The Reasons

I guess the big question is "Why?". Why drink only water? What do I hope to accomplish? And why do it in the first place?

Well, the answers are all related and somewhat tangled together, but I'll do my best to lay it all out as simply and comprehensibly as possible. I suppose this whole idea began when, after a long painful hung over morning (which had followed a long painful night of drinking), I started thinking about my alcohol consumption. I'm no alcoholic by any means, although I do enjoy a beer from time to time. And during the summer, particularly during the festival season, I tend to indulge fairly frequently. This doesn't trouble me, but it does make me think.

In particular, I'm somewhat fascinated with the idea of addiction. I don't know if I've ever been addicted to any substance in my life, but the idea of it is somewhat frightening. I like to think I am a man that is in control of his actions, however there is plenty of evidence against that. Past indiscretions and slip-ups aside, one likes to think that they are able to stop and say "no!" at any point. Case in point, 90% of the smokers that I know. So, from time to time, whenever my body feels an intense craving for something, I tell it "No!" and see how much I am a thrall to my own desires.

All that to say that I started thinking about what my life might be like if I drank no alcohol. I'm not straight edge, or anti-alcohol or morally righteous in any way, but rather curious. Could I do it? And what difference would it make to my life?

But why stop with alcohol? As I thought more and more about my challenge, I realized that there's not really anything essential in any of the things I normally drink. Most drinks are just trumped up sugar water and I get plenty of calcium from cheese and yogurt. So, why not just drink water? That is considerably more difficult, especially since I'm a bit of a juice fiend and love to treat myself to fruit smoothies. And while a Booster Juice is better than a can of coke, it's still got a lot of sugar and various other crap in it, crap that one doesn't really need. So why not try it? At the very least, I'll be saving tons of money. (Hey, $5 a pop drinks add up!)

So this is a test. One that will save money and maybe even improve my health. It will also answer questions about my resolve, and I'm always willing to see just how much I've got in me. There are other motivations of course, and I'll get to them as my journey continues. But for now, let's stop here.

I've got a single litre of juice left in my Fridge. When it is done, the challenge begins. The clock is ticking...