. It only really annoys me when it shows up in unexpected places – like in pasta or cereal. Why are cow bones in mini wheats!? Why!?
KarynMC at 12:46PM on 04/21/09
@hmw - I'm assuming the kankles are from the salt. I eat the stuff, a couple hours later my ankles are all swollen and they pretty much stay that way for 24 hours or so. I don't eat it, I don't have them. Sometimes the stuff is totally worth it though.
chisai at 12:48PM on 04/21/09
Diet soda...shameful, but I still think that I could have worse vices...and that's what dentures are for, right?
Traveller at 12:52PM on 04/21/09
Caffiene. I love it. Coffee is my drink of choice but I am not above tea, coke or alternatives. I can stop anytime... I just don't really want to... now... or ever...
jareddee at 1:33PM on 04/21/09
As someone who CERTAINLY did not just give into a monumental craving for a hard taco and nachos supreme from *cough*Taco Bell*cough* I have no idea how to relate to this thread.
BananaMonkey at 1:33PM on 04/21/09
Instant noodles. I always ALWAYS have to use the entire packet of MSG each time (for the full flavor effect - it's not the same without it!) and I spend the rest of the day/night feeling bloated but oh-so-satisfied :)
littlemissnom at 1:55PM on 04/21/09
If I was being honest, I'd say that I could cut down on my coffee consumption. DH makes the coffee in the morning, he drinks what he wants, and I finish the pot.
However, I'm eating better now that I ever have in my life, and I've pretty much eliminated HCFS and processed foods and it's been a long time since I've had soda or fast food. And I kicked my orange juice habit.
The coffee doesn't really worry me. It's not like I'm drinking so much that I'm twitching, and the last time I went without coffee for a day, I didn't have any adverse affects. But it is really the last thing that I don't consume in moderation, since it's an every-day thing.
dbcurrie at 2:06PM on 04/21/09
- coffee
- all forms of pig
- excessive butter
- full cream
- maggi seasoning (I just can't! ever!)
- alcohol of all varieties
- cigarettes....yea im ashamed.
hungrychristel at 2:19PM on 04/21/09
pepperoni pizza (fake pepperoni, ew, but soooo delicious). and i know the OP excluded alcohol, but i gotta mention it, because it seems like all my 'bad' foods-- specifically, anything greasy and coca-cola-- are really only completely irresistible when i'm hungover.
foodphilo at 2:40PM on 04/21/09
I'm with hungrychristel on this one. Everything she said. Also hanging head in shame about the cigarettes.
Oh and pickles. Wouldn't be a problem, except for I eat 1/3 jar at a time. Every couple of days.
tatianak at 3:19PM on 04/21/09
Fake sugar. I'm fairly certain I'm sprouting a third eye. I'm getting better, but I've got a long road ahead of me.
And, um, what @hungrychristel/@tatianak said. Was wondering if I should cop to it, since it's SO BAD and not really food related, and then I read your admissions. Oh, the shame....
mollykate678 at 3:34PM on 04/21/09
Why is one soda a day that bad?
Lucy2 at 3:57PM on 04/21/09
butterfat...in all forms. Reduced fat milk is the only concession I'll make, I'm addicted to full fat everything else.
kathyvegas at 4:10PM on 04/21/09
I'm trying to cut way back on carbs....but tell me I can't have something and I want it twice as bad. That is when I get on the rationalization bandwagon.....it really takes a lot of effort to stop...... and I will......after my next cookie!
thegoch at 4:16PM on 04/21/09
Hi, my name is Vegetarianka, and I am a cupcakeaholic.
(See also: homemade bread, brownies, cookies, ice cream, cake, pie, doughnuts, deep fried ANYTHING...)
Vegetarianka at 4:51PM on 04/21/09
I suppose I should stop drinking Coke, but I'm a one-can-a-day (maybe 2 on the weekend) girl, and I figure that there are a lot worse things that I could be hooked on than caffeine. (Yea, I also justify my morning latte because it's about the only milk I drink.)
I thought I had given up white rice, but then I made some for a party, and I crave it again. Brown rice just isn't as comforting, even though it's so much better for you.
cyberroo at 5:09PM on 04/21/09
Caffeine, specifically a ridiculously unhealthy coffee habit -- you should have seen me during Lent, I was in bad shape. But yeah, coffee, butter, and bread. I can last days on just a couple of loaves of no-knead bread and some really good Irish butter ...
kfarrel3 at 5:35PM on 04/21/09
Glad that i am not a soda drinker nor and coffee drinker, I do like Chai tea that has caffeine but I only drink this when I have to go to work, I will not just drink it if I am sitting around because I am hyper as it is and well I don't like the buzz er effect on me when I am idol. My thing is everything that is high cholestrol or fat is my love and by God I am going to eat it.
pjracz10 at 6:11PM on 04/21/09
Dairy. Like some others have said, no "diet' versions of cheese or milk please.
I don't drink soda, am tired of sweets cause I work with them, have become an 'almost veggie' and cut processed and fake foods out of my diet almost entirely, but I cannot nor will I give up real/whole milk, cheese, butter, cream, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc. And I do eat them more than I should.
sadiepix at 6:16PM on 04/21/09
Diet Pepsi--it's gotta be staining my teeth and I really should be drinking more water. Homemade bread is my other one that I really have to cut.
dhorst at 6:22PM on 04/21/09
Splenda. I don't drink soda, eat meat or fish, don't like processed food or even processed sweets (real sweets, on the other hand are a different story). But Splenda is a big blemish on my food-pure-o-meter. Yes, I know I'm supposed to eat a teeny-weeny itty bitty bite of a sweet and put it down. But sometimes, I feel like more, hence I resort to the Big Yellow Box.
HeartofGlass at 7:16PM on 04/21/09
fake sugar and diet soda products...soda in general. but I don't know what I'd do without Coke Zero...except get withdrawal shakes...
machellebelle at 7:25PM on 04/21/09
Diet lemonade and sweet treats (albeit always homemade). I eat very healthily in every other way and I don't think I could tolerate being so holier-than-thou as I don't believe obsessing about the 'perfect' diet is particularly healthy either! A little bit of what you fancy does you good...but in the case of teeth (and I've had countless root canals and extractions), regular soda is best confined to once or twice a week...remind yourself of how painful for the jaw and the pocket the trips to the dentist are and you'll find it easier to stay away!
HappyMuncher at 7:29PM on 04/21/09
Need to give up food altogether - maybe I'll lose weight then. Not practical though so just need to up the ante on my daily calorie burn!
But then again we were blessed with tongues and taste buds - such an awful thing to abuse. So just to keep my tongue from rebelling, I have to massage it at least four times a day with its favorite foods. None of which are fat free.
Ribster at 8:59PM on 04/21/09
I don't believe I should give up anything.
brooke29 at 10:46PM on 04/21/09
@chisai, @hmw0029 -- I hear you on the Korean ramen addiction. Just so tasty!! (and cheap). Definitely eat this more than I should.
And rice krispie treats. My office's cafeteria sells 'em. I am just finishing a HUGE one right now...
jbeach at 3:58PM on 04/22/09
For the OP, once you get used to drinking water, it isn't so bad. I find that I feel so much better when I drink water vs. soda with my meals! As for my own guilty pleasure...we eat a lot of pasta too, and tonight I'm making a tomato cream sauce to go with it....probably not the best idea...
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 3:59PM on 04/22/09
Diet soda for me. I drink so much, I'm embarrassed I guess.
My sugar free flavored latte every morning.
However, 90% of the rest of my diet is purely vegetables. And I never eat fried food. So, I figure, soda won't kill me.
sweethunibabi at 8:18PM on 04/23/09
strawberries dipped in chocolate....I know its not that bad b/c its fruit, right? The problem is that I get on this kick where I have to eat them. So, I'll buy a container or two of berries and that will last, uh, maybe two days. Then I'll buy more strawberries and more chocolate and this will go on for a few weeks.
Its bad when my husband says, " well at least I know what to give you for your last meal on earth"
labcab at 8:43PM on 04/23/09
Diet Coke - I'm one of the 1-a-day people. I thought that wasn't so bad.
And I really should just give up all bread, potatoes, pasta, chips just to lose some of this dreaded weight but I'm having a terrible time doing it.
Pinotnana at 8:54PM on 04/23/09
McDonald's. . . and I only ever eat it if I have a really bad hangover, which leads us straight back to alcohol. :)
nowsonexitmusic at 9:43PM on 04/23/09
Fake sugar -- putting Equal in my coffee, drinking diet soda, eating "sugar free" this and that. Who knows what that stuff really is, but there's no way I'm drinking my coffee without it.
Goldilox at 9:51PM on 04/23/09
Coke zero...a bad habit i've developed just this year.
ilovepancakes at 9:48AM on 04/24/09
There is this fake butter stuff that comes in a squirtable bottle. I don't even know what it's made from, it has only 5 calories per serving and it is always in semi-liquid form. Doesn't harden, doesn't melt. It's got to be nothing but chemicals. However I love nothing more than to steam an entire bag of frozen cauliflower, pour that junk over it and sprinkle with some Vegetable Magic. Each time I bring the fork to my face I know I have to be shaving at least five minutes off my life. It's a compulsion! Eh, at least they won't have to embalm me, I'll have enough chemicals in me already.
Martini Me at 2:13PM on 04/24/09