So I'll start out with a simple one. Not drinking soda for a year. So, why not drink soda? This goal is geared around health. Adult men are recommended to intake around 9 teaspoons (36 grams) of sugar a day. Take a guess at how much sugar is in a 12 oz can of soda? On average, 44 grams! So we have on average 11 teaspoons of sugar per soda. Just as a little experiment for lunch today I'll see how 11 teaspoons of sugar tastes in 12 ounces of water. Odds are I won't be able to finish it. However, sugar is not the only warning flag that should be thrown up by this delicious beverage. There is a reason Dr. Pepper keeps their 23 ingredients a secret. Here is a little video that I ran across years ago and has terrified me ever since.
So there we have it, no soda for the rest of 2014. The place where this will be the most challenging is at work because all kinds of soda is readily available and free. Another big challenge will be during my long runs where a little shot of soda can be the perfect amount of caffeine and sugar to get the gears grinding again until the next checkpoint.
End of Week 1 Update
At the end of week 1, the results are in. No soda thus far. I carried out the experiment of drinking 12 ounces of water with 11 teaspoons (44 grams) of sugar. The first challenge was getting all the sugar to dissolve and I was using luke warm water. The solution turned into a sort of syrup like mixture and was pretty gross. In fact I am not sure that I even want to smell soda for a while after doing that. Here is a picture of what it looked like. On to week 2!
End of Week 1 Update
At the end of week 1, the results are in. No soda thus far. I carried out the experiment of drinking 12 ounces of water with 11 teaspoons (44 grams) of sugar. The first challenge was getting all the sugar to dissolve and I was using luke warm water. The solution turned into a sort of syrup like mixture and was pretty gross. In fact I am not sure that I even want to smell soda for a while after doing that. Here is a picture of what it looked like. On to week 2!