Water! That’s what I thought about all month long. I kept thinking, why do we need to drink water? Then I realized… it’s because we can’t eat it. Knowledge is power.
GOALS THIS MONTH:
- drink 100oz of water each day*
- eat more food with water in it
HOW DID IT GO:
Swimmingly! Oh wow, I’m sorry about that. I mean it went well. It was hard the first few days, but then I got used to it really quickly. I was surprised how easy it was to create a routine and set a schedule to drink water.
I have a water bottle that holds 20oz and has a counter on it so I can keep track of how many bottles I drank. In order to drink 5 bottles each day, it was as simple as making sure I finished 2 by noon, 2 more by 5pm, and the last one by the time I went to bed.
I say it was simple but in fact it took the entire week to actually accomplish it. I guess it wasn’t necessarily difficult, but I just had to get my body used to it. The first day I felt like a water balloon with all the liquid sloshing around inside my belly. It made me feel heavy and crampy when I worked out, but towards the end of the week it felt more normal. Then, the day after my challenge was over and I drank my normal one bottle of water, I felt like a dried up slug on hot pavement, all parched and keeling over. What a difference that week made on how quickly my body adjusted to the water intake.
I ate some food with water in it too, including celery, apples and carrots for lunch. No idea what that did for me because when drinking 100oz, that wasn’t noticeably helpful to my body. But it’s something I can continue to do to get more water in my system.
Some of the positive effects of drinking water were that I was a little less hungry (although I ate the same amount, it just took me longer to feel hungry.) It also made me walk around more when I had to empty my bladder and fill my water bottle so I almost always got my steps in! I didn’t notice any glowing skin or a better feeling body, but I assume that takes longer than a week to achieve sadly.
Some negative effects? You can probably guess those. I went to the bathroom WAY more than normal. Not to mention that my hands were super dry from being washed so much and they were cracking.
Here are some of my suggestions if you decide to try this challenge:
- Don’t wear tights that are hard to get on or shirts that need to be tucked in. It’s too much effort to deal with every hour.
- Make a schedule for drinking water
- Get a nice reusable water bottle or some fun mugs to refill because the Earth deserves it!
- If you are struggling with reaching your goal, set rules for yourself, like you have to finish a glass of water before you are allowed to eat a meal
All in all though, it was an easy challenge to accomplish. I definitely learned that I should be drinking at least double what I used to drink. But I probably won’t do 5 bottles per day. I mean I’ve got to be environmental here! With the amount of water I wasted washing my hands and the paper towels from drying them, I felt guilty for the huge difference in the amount I was using. It’s for the environment, that’s what I’m going with. But I will drink more water, I swear!
VLOG:
FAVORITE RECIPE THIS MONTH: Chick Pea Salad Sandwich
If you don’t like weird textures then this isn’t for you, it’s pretty mushy. But it tastes good and you can add toppings to change the texture if you want. And it has natural water in it!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- ½ cup cashew cream or 1 ripe avocado
- 1 shallot or ½ small red onion peeled and chopped
- 2 inch ribs of celery cut into 2 chunks
- salt
- 8 slices whole grain bread
- Optional toppings: spouts, tomato, pickles, lettuce, shredded carrots
Directions:
In a food processor, pulse all ingredients except bread and toppings until chickpeas have broken down but still have some texture. Season with salt and layer inside toasted bread with the toppings of your choice. Makes at least 4 sandwiches, leftovers can be stored for about 3 days in the refrigerator.
*Amount of water intake varies for each individual. Please consult your health care provider to determine how much you should drink per day.
