What if there were no "free refills"?

VBnotbitter

I'm in the USA, I get water when I go out for dinner. If I do have a diet soda, I rarely even finish it half way. I don't need the government to tell me what's right and wrong, I have no problem saying no to soda on my own.

People love to make America out to be so bad, but then why do all these countries constantly ask for our help????????

Apart from a couple of USA/Canada born people who live in Europe making comparisons no one has said anything negative about America. In fact what international posters have been saying is that their countries don't have free refills but still have an obesity problem.

Try reading again without the paranoia

MelodyandBarbells

Just feels so damn unamerican to take away something we currently get for free. I usually do unsweetened iced tea or water and they better keep em coming!!

Strangely enough I would commend McDonald's for boldly listing their calorie counts right on their menu. I don't see any other fast food restaurants in the area doing this, except as a marketing tactic (this wrap is under 300 calories!). Oh wait Panera might as well, not too sure right this second

I would think a simple class in nutrition and weight management would do more for the obesity issue than taking away our refills, but there's so much ****ty information in this space that such a class very well might do more harm than good

Sabine_Stroehm

Just feels so damn unamerican to take away something we currently get for free. I usually do unsweetened iced tea or water and they better keep em coming!!

Strangely enough I would commend McDonald's for boldly listing their calorie counts right on their menu. I don't see any other fast food restaurants in the area doing this, except as a marketing tactic (this wrap is under 300 calories!). Oh wait Panera might as well, not too sure right this second

I would think a simple class in nutrition and weight management would do more for the obesity issue than taking away our refills, but there's so much ****ty information in this space that such a class very well might do more harm than good

Isn't this a mandate now? With a phase in time. Mc Donalds just started early. Perhaps they wanted to set the tone.

paperpudding

You could try not eating out.

You could also try saying no when they ask if you want more. The only problem is when the server automatically takes your glass away while asking you for another refill.. before you even get to say no, they are so fast, sheesh.

i personally hate when my glass is half full and they think i need a refill.

You could order milk, there is no auto refill on that.

Or you could drink diet coke or plain water and get zero calorie refills.

Cathalain

Strangely enough I would commend McDonald's for boldly listing their calorie counts right on their menu. I don't see any other fast food restaurants in the area doing this, except as a marketing tactic (this wrap is under 300 calories!). Oh wait Panera might as well, not too sure right this second

Panera does list them. Not quite as large a type, but they do.

Maybe I'm showing my age here, but I remember when an adult-sized McDonald's fries was the equivalent of a small kid-sized bag today (I remember it used to come in a little white paper bag, and that was considered an "adult" portion). I went to YouTube to look up old McD's commercials from the 70s because I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just dreaming it - and no, I'm not. Somewhere between 1976 and 1990.... things tripled, quadrupled in size.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I never noticed it, but... in a way, how could we all have missed it?

Most fast food places in my city don't offer free refills because there's too much of a problem with people actually vandalizing the machines. I guess that for once, living in a high-crime city actually pays off. :indifferent:

I don't order anything but water or unsweetened tea when I go out, anyway, so the free refill debate doesn't affect me. I do agree that it should be about self-control, though.

CatyaKiller

I see where you are coming from. Most people do not have self control the same way some of us do. However, I think if they had to pay for an additional soda then they might realize they don't need it thus promoting self control. I just think the idea is unrealistic because people tend to loose their minds when when something that once was now is not...

Cathalain

I think if they had to pay for an additional soda then they might realize they don't need it thus promoting self control.

It sure would work for me, because I don't have extra money to spare on something like a soda. Some might shrug and go, "But it's only a dollar!" or whatever, but.... for that dollar I'd rather pick up an orange from the fruit stand outside!

seltzermint555

I don't really think it would make a significant impact on most people.

ninerbuff

I drink diet soda, so this really has no impact. It really just boils down to responsibility of the person.

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hoyalawya2003

Just feels so damn unamerican to take away something we currently get for free. I usually do unsweetened iced tea or water and they better keep em coming!!

Well, I would hope that if refills are no longer free they will stop charging $2 for a coke, but that is probably a pipe dream on my part. The free refill schtick helps restaurants justify ridiculous mark-ups on sodas.

vim_n_vigor

Please tell me you're trolling. Obviously you are either very old, or grew up in a very secluded area to not have the concept of either "free" refills or all you can eat buffets (started over 200 years ago).

The reason fast food joints offer free refills is because its more cost effective and gives the impression that you're getting something "free". Years ago the drink machines were behind the counter. Then they realized they could offload that work to the customer to reduce labor costs and move to the next order faster, thereby increasing profits. With restaurants where wait staff comes to your table, the drink refilling offers the staff the opportunity to check in periodically to try to sell more. It's a win-win. The net cost of soda to the food joints is nearly zilch.

The restaurants I worked in, five cents is all it cost the restaurant for the soda. The other 1.75 was profit. You would have to drink a lot of free refills to make it not worth it to them.

cebreisch

I really have issue with banning sodas and or any other sort of food or soft drinks. In my mind, it is ridiculousness to establish laws on limiting sodas and/or other foods in an effort to curb obesity.

Anytime I've ever tried to lose weight and told myself, "I can't ever have this ever again (like soda or chocolate or cake)...." - that turns out being all I want to eat. I doubt I'm the only one to go thru that.

I would rather see the efforts going into better educating the obese on reading nutrition labels, understanding how to develop a food and/or exercise plan that works for you, how to be creative in getting sources of fiber and protein, why is it important to have a protein (with or without some form of a carb) for a snack, why is fiber important, etc. etc. etc.

It's not the food itself that makes someone obese, it's the choices a PERSON MAKES that makes them obese.

lemurcat12

Just feels so damn unamerican to take away something we currently get for free. I usually do unsweetened iced tea or water and they better keep em coming!!

Heh. Yeah, this.

I don't go to chain restaurants much, but it's common even for small local restaurants in the US to have free refills, and I'm pretty sure my regularly silly number of diet Cokes had nothing to do with me getting fat. Me thinking going out to eat justified an appetizer and dessert as well as the entree, even though I went out to eat a lot, among plenty of other reasons, on the other hand...

I am not convinced this is a new thing. I can't say whether restaurants like those I go to now had free refills back in the day for sure, since I didn't go to them much as a kid and wasn't generally permitted to have soda, but certainly when I was in college I think it was common enough (and I'm pretty old!). All-you-can-eat buffets definitely aren't new, however--back in the '80s my sister and I would complain because whenever an elderly relative would take us out it would always be to the all-you-can-eat place, which never had anything we wanted, but was quite popular with the Great Depression generation (or perhaps simply those on a fixed income) for obvious reasons.

knra_grl

Um no. How about self control? If I want another soda and it fits my macros I am having another soda and I shouldn't have to pay for something that is already included.

have to agree, generally I also get a glass of ice water so don't ever need a refill anyway

Strokingdiction

No.

Stop hoping for bureaucrats to police every little thing you think 'might' be a problem with other people's habits. If a person is stupid, you can't pass a law that's going to stop their stupid. If you could, I wouldn't have ever encountered this gem.

Strokingdiction

I do agree with you. 100%! Most of the folks spouting about self control and choices are folks under 30 or so. They have grown up with the glutinous mentality that has infected this country. Refills are not a inalienable right that an individual has, they are a luxury that has been turned into a mandate due to competition between restaurants. There is no self control in this country anymore, go to WalMart and see who is using the handicap parking and scooter chairs. Morbidly obese. When did obesity become ok? We pass laws about when and where people can smoke but no one is complaining about that. I am not really about limiting choices, just making people pay for them. Let see how bad you want to be fat.

No one suggested refills are an inalienable right. It has been suggested many times that if the option is available, it's a matter of self control and choice. I was able to go from being overweight to a health weight while still getting a refill (free or not) during the time it took me to lose that weight.

Why do people that support this love to say something like, "I'm all for personal choice" or "I'm not really about limiting choices" and then immediately, in the same sentence no less, say the exact opposite?

Bottom line: Obesity exists in countries where free refills and all-you-can-eat buffets don't. So why ban something that's obviously not the reason for obesity? Instead of totally ineffective reactionary measures like this one, try focusing on precautionary and potentially useful ones like nutrition and exercise education?

snowflake954

I do agree with you. 100%! Most of the folks spouting about self control and choices are folks under 30 or so. They have grown up with the glutinous mentality that has infected this country. Refills are not a inalienable right that an individual has, they are a luxury that has been turned into a mandate due to competition between restaurants. There is no self control in this country anymore, go to WalMart and see who is using the handicap parking and scooter chairs. Morbidly obese. When did obesity become ok? We pass laws about when and where people can smoke but no one is complaining about that. I am not really about limiting choices, just making people pay for them. Let see how bad you want to be fat.

No one suggested refills are an inalienable right. It has been suggested many times that if the option is available, it's a matter of self control and choice. I was able to go from being overweight to a health weight while still getting a refill (free or not) during the time it took me to lose that weight.

Why do people that support this love to say something like, "I'm all for personal choice" or "I'm not really about limiting choices" and then immediately, in the same sentence no less, say the exact opposite?

Bottom line: Obesity exists in countries where free refills and all-you-can-eat buffets don't. So why ban something that's obviously not the reason for obesity? Instead of totally ineffective reactionary measures like this one, try focusing on precautionary and potentially useful ones like nutrition and exercise education?

You're right that obesity exists in other countries that don't have free refills, but it is epidemic in the US. You are comparing apples and oranges here and they are not the same.

Strokingdiction

I do agree with you. 100%! Most of the folks spouting about self control and choices are folks under 30 or so. They have grown up with the glutinous mentality that has infected this country. Refills are not a inalienable right that an individual has, they are a luxury that has been turned into a mandate due to competition between restaurants. There is no self control in this country anymore, go to WalMart and see who is using the handicap parking and scooter chairs. Morbidly obese. When did obesity become ok? We pass laws about when and where people can smoke but no one is complaining about that. I am not really about limiting choices, just making people pay for them. Let see how bad you want to be fat.

No one suggested refills are an inalienable right. It has been suggested many times that if the option is available, it's a matter of self control and choice. I was able to go from being overweight to a health weight while still getting a refill (free or not) during the time it took me to lose that weight.

Why do people that support this love to say something like, "I'm all for personal choice" or "I'm not really about limiting choices" and then immediately, in the same sentence no less, say the exact opposite?

Bottom line: Obesity exists in countries where free refills and all-you-can-eat buffets don't. So why ban something that's obviously not the reason for obesity? Instead of totally ineffective reactionary measures like this one, try focusing on precautionary and potentially useful ones like nutrition and exercise education?

You're right that obesity exists in other countries that don't have free refills, but it is epidemic in the US. You are comparing apples and oranges here and they are not the same.

So free refills are the cause of the epidemic? That's the position you're taking? You think that a large percentage of obese people in the US get the majority of their overage calories from soda refills?

It should also be noted that the obesity rates are rising quickly in Canada and nearly all of the western European countries. I wonder what they're doing differently from people in the US if this is an apples to oranges comparison? I'm pretty sure I know. It's from a caloric surplus that comes from a eating more than the body can utilize each day. And those calories, like in the US, are coming from a wide range of food sources, not just soda.

Carnivor0us

I do agree with you. 100%! Most of the folks spouting about self control and choices are folks under 30 or so. They have grown up with the glutinous mentality that has infected this country. Refills are not a inalienable right that an individual has, they are a luxury that has been turned into a mandate due to competition between restaurants. There is no self control in this country anymore, go to WalMart and see who is using the handicap parking and scooter chairs. Morbidly obese. When did obesity become ok? We pass laws about when and where people can smoke but no one is complaining about that. I am not really about limiting choices, just making people pay for them. Let see how bad you want to be fat.

People pay for bad food choices by getting fat.

nicolemontagna22

I need many refills. They like to give you tons of ice and two ounces of soda