From a marketing perspective, it seems to me that they've understood the addictive nature of carbs for quite some time. We all know the "Can't eat just one" potato chip slogan. If you can't, then something else is going on besides willful overindulgence.

Then there is the old 1970's Tootsie Pop TV commercial...

The kid asks the wise old owl "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"

The owl responds by doing a scientific experiment. An N=1 to find the answer. He snatches the sugary sweet from the kid's hand, then starts counting licks on the delicious Tootsie Pop...

"ONE"

"TWO"

[CRUNCH]

"THREE - The answer - it takes 3 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop"

I knew people who could suck on a lolly pop all the way down to the core. I was a cruncher. I sum up what's going on like this... Lick 1 = moderation. Lick 2 = more moderation. Crunch = moderation over. Can't help myself; I want the good stuff right now. Control is out the window. The mini binge is on. The only thing missing is that the owl didn't ask the kid if he had anymore tootsie pops.

Both of these marketing campaigns seem to understand the concept of our general lack of self control when it comes to consuming their products. They chose to make light of the issue in their advertising campaigns. If everybody does it, then it is OK for me to do it.

So to borrow a line from the movie War Games, when it comes to carbs - for some of us "The only winning move is not to play". That is why abstinence works for me. No Tootsie Pops. No potato chips. Apparently this is something I CAN do.