Drinking only water

About three weeks ago, Josiah, Gabe, and I decided to stop drinking soda, milk, juice, etc, and start drinking only water. My thoughts were that I was tired of waking up exhausted and having to drink caffeine to get through the day, only to feel even worse afterwards. I figured that if I was waking up exhausted, I needed to focus on getting enough sleep the night before, and I suspected that if I drank enough water, I wouldn't need caffeine, and might feel even better. So Gabe pressured us to make a pact to drink only water.

As a result, I inadvertently lost 15 pounds in three weeks.

And all without counting calories, dieting, or ceasing from eating junk food at the local convenience store. And losing weight really wasn't on my immediate "to-do list" either.

There are several things that have struck me since deciding to do this. One is that I had the habit of getting hungry, and then dealing with my hunger by drinking soda. Even eating a candy bar probably has less calories and more nutrition than soda. And when you drink something, it may make you full for a while, but you'll soon be just as hungry. Replacing meals with sugar-water is a bad idea.

This is not a calorie issue either. I would often drink diet soda; it too is filling, but leaves you feeling even more hungry than regular soda. So it tends to cause over-eating.

The other thing that struck me is how water tends to fix your ailments. I haven't really done much better on getting sleep; I've made a lot of trips lately where I'm getting in at 3:30am and getting up at 7:00am. But when I drink a lot of water, it makes me feel more alert than caffeinated soda does. And in general, it just seems like I've felt better.

This wasn't the easiest decision for me to make. Just like Gabe, I tend to drink ALL the time. I have to drink or chew on something. And my ideal situation would be to not ever have to eat and just be able to drink smoothies all day.

But there is something philosophical to be said about eating when you're hungry, drinking when you're thirsty, and not screwing that equation up.

Water is THE drink.

-micah