Why Drinking More Water Should Be a Habit, Not an Obsession
Well, I did it. I drank a lot of water every day for several weeks in March – in fact, one gallon a day, or as much as I could get without living in the bathroom all the time – but I’m not sure if I have much to show for this. …
I hoped that if I held a half-gallon container of water to my mouth over and over again, I would burst. In the absence of that, I at least hoped to end my experiment with super-clean, hydrated skin. Unfortunately, my perpetually dry skin doesn’t really seem so dry – or even if it is, it isn’t enough to make me keep drinking so much water forever.
One tangible benefit of drinking incredible amounts of water every day is that I feel less hungry. I am a regular breakfast skipper, more because I am not a very early riser than because of my dislike for delicious breakfasts. However, from time to time I definitely get morning pangs – but not so much when I’ve already drunk two glasses of water to start my day. Water isn’t as good (and not as fun) to wake up as a sweet cup of cold drink, but it’s better than nothing.
What about all the other health benefits that you claim to get from drinking plenty of water? I am not ready to say that they are. I am just an experimental sample of one of these, and perhaps your skin will transfer from Aquaman, and not from Dune after a few weeks in water. Mine didn’t — and it didn’t affect the pandemic acne I acquired either.
I lost weight? To no avail. I am practically the same place where I was three weeks ago. Perhaps it will drop a little when that daily drinking drops to a more reasonable level and I (presumably) stop holding that much fluids. But I don’t want my water games to suddenly open the way for me to a nicer figure. It’s just water; it is not a miracle cure.
As I mentioned last week , the biggest benefit the water problem has brought me was that it made my health habits the top priority. I haven’t drunk soda for a month – and I won’t even talk about my old habits. I will continue this for as long as I can. At the very least, I will reduce my soda consumption to the “sometimes before meals” level rather than making it the default for every lunch break.
I also think more about healthy eating in general. I prefer delicious, simple proteins mixed with herbs over foods that are super fat, fried, or high in carbohydrates. Water isn’t the only source of my newfound healthy eating habits, but this issue definitely got me in the mood for recalibration.
To be honest, I’m glad that I no longer need to worry about drinking water. It’s like training: Forcing yourself to stick to a static schedule is great when you have to start (or restart) a habit, but if you are the type of person to force yourself to stick to your M / F / F gym schedule no matter what happens , you are potentially doing yourself a disservice in the long run.
Take Wednesday off. Come back and have a Saturday light day. Only two days a week. What’s the difference? Forcing yourself to do something when you don’t want to do it has its drawbacks, the main one being the likelihood that you will associate unhappy, unpleasant feelings with the activity. While some people may maintain this lifestyle for a while, others (myself included) are likely to give up activities that feel more like an unpleasant duty than something fun, exciting, and good .
It’s safe to say that I would probably end up drinking less water if I pushed myself to reach my daily water goal. I would give up and go back to my old unhealthy lifestyles, or stop thinking about it altogether. By decreasing my consumption – actually decreasing my habits – I feel like I’m making more strategic choices that will help me make long-term positive change.
And this is another important conclusion of mine from this problem with water: do not force it, even if “it” is something theoretically healthy. Sure, force yourself to get used to your new lifestyle a bit , but then take a smarter approach as you move forward. Chances are you’ll stick with it. At the very least, you will have to write much less often.