I am addicted to Pepsi__. There. I've said it. I know it's super bad for me and my body and so I try to keep it to only one can a day. Sometimes I succeed. Others not so much. I almost feel like it's ok becuase I don't drink coffee and I don't really have any other kind of food addictions. But deep down inside I know I need to quit–especially now that my children are a little bit bigger and my daughter will sometimes ask if she can taste it.
I've only let her drink a sip of my Pepsi a handful of times and I let her get some Sprite, when we go to the movies or we get some fast food, which is not something we do on a regular basis. But after reading about how much more kids are being bombarded by advertising for sugary drinks than ever before, thanks in part to online marketing, I think I need to put a stop to this before it's too late.
The good thing is that I started training my children well from the very beginning by offering them water instead of juice as soon as they could drink something else other than breast milk. And so both of them are huge water lovers, which is pretty strange to me because, truthfully, I'm not. I mean I'll drink water, but if I have the choice of soda (Pepsi) versus water, I'll usually choose the former. I know, ¡qué horror!
Anyhow, the main thing is that I'm supposed to be a good role model for my children, right? While my kids are not allowed to have soft drinks, how can I expect them to keep on saying no to soda when I down at least one can of Pepsi every single day? I need to figure out a way of breaking my habit. Maybe I can print out a list of all the harmful ways in which soda can destroy me and hang it on the fridge next to my children's artwork.
Let's see what that would look like:
- Heart disease and kidney failure. The phosphates found in soda could cause this. Not to mention that they can make me age faster. (Only one year away from the big 4-0, I think this last one needs to be highlighted!)
- Nerve disorders. Another chemical, brominated vegetable oil (or BVO), can cause all types of these when consumed in massive quantities. (Is one–ok, two–can a day of Pepsi considered massive quantities? I guess it is over a long period of time. Not good.)
- Infertility. (Ok, this would not be a deterrent, as I'm not having any more kids. In fact, it might serve as a good reason why I should continue drinking Pepsi… So, scratch that. The first two are strong enough.)
Ok, I'm off to print the list. Let's see how it goes. I'll keep you all posted. (Well, only if I succeed.)
Do you drink soda? How about your children?
Image via Kenski1970/flickr
