the first step towards healthy living

"I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man." -Henry David Thoreau

I think we can all agree that caffeine and sugar are bad for us. They give you energy and make you feel good for a couple hours, then BAM! You crash and feel worse than you did before. So you drink more, feel good for a couple more hours, then crash again. The cycle repeats itself until you go to bed (if you can even fall asleep at that point), and then it begins again the next morning. Caffeine causes your blood pressure to rise, dehydrates you, makes you anxious and nervous, gives you headaches, causes irritability, and messes with your sleep. Sugar increases cholesterol, weakens eyesight, causes drowsiness, contributes to diabetes, causes cardiovascular disease, makes it difficult for you to concentrate, gives you anxiety, causes acne, increases your risk of a yeast infection, contributes to osteoporosis, increases your risk of cancer, can cause/increase depression, reduces your deference against bacterial infection, and more. If you're one of the people who have tried to quit caffeine or sugar, know how addictive it is! You get withdrawal symptoms just like with drugs, smoking, or alcohol. It's hard to stop. Which is a reason in and of itself to quit. I don't want anything to control me like that. Do you?

I can't really change my diet right now (more on that in a future post, my family and I are looking forward to doing a 30 day raw food experiment), but I can change what I drink.

will drink
water
freshly juiced fruit or veggies
homemade smoothies
herbal tea

won't drink
milk (unless raw)
juice with added ingredients
lemonade
soda
coffee, caffeinated or decaf
sweet tea
chocolate milk
energy drinks
sports drinks
alcohol

I already drink mostly water, anyone that knows me can tell you that. On a typical day I drink anywhere from 2 liters to a gallon of water. But I do have other things like chocolate milk and juice a couple times a week. And every few months I'll get something from Starbucks or drink lemonade from Chick-Fil-A. While I don't want to be super religious about it, I am going to be following my list pretty strictly. I might have something forbidden once or twice a year, on a special occasion. So don't judge me if you see me drinking sweet tea at my Grandma's house on Thanksgiving! Goals are just that: goals. I'm not perfect, and I'm gonna break my own rules like anybody else. But I am going to do my best to follow them, because beginning a healthy lifestyle is important to me.