60. Make Water Your Drink of Choice

The most widely consumed liquids, in the order of preference, are coffee, sodas, diet sodas, milk, alcoholic beverages, carbonated fruit drinks, and teas.

There are many reasons to make water your drink of choice, but perhaps the best reason is that very few of the alternative liquids are good for you.

We’re all familiar by now with the many and varied problems associated with each of these liquid refreshments, not the least of which are the empty calories or the potentially harmful additives in sodas and sugar-free drinks. I switched to drinking water almost exclusively years ago when I realized that the alternatives were highly caloric. It was a personal choice; I decided I’d rather save my calories for something like chocolate mousse.

If you did nothing more than substitute water for these liquids in your diet, you could easily lose ten to fifteen pounds over the next year. If you fall into the over 75 percent of the population that is at least 20 percent overweight, that may be reason enough to switch to water.

If your local tap water is good and clean, there is probably no need to buy bottled water. The tap water in our area tastes terrible so we drink bottled water, which, compared to any of the other liquids mentioned above, is inexpensive and readily available. With ice and a slice of lemon, we find it preferable to designer waters like Perrier and Calistoga.

If you’re used to drinking highly flavored or stimulating liquids, water may seem boring at first. But after drinking water for a change, you’ll wonder how you ever drank some of those yucky-sweet sodas and carbonated or caffeinated beverages we as a nation have become addicted to. Also, you’ll be amazed at the reduction of glass and aluminum cans you have to worry about recycling.

Certainly if you have kids, one of the biggest favors you can do them is to keep them away from carbonated sodas. Someday they’ll thank you.

Hint: Remember, coffee and caffeinated and carbonated drinks are addictive, so you’ll need to brace yourself for the physical and psychological hazards accordingly. Even if you’re not a heavy coffee drinker, quitting cold turkey can sometimes cause severe withdrawal symptoms, including migraine headaches, depression, and nausea. Start by cutting back by half for the first week, then by a quarter the second week. By the third week you should be able to quit altogether without adverse effects.