Drinking Only Water - Conclusion

Drinking nothing but water for 21 days seemed like it would be more of a challenge at the onset.  However, i found it easy and almost enjoyable to drink only water.  It felt good to be free of the caffeine, alcohol, and added sugars that plague most of my favorite drinks.

It also changed my relationship with water.  I was able to ignore all of the other "choices" in the fridge and stick to good old spring water.  I mixed in sparkling mineral water as well as water with fruits added to change the pace but for the most part it was plain spring water.

I will continue down this path of drinking mostly water, but i'm not going to completely eliminate everything.  There isn't anything wrong with drinking a beer once in a while, but i don't need it to be an everyday occurrence in my life anymore.  

Drinking Only Water - Days 19, 20, and 21

On two of the last three days, i had at a festival surrounded by people drinking beer, kombucha, coffee, chocolate milk, and a variety of other delicious beverages.  I was, however, able to resist.

I went grocery shopping on day 21 and let's just say i went a little overboard in the drinks department...

Admittedly, the Coke and the Arnold Palmer wasn't for me but I'm sure i'll drink at least one of them.

I mentioned in the past that i don't plan on going back to drinking shitty beverages everyday and i plan to stick to it.  However, i can't wait to crack open something other than water for the first time in three weeks!

Drinking Only Water - Days 15 through 18

At this point, the challenge is a breeze.  I don't even look at the other beverages in the fridge.  Previously, water would be a last resort.  I would drink the beer, then the soda, then the juice, then the milk.  When all of that was gone i'd be forced to drink water.

I actually look forward to a nice glass of ice cold water.  I've also been drinking sparkling mineral water and water with lemon and/or lime added.  It helps change the pace and adds a little variety while technically still only drinking water.

Drinking Only Water - Days 10 through 14

Today is the 14th day of the challenge; i have officially made it two weeks drinking nothing but water.

Yesterday was a small test as i gathered with some of my baseball teammates for an end of the season celebration.  The beer was flowing but i was able to muster up the will and stick to water.  A teammate even mentioned that it looked like i was a little slimmer in the face.  Not sure if two beerless weeks have really made a difference or not but it was nice to hear.

I'm two-thirds of the way to completing the challenge.  I'm already looking forward to a nice craft beer on the 22nd day, but beer drinking won't be a daily endeavor anymore.

Drinking Only Water - Day 7, 8, and 9

Today is the 9th day of the challenge.  I've been eating a lot of soup and maybe that's been helping.  I'm not a big soup eater but i've made it three times already during this challenge.  Maybe it's cheating, but it's keeping me from drinking alcohol, caffeine, and high fructose corn syrup!

Drinking Only Water - Days 5 and 6

The weekend brought with it new challenges as i normally drink every weekend.  I'm used to waiting until about noon and then cracking a beer and watching football.  This weekend i had to crack the bottled water.  

The sparkling mineral water and the flavored varieties are nice changes of pace from drinking plain spring water.  I avoid tap water in most circumstances.

The headaches had subsided and they are no longer an issue.  I'm hypothesizing (guessing) that it was the lack of caffeine that was the cause.

Full disclosure:  i had a bowl of cereal last night and drank the rest of the milk.  GTFO if you think i'm wasting it.

Here's an unrelated photo from the Clemson v Wake Forest game, for your enjoyment.

Drinking Only Water - Days 2, 3, and 4

Excuse the lack of posts but I'm still "chugging" along with the challenge.  I'll admit that the biggest issue has been the habit aspect.  I find myself reaching for other drinks in the fridge and i have to stop myself.  (I don't live alone, so i was unable to simply throw out all the other beverages.)

The only other minor issue that i've noticed is that i'm getting small headaches.  A small annoyance.  I'm not sure if this is because i'm used to drinking caffeine regularly, or if i'm simply not getting enough water.  I haven't been drinking as much in the past few days.  I'll up the water intake and see if that helps.

Drinking Only Water - Day 1

Goodbye coffee, goodbye soda, goodbye beer.  Today was the first day of the "drinking only water" challenge.  I'll admit that i eased into the challenge slowly by drinking mostly mineral water and flavored sparkling water all day.  

Drinking Only Water - Intro

For the next 21 day challenge, i will not drink anything but water.  That means no beer, coffee, soda, tea, kool aid, etc.  The only exception will be my morning protein shakes.

Drinking calories is senseless for the most part.  Most of the drinks we find on supermarket shelves are laden with high fructose corn syrup and offer little to no health benefits.

I labeled this challenge "body" for obvious reasons.  It also falls in the "debt/personal finance" category because i spend a lot of money on beverages, particularly alcohol. 

If my Mint.com calculations are accurate, i've spent $1020 on beer, wine, and spirits over the past twelve months.  That's $85 per month.  You can bet your ass i can find better uses for that money.  Over the course of this challenge, i'll save on average $60 by staying away from alcohol.  This doesn't even include other drinks on which i spend money.  

I'm interested to see how cutting out all the extra alcohol, caffeine, and high fructose corn syrup will make me feel.  Stay tuned!  The challenge begins on Monday.  

In the meantime, i think i'll have a beer.