Water is the essence of life! So, I’ve heard. What does that mean?
Well physiologically, it is a fundamental necessity. As human beings we need water to survive, in our bodies and our land. Water helps us grow, it sustains us and the world around us. But how much water do we really need to drink? Is it possible to drink too much water?
It was almost a year ago, when I implemented this little life change and I’m still working on getting it into my groove. I stopped drinking soda, BooHoo ☹– this wasn’t easy for me.
Mt. Dew and Cream Soda are my favorites. Mt. Dew is high in caffeine, and Cream soda is high in calories. This decision comes from a desire to lose weight and improve my over-all health. So now I’m drinking water – BORING!! I guess it doesn’t have to be, you can add lemon, lime, oranges, any type of berry– my friend would say “Water, sure, make mine Ice, with a splash or two (or four) of bourbon.” All kidding aside– Water IS good for you.
Now I needed to figure out how much. The old rule was 8 cups a day, that’s 64 oz, I can do that. But wait, I heard it is based on weight – RUTT OHH, SHAGGY. Actually, half your weight in ounces. Oh wow, Now, I heard Rachel Hollis (Life Coach, Motivational Speaker and Best Selling Author- who I love), say she drinks a gallon a day. How? she is a little thing, how is she not peeing all day and night?
OK, if I was going to do this, I needed to figure out a couple things –
- How much do I need to drink?
- What am I going to drink from?
- How am I going to measure and track it?
How much do I need to drink?
I decided to go with half my weight in fluid ounces. That’s just over 100 fluid ounces (don’t judge, I’m 5’8” and a work in progress, remember?). The goal is 100 oz.
For months, last year, I tried to reach my goal day in and day out. Faced with a few minor challenges, I realized I spent a lot of time NOT drinking anything. I would fill up a water bottle and at lunch realized I had maybe a sip or two – this would never work. I rarely made my goal of 100 oz a day, finding myself trying to reach my goal at night. Drinking water until I went to bed, resulting in trips to bathroom every hour throughout the night. Even with my skin looking better because of my skincare routine, I looked and felt tired since I was up every hour heading to the bathroom.
For the new year, I became more systematic – I seem to do better following a system and I’ll go over my tracking system below, but in January, I shifted my goal to 80 oz by the end of the month, that was working and into February I have added that extra bottle of 20 oz to make the 100 oz. February was good but then March ROARed in. With what was happening in the world, with all the “Social Distancing” and my husband being home so much…let’s just say, I sadly felt the need to treat (or pity) myself and added some soda back in to my routine. Now it is April and I have put away the violin, this is the new normal and I am back at 80 oz a day.
I am learning sometimes it is best to back up a goal, lower the bar to make it achievable first and then add on. For May- 100 oz, it is.
What am I going to drink from?
First, I purchased a fun pink plastic gallon bottle with a straw. It has great motivational sayings at the different levels. “Go for it!” “Almost there!” “You can do it!” I liked it but it became problematic. Too big to carry, didn’t fit in my car’s cup holder or in any of the bags I carry. It got too warm before I finish it. I needed something else. My company has a great 20oz glass water bottle.
This worked great, as far as convenience, but after 6 months I left it somewhere and when I went back, it was gone. Ok no big deal, I order another one – 2 actually – just in case. Two weeks after receiving them, running late one day, I was rushing out the door – CRASH! Luckily my husband was there and offered to clean it up, so I wouldn’t be any later. I grabbed the second bottle (see, I knew buying 2, was a good idea). Two weeks after that, trying to carry groceries, my purse and the water bottle – SMASH! I dropped the second one. Maybe glass wasn’t a good idea. I picked up a plastic 20oz bottle. Now my problem becomes, I can’t stand the taste of the water from the plastic bottle. Although for years I drank water from plastic bottles, until it became the only thing I was drinking I hadn’t noticed any difference from using a glass or a plastic bottle. I ordered another Glass Bottle. I am more intentional when I pick it up and where I put it – for 3 months now, we have been ok – fingers crossed.
How am I going to measure and track it?
Quickly, I decided – If I wasn’t going to use the pink gallon bottle to carry around, I could fill up the 80-100 oz, I wanted to drink daily and pour it into my glass bottle. This was too much repetitive work, first taking from the cooler into the pink bottle from the pink bottle to the glass water bottle – NEXT, PLEASE!
Now, I have made a little chart, nothing fancy
. Luckily, we have a cork board right next to water cooler.
I created a chart, put it up near the water cooler and I use push pins every time I fill up my water bottle. I only use this to track daily. There are 6 pins to represent 6, 20oz bottles, which is being ambitions for that last one, but hey, it could happen. It gives me great satisfaction to move the pins, a sense of accomplishment, as I fill up my next water bottle, so much, that I have incorporated this into a few other habits – but that’s another Blog for another day. This is still working into my forth month but only because it is right next to the water cooler. To download a copy of my chart; go the Water Chart Download below, but honestly you could easily make your own using Excel.
I also recently (1 month ago) found a water tracking/reminder app. There are tons of them out there. I was looking for one that would remind me to drink – that was my biggest problem – working from home, at my desk for hours and not take a sip. The one I chose is Water Drink Reminder by Leap Fitness Group. It has goal setting, which is determined by your weight. You can set the timer to go off with a subtle water sound, which can also be muted when I am in a meeting – I just realized (2 weeks ago), you are able to adjust the reminder from the default of every hour – mine goes off every 20 minutes, just to remind me to take a sip. You also customize what you drink and size, i.e. water-20 oz, coffee-8oz, juice-12oz… You can add a specific size as well – there is not a 20 oz bottle, but it was easy to add. There is a free version and a paid version($2.99). The paid version gives you the widget saved to your home screen and you can just tap “+” and it adds your default bottle, it is ad free and I’m sure has some other features. I opted for the free version, which means I need to open the app to “+” but I have been using this for two months and I love it. The reminder really helps keep me on track. Oh, and a biggy for me – the ability to set it, to only go off during certain times for example mine starts at 6:20am and stops reminding me at 7:45pm. This helps so I only get up once at night to pee. Since I started using the reminder at every 20 mins. I have made it to 80 oz+ every day in the past 2 weeks.
Now here’s a question – can you drink too much water? According to an article from the Mayo Clinic (September 2017), Yes;
“Although uncommon, it’s possible to drink too much water. When your kidneys can’t excrete the excess water, the sodium content of your blood is diluted (hyponatremia) — which can be life-threatening.
Athletes — especially if they participate in long or intense workouts or endurance events — are at higher risk of hyponatremia. In general, though, drinking too much water is rare in healthy adults who eat an average American diet.”
Since I doubt very much, I am in danger of doing any “long or intense workouts or endurance events…” I think I’m good!
With all my ducks in the water – haha; I finally feel this water thing is doing some noticeable good. I have found a system, that is working for me. My skin looks good – which I’ll attribute to my recent skincare routine and products but when I am on track with the water, it seems brighter. Now that I am managing to drink throughout the day, more easily, with the help of the app., I’m not chugging at night to get the ounces in, so I do not get up hourly, through-out the night to visit the bathroom. My body seems to be adjusting better. Since I am sleeping more regularly, I look less tired and don’t feel like I need a nap by 2pm, which is when, even after a year, I miss my caffeinated Mt. Dew.
Full Disclosure – When I go out, there will be times I indulge in something less pure and to be perfectly honest, if I’m on a long trip and need to stay awake, I may pick-up a Mt. Dew for the ride but for the most part, I plan to keep water as my main beverage and stick to the 80-100oz per-day. Hopeful, it becomes a habit, where I do not need to be reminded just to hydrate because after all – WATER IS GOOD!
Dear Diary, This week I made my water goal EVERY DAY – I am Extraordinary!
http://lizgrabler.com/WaterChart
