Fun fact:
There are almost 800 different brands of bottled water for sale in the United States.
WOW!
That makes me wonder how many bottles of water are sold in a year, and at what cost?
Oh wait, it's a fun fact day - I can answer those questions. According to the NY state department of Environmental Conservation:
•Single-serve bottled water is the fastest growing beverage of choice in the United States.
• Americans purchased nearly 31 billion bottles of water in 2006 and spend $11 billion on bottled water every year.
• Nearly 2.5 billion bottles of water a year are sold in New York alone—stacked up end to end, they’d reach the moon.
Now, I'll grant you, there are places in this country that you do not want to drink the water. But seriously, I think this is crazy. What a waste of resources, both in terms of garbage produced and money wasted.
In honor of Earth day this week, I am going to make a pledge to buy as little bottled water as I can. I will carry my Nalgene bottle with me at all times, and in the event I do buy bottled water, I will be certain to recycle the bottle.
**report for yesterday.
Well, I guess yesterday has to be marked as my first failure. It's not that I didn't get nine glasses of water in, it's that I don't know if I got nine glasses in. It's actually going to be harder to keep track of my glasses of water than it is going to be to actually drink them. I need a strategy...I will have to think of one. Any suggestions?
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Hydration: Day 4
How do I teach myself not to ignore thirst?
I don't think there is a simple answer to that. The first thing I am going to do is make myself get a glass when I do notice I'm thirsty. Immediately.
How I make myself notice thirst is another question. If I'm serious about this though, I have to come up with something. Starting today I will try something. Every half an hour (at 00 and 30 past the hour) I will 'remind myself' to check if I'm thirsty. If I can't figure this out today, tomorrow I will set an alarm for every half hour.
Of course, that might get old fast.
It's like potty training a child. They don't think to 'check' if they have to pee, so mom or dad tends to ask every 15 minutes, do you have to pee? Until they learn on their own what it 'feels like' to have to pee.
I just have to train myself.
As for having room temperature water, what I've been doing the last few days has been working really well. Every time I drain my glass, I refill it. Then it has a chance to sit for a few minutes (or hours) before I need to drink it.
It's silly, but it works for me.
**daily report for yesterday
Tough day, but I got all 9 glasses, and even close to where they were supposed to be. I didn't count the three glasses I drank while doing yard work (it was 80 here today) but I still made it.
Dinner water wound up being drunk closer to bedtime, since I had a big glass of milk with dinner. The water from the afternoon (the yard work) made me push it back.
So far, so good.
I don't think there is a simple answer to that. The first thing I am going to do is make myself get a glass when I do notice I'm thirsty. Immediately.
How I make myself notice thirst is another question. If I'm serious about this though, I have to come up with something. Starting today I will try something. Every half an hour (at 00 and 30 past the hour) I will 'remind myself' to check if I'm thirsty. If I can't figure this out today, tomorrow I will set an alarm for every half hour.
Of course, that might get old fast.
It's like potty training a child. They don't think to 'check' if they have to pee, so mom or dad tends to ask every 15 minutes, do you have to pee? Until they learn on their own what it 'feels like' to have to pee.
I just have to train myself.
As for having room temperature water, what I've been doing the last few days has been working really well. Every time I drain my glass, I refill it. Then it has a chance to sit for a few minutes (or hours) before I need to drink it.
It's silly, but it works for me.
**daily report for yesterday
Tough day, but I got all 9 glasses, and even close to where they were supposed to be. I didn't count the three glasses I drank while doing yard work (it was 80 here today) but I still made it.
Dinner water wound up being drunk closer to bedtime, since I had a big glass of milk with dinner. The water from the afternoon (the yard work) made me push it back.
So far, so good.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Hydration: Day 3
Obstacles.
My primary obstacle to getting enough water is a strange one.
I tend to ignore thirst.
I don't know why. When I am hungry, I will almost always respond to that immediately and go get something to eat. When I am thirsty, it can wait. For a very. long. time. It seems odd really, since I know in my head that thirst is a biological function that says: "you need more water now". You'd think that would be the sort of thing that there isn't any benefit to ignoring. But no.
Actually, I am thirsty right now typing this and I am ignoring it. Hold on...
...there we go. (my mid-morning glass) It's not unlike a small child who will be so busy playing that they fight sleep. Sleep which is obviously a good thing. Of course, I am guilty of this too, it's late, I'm playing a video game and I just want to beat one more level...before you know it, it's 2am. You've lost several hours of sleep.. Yeah. Like that. Only, I ignore being thirsty.
My other significant obstacle to drinking enough water, is that I hate drinking water that's too cold. So, if I do heed the thirst, I will go fill a glass of water, take a sip, and then put the glass down 'for a few minutes' because it's too cold. The next thing I know, my house is littered with water glasses all half full and I still haven't drunk a sip.
My universe is strange.
**Daily report for yesterday
Going well. I wasn't precisely according to schedule, but I had another day where I had extra, so it's working out. Water with meals seems to be the hard part. That glass (or two) before each meal is going to help me out tremendously, weight wise, so I just have to get better at it.
My primary obstacle to getting enough water is a strange one.
I tend to ignore thirst.
I don't know why. When I am hungry, I will almost always respond to that immediately and go get something to eat. When I am thirsty, it can wait. For a very. long. time. It seems odd really, since I know in my head that thirst is a biological function that says: "you need more water now". You'd think that would be the sort of thing that there isn't any benefit to ignoring. But no.
Actually, I am thirsty right now typing this and I am ignoring it. Hold on...
...there we go. (my mid-morning glass) It's not unlike a small child who will be so busy playing that they fight sleep. Sleep which is obviously a good thing. Of course, I am guilty of this too, it's late, I'm playing a video game and I just want to beat one more level...before you know it, it's 2am. You've lost several hours of sleep.. Yeah. Like that. Only, I ignore being thirsty.
My other significant obstacle to drinking enough water, is that I hate drinking water that's too cold. So, if I do heed the thirst, I will go fill a glass of water, take a sip, and then put the glass down 'for a few minutes' because it's too cold. The next thing I know, my house is littered with water glasses all half full and I still haven't drunk a sip.
My universe is strange.
**Daily report for yesterday
Going well. I wasn't precisely according to schedule, but I had another day where I had extra, so it's working out. Water with meals seems to be the hard part. That glass (or two) before each meal is going to help me out tremendously, weight wise, so I just have to get better at it.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Hydration: Day 2
Why Water?
Water consumption is important for 100 reasons. I'm only going to list the 10 that matter most to me.
10) Reduce my risk of heart attack
Research has shown that drinking a proper amount of water could lower your risk of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.
Now, the science:
When you have too little water in your body, it tries to adjust for the loss of water by constricting blood vessels so that the rate of loss of water (due to sweating and respiration) is reduced. This, in turn, is one of the causes of a higher blood pressure. Increased blood pressure is a sign of a heart that’s working harder than it should. Making your heart work harder than it should is never a good idea.
9) Cushion my joints and make running more comfortable.
Water makes up a large part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints and muscles. And although not the only element associated with muscle cramps, athletes have long recognized that even mild dehydration can produce cramps. So drinking water before, during and after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and premature fatigue.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, adequate fluid replacement helps to maintain hydration therefore optimizing and enhancing performance of those participating in regular exercise.
8) My skin will improve.
Water removes impurities in the skin and cleanses it, through sweat, leaving you with a healthy and younger looking skin. Dehydrated skin cells lose their elasticity and 'plumpness' and can cause your skin to appear wrinkled or sagging.
7) Drinking enough water improves digestion.
The human digestive system needs plenty of water to digest food properly. If you are getting adequate amounts of fiber in your diet, adding more water may help prevent gassiness.
6) I will be more alert and have more energy
Even mild dehydration can sap your energy and make you feel tired. Dehydration can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms. If you're thirsty, it's your body's way of telling you you're already a little dehydrated and you should do something about it.
5) I will better be able to regulate my body temperature, which is fairly vital here in the desert in the summer.
Water is the single most important factor in the highly critical function of regulating your body temperature. On sunny days, we sweat (in other words - excrete water) more and the evaporation of the sweat has a cooling effect on the body. In the absence of sufficient water (when dehydration occurs) in your body, this temperature regulation breaks down and body temperature increases - and this leads to sunstroke. Severe sunstroke has the potential to damage your vital organs.
I've had sunstroke before. Not doing it again.
4) If I don't get enough water, my milk production falls, and my Little One doesn't get enough to eat.
During nursing, a mother needs to drink much more liquid to replace the water provided in the breast milk. A woman who nurses her child should drink 5-6 pints (40 - 48 oz) per day; preferably mineral water, fruit or vegetable juices, herbal tea and milk. healthandage.com
What does the nursing mother have to do to go on a healthy diet? She has to increase her water consumption by one quart per day, so that she is drinking a total of 2.5 to 3 quarts. Nursing women tend to be thirstier, especially during feeding sessions, because part of their water consumption goes directly to producing milk for their infants. pregnancy-period.com
3) I will be less likely to get sick.
Water helps carry metabolic wastes away from the body through urine and sweat. This is one of the most important functions of water in our body. In addition, sufficient water helps our nasal passages work the way they should, snot is mostly water, and serves an actual purpose. It captures the stuff in the air we don't want in our lungs, and then leaves our body. Therefore, we get sick less.
2) I will lose weight
Water is one of the best tools for weight loss for two reasons It often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. And it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty.
Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. It fills your belly and makes you feel full sooner, which in turn decreases your appetite.
1) Every organ in my body needs water to function properly.
The human body is made up of about 43% to 75% of water - depending on age, body fat, etc. You could probably survive for 4 to 8 weeks without food (though no happily), but it is estimated that lack of water could cause death in about 10 days, at room temperature.
This is clearly a very important habit for my health in general, as well as the health of my Little One.
**DAILY REPORT FOR YESTERDAY
First day of focusing on water went well, though not as expected. I did get my nine glasses of water, and in fact I figure I drank about 13 before the day was out. After by 'obligatory' water, I didn't bother to count the extras. I was thirsty all day, which is odd for me, so either I was dehydrated to begin with (which is likely the case) or actually being close to the right amount of water made my thirst response kick back in.
It's worth noting that other than water, I only had 2 glasses of milk all day.
Overall, I consider yesterday a success. If I continue like yesterday though, I may up the amount of fluid I require per day.
Water consumption is important for 100 reasons. I'm only going to list the 10 that matter most to me.
10) Reduce my risk of heart attack
Research has shown that drinking a proper amount of water could lower your risk of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.
Now, the science:
When you have too little water in your body, it tries to adjust for the loss of water by constricting blood vessels so that the rate of loss of water (due to sweating and respiration) is reduced. This, in turn, is one of the causes of a higher blood pressure. Increased blood pressure is a sign of a heart that’s working harder than it should. Making your heart work harder than it should is never a good idea.
9) Cushion my joints and make running more comfortable.
Water makes up a large part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints and muscles. And although not the only element associated with muscle cramps, athletes have long recognized that even mild dehydration can produce cramps. So drinking water before, during and after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and premature fatigue.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, adequate fluid replacement helps to maintain hydration therefore optimizing and enhancing performance of those participating in regular exercise.
8) My skin will improve.
Water removes impurities in the skin and cleanses it, through sweat, leaving you with a healthy and younger looking skin. Dehydrated skin cells lose their elasticity and 'plumpness' and can cause your skin to appear wrinkled or sagging.
7) Drinking enough water improves digestion.
The human digestive system needs plenty of water to digest food properly. If you are getting adequate amounts of fiber in your diet, adding more water may help prevent gassiness.
6) I will be more alert and have more energy
Even mild dehydration can sap your energy and make you feel tired. Dehydration can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms. If you're thirsty, it's your body's way of telling you you're already a little dehydrated and you should do something about it.
5) I will better be able to regulate my body temperature, which is fairly vital here in the desert in the summer.
Water is the single most important factor in the highly critical function of regulating your body temperature. On sunny days, we sweat (in other words - excrete water) more and the evaporation of the sweat has a cooling effect on the body. In the absence of sufficient water (when dehydration occurs) in your body, this temperature regulation breaks down and body temperature increases - and this leads to sunstroke. Severe sunstroke has the potential to damage your vital organs.
I've had sunstroke before. Not doing it again.
4) If I don't get enough water, my milk production falls, and my Little One doesn't get enough to eat.
During nursing, a mother needs to drink much more liquid to replace the water provided in the breast milk. A woman who nurses her child should drink 5-6 pints (40 - 48 oz) per day; preferably mineral water, fruit or vegetable juices, herbal tea and milk. healthandage.com
What does the nursing mother have to do to go on a healthy diet? She has to increase her water consumption by one quart per day, so that she is drinking a total of 2.5 to 3 quarts. Nursing women tend to be thirstier, especially during feeding sessions, because part of their water consumption goes directly to producing milk for their infants. pregnancy-period.com
3) I will be less likely to get sick.
Water helps carry metabolic wastes away from the body through urine and sweat. This is one of the most important functions of water in our body. In addition, sufficient water helps our nasal passages work the way they should, snot is mostly water, and serves an actual purpose. It captures the stuff in the air we don't want in our lungs, and then leaves our body. Therefore, we get sick less.
2) I will lose weight
Water is one of the best tools for weight loss for two reasons It often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. And it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty.
Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. It fills your belly and makes you feel full sooner, which in turn decreases your appetite.
1) Every organ in my body needs water to function properly.
The human body is made up of about 43% to 75% of water - depending on age, body fat, etc. You could probably survive for 4 to 8 weeks without food (though no happily), but it is estimated that lack of water could cause death in about 10 days, at room temperature.
This is clearly a very important habit for my health in general, as well as the health of my Little One.
**DAILY REPORT FOR YESTERDAY
First day of focusing on water went well, though not as expected. I did get my nine glasses of water, and in fact I figure I drank about 13 before the day was out. After by 'obligatory' water, I didn't bother to count the extras. I was thirsty all day, which is odd for me, so either I was dehydrated to begin with (which is likely the case) or actually being close to the right amount of water made my thirst response kick back in.
It's worth noting that other than water, I only had 2 glasses of milk all day.
Overall, I consider yesterday a success. If I continue like yesterday though, I may up the amount of fluid I require per day.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Hydration: Day 1
Starting again with a new goal. I love beginnings.
I need to drink enough water. But how much water do I need to drink in a day?
The answer to that far less straight forward than I had expected, or hoped. You can search the web all you want for 'how much water should I drink' or variations on that, and you will find 100 different answers. Two of the most common are:
Eight, 8oz glasses in a day (or 64 oz)
or
Take your weight (in lbs) and divide by 2, that's the number of ounces you should drink in a day.
Since I weigh 138 pounds (right now, many of these habits are going to be designed to improve that number) that's 69 ounces.
Those two numbers are really close. How convenient.
The last common answer that abounds the internet over is, 'enough water that your urine is light colored'. While this answer appeals to me because it it clearly the most physiologically relevant, it makes goal setting hard, AND requires that the next 22 days is spent in a discussion of my urine color. I'll spare us both.
There are a few complicating factors.
Now, I live in the desert. It's only April, and it is already 80 here most days. The humidity is ridiculously low. As a result, I probably need more water than the 'average' person. But I have no idea how much.
PLUS (I told you this wasn't straight forward) I run three days a week. I love to go out for hikes. This will mean I need more water too.
And oh yeah, I'm still nursing my Little One. More water.
Taking all this into account, I have decided to set this goal as follows:
Nine, 8 oz glasses of water a day, or a total of 72 ounces.
And since I learned from my last habit that I need to be as specific as possible, I am going to break that up as follows:
2 glasses before/with breakfast
1 glass midmorning
2 glasses before/with lunch
1 glass midafternoon
2 glasses before/with dinner
1 glass before bed
Voila! 9 glasses, minimum.
If I go for a run, water consumed during the run doesn't count. It will be 'extra'.
Now, I reserve the right to alter this as I go, in case it seems like I am getting too much or not enough along the way. The above mentioned urine color may come into play, as well as thirst. I'll tweak as I go.
For now, I have already gotten started this morning. This habit will be much harder than the last, so here's to working hard and getting those glasses down. Bottoms up!
**report for yesterday
Yesterday I finished my perfect streak for brushing and flossing. Hopefully these little daily reports become more interesting now, because this habit is more involved. Let's see.
I need to drink enough water. But how much water do I need to drink in a day?
The answer to that far less straight forward than I had expected, or hoped. You can search the web all you want for 'how much water should I drink' or variations on that, and you will find 100 different answers. Two of the most common are:
Eight, 8oz glasses in a day (or 64 oz)
or
Take your weight (in lbs) and divide by 2, that's the number of ounces you should drink in a day.
Since I weigh 138 pounds (right now, many of these habits are going to be designed to improve that number) that's 69 ounces.
Those two numbers are really close. How convenient.
The last common answer that abounds the internet over is, 'enough water that your urine is light colored'. While this answer appeals to me because it it clearly the most physiologically relevant, it makes goal setting hard, AND requires that the next 22 days is spent in a discussion of my urine color. I'll spare us both.
There are a few complicating factors.
Now, I live in the desert. It's only April, and it is already 80 here most days. The humidity is ridiculously low. As a result, I probably need more water than the 'average' person. But I have no idea how much.
PLUS (I told you this wasn't straight forward) I run three days a week. I love to go out for hikes. This will mean I need more water too.
And oh yeah, I'm still nursing my Little One. More water.
Taking all this into account, I have decided to set this goal as follows:
Nine, 8 oz glasses of water a day, or a total of 72 ounces.
And since I learned from my last habit that I need to be as specific as possible, I am going to break that up as follows:
2 glasses before/with breakfast
1 glass midmorning
2 glasses before/with lunch
1 glass midafternoon
2 glasses before/with dinner
1 glass before bed
Voila! 9 glasses, minimum.
If I go for a run, water consumed during the run doesn't count. It will be 'extra'.
Now, I reserve the right to alter this as I go, in case it seems like I am getting too much or not enough along the way. The above mentioned urine color may come into play, as well as thirst. I'll tweak as I go.
For now, I have already gotten started this morning. This habit will be much harder than the last, so here's to working hard and getting those glasses down. Bottoms up!
**report for yesterday
Yesterday I finished my perfect streak for brushing and flossing. Hopefully these little daily reports become more interesting now, because this habit is more involved. Let's see.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Dental Hygiene: Day 22
I am so very excited that I get to celebrate my first attempt at starting a habit! It's like winning on opening day, it just sets the tone for the rest of the endeavor.
Twenty Two Days! Ta da!
My first habit has successfully made it to 22 days. Hopefully, this is habit formed! 'They' say it takes 21 days to form a habit (whoever 'they' are) and I have done one better than 21 days.
Starting tomorrow, we see if it can actually be called a 'habit', and move on to the next challenge: water.
So far, raging success.
**report for yesterday:
Indeed another successful day. Looking forward to the next challenge.
Twenty Two Days! Ta da!
My first habit has successfully made it to 22 days. Hopefully, this is habit formed! 'They' say it takes 21 days to form a habit (whoever 'they' are) and I have done one better than 21 days.
Starting tomorrow, we see if it can actually be called a 'habit', and move on to the next challenge: water.
So far, raging success.
**report for yesterday:
Indeed another successful day. Looking forward to the next challenge.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dental Hygiene: Day 21
Week in review.
I learned a lot this week, actually. For one, I learned that while I did keep my perfect streak alive, I also need to be aware that I will almost always push the definition of success at least once.
For instance, on Friday, while I did in fact get my teeth brushed and flossed twice in the day, the first was pushed back all the way until almost noon. Now, because I didn't set any time constraints on when I was going to brush and floss my teeth, this is all good. But it also means that technically I could have brushed and flossed my teeth at 7:30 pm and again at 8:00 pm and by the goals I had set out for myself that would have counted. Although, I certainly would have considered that extreme case a fail, how late in the day is still success? Thankfully, I never pushed it into that gray area.
So, common sense ruled this month, but I may need to be more specific for myself along the way. Good to know.
Other than that, it was all good. I had one day where I almost jumped into bed without doing it, and a couple of mornings where babies and business pushed it a little late, but I did brush and floss every day. So, good for me.
**report for yesterday
Yup.
I learned a lot this week, actually. For one, I learned that while I did keep my perfect streak alive, I also need to be aware that I will almost always push the definition of success at least once.
For instance, on Friday, while I did in fact get my teeth brushed and flossed twice in the day, the first was pushed back all the way until almost noon. Now, because I didn't set any time constraints on when I was going to brush and floss my teeth, this is all good. But it also means that technically I could have brushed and flossed my teeth at 7:30 pm and again at 8:00 pm and by the goals I had set out for myself that would have counted. Although, I certainly would have considered that extreme case a fail, how late in the day is still success? Thankfully, I never pushed it into that gray area.
So, common sense ruled this month, but I may need to be more specific for myself along the way. Good to know.
Other than that, it was all good. I had one day where I almost jumped into bed without doing it, and a couple of mornings where babies and business pushed it a little late, but I did brush and floss every day. So, good for me.
**report for yesterday
Yup.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)