I Drank a Gallon of Water a Day

This post is a part of a series of posts that I’ve titled “Yep, I Tried That,” in which I experiment on myself with various recommended health practices to provide you with my firsthand experiences.  I also do this to motivate you by showing you what it looks like to take bold steps for your own health. To note, this post may include affiliate links, which means that if you click a link and make a purchse, I will receive a commission. There are a lot of suggestions as to how much water we should drink. Most say 8 cups of water (8 ounces each), some say a gallon, and some say even more than that. I personally have varied on how much water I consume. At times, I have leaned toward the 8-8 oz cups, but in recent times, I have opted not to count, drinking only when I am thirsty. I’ve run into a problem, however. My problem has been, although I have no problem with having water as my only beverage (which I strongly recommend for you as well), I have found myself often dehydrated, because I have learned to ignore my thirst. Typically, I avoid drinking while eating, as that can somewhat inhibit digestion because of the dilution of digestive juices, but after starting that, I started to get distracted and forget to drink afterwards. This results in me sometimes drinking less than a couple of cups of water a day. Not good. And I know for certain that I’ve felt less than optimal because of this – occasional headaches, irritability, and a general since of feeling “blah” that I can’t really describe. Anyhow, that’s why I decided to try drinking a gallon of water a day for a month. I know that by focusing on this (and blogging about it), it will force me back into the habit of drinking water and paying attention to my thirst.

The Possible Benefits of Being Well Hydrated

Dehydration can cause a lot of problems. As a matter of fact, sometimes you might feel like you are ill, when all you really need is some water. Some of the possible problems from dehydration include: kidney stones, constipation, headaches, susceptibility to heat-caused illnesses while working outside (heat exhaustion and stroke), and even seizures. On the contrast, when you are actually well hydrated, the benefits can include: better digestion, improved blood pressure and heart function, well lubricated joints and organs, less headaches, weight loss and more.

My Experiences

As of the writing of this post, I am 10 days in. With the exception of one day (we had a birthday party for my child, so good excuse in my opinion), I have drank a gallon each day. I will document how the first week has been, and will document the remainder in future posts. I use a Klean Kanteen bottle that is exactly 27 ounces, which means that if I drink 5 of them, I’ll be just over a gallon. My bottle, as you can see, has seen better days, but it’s solid and suits me well.

Week 1

First of all, you really have to be strategic when getting a gallon of water a day in; otherwise, you will have to drink lots of water at night to ‘catch up,’ and you’ll be going to the bathroom all night long. That was my experience the first couple of days. I think I went to the bathroom five times the first night. Not cool. About five days in, however, my thirst patterns changed such that I became more thirsty in the early part of the day, so I drank more during the day naturally. To note, I have found that as long as I get my water in before 9 PM, I will not have to get up through the night. After the first day, I noticed that my ankles were a little swollen. I actually expected the opposite, because supposedly, when you drink more water, you encourage your body to retain less. My guess is that my body didn’t know what to do with all the extra at first, but I noticed that the extra water retention did dissipate somewhat after two days. Other things I’ve noticed include: decreased hunger, a ‘refreshed’ feeling that is hard to describe, and clearer eyes (I think). I decided that I would track my blood pressure and my weight in case you’re interested in seeing how (or if) they are affected. Here are my current stats: Weight: 179 Blood Pressure: 124/72 (decent, but I am looking for the top number to be under 120) Again, we’re only 10 days into this so far, and I plan to continue until I’ve done four full weeks of drinking a gallon of water, so make sure you stay tuned! Oh, and drink that water, now! To see part two of my experiences with drinking a gallon of water a day, click here.

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