I don't mind water or iced tea...but sometimes something with some flavor is nice too.

Pop...yankee. Just kidding! :)

I drink sweet tea. Yes I know it's empty calories, but considering I eat very little fried food and absolutely no dairy products (think about everything I can't eat) I figure I'm entitled to something nutritionally naughty. If I find myself gaining weight I switch to unsweet for a while.
Another option is Propel water. That stuff tastes awesome and has only 30 calories per bottle. I almost can't work out w/o some. It hydrates like water w/o giving you the empty sloshy feeling.

I'm studying abroad right now and I didn't really realize just how large American portions are until I went to an American chain restaurant in the country I'm in right now. (We were feeling homesick). I was OVERWHELMED by the amount of food on my plate - it was seriously 3 to 4 times what a local restaurant would serve.

Its not all BS. 60% or whatever the Health Professor said of U.S. citizens are overweight and I think its like between 20-30% are considered obese. That's epidemic. Its the food we eat. It really is bad for us.

Speaking of McDonald's, has anyone else noticed, that everytime they're in court, they win. And then within the next month change policies to whatever the other side said. They sued two enviornmentalist guys in England into proverty and then adopted an "eco friendly" stance. And after the fat kid case, they start marketing salads and water.

C'mon... They have been making salads and water since I can remember. The reason they have won in court is because the people suing them have no case. Why should they be sued? Why is it their fault that people can't handle their own dietary responsibilities? The portion sizes are what Americans want, that is the problem. We don't want to be responsible, so we blame fat and carbs, and HFCS, and everything else out there. What we need is will power and self control.

It is just like what Coramoor said; she gets a few refills. Well to be rather blunt, you shouldn't be getting a few refills. It is not healthy to be drinking that much of ANYTHING, except for water. Be it milk, tea, coffee, soda (diet or otherwise), a serving is like 12 ounces. If you have 3 glasses of something at a restaurant, it is like 48 ouces, WAYYYY too much.

I am not familiar with the enviromental guys from Europe, so I won't speak to that.

I think that it is the people's fault. Why? Because they make poor choices. Don't blame fast food, because some of them have healthy choices, like salad and low- carb burger. it's just that people would make poor decisions. However, I think that fast food should offer more healthy choices, like veggie burgers. I think that the Canadian McDonalds offer veggie burgers. Why not in the states?

At my school, the smallest drink that they offer for a soft drink is 22 oz. They used to have 16 oz, but it was discontinued last school year.

I agree with part of what you are saying, but it angers me to think that people are placing blame on the fast food companies... You don't have to eat that stuff, at all. But if you DO want to eat it, shouldn't you be allowed to eat it? Yes, you should. People are so quick to place blame, and love to be a victim. It makes me sad.

Surgery - Obesity??
 

Well, I'm not going to get into the specifics of whether or not it's your own fault if you're overweight (I'm not saying one way or the other) - However, in reference to Gastric Bypass Surgery - did you know 1 out of every 200 who get the surgery die? But, there is another great surgery you can get! Have your jaw wired shut for 8 weeks. No joke! I'm being serious, I recently had to have reconstructive jaw-surgery to align my jaw properly. Since May 12 of this year to the present day - I have lost 12 lbs - and I only weighed 155 to begin with. You can't eat virtually anything other than liquid (and here's a hint after your jaw is healing you really don't want anything anyways) - I'd recommend going to a Doc and having him break your jaw and wiring shut - or just have it wired shut - much less likely to kill you than Gastric Bypass. I hope this didn't come across wrong - I really mean it - try it as opposed gastric surgery. Just a thought.

There's yet another surgery.

The gastric band. The jist of it is, they put a band around your stomach that restricts the amount of foud that can be consumed. When you eventually reach your desired weight the band is removed and your stomach has shrunk.

Certainly didn't work for the Wilson Phillips girl... I think that resorting to surgery is somewhat of a drastic measure... It scares me that so many people are doing it. We need to learn portion size in this country. It is vital. Eat the food you want to eat, just don't hog out on it.