If you’ve ever seen my posts on Facebook about how bad I suck at drinking water then you know…I suck at drinking water so I’m challenging myself to REALLY drink some water!
Me and my water issues…
It’s not that I’m awesome at drinking soda, or tea, or coffee or beer or…anything else, though I do enjoy all of those things, it’s just that I’m rarely thirsty so I barely drink anything at all. In fact, when I do drink throughout the day (other than my morning protein coffee) it’s almost always water. The problem is that I can go a whole day and drink less than 12 oz of water and not realize it until that night, sometimes not even until the next day! Yes, it’s THAT bad!
If you read my last post titled “Living in Limbo” then you know that A) I have been feeling like am stuck in limbo B) That I am not currently training for anything right now because of said, “limbo” (more on that coming soon…because I’m slightly insane) and C) I am working on eating (which includes drinking) intuitively, meaning that I eat and drink only when I’m hungry and stop when I’m satisfied…which is why my next sentence is going to add to the insanity of my thoughts, and well, life in general.
So without getting into the “more to come” (because that will require a post of its own) I have decided to challenge myself to drink 1 gallon of water per day for seven days to see if I feel any different…hopefully better!
I am tired of dealing with crappy hips, tight hip flexors, nasty shoulder, stuck ankles and knees and general overall mobility issues that have created LOTS of setbacks over that last year. I have been completely attributing them to overuse, both in and out of the gym…mostly out…and mostly due to sitting at my desk where they seize up in a nice flexed position and then don’t want to extend– because why would they?
I get a lot of relief from massage and have had some from chiropractic but the issues never seem to go away completely. I’m being assessed for an autoimmune disorder (which may provide some answers) but I have no interest in sitting around waiting for a (potential) diagnosis. So in the meantime I’m going to (attempt) to drink the shit out of some water.
Seriously, I know some people do this habitually, like it’s no big deal and maybe, just maybe by the end of the 7 days it won’t be a big deal for me either but so far, I am struggling!
Yesterday was day one for me and as of 10:00pm I had about 2/3 of a gallon down. I assumed I’d end there since I was headed to bed soon but I drank a few more sips before heading to bed around 10:30. When I went to bed I could NOT sleep. My right hip, quad and calf were killing me and I couldn’t get comfortable. I also got up to pee three times before midnight.
At midnight, after my third pee in 1.5 hours, I decided I was hungry. I went to the kitchen, ate 3 pieces of cheese and then drank more water– I don’t know if I’m an idiot or brilliant but I REALLY wanted to say that I drank a whole damned gallon of water. At 12:03 there was still 1/4 of a gallon left, staring me down. I just. Couldn’t. Do it.
I lost track of how many more times I got up to pee last night but needless to say, I woke up tired today. I worked out this morning, trusty gallon jug in hand and as of almost 3pm I have probably less than a quarter of it gone.
So far, I am sucking at this challenge! But I’m not giving up. I will get an entire gallon in EVENTUALLY.
Today I am focusing on the positive by being grateful indoor plumbing and my Costco-size package of Charmin.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
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My partner is like that – can go pretty much the whole day without drinking anything! I drink quite a lot really but one thing I have noticed is that the more I drink, the more I *want* to drink so it kind of gets easier to hit a certain target. Though of course, you also gotta pee more often which can be a downside heh!
Is that a good thing though? This is one of my biggest concerns with this experiment. If thirst mean you need to drink then why are people more thirsty the more they drink? To me that seems like dehydration by water– flushing out all of the electrolytes. :/
Hi! I’ve done the “gallon a day” challenge…. its really is amazing the effects that adding that much water does to your body…. but I’d say it would take alittle longer than a week to really see the results from it. Peeing ALLLLLL the time at some point becomes second nature (haha). But if you can get most of your water in during the morning instead of the evening it might help with your night time sleeping situation.
Something that helped me is instead of “sipping” a little here and there, learn to chug 10 gulps of water at a time. or start counting to 5 and then go up from there. pretty soon, you’ll see a difference in your overall amount and that 8oz glass will be gone in no time.
Another suggestion (which you may have seen) is writing on the side of your gallon water jug. Divide it up. Almost like tick marks or measuring cup marks. Use a sharpie and write “drink this much by 8am, 10am, 12pm, etc etc…. it helps break up the day and you’re not looking at a huge bottle but more like “I can drink another inch by 10am”
Every little bit helps! You can do it!
I have very mixed feelings about THIS much water. I’ll be posting a post challenge blog soon! 🙂
I think you’re probably a lot like me in that when you commit to something, you’re ALL IN. But going from less than 12 oz of water/day to 128 oz seems really extreme. You might find more success starting out slowly with, say, a 64-oz/day challenge. That would give you the recommended 8-glasses/day, without stressing your body with such a drastic difference in fluid intake.
LOL. Actually I’m the complete opposite. I let go of all or nothing years ago. That’s why it’s called I’mperfect Life. 🙂
I will be surprised if I actually get in a full gallon during any one day this week, but a challenge/goal is just that– something to aim for. So here I am AIMING for a gallon, doing my best to reach it but totally okay if I don’t.
Of course that doesn’t mean I won’t complain about my inability to achieve it, but it’s all jest. I’m not actually upset about it. 🙂