Do You Really Need to Drink a Gallon of Water a Day?
I’m starting to agree with the Lifehacker commenters on this point : Drinking an arbitrary amount of water each day (in this case, one gallon) seems like scientific nonsense, a benchmark that looks good on paper, but the need for which varies greatly from person to person – and of course from your diet because you also get water from the food you eat .
Does a person really need to drink a gallon of water every day? Probably no. Does you more healthy to drink more water than usual? In a sense, of course. But I’m starting to feel that the biggest benefit of drinking a gallon of water a day is that you’ll move a lot more, which every time you get up to pee.
In terms of real health benefits, well, I’m not a scientist, but I drink almost a gallon of water every day as I can, all month long ( it’s tough !) And I don’t feel that much of a difference. My permanently dry skin doesn’t feel slippery and moisturized; I haven’t lost any weight at all (but who knows, maybe when I stop swelling from all this water, everything will change); and I’m still not a very early bird. Only now I wake up and drink water, looking into the void, which is my desktop monitor. I think drinking water helps wake me up a little more than being idle, that’s all. I’m betting jumping into the shower right after waking up will have a similar effect. Or sipping on a delicious cold drink.
I am struggling to recall any other benefits I have realized as a result of Lifehacker’s watery Fitness Challenge. I urinate a lot more, and going to the bathroom increasingly reminds me, “Oh, I have to take time to wash myself in the bathroom,” and that’s never a bad thing. I also clean my water jug a lot more – though every day. It’s also good! And in general, drinking pure refreshing water is better than harmful soda. I have not touched the latter since early March and am confident that I am getting some health benefits if I do not drink useless carbs and sugars every day. Still waiting for the bathroom scale towitness me , though.
However, this water problem reminds me of the simple premise that a quick fix doesn’t make a healthy lifestyle. You can’t make your way to a better body simply by making one dramatic change in your life – like drinking an absurd amount of water every day. A gradual change in many areas will do more good than one dramatic change in the target area, unless you are making an obvious healthy change such as “no fast food.”
More specifically, I think I’m likely to see more tangible health benefits if I combine my newfound love of water – not an extreme commitment to a gallon a day, but simply adding more water to my life – with other activities. Maybe a lunchtime walk a few times a week or some spin bike time. Or even something as insignificant as “going to bed at a reasonable time every night” or “taking more breaks from the stupid computer, my lifeline to peace during a pandemic.”
This is the biggest benefit I have gained from a three week water test. Alas, it didn’t improve my skin, but it made me think more about a healthier lifestyle. And as a result, I started making other small changes that will hopefully lead to incremental improvements. Drinking all this water every day was a good reminder of my health, if not necessarily an action that in itself will energize my health.
With that said, my bladder is probably Olympic grade at this point. If anyone has a workout this month, it is.