"That's why Americans are so fat."

I felt so much better once I stopped drinking diet soda (it was the only soda I had) and using Equal in my coffee.

 

I've been drinking diet soda --- an ocean of it --- for 44 years.

All health numbers were fine, except for sodium. Too low, as all my diet soda drinking was diluting the sodium in my body.

Doctor's solution: Alternate diet soda with sports drinks. Problem solved.

 

I ate my first McDonald's meal in a full calendar year yesterday. Yippee.

 

The "Super Size Me" filmmaker believed the (leaded) soft drinks were the most unhealthy thing on McDonald's menu. Within the next decade, you won't be able to help yourself to Coca-Cola:

McDonald's phases out self-serve soft drinks

 

From a business standpoint (not health), I saw this the other day and thought it was curious. When I was a kid, your drink was filled behind the register. Then, pretty much everyone switched to self service. Will they all go back? About the only place that comes to mind where an employee still fills is Chick-fil-A. Heck, even our movie theater is self serve.
The last time I was in a McDonald's, which was nearly a year ago, they didn't even have functioning cash registers and people taking orders. If you went in, you still ordered from a kiosk. I'd be willing to wager it's just more of a move to transition to fully drive through.

 

I actually remember when the McDonald’s in my hometown expanded to include indoor seating. It was counter service only until about 1973.

 

We ran a short AP story on the McDonald’s soft drink change and someone in the newsroom pointed out that Wendy’s, Five Guys and other businesses have gone the other direction, with those self-serve Coke dispensers that have 100 different flavor combinations.

None of them taste as good as the Coca-Cola, or for me now, even the Diet Coke, at McDonald’s. Say what you want about Ray Kroc, he sweated the small stuff and got it right.

 

There's something about the Freestyle machines that end up making all the colas taste slightly off, but with different small amounts of flavoring to them. Even if you pick just a plain Diet Coke or Coke Zero, they taste worse vs. the normal fountain sodas at most other places.

 

I visited a mini mart that had a self-serve smoothie machine. What was cool was the stream of water that cleaned the nozzle after each use. I'm guessing with those multiuse machine, you are getting the remnants of the previous drink, or previous 10, each time you fill your cup.

 

In my experience, you've got to let the Coke or Diet Coke run for a few seconds to clear out the pipes of any random flavors. It's still not as good as McDonald's, but it's better.

 

I go for the Fanta Orange at the Freestyle machine, since I never buy it anywhere else. Always good to reconnect with a childhood classic.

And, speaking of old favorites, I finally the sugar-free Diet Squirt, so now I can get my long-lost Wink fix again. It had been DECADES.

 

The health secret to Five Guys is to go 50/50 on Coke/ Coke Zero, which no doubt more than offsets the 10,000 calories of fries you’ll consume. /EatThisNotThat