{"id":126729,"date":"2016-10-29T05:38:21","date_gmt":"2016-10-29T05:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/i-drank-a-gallon-of-water-every-day-for-a-month-heres-what-happened\/"},"modified":"2016-10-29T05:38:21","modified_gmt":"2016-10-29T05:38:21","slug":"i-drank-a-gallon-of-water-every-day-for-a-month-heres-what-happened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/i-drank-a-gallon-of-water-every-day-for-a-month-heres-what-happened\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I Drank a Gallon of Water Every Day for a Month\u2014Here’s What Happened’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Related:\u00a07 Surprising Foods And Drinks That Dehydrate You<\/a><\/h3>\n

Week 1: Drinking a Gallon of Water Isn’t Easy<\/h2>\n

Although my gallon water jug became my sidekick for the month as I lugged it around with me to and from work, I didn\u2019t always make it to a full gallon every day\u2014it\u2019s way harder than you\u2019d think! At first, it felt more like torture: A sudden influx of water into my system left me feeling bloated. I spent more time running to and from the bathroom than working at my desk.\u00a0I\u2019d enjoy the first part of my afternoon walk with my dog, but then end up racing him home because I had to pee. It wasn’t exactly a good time, but the promises that come with being less dehydrated\u2014sleeping better at night, eating less junk food, clearer skin, and more energy\u2014kept me chugging along.<\/p>\n

Week 2: A Snacking Makeover<\/h2>\n

By the start of week two I didn\u2019t feel any different\u2014just full of water. I was bummed. And bloated. But then I started noticing that I was actually making better food choices. I am a sucker for sweets and a notorious impulse buyer, but after about 10 days of such intense focus on just water, I started reaching for apples instead of Airheads and for fresh cherries instead of Skittles. Was the change in my liquid diet making me a bit more adult about the rest of my food choices? Maybe. I wasn\u2019t noticing an uptick in my energy levels or more restful sleep, but I was definitely noticing some upgrades to my plate.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a013 Weird Places Water Ends Up In Your Body<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Week 3: Constant Water Cravings<\/h2>\n

Heading into week three, I felt intensely thirsty\u2014it was like I couldn\u2019t get enough water into my system. I would gulp down an entire 16-ounce water bottle in seconds and still want just a bit more. I also wasn\u2019t craving intense flavor anymore\u2014although I did indulge in a pink lemonade or two every now and then\u2014but it felt like my body was yelling out to me “Water! Water!” and I just wanted to sit down with a long straw in my gallon jug and sip away all afternoon.<\/p>\n

Week 4: But What About Those Promised Health Benefits?<\/h2>\n

By the end of my month-long challenge, I was disappointed that I didn\u2019t enjoy all of the health benefits I’d hoped for\u2014I was still not sleeping well and my face would break out the minute stress knocked on my door\u2014but I did feel healthier. I was eating better and drinking significantly more water than I ever had in my life. I recently gave up coffee, which was almost my worst nightmare, but having water to replace my caffeinated morning companion made the transition just a bit easier. I didn\u2019t notice massive energy boosts like other Gallon Water Challenge participants did, but I didn\u2019t feel as “dead-to-the-world-til-coffee”\u00a0as I thought I would.\u00a0I\u2019m putting that in the win column.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now that my challenge is over, I can’t say I’ll keep drinking a gallon of water\u2014I’m too excited about being able to get things done outside the bathroom. But I’m definitely not going back to the sad amounts of water I was taking in before. Who knew plain old water could be so satifying?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Related:\u00a07 Surprising Foods And Drinks That Dehydrate You Week 1: Drinking a Gallon of Water Isn’t Easy Although my gallon water jug became my sidekick for the month as I lugged it around with me to and from work, I didn\u2019t always make it to a full gallon every day\u2014it\u2019s way harder than you\u2019d think! Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126729\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}