I took my oldest daughter to a movie this evening and gorged on popcorn and coke, even though I didn't plan on having anything but water. I don't even like salty snacks--I'm a sugar girl, thankyouverymuch--but I made a decision to have it.

I am super bloated right now. I am currently drinking 80 oz of water a day but I just finished 120 oz to try to combat all the sodium I had and I still feel gross.

Well at least you learned!

Ever seen King Corn? or Food, Inc.? or Sweet Misery? Those movies helped me to greatly reduce my intake of High Fructose Corn Syrup, and many other *not naturally occurring* processed foods. You can rent those movies from Netflix.

I'm not saying that I don't LOOOVE me some popcorn and soda pop, but getting some information on processed foods has helped me make better decisions.

I have had 2 soda pops since January. It's not due to some higher purpose (like my health!) but mostly because I was yucked out by how they make HFCS and pis*ed off that they put that stuff in all the kids cereals, yogurts, and foods they advertise on TV. Boycotting it is more of a stand against childhood obesity for me.

**steps down off soapbox**

No, I haven't seen any of those...the one that comes to mind that might be related is that guy who ate McDonald's every day for a month. That was gross! I'm going to check out the ones you named.

I LOVE soda but have drastically cut down because I know it does NOTHING good for my body. Maybe these movies will help me cut it out for good.

Movie popcorn is a great weakness of mine. If I can't have it then I avoid the movie theatre altogether because I lack control. I intentionally went to the theatre before starting this diet so that I could get the craving out of my system.

As for soda I allow myself one diet soda a day as a treat and maybe it's not the best choice for me but I am not ready to give those up. The deal is I have to get in at least 72 ounces of water first before I get one. If I don't have those 72 ounces of water in before dinner then I don't get one. There are days that I really don't want a soda but it's a nice incentive if I do.

This is a great change and how I started, too. My goal is 80 oz of water a day, then I can have a soda (I don't drink the diet stuff.) The good thing is, most days after having 80 oz of water, I do not want anything else to drink. The couple of days I do want it, I can't finish a 12 oz can.

I can't do the regular stuff so that saves me. I have been drinking diet soda since I can remember drinking soda and I love it but only from a can - weird I know...

If you like to read try Fast Food Nation. This book got me to really think about what I was putting in my family and my bodies. The movies Mortonpixie suggested are must watch movies in my opinion.

For those who love soda, try making your own! We use fresh fruits like berries and limes/lemons along with agave nectar and sparkling water. Not exactly the same as the high fructose versions but tasty none the less.

I used to drink a ton of diet soda until I read the book "Sweet Deception"...it's all about the lack of testing on artificial sweeteners and what they really can do to your body...it scared the #!@$$%^ out of me. Since I don't like regular soda (been drinking diet since I was 10), I switched to sparkling water. I like the carbonation, but don't have any of the other bad stuff.

On another note: Has anyone tried the soda stream machines? I've seen them advertised, and I was thinking of buying one. Mostly because my son has to have caffiene every morning for his ADHD, but he won't touch anything but Coke. I'm trying to find an alternative w/o the HFCS. The soda stream advertises that their syrups don't have HFCS. Just wondering if anyone has tried it...before I shell out the money....

Yes, I'm convinced diet soda is worse for you than regular soda, which is pretty horrible to begin with!

AFChick, I have never heard of a soda stream machine.

Here's the webpage. I first saw it in Delta's skymall catalog...long flights make you read ANYTHING .

http://www.sodastreamusa.com/

I just went back to their page and discovered that their regular flavors (non-diet) have Splenda in them! Can you believe it! I was outraged, because I had just about decided to order and may have without seeing the fine print. What's the point of getting DS off HFCS if it puts him on Splenda (which is so much worse for a child's brain!). I hate food companies...they leave us almost no options! Does anyone know of a good type of cola with caffeine, that doesn't have HFCS?

Have you looked at a health food store? Ours sells organic soda. I don't know the ingredients, though.

AFChick, check this out: http://www.chillsoda.com/
Read the Did You Know section.

Thanks! That may be the answer...I have to see if I can get it here though...it's times like this when I miss living in CA (you can get all kinds of health food there...AL, not so much ).

Call this totally off the wall and completely wacky. But I have been known to take a pickle or two into the movies. Gives me a little bit of a salty crunch without the calories or cholesterol.

This is great info....I made a list of the books and movies mentioned so far; I'm very interested in checking them out! Thanks guys, for the suggestions!

I try very hard to not drink diet soda, but go in streaks. Lately, I've been drinking one a day. The carbonation fills me up, especially when I don't have time for a real lunch--then I have veggies and hummus, a diet soda (Fresca), and some fruit or yogurt....I know that there is nothing GOOD about diet soda, but I do enjoy it! I should remind myself about the bad aspects....

R