Drink and be MERRY!

To me, an easy first step to consuming healthier products is to change up what you drink.  I think it's a no-brainer that pop is not a good choice. I believe that diet drinks are a bad choice too.  True, you may be consuming fewer calories, but the sugar alternatives in there can be harmful too.  We avoid anything that has sucralose or aspartame.

Do you know that one can of coke contains about 10 tsp of sugar??  I found this great website that shows how much sugar is in certain drinks and other snacks by stacking sugar cubes.  It's quite alarming actually.  To check it out, click here.

So, what if you are a person who is addicted to your Coca-Cola, or need your iced tea to get through the day?  How do you ditch that habit?  Try cutting out one can a day to start. When you start to feel okay with that, cut back another one.  You can also do this with coffee. Yes, I know what you are thinking- "sure, I'll cut back on sweets, I'll put the chip bag away, but NO WAY is she touching my coffee.  That's going too far!"  Even though I am not a coffee drinker, I don't think you should be forced to give up your morning coffee if you really don't want to.  However, if you find yourself drinking multiple cups a day, it may be time to cut back.

So, what can you drink???  Well, of course, first and foremost, get that water into you.  It's good for you.  But you already knew that, right?

But what if you are bored with the same old water?  Why not spruce it up a bit?  Add some lemons to it, or cucumbers.  I thought cucumbers sitting in water was really weird, until I tried it. So refreshing!  Just put the cucumbers in, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours for the flavours to infuse, and drink!

Want some juice?  Put that store-bought juice away.  Juice your own!  My favorite combination is carrot-apple-celery juice.  The combinations are endless.

Prefer a hot drink?  Herbal teas are a great option.  There are so many different kinds now, a loose-leaf tea store can be a girl's best friend!

Just by making this little change, I can guarantee you will feel the change.  I always feel better if I've drank enough water throughout the day.  Some people are concerned about making constant trips to the bathroom. While this is partially true, often as your body gets used to you consuming more water, it will learn to adjust, and you will find yourself running for the bathroom less often.

Just want to end with saying that another wonderful beverage of choice is smoothies, but we will talk more about that tomorrow!