Last week I attemped to drink more water over the course of one week than I ever have before. Since my/your kidneys can only filter 1/4 gallon per hour, I limited my intake of fluid (water) to that amount per hour. The amount of water that can leave your body through sweat is typically about 1/8 gallon per hour (half of what your kidney can process). So the times when I was exercising and sweating I was estimating how much more to drink to replace it. I never drank more than 2 1/2 bottles of 16.9 fl oz of water in one hour nor any less than 2 from 8 am to 8 pm. That meant every day I had a minimum of three gallons of water. It’s recommended by (someone, surgeon general?) to drink 64 fluid oz per or the equivelent of 1/2 gallon per day. So my intake was at least 6 times the recommended amount. That was easy to follow, right?
Here I am, one week after the start of the experiment. I have seen no ill effects, I’ve been able to exercise in extreme heat and my recovery after a workout is limited to that night of the workout. My muscles feel more solid. I didn’t notice any weight gain, or weight loss. Even with a lack of sleep, I don’t have any bags under my eyes. I can never tell the difference between how I felt previously and how I do now, but now my body feels right.
It was hard to constantly be drinking when I wasn’t thirsty, and when it wasn’t convenient. I was at the auction two of the days and had to keep filling up there. I had to keep a bottle with me at all times to constantly remind myself to drink. It’s very uncommon to live like that and even after 4 days, I still wasn’t used to it.
My body balanced itself with the amount of water it needed. I don’t need to go into detail about that. I was never concerned with being over hydrated.
The things I will do differently because of the experiment:
1) drink water as soon as I wake up and not wait till 8 am.
2) Stop drinking water when I eat and at least 45 minutes after I eat. I feel like the water dilutes the stomach acids and makes it take longer to digest.
3) drink a real fruit /vegitable juice in place of water an hour or more before a workout; juice it myself or find juice with nothing added.
4) make sure my water is cold before I drink it.
5) stop drinking water after 7 pm.
6) encourage others to drink water even on cold days.
7) Always have a water bottle near me.
That’s not a bad little list. I’m glad I went through it.
