My “water challenge” started today! Wow, was it tough! It’s not hard for me to drink water per se, but I had a rather emotional weekend. I tend to crave flavor when I’m emotional – things like my coffee with cream and stevia, sweet tea, green tea, orange juice, etc. I’m sure there are some that can relate – others may just think that sounds silly! haha So here is the challenge: for ONE MONTH I will drink nothing but water for my beverages. Please do NOT confuse this with a fast. I am not refraining from eating – I’m simply replacing all my daily beverages with water. No coffee, tea, juice, milk, sodas, etc. I am EXCLUDING liquid supplements from the challenge so things like Shakeology, Inspirin, etc. are excluded because their intention is supplementation not just drinking a beverage.
So why am I doing this? Well, I heard it on one of the Christian radio stations and it got me thinking that I’m really NOT drinking enough water right now! I believe in getting sufficient amounts of water for good health (at least 64 oz but preferably half your body weight in ounces if that is more than 64 – so if you’re 150lbs for example you really should be drinking 75 oz per day). Our bodies need water to function properly. It helps flush out toxins, keep everything in balance, helps you lose weight, better daily function, better workouts (more energy), less cramps and sprains, helps digestion, healthier skin, and you’re less likely to get sick. I KNOW there are wonderful benefits to drinking water! Since moving I’ve found I haven’t gotten back into my routine of refilling my 32 oz water bottle at least twice a day. That was a perfect way for me to keep track of how much water I’m drinking. Well, it’s time to start it back up – and in a big way – by accepting this challenge I’m doing an overhaul! I’ve been drinking so many other beverages I’ve barely had room for water! Not all of these other beverages are unhealthy, but they should not REPLACE my water consumption, which they have! So, this is a way for me to get back on track!

Are you ready to take this challenge with me? You don’t have to worry if you’ve missed a day or two before you saw the challenge – just start where you are and continue for 30 days! This may be something extremely easy for you or you already do it, and that’s GREAT! Please share tips that helped you to take that step and continue on that path! This may be really challenging for you. That’s OK! It will be challenging for me, too! Today was HARD! I did it, though!
Some recommendations for the challenge:

• Keep plenty of fresh, drinkable water on hand. If you have nasty tap water like we do and use a filter make sure you have plenty of already filtered water available. Having correct resources available make it harder to use an excuse like “I needed to filter more water so I grabbed some juice instead.”
• Limit unnecessary beverages in the home. If you have other family members – like in my case my husband and kids – this may not be easy, but limit as much as you can. Better yet, get your spouse on board with you for the challenge, so it makes eliminating necessary beverages easier! Kids are a little more tricky. We do already limit our kids to milk and juice with meals but water any other time. I think it’s a good habit to instill because they don’t NEED tons of juice or milk despite what it may seem!
• Tap into a support group! I’m here to help! Tell other friends/family you know will support your attempts what you’re doing and maybe even get them on board! It always helps to have others doing the same challenge so you can talk, vent, encourage, etc.

So here is to the next 30 days of more water and better health! 🙂