February Challenge: Drink That Water Challenge

It’s time for the February challenge and lose that extra weight! This month we’re focusing on drinking more liquid, especially water!

Goal 1

This February we’re going to commit to drink more water. Here’s what beverage you should cut off your diet this month:

Sugary drinks.
Regular and diet soda.
Any type of store bought juice.

Here’s what you need to drink instead:

Lots of water.
Herbal teas
Homemade, fresh smoothies.
Fresh, homemade juices.

The goal is to drink around 64 ounces of water every day, that’s 8 glasses of water per day. If you’re doing a lot of exercising and sweating, you should drink even more.

Water will keep your body hydrated.
It will boost your metabolism which will lead to weight loss.
Your organs, brain and tissues need water to stay healthy. Your muscles need water to stay toned.

How much water you should drink on a daily basis if you’re starting out?

If you’ve always had problems with drinking enough water, you should start by drinking 24 ounces a day. Start with 24 and work your way up to 64 oz.

Goal 2

Stop drinking sugary drinks.

This month we want you to commit to stop drinking drinks that contain artificial sweeteners. Cut down store bought juices, soda, etc. If drinking plain water is boring, then mix your water with some real fruit to give it a little flavor.
If you’re going to drink sweeteners, choose natural ones and drink them in moderation. Choose honey, agave nectar, stevia, etc. Drink more homemade, fresh juices and smoothies, milk and avoid alcohol because it also contains sugars.

Some Tips:

Make your own water drinking schedule.
Drink pure water such as filtered, spring or distilled water.
Add herbs or fruits to your water if you want your water to have a flavor.
Don’t be upset if you don’t reach the daily water goal. Do the best you can!
Get a water bottle with ounce markings so you know the exact amount of water you’re drinking.

Can you drink too much water?

“When you drink enough water to where the salts in your blood are severely diluted, you can experience a number of health concerns. The first symptoms may include headache, fatigue and feelings of nausea. As the levels of water in your body increase, you may vomit, urinate frequently and feel disoriented and confused — a condition known as water intoxication… One of the reasons why it is possible to drink too much water is because your kidneys can only filter so much fluid at a time. If your kidneys are healthy, you can filter about 800 to 1,000 mL or 0.21 to 0.26 gallons of water, meaning you can drink about this much every hour and have your kidneys function normally… When considering how much water the healthy kidneys can filter in a day, you can filter about 15 L — almost 60 glasses — of water each day. Rapid intake of too much water floods the inside of cells when sodium is depleted. This sodium depletion, called hyponatremia, can rupture the cells, either from extra pressure on the cells from without, or from pressure within flooded cells. As cells rupture in various parts of the body, certain symptoms emerge, and usually quickly.”