Water, oh water, how I love thee!

Most people have heard that you need 8 cups of water a day to stay properly hydrated, right?  You may have also heard the “outlandish” claims of drinking a GALLON (16 cups) of water a day!  “A gallon,” you say, “That’s crazy talk!  There’s no way I could physically get a gallon in my body each day!”  Oh, yes, you can.  I promise you could do it if you tried hard enough.  But, do you really have to?  Here’s the down low.

Introducing:  Water!

About 60% of your body is made up of water.  Good hydration is really important to be at peak mental and physical performance.  Everything just works better when you’re hydrated including digestion and your metabolism.  It can also help facilitate weight loss because many times when you think you are hungry your body is just thirsty and drinking a big glass of water will help.  Here is a little laundry list of benefits that water gives to your body:

• Better Skin and Hair
• Weight Loss
• Reduced risk of heart attack
• Better Breath
• Improved Digestion
• Improved Metabolism
• Improved Blood Flow
• Less risk of constipation
• Less risk of kidney stones
• Water helps you have a better day by naturally alleviating the effects of minor dehydration such as achiness, grumpiness, dizziness, tiredness, etc.

That’s all nice and dandy, but how much do I really need to drink?

It is recommended that those who exercise drink half their body weight in ounces per day.  For a 140 lb female, you’re looking at about 70 oz, or about 9 cups of water per day.  Sure, it’s a far cry from the gallon.  But you need more water around your workouts, enough water to replace the fluid you lose during exercise, and you also need more water when you live somewhere dry like where I am located in Utah.  Taking into account those things, I would reccomend people drink anywhere from 12-16 cups of water or 3/4 of a gallon to a full gallon of water per day and an absolute minimum of 10 c. per day.  Drink on the higher end when you are trying to lose weight because among the other wonderful benefits that water gives to your body, drinking water also naturally curbs your appetite, especially when you drink 2 cups about 30 minutes before you meals.

Wow, that’s a lot of water.  How do I get all that goodness in me?

There are two ways to do this and it really depends on what kind of person you are.  I am a schedule, list oriented person so I “schedule” my water drinking.  I drink 2 cups immediately upon waking.  Then I drink 2 more cups by 9am, 4 cups by noon, 4 more cups by 3pm, and 4 more by 6pm.  This way my water is done early enough in the day that I am not up all night in the bathroom.  Some of you may prefer to just sip on your gallon throughout the day and that is fine too.  I would suggest trying to have half done by about half way through your day to make sure you are keeping on top of it. 

When you first start to increase your water intake you will feel like you are going to the bathroom constantly and that is normal.  Your body will get used to it.  Or you’ll get used to going to the bathroom constantly, either way, you’ll be happier about the whole experience after a week or so.

If you have any questions about any of this information either send me an email or leave it in the comments and I will address it!  I hope you have a great, water-filled day!