Addicted to Every Soda Variety.

Self reflection.  After reading that soda is the #1 factor in weight gain I decided to go home and have some self reflection. I pulled out the recycle bin and started counting. 

Now my husband does not drink soda so I know all these cans are mine. Furthermore, regrettably all the cans I found do not include soda consumed away from my home. I was unsure of the exact time frame of my soda consumption but I decided the cans I found in the recyclables reflect probably 45 days give or take 10 days. I also remember during this time period consuming 2 bottles of 2 liter pepsi (which was not factored into this).

Check out the two photos included -- first, the cans of consumption and second, the jar represents the overall grams of sugar I consumed and the cup represents that jar broken down into a daily intake.

So -- in 45 days check out the following.

39 cans of soda.

1 can of soda has 42 grams of sugar.

160 calories a can = 6720 calories = approx. 2 lbs (1 lb is 3500 calories)

Each can of soda is approximately 9 teaspoons of pure sugar.

39 cans is about 345 teaspoons of sugar (measured out in the jar).

Diabetes in a Can? 

A 2,000 calorie diet recommends only consuming 44 grams of sugar per day (2 grams away from a can and that’s not including everything else we eat daily).

Cup Runneth Over?

Food is fuel and every fuel has it’s own digestion rate based on fiber and fructose content. Carbohydrate sugar is converted to fat for storage when calories are consumed in excess.

Consuming soda releases energy very quickly. If you have excess sugar when the glucose is processed by your liver the liver cannot handle it all and converts it into fatty acids which goes into your body and is stored: stomach, hips, butt, breasts, arteries and eventually heart, liver, and kidneys reducing raising blood pressure, decreasing metabolism, and weakening the immune system. This also produces extra insulin which can eventually lead to insulin resistance which means you’ve essentially broken that part of your body -- it begins to work against you. 

Something Broke?

I decided to research different issues associated with too much sugar. The body is broken when we consume too much sugar. So below are 10 reasons to avoid soda.

Consuming one or more sugar sodas a day can increase a woman’s chances for diabetes by 80%

Oral bacteria in your teeth ferment the simple sugars dissolving tooth enamels.

High fructose and caffeine in soda can prevent you from sleeping when you need and make you fall asleep when you hit the low. Also, you will need to consume extra water.

Can prevent the ability of the body to digest and kill gonococcal bacteria for 7 hours.

One caffeinated drink a day can reduce a woman’s monthly ability to conceive by 50%.

Diet sodas actually stimulate your body to want to eat more food.

Sodium Benzoate can cause asthma, hives, and eczma.

Too much can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

Obesity.

Addiction.

Ability to fix it?

Admittedly soda is addicting. I know others who feel the same way I do. So what makes some people get out? How do others get out of loving this sugary drink. Below are some of the best tips I found online:

Make the commitment and pour it down the sink. Don’t buy it again.

Limit yourself.

Replace, replace, replace. Be ready with an ‘alternative’ for when you would have wanted it before.

Tell friends and family you’re trying to not drink as much.

Avoid snacks that have sugar in the first 3 or 4 ingredients.

Plan snacks that have protein and help avoid sugar cravings.

Keep it up for two weeks at first and then see how far you can go.

Drink luke warm water.

Think of all the money you can save.

Do your research about the issues with soda.

So what am I gonna do? Well -- my high fetched goal is to limit soda to 1 a week (we’ll see if I can do that). Each day I go without soda I am going to remove 1 can from the soda wall..so I can reduce my soda deficit.

Wish me luck? Too bad you all won’t want to send me a dollar for every day I don’t consume soda. Regardless, by lessening my soda intake I know if I can follow through I could potentially save thousands in health bills.

The Moral Gun.

--The GiRL

You know that song -- where have all the good people gone? It leads me to wonder, would I be one of the “good people” in some of the following situations? Are there ever situations in which you should abandon goodness for safety or does goodness always come first? How far should your “goodness” go?

Working at a news station sometimes there are stories that disturb and make you ponder the difficult questions of life. Below are two stories and their echoes. 

Story 1 (true story by the way): On a quaint street in in an averaged sized town it is around 10:00 pm and a domestic disturbance occurs. One man (we’ll call him Joe) hears his neighbors (husband and wife we’ll call Bob and Mary) violently arguing in the street. Out of concern for neighbor Mary, Joe goes out to calm the situation down fearing for her safety. 

Bob tells Joe he needs to leave and this has nothing to do with him, that it is between Mary and he. Joe refuses and says he wants to help. Bob tells Joe to leave once again. Joe stays to keep the situation in check. Bob storms off into the house. A few moments later Bob comes back out with a hand gun. He shoots Joe in the foot and then shoots Joe in the head. Bob goes to jail convicted of murder.

Should Joe have left? Should Joe have called authorities? Is there something good in Joe’s actions? If this story ended differently would we suggest the same action? What does this story tell you about the moral convictions of Bob, Mary, and Joe?

Story 2 (true story as well): In the Denver International Airport a woman was being raped in a concourse. Multiple people passed by afraid to intervene or get help. Two gentleman employees walked by and saw what was happening. They wrestled the rapist to the ground and the girl was saved from further pain.

Why did others keep walking? Did the two who intervened do the right thing? If this situation had ended differently, maybe like story 1, would we have advised the workers to act in another way? What does this demonstrate about community vs. individual morality? How would you have responded?

Story 3 (true story as well): Yesterday a man was hit by a car and left in a ditch when the unknown driver took off. The first person to do anything about it was a police officer. 

Of all the people in a town, how come a police officer (how many police are in a city?) was the first to respond -- where were all the other people who passed by? 

The new situational mantra: “This is not our business, let’s just leave it alone.”

The new situational mantra is becoming increasingly common. I think the phrase also represents a lot about our society. First, we doubt that strangers will respond appropriately to our moral convictions about situations. Second, if it’s not me then it doesn’t matter. Third, we’re ill prepared for the worst.

Regarding the first: we doubt strangers will respond appropriately to our moral convictions in situations.

There has become a dramatic difference between individuals and their beliefs about right and wrong. Right and wrong are determined by the individual and society has trained itself to avoid imposing personal convictions on another. The extremity of this cultural development is reflected in the situational mantra. Sadly, not only does this mantra reflect the depravity of community in our society, it also, combined with the stories detailed earlier, represents the real life dangers of leaving everyone to be their own person. When there is no common morality and no common justice, then we leave people to only do as they please. What then do you do when what they please is to eliminate you? You fall victim to society’s moral depravity. Without the ability to see right and wrong and step in when needed, we continue the cycle of violence. Our community morality has degraded and unfortunately if we continue to let it degrade there will be more victims.

Regarding the second: If it’s not me, then it doesn’t matter.

As mentioned in my first, we need to remember that it may not be you, but it could be you...or your bother, mother, father, sister, friend, cousin, and the list goes on. As more and more people ignore injustice we subject all those we love to fall prey to violence. 

Regarding the third: we’re ill prepared for the worst.

We’re trained what to do in a fire, a tornado, a hurricane or an earthquake but how often are we trained to handle dangerous situations involving others? I suggest thinking about how you would respond in not only an emergency but also when your moral convictions are challenged. What do you do when you see your boss doing something illegal? What do you do when you see one employee as the office scape goat? How would you respond if someone was screaming for help?

Think about what is important and how you can respond. Sometimes it is the preparation ahead of time that can mean a happy ending or a violent ending.

As a last note -- it has been the human failure to reflect on how one would respond when moral convictions are challenged. This failure has led to hurt individuals and as a result specifically in the United States possibly the degradation of our society. 

We are afraid to intervene when our moral convictions are subject to scrutiny because many of us have interacted with people who inappropriately handled their moral convictions. It is easy to blanket your moral convictions on other people, but if you lose reflection and preparedness with your convictions there can be victims you leave behind.

Think about how to respond appropriately when you are challenging someone else’s “failed” morality and when your own personal “failed” morality is challenged by someone else who believes contrary to you. 

Be open to discussion and change while maintaining the freedom to live united with your convictions.

 Avoid using that moral gun to get rid of another who does not think the same as you.  

Scary Words.

A sum of thoughts? A conglomeration of meaning and symbols?  A moment in time?

Writing a blog is kinda scary. It puts your mind in the world and allows the unspoken to become spoken. The ignorance to be laid bare. The personal made public. 

Are you thoughts valid simply because you write them? If no one comments, does that mean your reasoning is flawed? Is writing really rejuvenating? What is the difference between a rant and meaningful conversation? What if you offend someone who does not have the courage to speak or write in return? What if your thoughts are dull or unimaginative? Do words once spoken have redemptive quality? Can beauty be spoken as a with a flawed humanity? 

Words spoken provide the opportunity for a signature of time. My thoughts I cast into tepid or thrashing waters as my minimal droplet in the timeline of thought.

Oh words. 

Words woven by a spell.

A spell which hovers like magic from the mind. 

The essence of time. 

One word representing humanly vice or otherworldly wisdom.

Many words a reflection of this moment. 

May the river of words swell with the flood

of knowledge newly learned.

Cascading into the basin

Conventional knowledge accepted flows on

A canyon carved by the masses

One word drops far away evaporated by the heat

Free falling drops separate from the flow

A forgotten rainbow light reflected from the sun

Drops of knowledge or wisdom newly won

Color angles directed by the Son.

Word redemption as the flow of wisdom moves on.

The rainbow colors unique for the time

A redemptive word and hope is mine.

--The GiRL