A Coke Product, for fat people in denial.

It's a total fat-person's move to fill their cup at the soda fountain with half diet soda and half regular. You're in the thrall and addiction of carbonated sugar water, and can't quite let it go, so you literally half-ass it by watering it down with carbonated artificially-sweetened water. So it's no wonder that the slowly-dying corporate monolith that has millions and millions of dollars to study their shrinking consumer base to make it just a little bit easier to be half-assed. Ladies and Gentlemen, "Coke Life."

The drink contains Truvia, a branded form of stevia extract. Stevia has no calories. Truvia is currently an $80 million product, as of 2014.
Coca-Cola Life is the first branded Coke product to use stevia leaf extract. However, it is not the first product owned by the Coca-Cola company to use stevia. Vitamin Water and Seagram's Ginger Ale both use it.
Coca-Cola Life contains sugar, but uses less sugar than traditional Coca-Cola. An 8 US fluid ounces (240 ml) serving contains around 60 calories, 17 grams of carbohydrates of which 17 grams is sugar (equals only 1/3 less sugar than traditional Coca-Cola). The list of ingredients is carbonated water, cane sugar, caramel color, caffeine, phosphoric acid, and stevia.

Though I've never seen this product, it was introduced in 2014. The only reason I'm hearing about it now is that is being declared a flop by the media and the beverage industry. It has sold less every month than the month before for the entirety of 2015. Coke Life is the first new Coke since Coke Zero in 2006, also a product that aimed at the health-conscious consumer. (Do you remember Coke Lemon and Coke Lime from the early 2000s, which solved the problem of putting a wedge of fresh citrus in your drink by dosing it with weird overpowering fake lemon and lime flavors?)

And now they are reducing the amount of sugar in the product from 45% of full-sugar coke to 33%. It's like an abuser saying, "I know punching you in the face repeatedly is not good for you, and I already hit you 45% less. But because I'm such a swell guy, I'm only going to punch you in the face 33% as much, ok? Still love me?"

Selling sex has been in the news recently as Playboy just rolled out a relaunch that takes away the full-frontal nudity. Look at these two images side by side...

Not to be too obvious or pointy-headed on y'all, but both are selling the same old crap by wrapping them in the sheen of barely post-teen sexuality. Covering up the naughty bits, whether it's a bra or diluting the sugar with chemicals, is lame half measure that really doesn't address the fundamental issues of what is wrong (or what was originally great at a previous time) about the product. Ick ick ick.

As I've written before, corporate food monoliths of my youth are starting to realize the ground they stand on is quickly turning into a dinosaur graveyard, and it's fascinating to watch them thrash about trying to deny the inevitable. Coke's concentrated calories has contributed greatly to wrecking our nation's health, using food scientists to build the perfect mousetrap and psychologists and strategists to sell it to us. Now that the obvious truth (coke is BAD for you) is leaking out despite their best efforts, they are trying to trick us into thinking that they aren't the problem, but part of the solution. As long as your locality doesn't cheap out on basic civil works like the water supply (hello, Flint!), the solution largely comes out of your tap.

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2810

Surprised how high this number is, but making progress in eating a little less sweets and little things like swapping out a regular slice of pizza with a handful of cashews. Little things will start adding up.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2690

SLEPT: 8am - 5am, 9 hrs

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced black tea


BREAKFAST 1 : 9am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1:45pm, beef patty, chicken soup, momma salad, pickles, 600 cal

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, poppa salad with dressing and veggie straws, 330 cal

DINNER: 5:15pm, vegetarian ethiopian food, +/- 800 cal

EVENING SNORT: 7pm, whiskey, +/- 150 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm,  small bowl of special K and whole milk, +/-200 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2690

SLEPT: 10pm-5:30am,  7.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 5:45am,  iced black tea

BREAKFAST: 11:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

LUNCH: 1:45pm, madras lentils, steamed string beans, chicken meatballs, pickles, 720 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, poppa salad with dressing, 200 cal

DINNER: 5:15, vegetarian dim sum, +/- 1000 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, popcorn, +/-300 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2870

SLEPT: 9:30pm-12:30am, 3:30am-6:45am, 6.25 hrs

AM SNACK: 7am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST 1: 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:45, fruit smoothie,  450 cal

LUNCH: 2:45pm, sauteed shrimp and mushrooms with shiritaki noodles and oyster sauce, poppa salad with dressing, 660 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, momma salad, pirate booty, 230 cal

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, cashews, 250 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, burrito, diet coke, 920 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, kind bar, 200 cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 720 cal
THURSDAY COUNT: 2840

SLEPT: 10pm-3:30am, 5.5hrs

AM SNACK: 3:45am, iced black tea, 150mg caffeine

BIKE SNACK: 7am, homemade granola bar, 300 cal

BREAKFAST 1: 10:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

PM SNACK: 12:45pm, kind bar, 200cal

LUNCH: 1:45pm, ramen with extra noodles, shumai, moki, +/- 1200 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, homemade pizza, wine, a little ice cream, +/- 1200 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, nutella, 500 cal
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FRIDAY COUNT: 2960

SLEPT: 10pm-6am, 8hrs

AM SNACK: 8am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST: 11:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 1pm, fage with honey, vanilla, almonds, 450 cal

LUNCH: 2:30pm, bacon with poppa salad with dressing, 440

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER:5:15pm, fish and chips, +/- 800 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, potato leek soup with bialy, herring canapés, fried babka and a little ice cream, +/- 800 cal

Coke, it's the Real Corporate Thing

Will DeBlasio stop worrying about the boobs in Times Square and maybe pick up on the Soda Ban where Bloomberg left off? Oh, wait, the boobs don't have unlimited funds to pay lobbyists? Never mind.

When I started this blog, it was daily, and it wasn't hard to pick apart the science and research all pointing to how sugar's upsides (tastes universally delicious, helps preserve processed food, creates interesting flavor profiles when cooked) is laughably outweighed by it's downsides (makes you fat with excess calories, makes you fat in ways not just from excess calories, addictive, pushes out nutritive food from your diet, and on and on) So it's gratifying when the media does it's job and looks at the major cash a major corporation spends in the name of "research" to defend the indefensible.

My anecdotal evidence is in, and for me, it is irrefutable (unless coke wants to send some of that sweet, sweet cash my way!) I've been looking to get healthy and stay that way for more than a few years now.  I've been a distance cyclist for years, and stayed fat because the hunger generated by cycling would cause me to take in more calories than I expended. Once I started counting and restricting calories, seeing what I was actually burning and actually consuming, and cutting back on sugar and grains, the weight came off and mostly stayed off. The key was never to do more, it's always been to eat less, and less Coke and Coke products in particular.

If I was a journalist and not an amateur blogger, I'd write that NY Times piece linked above. So go read it. -drops mic-

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2456

Relatively good eating week, despite only a few meeting out and about on Monday and an office gig on Tuesday. Was very busy professionally from home W-F which prevented me from indulging too far in my kitchen.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2410

SLEPT: 10:30pm-6am, 7.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 9am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, Maoz falafel salad, +/- 700 cal

PM SNACK:  4:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, mahi mahi,  asparagus, poppa salad with dressing, 650 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:15pm, popcorn, +/- 400 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 8pm, watermelon, +/- 400 cal
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TUESDAY COUNT: 2670

SLEPT: 9pm-5am, 8hrs

AM SNACK: 5:15 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:15am, fruit smoothie, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, steamed string beans, mushroom curry, pickles, 620 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 7pm, French Bread pizzas, poppa salad with dressing, 1080 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, kind bar, 2 kid granola bars, 400 cal


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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2560 cal

SLEPT: 12am - 5am, 5 hrs

AM SNACK: 5:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 8am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:30am, fage yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 1pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 3pm, grilled chicken breast poppa salad with dressing, pickles, 420 cal

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, cashews, 250 cal

DINNER: 8pm, chipotle burrito, ice cream, 1180 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 1300cal
THURSDAY COUNT: 1950

SLEPT: 10:30pm-3am, 4.5 hours

AM SNACK: 3:15am, iced green tea, 150mg caffeine

BIKE SNACK: 5am, homemade granola bar, 400 cal

BIKE SNACK: 7am, homemade granola bar, 400 cal

BREAKFAST 1: 10am, watermelon, +/- 400 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 12:45pm, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

LUNCH: 2:30pm, chicken soup, poppa salad with dressing, veggie straws, 480 cal

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 6pm, vegetarian dim sum, ice cream, +/- 1200 cal
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FRIDAY COUNT: 2690

SLEPT: 9pm-3:30am, 6.5 hours

BREAKFAST: 3:45am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 9:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:30am, fage yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal

LUNCH: 2:45pm, sardines & avovado on whole wheat toast, pickles, poppa salad and dressing, 850 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, veggie straws, 230 cal

DINNER: 5:30pm, burger, fries, corn, ice cream, +/- 1000 cal

McDonalds & Coke: Tomorrow's Dinosaurs Today

We go (screaming downwards) together

Sometimes it takes a lot of work, time and patience to read cultural tea leaves -- you have to live it and breath it to become a proper cultural weather vane. I'd like to think my 5+ years ruminating about food on blogs, graduating from culinary school, a few years of professional cooking experience and some studious time with nutritionists have given me a little bit of radar in this department. But low-hanging fruit is low-hanging fruit, and you don't need to be a wizard to analyze where our food dollars are going. Two megalithic standard bearers of all that is wrong with American food and American nutrition are seeing what may be the beginning of a long downward trend in their fortunes:

McDonald's has been failing badly for a while now — this was the second straight quarter in which they reported losses across the board, and nothing is stemming the bleeding: sales fell 3.7% in August and 3.6% in September. August's figure represents the worst monthly drop for the company in a decade. In the US, the decline is blamed largely on millennials seeking out fast casual options like Chipotle due to people suddenly being willing to trade a (somewhat) higher cost for a huge perceived jump in both quality and healthiness.

Tainted meat in China and Russian national pride shutting the Golden Arches down lately haven't helped their cause, either. Desperation moves find management adding more and more things to the menu in hopes of finding the next "McNugget" or "McMuffin" break-through, but instead are just slowing down operations, taking the "fast" out of fast food, and cheapening their brand with dollar menus and anti-burger stuff like salads and parfaits.

Seeing a corporation groveling and trying to change the subject is kinda sad in a weird way, like a child (a very powerful, amoral child with shareholders) who doesn't quite understand how the world works so is hoping to somehow change reality by pleading it's case with very limited/specifically chosen facts. Does McDonalds have any pink slime in any product? No, they say confidently. Did McDonalds have pink slime in most of it's meats as recently as a year ago, and only removed this profitable but disgusting habit when it was exposed in the media? Oh, wait, those facts are inconvenient to redefining the brand.

On one hand, some new competition does take on an aspect of what made McDonalds groundbreaking: Chipotle keeps their menu small and their service fast even at high-demand times. On the other hand,  there are plenty of new franchises like 5 Guys and Shake Shack who keep the menu focused like an old school McDonalds: just burgers really well done. On both sides, they do something that McDonalds is way too old, slow and giant to do: market to the healthfulness of their food with organic ingredient, declarations of environmental friendliness, and the like. McDonalds can try, but after all this time, no one believes them. Despite the options for milk, juice, water, fancy coffee and the like, the main drink of choice at a McDonalds is a coke product:

Coca-Cola, meanwhile, doesn't have any similar franchising issues or international scandals to blame for their falling stock — they're just losing money hand over fist. They're dealing with the same health issues McDonald's faces, as Americans don't seem to be into the idea of high sugar drinks as much as they used to, to which their solution has been to introduce lower-calorie drinks like Coke Zero.

It's been said over and over again that the #1 leading source of excess calories is by drinking sugar dissolved in flavored fizzy water. The best way back to better health, away from metabolic syndrome and all the diseases that accompany it, is by simply consuming less/none of it. Of course, Big Soda (and the Big Government that is in thrall of it's money) says, "Hogwash, keep consuming more and more, just 'balance' your time with a hell of a lot more moving!"

As a cyclist who does measure calories in and out on rides to assure efficiency and health, if I were to "reward" myself with an acidified carbonated high-fructose solution after every ride like the dorks in the video, I'd be either vomiting on the regular, 50 lbs heavier, or probably both. A calorie is not just a calorie if the calorie is from high fructose corn syrup, but that's another entry.

Marc Bittman had a recent editorial that touched on the trending down of McDonalds matched by the 'healthier' options like Chipotle. He names three sources where real change in food policy and increasing public health can come from: Food Business, Government, and Consumers. The first two are  both in thrall and enslaved to the money that the third party supplies. So the best, most efficient and likely way to improve our world of food is to personally follow two rules:

1. Stop eating junk and hyperprocessed food. This eliminates probably 80 percent of the stuff that is being sold as “food.”
2. Eat more plants than you did yesterday, or last year.

This, of course, is a continuation of everything Bittman has written up to this point, but it still holds it's power. If someone were to ask me how I lost 40+ pounds and kept it off for over a year despite set-point fear mongering, I'd honestly have to say, I ate more real food, less food-like substances, and more plants. Though in honesty I hit up McDonalds a few times a month to satisfy my children's McMuffin cravings (and my need for convenience and peace), over all in the past few year's I've eaten vastly less McDonalds-like food, and drank literally gallons less Diet Coke and sweetened beverages. Guess my eating lines up pretty well with the cultural weather vane.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2763

OK eating week, life in a weird state of flux, good things, bad things, anxiety and hope. Regardless, the kids are happy, healthy and living a stable, loving life and that's the real measure of how things are, so I shouldn't complain.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2910

SLEPT: 9pm-6am, 1:30pm-2:45pm, 10.25 hr
Good quiet day. Good to have a sleep room at work to help catch up on sleep from the weekend.

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am,  Steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, falafel, cream of mushroom soup, health salad, pickles, 810 cal 
Pickles slightly off. Have a small amount left, still think I'll not buy the full gallon of pickles next time. Maybe 3/4.

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, momma salad, Grazebox nut mix , 310 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, tilapia, asparagus, poppa salad with Ceasar dressing, 680 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, popcorn, +/- 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, kind bar, 200 cal
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TUESDAY COUNT: 3030

SLEPT: 9pm-12:30am, 1:30am-5am, 1:45-2:45pm, 8 hr
Chill day.

AM SNACK: 5:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, whole fage with honey, vanilla and almonds, 450 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, chicken meatballs, steamed string beans, mushroom curry,  pickles, 620 cal 
New pickles.

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, Grazeboxseed mix , 270 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, sautéed chicken breast,  roasted brussel sprouts, poppa salad with Cesar dressing, 630 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, 2 kind bar, 400 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, peanut butter & chocolate syrup, one child chocolate chip granola bar, +/- 500 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2876

SLEPT: 9pm-4am, 1:30-2:30pm, 8 hr
Bumpy morning with rain and sorting out kid travel, but somehow we survive.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am,  Steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, sautéed chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa,  pickles, 635 cal 

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, Grazebox cracker mix , 230 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm,  poppa salad with Cesar dressing, 200 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, soba in soup with shrimp, 2 shrimp dumplings, a spoonful of ice cream, +/- 500 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, 2 kind bars, cashews and chocolate chips, ritz crackers with cheese spread, +/- 800 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2535

SLEPT: 1pm-5:30am, 6.5  hr
Excellent meal at Hearth with a new friend.

AM SNACK: 5:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, whole fage with honey, vanilla and almonds, 450 cal

LUNCH: 12:45am, chicken sausage, sauteed mushrooms and onions, pickles, 515cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, Grazebox wasabi peas , 210 cal

PM SNACK: 6pm,  poppa salad with Cesar dressing, 200 cal

DINNER: 7pm, bread and butter, ribolita & roasted fall veg, cod & chestnut cannelloni, gnocchi, 1 glass alcoholic cider, herbal tea, +/- 800 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, cookies, +/- 200 cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 670 cal
FRIDAY COUNT: 2465

SLEPT: 11pm-3am, 1pm-2:30pm, 5.5  hr
Early AM ride, felt good, as this coming weekend's only ride is on the big bike with kids.

AM SNACK: 3:15am, iced green tea, 150mg caffeine, granola bar, 275 cal

BIKE SNACK: 4:45am, granola bar, 275 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, fruit smoothie, 500 cal

LUNCH: 12:15pm, sardine and avocado on whole wheat toast, health salad,  pickles, 615 cal 

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 6pm, Pad Thai, fried tofu, diet soda, +/- 1000 cal