THE GOOD STUFF CHALLENGE! - CHALLENGE #2

H₂O

     It would seem that no one is entirely sure how much water you need to drink to stay healthy or whether it really has any effect on the physical appearance of your skin.  This is kind of amazing when you think that they can create a world wide web and put people on the moon, but specialists can’t agree on something so basic.  Go figure. You even read that drinking more water is unnecessary. There sure is no shortage of reading material on this but from personal experience … I find it does make a difference.  So on that note … I will throw caution to the wind and proceed.  

     Going with the general thought (and even this formula is suspect) of taking your weight and halving it for the number of ounces that you need to drink – it would seem that mine is roughly 82 oz. of water.  Sounds like an awful lot but if you pour 8 oz. into a drinking glass and look at it, it really isn’t all that much.  The challenge is to do it 12 times a day!  I’ve rounded mine up to 12 – 8 oz. glasses.  Easier to remember (fingers crossed).

     I took the liberty of factoring in 2 extra glasses for caffeinated drinks (sorry – I won’t start my day without the dark stuff).  Some claim that caffeinated drinks shouldn’t be an issue but again … no one seems to agree.  Physical activities are something to factor in, too.  Since I’m not terribly physical (at this point, I don’t believe walking to the cookie jar expends a heck of a lot of energy) … I won’t bother with that.  So 12 it is.

     I’m not one of those that enjoys the taste of water - especially ice cold water (though a little lemon slice makes it slightly better) and drink virtually none during the day. Mostly it’s because I am crazy busy through out the day and it never occurs to me to stop and drink something.  Working in a very chaotic pre-school environment doesn’t leave you much time to think about drinking anything (except maybe a bottle of wine!) Many a day, the bottle of water sits on the counter, unopened or the glass, unsipped.

     So – here is what I have come up with to make this more do-able (code for successful):

      Timer.  With a very loud buzzer.  Bought one to use at school – I think the kids will enjoy reminding me to drink my water.  There, it’s so easy to lose track of time and so I need something to remind me.

     At the top of every hour … drink 8 oz.  I have to pretty much down it all at once as the distractions in the class are huge.  This will be the key – top of the hour.

     Drink one glass when I get up.  I have started drinking a cup of hot water and lemon juice while I wait for the coffee.  Actually makes me enjoy my coffee more and seems to wake up my system.  That’s l glass.

Drink a glass after I brush my teeth & take my vitamins.  That’s 2.

One every hour at 9, 10, 11 – that’s 3 for a total of 5.

One at lunch (12:00) – that’s 6.

One at 1:00 and 2:00 – that’s 8.

One before I leave school – 3:00 – that’s 9.

One at 5:00 – making dinner – that’s 10.

One at dinner – that’s 11.

One when I brush my teeth & take the rest of my vitamins – that’s 12.

     Doing this means I don’t need to bother with any water in the afternoon. We’ll see how this goes.

     One of the main reasons for taking in more water (I must confess) is the crepey eye thing.  Made the mistake of buying a 15X zoom mirror and W0W – if you want to scare yourself silly… buy one of those! You see every little imperfection, blackhead, wrinkle, facial hair, etc.  I couldn’t help notice how awful my eyes and skin had become.  Even my feet and legs were drier than normal.  Awhile back I did experiment and make myself drink more water - I was surprised how much I benefited from it:

 . eyes looked brighter and less saggy

. nails were less brittle

. no blackheads

. improved memory

. skin on legs and feet were not as scratchy and rough

. no dizziness, light-headedness or headaches

. more energy

. ‘regular’ as clockwork with my constitution – if you have to ask about

  this …. forget it … you don’t obviously have any issues with it - lol

. reduced back pain and muscles (several massage therapists and

  chiropractors have told me that my back muscles are rock hard (and

  not in a good way) – one indicator that I may not be drinking enough

  water).

Some additional benefits I’m told are:

. preventing or reducing kidney stones

. lubricating joints in the body

. flushing toxins out

     There are lots of theories out there about other pros and cons but I won’t bother with that … that’s what the internet is for … knock yourself out looking --- you could be on it for weeks!

     Since hydrating ourselves properly has so many other health benefits, it just makes sense to do what you can. I’ve even heard that losing some weight may possibly be a side benefit.  Perhaps it’s flushing all those wastes out of your body or that it helps curb hunger?  That one is debateable but, hey … I’m up to trying out that theory!

     I realize that herbal teas, fruit juices, fruit and veggies are also good sources but I will consider those extras - bit of an extra perk (though I typically don’t drink fruit juices simply because it’s just extra sugar).  Good old fashioned water is where I am starting at.

     As I said, I’m not a fan of cold water and actually find it much quicker and less painless to down a glass of room or body temperature water.  They say it takes your body a little while to get used to taking in the extra water so more trips to the restroom will be in order at first.  I’ll second that one (personal experience).


    Will be interesting to see how many positive changes I will experience with the Good Stuff Challenge.  This whole water issue (what kind, how much, what does it really do, etc. – sheesh - remember when life was … simple?) has as many theories as there are holes in swiss cheese.  In the end, all you can do is try it for yourself. 

     I’m told there is such a thing as drinking too much but then again, they are talking about huge volumes of water. They even have a name for it.  Of course, everything these days has a name, doesn’t it?  No danger of hyponatraemia here, that’s for sure.

     I think our grandparents and perhaps even our parents ate more whole foods and veggies/fruits containing water. Most of us really do eat terrible and that may be why it’s more important to drink actual water than our ancestors.  If you eat incredibly healthy – then perhaps this water business isn’t as relevant.  I, on the other hand, never remember to eat … let alone eat healthy l00% of the time.

    It feels like our society is so bent on spending huge dollars on pills, creams, spa treatments, and specialty drinks for every kind of ailment, problem and beauty issue when maybe something as simplistic as drinking more water (or eating healthier) could make a noticeable difference.

     Try it … maybe all these issues we have are simply our body’s way of telling us to something very simple – drink some water or eat an apple!

 Food for Thought:    Successful people aren’t born that way.  They become successful by establishing the habit of doing things unsuccessful people don’t like to do.  The successful people don’t always like these things themselves; they just get on and do them. 

                                                                                                       Author Unknown

See you next week for the Saturday Shopping Challenge!