Drinking Water is Beneficial

You probably read that title and thought, “No duh.” We’ve all heard that drinking water is beneficial, but the truth is, most of us still don’t drink enough. Below is a my experience with increasing my water intake, the benefits for you if you decide to do so too, and a little thirty day challenge to get your hydrated.

MAMA SAYS TO DRINK SOME WATER

Growing up, I swear my mother’s solution to all problems was to drink more water.  

Have a headache? 

Drink some water. 

Hungry? 

Drink some water. 

Headache? 

Drink some water.  

Drowning? 

Drink some water.

Okay maybe not that last one. But you get my point.

For everything that seemed to be wrong, my mom would suggest to drink some water.  And I hated that.  Not just a little bit of dislike.  But h-a-t-e-d that that was her solution to everything. Who wants to drink water anyway? It’s plain, and it’s boring. No thank you.

And now, here I am, writing a blog post about drinking more water, because get this, I actually like drinking water now. I can finally see that drinking water is beneficial. So what changed?

CREATING A NEW HABIT

On April 17 of this year, I began a mental toughness challenge that requires participants to drink a gallon of water every day. One gallon of water. Every single day.

I’ll be honest, I almost didn’t begin the challenge in the first place because of that requirement. I simply didn’t like drinking water and the thought of consuming that much was terrifying. 

But after over 100 days of drinking a gallon of water every single day, I can finally say that my mama was right. Drinking water is a game changer.

Before the challenge, I would maybe, maybe, drink 16-30 or so ounces of water in a day.  I am a coffee lover. The first thing I do when I roll out of bed in the morning is make my coffee, and when I’ve finished the first cup, I’m immediately on to the second.  And that’s just before I leave the house in the morning.  Most days find me leaving the house with a third cup in my hand to keep me company throughout the morning, taking sips on it anytime I feel the least bit thirsty.  

My afternoon coffee is my favorite though – the thing I look forward to most all day.  “If I can just make it to 2 pm or 3 pm, then I can get another coffee.”  

As you can see, that doesn’t leave a lot of space for water in my day. The most water I would consume in a day would be during a workout, which I was doing a few times a week. During those workouts, I would chug water, so obviously dehydrated. But dehydrated or not, I couldn’t make myself drink more.

Fast forward to now and my water intake has gone up significantly, and I feel so much better thanks to my new habit. I am still a coffee lover. But now I’m also a water lover too.

BENEFITS OF DRINKING WATER

Some of you might be shaking your heads at me right now. Of course you know that water is beneficial. You’ve been drinking enough water for years. And to that I say, kudos! But for anyone that isn’t quite sold on water drinking, here are some of the scientific benefits of getting in your high-quality H2O:

• Helps maximize physical performance: If you don’t stay hydrated, your physical performance can suffer. This is particularly important during intense exercise or high heat. Dehydration can have a noticeable effect if you lose as little as 2% of your body’s water content. However, it isn’t uncommon for athletes to lose as much as 6–10% of their water weight via. This can lead to altered body temperature control, reduced motivation, and increased fatigue. It can also make exercise feel much more difficult, both physically and mentally.

• Significantly affects energy levels and brain function: Your brain is strongly influenced by your hydration status. Studies show that even mild dehydration, such as the loss of 1–3% of body weight, can impair many aspects of brain function. In a study in young women, researchers found that fluid loss of 1.4% after exercise impaired both mood and concentration. It also increased the frequency of headaches. May help prevent and treat headaches: Dehydration can trigger headaches and migraine in some individuals.

• May help relieve constipation: Constipation is a common problem that’s characterized by infrequent bowel movements and difficulty passing stool. Increasing fluid intake is often recommended as a part of the treatment protocol, and there’s some evidence to back this up. Low water consumption appears to be a risk factor for constipation in both younger and older individuals

• May help treat kidney stones: Urinary stones are painful clumps of mineral crystal that form in the urinary system. The most common form is kidney stones, which form in the kidneys. There’s limited evidence that water intake can help prevent recurrence in people who have previously gotten kidney stones

• Helps prevent hangovers: Alcohol is a diuretic, so it makes you lose more water than you take in. This can lead to dehydration. Although dehydration isn’t the main cause of hangovers, it can cause symptoms like thirst, fatigue, headache, and dry mouth. Good ways to reduce hangovers are to drink a glass of water between drinks and have at least one big glass of water before going to bed.

• Can aid weight loss: Drinking plenty of water can help you lose weight. This is because water can increase satiety and boost your metabolic rate. Some evidence suggests that increasing water intake can promote weight loss by slightly increasing your metabolism, which can increase the number of calories you burn on a daily basis. (Source)

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD YOU DRINK?

So how much water should you drink? Some recommendations say to drink eight 8 oz glasses of water per day, totaling 64 oz. There are some people who suggest drinking half your body weight in ounces of water every day. Or as the challenge I am participating in suggests, drinking a gallon (128 oz) of water per day.

Most people, like me 100 days ago, don’t get enough, so picking any of those amounts would be an increase in current intake.

So here’s a little challenge for you: I challenge you to pick an amount – whether 64 oz, 128 oz, or half your body weight in ounces – and set a daily goal to drink that much water. I don’t want to tell you how much to drink – just pick an amount that is more than you drink now and that will be challenging for you.

Set a goal for 30 days to commit to drinking that amount of water. And then do it. Take note of how you feel over that amount of time. Do you have more energy? Are your thoughts clearer? Do you feel better during your workouts? What other benefits do you experience?

Sure, more water means more trips to the bathroom at first. But your body eventually gets used to it, or you get used to making frequent trips, and it’s just not that big of a deal. Start your water intake first thing in the morning and try to be done a couple hours before bedtime to eliminate getting up all night for trips to the bathroom.

To help get your water intake, buy a reusable water bottle that you can carry with you and refill throughout the day. I carry a 64 oz water bottle and refill it once to get in my water intake, but you could get any size of water bottle that works for your goal and your budget.

It will take discipline to get it done, but you can do it. I promise. (And if you need some pointers on cultivating discipline, go back to my earlier blog post here.)

So go ahead, commit to thirty days and see what happens. What have you got to lose?!

Drop me a comment below if you plan to take the thirty day challenge, and then share this blog post with friends and family to invite them to join in too!

Until next time,

Jeri Austin