New York, in its ongoing war against junk food, is considering regulating soda .
When I was moving to New York, I blogged , in disapproval, about calorie counts on menu items at fast food places. I did not like them because I thought a person who cared about such things could take responsibility for finding that information online, and sometimes a person wants a (high-calorie) treat.
In the months since, I've changed my mind. I eat Starbucks baked goods about twice a week, which may be slightly less than previously, but this is because my lifestyle has changed (I'm in coffee shops less) and not because of improved willpower (generally I go to the coffee shop planning to eat there, or I am picking up breakfast on my way from TSTM's apartment to work, or I desperately need a chocolate muffin and a cup of diesel fuel to make it through the morning). I almost always have the cinnamon coffee cake or the chocolate muffin, both of which are among the lower-calorie menu items (although not the healthiest - the healthier ones that I've had are just gross, and probably still less healthy than eating at home) and also offer a pleasant infusion of my favorite drugs (sugar and caffeine, obviously). If the calorie counts were not posted, I'd probably still know which were the healthy items - but I would more often order something else. I'd look at the lemon loaf and I'd say, "oh, that looks good, I'll try it for a change"; now I say to myself, "really? does it look 1.5 times as good?" and the answer is almost always no, and I order my usual and am very happy with it.
I realize the optimal health situation would be to be eating whey-protein-infused quinoa with soy milk in my apartment, but in the actual world that does not seem to be happening. When I'm out of town and go to Starbucks and there are no calorie placards, I'm surprised. I've gotten used to mindfulness, to being aware of my actual calorie consumption as opposed to either eating whatever strikes my fancy and ignoring the calories or, alternately, assuming that everything they offer is at least 600 calories. I eat a little, but not a lot, better for it. Maybe other regulations along the same lines would do the same.