Could you do it?
If you follow me on Instagram, you may know what I’m talking about…
Yes, I am a health coach, but I am also a mom, a wife, a sister, daughter, friend and so many other things, and I have a life, and sometimes, life get’s in the way.
And I forget things… basic things… like water.
Our bodies are up to 60% water. But, our brains and our heart are about 73% water and our lungs? Those puppies are about 83% water!
Not only does your body need water to function, but it craves it so strongly that when you think you are hungry, you are really often just thirsty.
For those of you searching for the latest and greatest skin care – your skin is 64% water!
So before you go drop $75 on that next 1 oz. bottle of face cream, why don’t you start with upping your water intake for a few weeks and see how your skin feels?
But, I digress…
It is a new year, and while I don’t believe in standard “resolutions,” I did make a list of goals based on how I want to feel, and what I want my mindset to look like.
One of my main goals for 2016 is simply to feel happy and for me happiness starts first thing when I wake up.
It starts with my morning – the first thing I put in my mouth, which translates to how my body feels for the rest of the day.
Over the holidays I fell back into my mommy-routine of lazy, relaxing mornings sipping on a pot of coffee snuggling with the kiddos, watching the news, reading books and just lazily enjoying my mornings. Which led to lazier than usual days and looooooots of unproductive work days.
And while I loved the down time and cuddles, I would have felt a lot better had I ate things that I knew would make me feel good, instead of falling into old habits.
And what that those old habits did was make me feel uber dehydrated, gave me an upset stomach 24/7, and left me a tad less regular than normal.
So when New Year’s arrived, I didn’t freak out and put myself on a sprouts only diet or vow to never have coffee again.
I simply chose to start off my day right.
We all know that I’m about adding in more of the good, so that there’s naturally less room for the not-so-good.
What that means for me is starting my day off by drinking 32 ounces of water, before I do anything else.
When we take care of our bodies we feel better. Click To TweetThen once, I’m up and about, I lay off the coffee and replace it with warm lemon water or tea.
Throughout the day I drink an additional 100 oz of water. Yes my friends, 32 + 100 = over a gallon of water.
Before I leave the kitchen in the morning, I fill my handy 64 oz. mason jar with water so that I have no excuses not to bring it with me, and therefore drink it throughout the day.
I normally infuse my water (you can read my post about infused water here) so that it tastes fresh and crisp and exciting. I mean honestly, the thought of drinking a gallon of water doesn’t sound that appealing, but add strawberries and mint and voila! You have a mocktail!
I love mason jars because they are simple and don’t leach any yucky toxins. I also use a metal straw because I find it easier to sip through a straw when I am in the middle of 1,000 things (as we all are).
By the time dinner comes around, I will often have another glass of water or two, and maybe a cup of tea at night.
And, to answer your question, yes, I did pee a looooot the first few days, but then your body gets used to it and you’ll find yourself visiting the loo a bit less frequently.
So, it’s been a month (well, almost, there were a few days I didn’t get it in – I’m not perfect, and just wanted to keep it real) of a gallon of water a day I feel A-mazing!
I have received so many questions from all of you about what drinking all that water really does for the body that I wanted to share the effects I felt.
In addition to starting out my day feeling like a rockstar and having that feeling roll into the rest of my day, I noticed:
- Glowing skin
- Lighter under-eye circles
- Decreased belly bloating
- Improved energy
- Decreased appetite
- Increased motivation
Now this last one may sound odd, but it’s true.
When we take care of our bodies we feel better.
By starting my day out hydrated and continuing on that path, I was feeling good, strong, powerful and proud of myself all before I even brushed my teeth!
I know it sounds like a lot at first, but truly, it’s one of the simplest, most inexpensive ways you can improve your health today.
Do you think you are ready to give it a go? I’ll be drinking my 130 ounces all February, are you with me this month?
You know you want to!
Follow me on Instagram and let me know how your water is going!
XO,
