This water thing

Some disclaimers:
Ok...first off - I'm not going to die from drinking too much water. I want to relieve your worries right now:
Water Intoxication information
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Even more info on Water Intoxication
I am neither a six month old infant nor an athlete. Nor am I drinking obscene amounts of water in short periods of time. On average, in fact, I'm drinking one 16.9 ounce bottle an hour. And if you've been paying attention to my Twitter, I'm also urinating frequently, which is something the woman who died did not do.

Secondly, I am under my doctor's supervision. He's been my doctor for the last four years and been in the medical profession for almost 15 yrs. While he does approach health holistically, he is licensed and is more than qualified to determine what's right for my health.

Thirdly, I'm neither endorsing this as a diet plan nor am I saying it will work the same way for those who want to try it as it's working for me.


Disclaimers aside, I went to my doctor earlier this week and explained the fact that while I've been working out - maybe not quite as diligently as I should be - for the last two months consistently, I haven't dropped any weight. In fact, I've put weight on.

And before you can say, "Well, muscle weighs more than fat.." blah blah blah...

While I know this is technically true, that's not the case here. I can feel that I'm not losing fat. It's all sitting around my waist and ass. My clothes are tight. I feel bloated and I'm quite lethargic. In fact, the workout I was doing just a month ago has become difficult for me to do. This was of the biggest concern to me when I brought it to my doctor's attention.

He asked me some questions and did some diagnostic testing and determined that my body is not digesting properly due to low stomach acid. It was also determined that I'm not drinking nearly enough water for my weight/activity levels. (This would also help to explain why I don't sweat when I work out, despite my higher heart rate during my cardio-intensive workout.)

Based on these diagnoses, I have been given a supplement to help my body create more stomach acid, which will aid in my digestion and because food is being metabolized correctly, could aid in weight loss. The additional water that I'm taking in will help flush my body of the toxins it's been holding onto, increase my metabolism and aid in my overall cardiovascular & kidney health.

I've had a lot of people say "OMG, I'd die if I drank that much water." I thought that, too. Believe me, I don't ENJOY drinking water. I'd much rather have a soda or a glass of sweet tea, but those are horrible for me. Soda's high in sugar and sodium (and the diet sodas are even worse. Don't get me started.) and sweet tea, obviously has added sugar. But truth of the matter is, good hydration is key to good health, clean complexion, proper body function and staying healthy. When we're properly hydrated, our bodies will let go of retained water because it realizes that it's getting enough and it doesn't have to hang onto what it does get.


"How much water are you drinking?"
For my weight and activity levels, I'm trying to drink between 160-180 ounces a day. My doctor's office is the one who came up with this number. I was told to take my weight and divide it by two. That number put into ounces is the MINIMUM amount of water I should take in to keep my body functioning correctly. This doesn't take into consideration my exercise, extreme weather conditions, excess sodium/alcohol/caffeine intake or whether I'm fighting off a bug of some type. If those things are taken into consideration, I could need to add up to 25% of my weight in ounces of water on top of what I'm already drinking. Hence the reason I am taking in more than half my weight.

A similar number came up when I plugged in information to this water intake calculator. You can use it to loosely determine how much you should be taking in. ALWAYS double-check with your doctor to decide what's best for you.

Someone asked me what I'm eating - I'm really not eating all that differently. I'm trying to cut back on fried foods, limiting sugars (ok...totally not doing that this week, but normally, I do try to limit sugars) and not going overboard on carbs. I don't believe in eliminating any one food or group of foods simply because our bodies are designed to have nutrients that a variety of foods provide.

For those who are wondering, I started out Sunday weighing in at 249lbs (yes, I've gained weight since last summer/fall). I'm at 244 this evening. Like I said before, I can't guarantee this will work the same way for you, I'm simply saying, it's working for me.