I’m a smoker.

Just a quick hash of the past month, since I should have already gone to bed six hours ago:

I bought myself a hookah for Christmas. Not from the site linked, I should note, but from a local store. I smoke it perhaps once a week on my own, because, well, I enjoy it. Not everyone likes smoking, and I respect that. But I bought this hookah for my personal enjoyment. I mellow out when I inhale the tasty shisha from my hookah, because it tastes good… tastes clean and satisfying, unlike the harsh burn of tobacco smoke.

The shisha doesn’t leave my throat aching after I have finished with her. It doesn’t leave my tongue feeling dry and icky like cigarettes do. The only thing that is not my shisha that I can compare to are my cloves, but those leave my throat aching from time to time.

I personally wish I could find hotspots in my area where people get together and enjoy the calm savory sensation that is the hookah. I wouldn’t mind visiting one, though I really don’t wish to drive way across town to meet people I don’t know just yet. Once I can see better at night, I may consider it.

I am also taking multi-vitamins again, to get my vitamin intake up to where it should have been.
I’ve cut myself down to two 12 ounce cans of soda or two 20 ounce bottles of processed juices (ie: Arizona’s Rx line of drinks) per day. No more 44 ounce ThirstBusters; No more 64 ounce, 600-800 calorie Double Gulps, at least for a while. Both have to go, because both are doing harm to me. I have also increased my water intake as a result, since I’m thirsty.

I’ve also watched Super Size Me recently, which is attributing strongly to my clipping the soda back as sharply as I have.

I’ve been able to stick it out for 4 days now, holding relatively well to my rule. Today was a 16 ounce coffee and a can of Pepsi. Too much caffeine, I know, but it was my reward for sticking the first three days relatively evenly.

I’ve also excised fast food from my diet except in extreme circumstances for now.

I leave you with this thought:
Don’t you think that fast food franchises could be a little more responsible, without having to be taken to court?
Make nutritional data easily available to everyone: Print it on the end of the receipt, and tape it to the bag in this manner:
Compile a database of the average number of calories, amount of sugar and salt, etc in each and every item you sell. This means do it all as if the sandwiches were plain, and the fries have no salt. This means get the nutritional data for the things you top your sandwiches with. As the receipt is being printed, grep the list of items being served and simply add together the number of calories everything has.

Perhaps getting a few receipts with your Super Sized Big Mac meal (with that apple pie on the side that you KNOW you love) that reads: “The contents of this bag contain 1,660 calories.” might actually wake a few people up.

And no, I’m not making that number up.
Add 90 calories if you like to use all ten ketchup packets with your meal.

A reminder, corporate America: This idea’s article is CC:NC-SA. Please, just write me before using it.