Thanks, everyone, for your comments and support. And glad to have you aboard Justis!
I needed some immediate pay-offs, and I got them.
As I said, I've quit soda before, but this is the first time I've really tried to load up on water and other drinks. Between water and diluted cran-raspberry juice (without high-fructose corn syrup, I checked!), I figure I took in between 50-60 oz -- which for me is a huge level of hydration.
Although I was tired last night after a 10+ hour workday and not much food, I did feel a lot sharper mentally. Usually, my brain slows down in concert with my body, and I have trouble doing anything at night but sit on the couch and watch TV. Last night I did manage to make dinner, clear the table, and clean up the kitchen. Doesn't sound like a lot, but for me, historic.
And when I got up this morning, I didn't have my usual sore throat and I DID have an appetite for breakfast. This usually only happens when I'm taking Prilosec OTC. So sans-carbonation, my acid reflux could go potentially go away.
Unfortunately, we lost power at our house just before we got out of bed and did not have enough time to dig out our camp stove to make any breakfast, nor did we have anything we could eat cold, so I couldn't actually feed myself right away.
In any case, I needed an incentive to keep going with my experiment, and I got it.
Off to refill the water bottle,
Calluna