Ripple Effect
A belief I shared earlier this year in a column called "A Watery Idea" turns out to be as practical today as it was then.
The best part is that the idea has spread. In case you missed it, I wrote about my decision to give up all beverages except water. I’ve stuck to the plan since I began it on Ash Wednesday, and there’s a strong possibility I’m going to continue with it for the rest of my life. The discovery has become one of those turning points for me and, apparently, for someone else too.
A letter arrived from a gentleman in Louisville, and I thought I’d share it with you.
"Your ‘A Watery Idea’ article in the June 2000 issue of Kentucky Living magazine changed my life. Thanks, my brother, for sharing your secret."
The letter goes on:
"I decided to try the ‘water diet’ for 40 days. Like you, I figured it could not hurt; if anything, it might improve my health. The diet improved more than my physical health. It changed my outlook, and had many internal, as well as external, benefits. The pluses heavily outweighed the negatives.
"The first six days were somewhat negative. I felt a little edgy, with a dull headache (probably caffeine withdrawals or sinus congestion, who knows?) for several days, after the first two days into the
‘diet.’ Would have come close to fighting for a cherry Coke!
"You see, I drank some four to six soft drinks daily (especially during the last 15 years). I am 57 years old, and can’t recall having many meals in my adult life without chasing it with a soft drink, juice, tea (and sometimes coffee), or wine. I always liked water, but never drank ONLY water! This was a completely new experience.
"After the 12th day, I sorta liked what was going on. I had lost 5 lbs. and an inch around the waist. Drinking only water must have done something to my taste buds. You have heard the saying
‘oil and water don’t mix?’ Well, I cooked a burger on top of the burner, as usual, and tasted COLD grease for hours afterward with each swallow of water. So I changed the way of cooking burgers (even purchased a special grill to eliminate the fat from burgers, chops, steaks, etc.), which I believe contributed to the welcomed weight loss. (I am 6′ 2″ and weighed 204 lbs. As of this writing, I weigh 194 lbs.)
"Other pluses: was experiencing minor but noticeable darkening and chapping around the eyes and cheeks area, which I attributed to age! After a couple of weeks with nothing but water as a beverage, my skin started clearing up.
"Also, I noticed that my thinking seemed sharper (perhaps due to the absence of the occasional alcoholic beverages) and clearer. After a few weeks, I felt more energetic.
‘Could these changes have been in my head?’ I thought. ‘No,’ I answered…there are too many hard-core pieces of evidence that drinking water (with a little lemon slice does not hurt) is the way to go.
"As a bachelor, I eat out a lot. The cost of each meal has been decreased by a minimum of one
dollar."
My reply: Well now, it’s plumb nice to know that this column has saved somebody a dollar a day and helped the complexion to boot! In the same breath, beware of cure-alls and do-it-yourself medicine, but meantime, brothers and sisters, here’s a toast to everybody
– long live you and good water too!
One never knows when the smallest pebble tossed into a stream of thought creates a certain ripple effect.
