#98 - Don't drink soda for 1 month

This one was much more difficult than I anticipated as someone who really doesn't drink a lot of soda.  I learned that I crave Coke when I'm hungover.  A lot of it.  I'm also a whiskey drinker, so whiskey and Coke has been a staple of my drinking diet.

I had to find some suitable replacements or I'd never make it.  Or stop drinking.  Which didn't happen.  At first I drank more wine, my other alcohol of choice.  But with that, I think I was taking in A LOT of calories.  I was trying to lose some wine weight I'd put on in the fall and sticking to only wine and no whiskey was not going to work.

I started doing whiskey and water.  Which then became whiskey on the rocks.  While I drink whiskey this way anyways sometimes, usually I had at least a splash of Coke.  Now I think I'm a complete convert.  I had a whiskey Coke the day after I completed my challenge and I really did not enjoy it.  Apparently I'm reformed.  Now maybe I'll proceed to scotch someday.  I still need rocks though.  I don't know how people drink that stuff warm and not even a little watered down.

A side benefit of this change is that I could always tell a place with a good pour and never had to worry how strong my drinks were.  I could see all that brown liquid yumminess in my little glass.

As far as the hangovers, I learned three things.  1) I should be hungover less often and avoid this problem all together.  2) When I drink quality whiskey or wine, I don't really get all that hungover.  I didn't need the sugary sweetness and was fine with just water to rehydrate.  I didn't find myself hungover very often though.  It's probably also because I knew exactly how much I was drinking and how strong my drinks were, so it was easier to drink slow and keep track and keep everything under control as to avoid being drunk and thus hungover the next day.  3) When I was hungover and needed some sweet, I resorted to watered down Gatorade.  Why I can drink soda straight with all its sugar and not Gatorade, I have no idea.  Juice worked too.

I'm not going lie, my first Coke tasted good after a month.  But now that I can weed it out of my drinking life, it's much easier to keep this health disaster medicine at bay.  I was hoping that like others I could give it up completely, but I don't think that's going to happen.  I do think I got it out of any kind of regular pattern though and now I stick to water and unsweetened tea.  (Side note: I think it's ridiculous that I have to specify "un"sweetened.  Shouldn't it just be "tea" and then if you want it sweetened, you say so?  I shouldn't have to say that I don't?  It's like how I took a survey today and the first option was "never married," like I was only in that category because I hadn't achieved that yet.  Or maybe I'm just being sensitive and they're nothing alike.  Whatevs.)