Drink the dang water

One of the most important things to do when you’re dieting is to DRINK THE DANG WATER. Heck, it’s a good idea even when you aren’t dieting. Not drinking enough water makes it difficult for your body to rid itself of the toxins that can make you feel kind of icky (scientific term). Water helps to metabolize fat and prevent constipation.

Did you know water also helps to regulate your body temperature? And while we, as adults, could survive for up to nine weeks without food, we wouldn’t last more than a couple of days without water. THAT’S how important it is.

So how much should you drink on a daily basis? There has been some debate on this. The standard has always been 64 ounces, Weight Watchers recommends 48 ounces, and other sources say you should drink the equivalent of half of your body weight in ounces (i.e., if you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces). So how do you know when you’re getting enough water? Check your urine, people. If it’s dark yellow in color, you need more water. If you’re peeing clear, you’re good to go.

If you start to look like this, maybe you’re drinking too much:

It’s not really as difficult as you might think to get a minimum of 48 ounces down. When I started drinking water regularly, I shot for 64 ounces per day and slowly progressed until I was eventually drinking an easy 100 ounces per day. And then a funny thing happened - I started to crave it and would panic if I was stuck at work with an empty water bottle.

I started buying my bottled water by the gallon, which I would use to refill my water bottles at work. And boy, did I have to hear about it from my coworkers when I would stroll in carrying that monster. Now four other people bring in the big gallons, too. And we no longer waste our time refilling small bottles – we drink it straight from the gallon container (Ice Mountain has a convenient hand grip on the bottle which makes this easy to do). Of course, I’m the only woman who drinks directly from the jug, but I do try to maintain at least an illusion of femininity by not letting too many people actually see me do it.

On a related note, I bought my 7-year old grandchildren reusable water bottles at Christmas as kind of a “throw in gift” because my grandson, especially, LOVES to drink water. They were similar to this:



No, of course I did not give my grandson a Hello Kitty water bottle. His had a manly Batman motif, while my granddaughter’s featured Hannah Montana. They can flip the top up with their thumb and there is a straw concealed underneath. I picked them up at Target and, while I don’t remember the exact cost, I’m sure they were under $15. I cannot tell you how it tickles me to see them toting those water bottles whenever they come over. It’s never too early to start good habits, right?

The unfortunate water incident

Subtitle: Don't Let This Happen to You

About a year before I got serious about it, I had made a half-hearted attempt at Weight Watchers, joining with a friend from work and weighing in every Monday at lunchtime. (We didn’t attend the meetings; we just showed up, weighed in, cried, and then went back to work.)

So one Monday I decided it would be a really good idea to flush any excess fat out of my system by drinking a TON of water prior to our weigh in. I drank a full gallon of water between 9:00 and 11:45 a.m. Can you see where this might not have been the brightest idea?

I happily got on the scale, anticipating spectacular results from my brilliant plan. Ummm, that isn’t exactly how it all panned out.

The Weight Watchers employee, pen poised to record my fantastic weight drop, seemed confused. She looked at her readout again and then suggested I get off the scale and get back on. A 6.5 pound GAIN was not was I was expecting. How embarrassing.

I tried to explain about the water, but I don’t think she believed me.

The positive side of this unfortunate incident was that the following week I was down 8 pounds and was a weight watchin’ hero!

Another valuable lesson learned.