I recently read that over half of the United States population is severely dehydrated. According to the Mayo Clinic, you need to drink 13 cups (3 liters) a day if you’re a man and 9 cups (2.2 liters) a day if you are a woman. So basically, we all need to drink a ton of water every day to be what doctors deem ‘hydrated.’
After hearing this, I decided to try and drink three liters of water a day. However, I learned it’s not just about drinking water at any time of day. You need to be strategic in order to make sure you remain properly hydrated. Trust me, it’s so worth it — you’ll never want to drink less water than that again.
Day 1
Feeling ambitious, I went out and purchased one of the big Dasani bottles meant for one person, which is one whole liter. The goal: finish three by the end of the day. Making sure not to go buy more and waste plastic, I refilled it and by 3 pm, I had made it to three liters. What I felt was not so pleasant. I was bloated, dizzy, and felt like my body was flooding. In my mind, I was asking myself, “What were you thinking?”
Day 2
Even though day one was far from ideal, I wanted to keep going. I woke up the next morning and felt refreshed, rather than feeling full, as I had expected I would. So again, I filled up my water bottle three times throughout the day. Day two was much better than day one. I felt more energized, focused, clean, and overall healthier.
Day 3
Even more energy and focus than day two! It still was a little challenging to down all that water, but I was committed to finishing this challenge of mine.
Day 4
When I woke up on day four, I felt amazing. I had expected to feel like my body was flooded and bloated, when in reality, I actually felt so energized and filled up my bottles with a smile from ear to ear. I pounded down all the water and then some that I had been drinking for the past three days. During the day, I felt cleaner, more energized, and had no caffeine cravings.
I am so against all of this new healthy and organic-only bull sh*t, but this is not something that makes you all ‘earthy crunchy.’ It’s just something you can do while you eat your burger and fries every day.
Also, to avoid burning through dozens of water bottles a week, invest in a S’well or Camelbak bottle and refill it throughout the day. Another benefit to this challenge is that you don’t need to do any of those horrendous cleanses that deprive the body. Water will cleanse most of the toxins from your body as it makes its way through.
Hopefully after reading this you’ll be as motivated as I was to actually say you are hydrated.