Ever since I can remember I have been prone to getting migraines. I will have days where it feels like someone is hitting the side of my head with a hammer. It’s awful. I usually do force myself to go about my day because I am stubborn and cannot “give in” to the migraine. I cannot let it win. Healthy, right? *sarcasm*
Because I get them so often and try to go about my day, I tend to get a lot of advice on how to make the pain go away. Anyone who suffers from migraines knows exactly where I am going. I have probably heard hundreds, if not thousands of times, “You’re probably just dehydrated. Did you drink enough water?”
While I have had dehydration headaches before and I know they are coming from a good place, drinking tons of water when I have a migraine will not make it go away. I mean…if you know, you know lol.
However, I think most of us could benefit from more water. Our bodies are 60-70% water and doctors are continually telling us the importance of staying hydrated. So, I decided hey, maybe I would feel better overall if I did up the amount of water that I was drinking.
I am a competitive person, so when I decided I wanted to drink more water, I knew that I had to set a goal. If I simply went into this with, “I will try and drink a little more each day”, I knew that I wouldn’t be as successful. What is a little? How do I know if I am drinking more than I was? Am I being consistent each day?
This is why I decided to do the 30 day gallon of water challenge that we see all over the internet. Amazon sells hundreds of half gallon and gallon jugs. This is the one I use. I strongly suggest getting one with a straw. You will get a workout lifting and flipping the bottle each time you take a drink. I mean it is a gallon!
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At first I was put off by the ones that give you time goals. “7 am- Good Morning!…9 am- Hydrate Yourself!” I felt like I was a child being cheered on for the most simple task. But over the first few days, I grew to like it. The times anyways…it was useful to know if I was behind or on schedule for the day. The words of encouragement are still lost on me lol.
Week 1:
I am not going to lie- the first few days were rough. I felt so full and like I was chugging water just to keep up with the times on the bottle. It was very, very hard to finish each day. I was going to the bathroom every 20 minutes. When I would get back to my desk at work, I felt like it was 5 seconds before I would feel that twinge of having to pee again.
As someone who naturally drinks a lot of water (well, I thought a lot before this experiment), I do tend to pee often. But this was on another level. My coworkers started saying, “Again??” every time I stood up. Sometimes I would lie and say, “Oh, no. I am just running to the other room for a file.” I would have to grab some paperwork on the way back from the bathroom so I wouldn’t get caught lol.
Because I have endometriosis (click here to read my endo story), I have a cyst on my right ovary. It was left there after my surgery quite a few years ago and I believe that is what causes me to pee so much during the night. Before starting this challenge, I would be around 3 times each night. It isn’t no, “oh I think I could go”…I wake up like, “if I do not go right now, I will pee my bed.” Starting this challenge had me scared that number would increase dramatically. And honestly, it did lol. The first week I peed probably 6-8 times at night. Not such a peaceful night’s rest.
Week 2:
By week 2, I was desperate for my body to get used to the new amount of water that I was digesting. My body would eventually adjust to the increase of water that it was getting every day and I would spend less time in the bathroom. In the middle of week 2, I noticed the amount of times I would spend running to and from the bathroom was starting to slowly decrease.
It also started to become easier for me to ingest the liquid. I started to find that there were times when it would be 9 am and I had already gotten to the 11 am marker on the bottle.
Things were looking up!
Week 3-4:
The last 2 weeks were actually a breeze. I had gotten into a routine and I found myself finishing the entire gallon with less and less effort every day.
During this time, I got my second Covid vaccine. Since I am in my early 30’s, I was one of the later people to get theirs. I had a lot of testimonials from family and friends on how they felt after the dreaded second shot.
I knew that medical professionals were encouraging people to drink a ton of water before and after getting the shot. Those around me who did that, seemed to have a better experience than those that did not. While I am sure there are MANY other factors that play into how you feel after getting a vaccine, I was interested to see how this gallon challenge was going to help me with the vaccine symptoms.
The day before I went overboard (competitive, remember) and drank almost 2 gallons of water. It wasn’t my plan necessarily, I just kept drinking and in the afternoon sometimes, I realized that my bottle was empty, so I refilled it and had much of the day left to go.
I did the same thing the day of the shot and honestly, I had no symptoms. I kept waiting the hours following the shot to feel the fever symptoms or tiredness start and I got nothing. We will never know if it was from the literal POND that I drank…but I like to think this challenge fell into my lap at the perfect time!
Things I Learned/Tips:
- Drink as much as possible in the morning/early afternoon to prevent nighttime peeing
- Sleeping in will put you hours behind and you will spend all day chugging to catch up
- Your body will eventually get used to the new intake of water and you won’t need to visit the restroom as much
- People will look at you when you are carrying a huge water bottle around with you
Benefits I Noticed:
- My skin became clearer. I normal suffer from hormonal acne and as the 30 days went on, the zits cleared up
- I felt less bloated throughout the day
- I ate better proportioned meals, as my belly was usually full/my body was not signaling my brain that it was thirsty
- I felt lighter in my clothes
- I lost a couple pounds
- I became addicted to drinking water
Overall, this challenge is something that I try and continue after the 30 days. I have my days where I forget my bottle in the morning or I just don’t feel motivated, but for the most part, I have adapted this practice in my everyday life. I feel great and on days that I don’t get enough water, my body definitely misses it!
Have any of you tried the 30 days of a gallon of water a day challenge? Let me know in the comments! Or contact me on social media- accounts listed above!
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