Week 2:

This week, I have gulp down the challenge of drinking a gallon of water a day. We have learned in every health we have ever taken that we should drink 12 glasses of water a day, but how many people actually do that? Upon my brief research into why this is a trend, or a health goal, I learned that on average 4 out of 5 Americans are dehydrated.

That is scary to think about.

The benefits of drinking water flows from more energy, quicker metabolism, better sleep, improved joint health, healthier organs, and clearer skin just to name a few, so why doesn’t everyone do this?

I myself never carried a wattle bottle around till I went to college and even then, I carried around a dinky little water bottle that I would drink maybe once or twice a day. Now I carry a pretty large water bottle to force me to drink more, but to drink a gallon of water meant having to refill and drink it 4 times a day. To do this, I made a schedule to guzzle a full bottle every 3 hours. After doing this for a week, here is what I noticed.

1. What was the biggest change/effects I noticed?

            The number one thing I saw was improved mood. I felt like a stream of happiness when I was well hydrated for multiple reasons, but I’ll get into that later. The second biggest effect was having to pee. ALL. THE. TIME. Seriously, that got annoying real quick. I would be counting down the minutes in classes just so I could book it to the bathroom as soon as they wrapped up the lecture.

2. What were minor changes/effects that occurred throughout the week?

            I noticed that my diet got significantly better. I couldn’t each junk food because the a junk food would absorb the large amounts of water and make me feel bloating. Therefor, I felt full and unable to eat copious amount of bad food. I also felt so much more refreshed in the morning rather than dreading the 8:30 alarm. I felt like my sleep was more refreshing than it had been in the past. Ultimately, I felt like a well oil machine rather than a creaking slug that got dragged through the day.

3. Was this health habit enjoyable?

            This habit was very enjoyable just to see the effects it had. It was comparable to the first time I put on a pair of glasses and the euphoria of seeing the detail that has always existed, but you had never known about. It didn’t completely change my life, but it definitely made it more enjoyable.

4. How can this health habit sustainable in the long term?

            This is a sustainable habit, but it takes determination. It is not unrealistic, but there is a large margin of making it a daily habit. I’ll admit, on Saturday I fell short of my goal. Being less active on Saturday as opposed to downpour of business on weekdays made it harder to be intentional. Because I slacked on Saturday, I felt pretty bad on Sunday, like a drug had worn off, but I was able to soak in some water Sunday and go into the week strong. Like all the health habits, I’m finding it takes a few things to be successful:

a plan

proper setup

accountability

For me, accountability came from my body telling me, “WATER ME! I’M DYING!” but accountability can look different for everyone. Sometimes it means making a reminder in your phone or just always having a water bottle in your line of sight to saturate your mind in building the habit. For me, this habit helped to build up a reservoir of energy and I plan on continuing drinking a gallon of water a day to have energy to spare because….

Ready or not,

Life Willkomm