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Twenty years ago, having a soda meant drinking 6.5 ounces that contained about 85 calories. Today at 7-Eleven, you can purchase the following Coca-Cola Classic options: a Big Gulp (32 ounces), a Super Big Gulp (44 ounces), a Double Big Gulp (64 ounces), or a Slurp and Gulp (32 ounces of fountain drink and 22 ounces of Slurpee).At McDonald’s, you have the choices listed in Table 7.4. So for an extra sixty cents you get an extra260 calories. If you have diabetes or are trying to prevent it, it is also important to know that the small Coke has almost 54 grams of sugar. That’s about fourteen teaspoons. The Supersize has 140grams of sugar—a whopping thirty-five teaspoons of sugar!

How about a caffe latte from Starbucks? It is true that black coffee has no calories, and a latte is typically made with milk, not cream. Sounds like a decent choice, right? Or is it? (See Table 7.5.) So what happens if you switch from a coffee with one ounce of low-fat milk to a grande caffe latte each day? Well, you get an extra 250 calories and an extra half of a pound of weight

per week. The math is bad for your waistline. That’s an extra 26 pounds in a year! A tall latte made with skim milk would be 120 calories and 0 grams of fat. On a daily basis, adding this more health conscious drink to your diet would increase your weight by only thirteen pounds per year.

So how do you eat well in this potentially toxic food environment with growing portion sizes and marketing strategies that tempt you to eat supersized meals with their “get more for less” messages? You should start with these strategies:

  • Don’t put yourself in tempting situations with buffets or allinclusive menus.

  • Choose not to buy “value” or “combo” meals. Buy just what you really want.

  • Ask for and review nutrition information so that you can make informed choices that support your health and wellbeing. Most fast-food restaurants do have this information available if you ask.

  • Ask for half-size portions or order appetizer portions at restaurants.

  • Avoid extra calories from your beverages. You can drink a large amount of calories in a short amount of time, and most research shows that people who drink excess calories don’t simultaneously decrease their calories from food to compensate. People with diabetes must also avoid the large sugar content of regular sodas and naturally sweetened juices.

  • Remember not to skip meals. “Grazers” who eat frequent, small meals will lose more weight than “bingers” who eat only one to three larger meals per day, even when the total number of calories per day is the same. Therefore, consider having at least three meals a day; three small meals and two snacks may be even better.

    • Last Modified Date: July 22, 2009


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