2008 Woodie Awards
Slides or shakes?
Allie Rohwer
Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Opinion
During a hot summer day in mid-June, I found myself having a discussion with my ever-growing and growling stomach. While on summer vacation, I tried to limit my calorie intake, but to my distress, I gave in more to the summer sensations at various fast food restaurants and drive-thru places.
Instead of swinging by the nearest fat-infested fast food diner, I decided to wait until I arrive home for something more satisfying: a chocolate mudslide.
I recently turned 21 and can honestly say it was not very exciting. I was able to buy alcohol and partake in drinking it, but it just seemed to be more of a hassle than a pleasure.
That was until I tried my first chocolate mudslide. I blended it myself with a premade mix and instantly fell head over heels. Not because of the amount I had consumed, but because of the pure enjoyment I got out of drinking one. These "chocolate slushes" soon turned in to my drink of choice when visiting restaurants.
While ordering these drinks, I would carefully choose my meal. Was it high in protein and low in fat? What was the calorie amount and so on, never thinking about the amount of calories in my beverage.
This brings me back to my discussion with my rumbling stomach. A mudslide at home would be much better for me than a shake at a drive through. But why would someone think this way? After all, alcohol is one of the top-rated beverages with the highest calories. However, when a person thinks of something to drink, and in my case someone who is also watching her weight, alcohol never seems to be an issue. I chose an alcoholic beverage over a fast food shake.
Could this be because alcohol is more socially accepted than a regular fattening shake? If a person who happens to be slightly heavier walks down the street with a shake in hand, someone might think they should not be drinking that because it is unhealthy. The same person could be in a bar drinking something with 1,000 calories and a bystander would think nothing of it.
Whether or not you choose to believe it, alcohol is a social pipeline. People interact and coexist when alcohol is involved. It loosens the muscles in the body, creating a more relaxed feeling and atmosphere around a person. I believe this is the reason that choosing a fattening alcoholic beverage over a fattening non-alcoholic beverage did not come off as peculiar to me. Concisely, alcohol always wins.
During that same summer day in mid-June, I found myself still having an argument between my stomach and my head. Only this time, it is over the dinner choice: fried food or a healthy salad. I ponder both of these while the chocolaty mudslide sits with its condensation dripping to the table right beside me.
Instead of swinging by the nearest fat-infested fast food diner, I decided to wait until I arrive home for something more satisfying: a chocolate mudslide.
I recently turned 21 and can honestly say it was not very exciting. I was able to buy alcohol and partake in drinking it, but it just seemed to be more of a hassle than a pleasure.
That was until I tried my first chocolate mudslide. I blended it myself with a premade mix and instantly fell head over heels. Not because of the amount I had consumed, but because of the pure enjoyment I got out of drinking one. These "chocolate slushes" soon turned in to my drink of choice when visiting restaurants.
While ordering these drinks, I would carefully choose my meal. Was it high in protein and low in fat? What was the calorie amount and so on, never thinking about the amount of calories in my beverage.
This brings me back to my discussion with my rumbling stomach. A mudslide at home would be much better for me than a shake at a drive through. But why would someone think this way? After all, alcohol is one of the top-rated beverages with the highest calories. However, when a person thinks of something to drink, and in my case someone who is also watching her weight, alcohol never seems to be an issue. I chose an alcoholic beverage over a fast food shake.
Could this be because alcohol is more socially accepted than a regular fattening shake? If a person who happens to be slightly heavier walks down the street with a shake in hand, someone might think they should not be drinking that because it is unhealthy. The same person could be in a bar drinking something with 1,000 calories and a bystander would think nothing of it.
Whether or not you choose to believe it, alcohol is a social pipeline. People interact and coexist when alcohol is involved. It loosens the muscles in the body, creating a more relaxed feeling and atmosphere around a person. I believe this is the reason that choosing a fattening alcoholic beverage over a fattening non-alcoholic beverage did not come off as peculiar to me. Concisely, alcohol always wins.
During that same summer day in mid-June, I found myself still having an argument between my stomach and my head. Only this time, it is over the dinner choice: fried food or a healthy salad. I ponder both of these while the chocolaty mudslide sits with its condensation dripping to the table right beside me.
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