NoFizzUSA was an unknown experience to me until hearing about it from my sister, Kelly, who runs the healthy living blog, www.FoodieFresh.com. After seeing it mentioned on her Twitter feed, I decided to check it out. But first, a little bit of my soda history.

I grew up drinking soda. Not in my home very much but definitely on my own, out in restaurants, on the road, in school, etc; more specifically, the soda sensation Sun-Drop which is manufactured in my home county and consumed mainly in the state of North Carolina. I absolutely love Sun-Drop and pretty much would choose it over a Coke or other soda 9 times out of 10.

I had tried to quit the soda game once before, but it did not end well. On top of my love of soda, I’ve always pretty much hated water. It lacked flavor, carbonation, high-fructose corn syrup; all the stuff I loved about soda.

But when I saw the 30 Day Challenge thrown down on my sister’s blog like a gauntlet, I knew that this was my chance. So I, along with my wife who loves the sweet flavors of Coca-Cola, decided to give it the ole “college try” (even though we’re now out of college). I knew December would be a hard month to do the challenge with holiday parties, road trip driving, and other activities, but I felt there was no time like the present.

A challenge I would be facing, along with not drinking soda, would be attempting to drink 60 oz. of water every day. But luckily I found a way to help out in that department. I work about 8 hours on my feet everyday so I get thirsty a lot. So I would buy one of the largest bottles of water I could find and would continuously refill it in the filtered sink in the pharmacy where I work. Then, whenever I would get thirsty, I would just drink my water and not even think about it.

I slipped up about one week into the challenge. I was out of town and decided to see a movie with some friends. I bought my ticket, bought a snack and a Coke, sat down, and drank several sips of my soda before realizing what I was doing. I then decided to double my resolve to cut out the soda and stick with water. I know having one soda in an entire week wasn’t a huge problem, but I was determined to actually go all month without having a soda.

For the rest of the month, I not only abstained from drinking soda, but made an effort to have my 60 oz. of water. For the most part, I was able to keep it up. It was much easier doing it with my sister, wife, and a few friends for support and to talk to about the challenge. On Christmas Day, my wife and I rewarded ourselves with a Coke and Sun-Drop, respectively, and then went right back to the challenge.

Since the end of December, I have found ways to have soda, but only sparingly and being supplemented by lots of water. I have actually begun to enjoy drinking water and my Christmas present from my sister-in-law was a pretty nice water bottle to use at work so I’m not carrying around a plastic bottle. My plan is to keep drinking water for it to stay part of my daily lifestyle and, thanks to the NoFizz 30-Day Challenge, actually become a healthier person.