Another health habit I love

Another health kick tidbit to share because I feel like writing :) Back in like 2000ish...my best friend had made a report for school about the dangers of soda. At that time, she vowed to never drink soda again haha So did I. I went without sipping a soda for about a year and then I had a Sprite (favorite go-to-soda) and it made me sick! It tasted delicious haha but I could feel all the individual bubbles bursting in my stomach and I just wound up feeling yucky. Flashforward to 2011 and although I occasionally (like 5 times a year lol) drink soda, I have zero need for soda and have gone to use just plain old good water. Think back to like 2005-2006 I probably drank a lot of Kool-Aid though because that is a family staple. Once in college though, I barely had enough time for a sit-down meal let alone prepare flavored drinks or buy some (poor) so I usually just drank water. I love apple juice and other fruit juices so I had a lot of juices in my college years 2006-2009. So although healthy (ish) and delightfully tasty as fruit juices were, the last two years have seen almost a complete ban on any liquid except milk and water. I LOVE milk. Blaine and I go through a gallon a week. I LOVE SKIM milk (it has a sweeter taste somehow) so that's a good thing but I only have milk at breakfast (or if you are having breakfast for dinner) or I have milk with sweets like cake and cookies. But milk is so rich in nutrients that I see milk as a wonderful addition to a daily diet (another post for another day) and so I know I drink enough milk but not too much and overload on milk calories. ANYWAYS....what I am trying to get to is that I have seen the benefits of getting rid of empty calories. Chug a cup of Kool-Aid or fruit juice and boom there goes 100 calories + without doing anything to make you feel full. I can eat TWO cups of raw carrots for 100 calories or THREE cups of raw broccolli (not that many people would do that but you get the point) for 90 calories. The point is, if i'm going to eat something it better control my hunger. So that's where water comes in. We are supposed to have 64+ ounces of water/liquid each day so instead of 800 calories in just liquids (assuming you drink 8 cups of- 100cal drink), I think I'll have as much water as I want for -0- calories. I also read that if you drink two cups of water before every meal, you will already feel a little full so you wind up eating less. Point is, water is amazingly good for you. Sports drinks are actually very sugary and yes they now make low-cal sports drinks for working out but unless you run half-marathons everyday, research out there still says that plain water is best. So there you go....my little endorsement on water. :)