Today starts my 30-day commitment to drink 75 fl oz of water each day. I already feeling like I’m going to float away from my cubicle any minute now.
I remembered to bring in straws, which helps. And I’ve got my Outlook calendar set up to remind me to drink every 30 minutes.
In bad news, I gained 1/2 a pound since Sunday. Arg! I know it’s not a big deal, but I’d rather MAINTAIN than GAIN!! I didn’t eat that much yesterday (breakfast: a bagel; lunch: a lean cuisine, indiv. bag of chips, canned fruit; snack: a coffee cake from the vending machine; dinner: two stuffed pastas shells and one slice of bread; dessert: kettle corn popcorn), so I’m not sure what took me up, but today I’ll be more diligent about food choices.
Excuse me while I go drink another 10 sips of water.
My no chocolate commitment ends on Sunday. I have to say I’m VERY excited, and yet also have a “whatever” mentality about it. I’m excited because I’m anxious to try a new idea: allow myself ONE chocolate item per day. Whether it’s a handful of M&M’s from L-Train’s stash, or a Three Musketeers from the vending machine, or some Oreos after dinner. I’m allowed ONE chocolate thing per day. This way I can have my chocolate but not go overboard. We’ll see how that goes.
Okay, I gotta go to the bathroom. This is crazy.
You know, there is no reason for you to drink that much water in a day. You don’t need it because you get water from other sources throughout the day, even foods.
Remembering straws is key. I try to drink a travel mug an hour while at work. I did it one morning and went to the bathroom five times.
Did you watch Amazing Race this season? What did you think?
ps I started reading your blog when you had floor plans for a new house on it (I like to look at floor plans) and I’m still hanging around!
Jen, “they” say you should drink at least eight 8-oz glasses of water a day. I don’t drink NEAR that amount. Maybe half that if I’m lucky. And I doubt the foods I’m eating have a lot of water – especially since I don’t eat veggies or fruits. Somehow I don’t see a Lean Cuisine Panini and a bag of chips as having ANY kind of water that would help add up to the minimum daily requirement. It’s also helpful with weight loss.
It:
* Supresses appetite.
* Assists the body in metabolizing stored fat, because your liver is overloaded when your kidneys don’t get enough water. Your liver metabolizes fat and it can’t do that at 100% if it is doing the kidney’s job.
* Reduces fat deposits in the body.
* Relieves fluid retention problems. If you don’t give your body water, it will hold it so as not to lose it.
* Reduces sodium buildup in the body.
So I’m going to do this for 30 days and see what happens.
Aw, thanks Danielle! I still hope to build a house we design ourselves. We have the land – we’re thinking in 5-7 years we’ll finally be in a place where we can actively seek out an architect/engineer to ensure our plans are buildable.
and yes – I did watch The Amazing Race and meant to post about it. thanks for reminding me!
Have you tried sparkling water like La Croix? It seems as though you’re drinking soda, but really it’s only carbonated H20. It’s a bit pricey, though.
Cristan’s last blog post..Soulja Boy Tellem
Cristan – I don’t drink ANY carbonated beverages at all. No sodas, no beer, no sparkling ANYthing. I barely drank the champagne at my wedding.
The regular water is fine – I’ve actually had over 40 oz so far today, and it’s only lunchtime.
Jen, I think you are wrong. When they say you should drink 64 oz. of water a day, they mean just that. Not foods that contain water, not juice that contains water, not anything that contains water. Just water. I’ll have to confirm that, but I’m pretty sure that’s what they mean.
You know, I love this idea. This Commit to “30 days” idea. I think I’m going to let you INSPIRE me to join you in this great quest towards self-improvement..! 🙂
Nevis’s last blog post..Snow Day
Nevis – that would be awesome! As I said in another post, I have a friend at work committed to no chocolate/no alchohol for 30 days, and a couple in our small group is doing a complete year of 30 day commitments as well. Join the 30-day revolution! 🙂
I have seen a couple of different doctors talk about this. They said that 64 oz of water in a day is too much and that all foods have some water content, even the unhealthy kinds. They said that we really only need to drink when we are thirsty because then we are dehydrated, but otherwise there’s no need to overhydrate.
Why do you think you go to the bathroom so soon after you drink water? Because your body is flushing out the excess water (and other things, too, of course).
Seems like I heard Oprah talk about this recently and the amount was based on your weight..like quarter or half your weight in ounces or something but for the life of me I can not find it through google.
One thing I know I’ve heard is to make sure the water is cold. I don’t know if it’s been proven, but I hear it helps with weight loss.
Amy@P2P’s last blog post..Randomness for today
Amy – I’ve read the bit about the amount of water in relation to your weight as well.
Take your weight, divide it by 2, and that’s how many ounces of water you should be drinking daily. But at least drink a minimum of 64 ounces per day (2 quarts).
Here are examples–if your…
Weight is 150, drink 75 ounces of water
Weight is 200, drink 100 ounces
Weight is 250, drink 125 ounces
Drink an additional 8 ounces per day for every 25 pounds overweight.
As for the warm vs cold water – I don’t believe it, but I did find a nutrition website that said it is better to drink the water cold, as it is absorbed quicker and may burn more calories. I, however, put heavy emphasis on MAY burn more calories.
Uhhh, remember the story about the lady who drank too much water and died??? Yes, we can actually drink too much water.
Mom – that woman drank a half-gallon in less than an hour. There’s a big difference between that and drinking a few gulps of water once an hour throughout the 18 hours I’m awake to total 75 fl oz.
And the other case of a woman dying from over-hydrating (the one Denis, LP/JHP and I talk about all the time) – she was overheated and drank too much water in a short period of time as well.