One of my goals of #FitFriday is to help give you tools for a well-rounded fit or healthy lifestyle. So, today we’re going to touch on drinking water! While I know that drinking a lot is really good for you, I’ve always kind of slacked. I’m not one that actually enjoys the taste (or lack thereof in my opinion) unless it’s right after a hot sweaty run and then it better be ice cold! But, I know it’s beneficial to my overall health, so I decided this week to give this “half your body weight (in ounces)” thing a try!
Why do it? Why drink so much water? There are so many other reasons, but here are four very important reasons.
- Maintain Body Fluids – Our body is 60% fluid, so we must take care of the functions of our body by keeping our fluids balanced and supplied.
- Water can help control calories – things like juices, sodas, and other beverages have a high calorie count, so replacing them with water instantly saves you hundreds of calories. Over the course of the week I’ve also found that the more water I drink, the more I feel full, so less likely to snack throughout the day!
- Energize Muscles – muscles must have a balance of fluids & electrolytes or else you start to feel muscle fatigue. If you work out it is important to be fully “watered down”, to help your muscles recover. But, overall drinking more water can actually make you feel less lethargic throughout the day because you won’t feel the muscle fatigue.
- Good Looking Skin – a sign of dehydration is wrinkled skin! I don’t need to help my skin wrinkle any more than it already is!
I’m sure one could find endless reasons on why it’s important to drink water, but I will also caution that there are risks involved when drinking too much water (yes, there is a such a thing). Consuming too much water can actually shut down kidney functions and cause a whole other host of issues. At the very most you should drink an ounce per pound of body weight, but a lot of professionals will caution on drinking more than 64ounces in a day and never more than 8 ounces in an hour! I had actually never heard of this before I started this endeavor and was discussing it with my mom, who is a registered nurse. I wanted to know more, so I did some googling (highly scientific, I know) and found this great article which will explain in more detail!
Now, back to drinking more water! The first 2 days that I embarked on this mission I literally felt as though I was in the bathroom all the time and I felt like I was going to float away! Thankfully, that has subsided as I’m on Day 4 now. After reading the research and discussing it with my mom, I also decided to cap my water consumption in a day at 65 ounces. But, I still need help in drinking more to be healthy so I’ve come up with a some of tips to help you drink more water:
- Lots of Ice – I find that water seems more refreshing and satisfying if it’s ice cold!
- A Cool Bottle or Cup – I’m still working through what that means to me. For me, the cup has to be well insultaed. I’ve been going back and forth between a Tervis & another double wall insulated cup (although a cool flip top
My #waterselfie Iowa State Cyclone Tervis is on my Christmas list). Currently, I’m using one from my alma mater, Wartburg College as it has a straw and I’m finding that while sitting at my desk, I’m more prone to drink more if I don’t have to use one of my hands (meaning I can keep typing). In this case, I can just slide my cup in front of my face and sip away!
- Fruits – Experiment with different fruits in your water. To date, I’ve tried pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, cherries, limes, & lemons. I also freeze all my fruits as it seems to hold the flavor longer as well as serve as an ice cube to keep my water nice & cold!
- Water My Body – This is an awesome new app that I found on my phone (available for both Android & Apple products). It helps you
- track your progress throughout the day and makes you record every
Water My Body time you complete a certain amount of ounces. It also has a handy little reminder of the sound of a faucet filling a cup to spur you to keep drinking! (On a funny note, the first couple days I thought I had a leaksomewhere in the office and sometimes the reminder noise makes me have to visit the restroom!)
While I’m not sure this habit will hold, I’m going to give it a valiant effort and I’m still working through what works for me and what will help me be successful, after all, I am Learning As I Go!
PS – Will you share your #waterselfie with me??
Yes, hydration is very important especially for children, when we have the little ones we’re always pushing the fluids.
Yes! Thankfully, both R & M are good drinkers on their own, so we dont monitor too closely!
Cool! I loved how I felt doing my water challenge last week! Thanks for the info!
I think its easy to get “off track” and the app has really helped me remember to keep drinking!