8 Glasses a Day Challenge

Drinking 8 glasses of water a day. It’s something we all know that we’re supposed to do. From health class to your mom’s reminders, it’s imperative for health, right? However, in the midst of a daily grind, I quickly found that I would quickly go to grab another cup of coffee or glass of sparkling water prior to drinking the real deal. Knowing I needed to curb this bad habit, I decided that it was time to challenge myself and get a bit of accountability. What would happen, what were the effects on my body, and could I keep up the habit?

Day one:

Confession. I started today with the greatest of ambition. I went to my usual coffee shop to get work done and even asked for a glass of water to pair with my latte. The challenge? Two hours went by before I touched the glass. Ouch. Looks like I have a lot of glasses to get through before the end of the day.

Day four:
While the first few days have been a struggle, I’m quickly discovering that it is starting to become a habit. I’ve placed a simple water tracker at the top of my planner and it has helped loads. At this point, I’m averaging drinking a glass of water an hour. The downside? Multiple trips to the bathroom on repeat as I’m drinking far more water than my norm.

Day six:

I woke this morning feeling wildly different. I wasn’t hungry, I had more focus, and didn’t feel dehydrated when I woke up. It’s odd to think that you can drink enough water to get ahead of this in a big way in under six days. Today, however, I’m starting to get bored of the same tastes and flavors. Water is just wet, and well Redding tap water is definitely tough. I’ve adding a bit of sparkling water with fresh lime juice to the mix. It adds the perk I need and is giving me the variety to push through the challenge.

Day seven:

This challenge was great and while I would love to say that I drank 8 glasses of water a day I can’t say I was as on it, as I would like to be. On average I drank 6.5 glasses of water, with an added sparkling water thrown in. My biggest takeaway has simply been this- it takes more than 7 days to ingrain a habit. Moving forward, I’m still hoping to throw this into a habit tracker and be mindful. The water intake tool has been a huge, huge help.

Takeaways

Find a partner to make it happen.

I decided to partner with a friend at church. She struggled to remember to drink water throughout the day as well. Every few days we would send one another a few text messages. Having accountability with anything is great, particularly as it comes to health and wellness goals.

Tracking is vital.

I created a simple water tracker. Every time I completed drinking a glass of water, I would add a simple droplet icon to the daily column in my desk planner. Once 8 were placed in a row, my goals for the day had been met.

Carry it with you everywhere.

Nothing replaces the value of an amazing water bottle. Hydro flask is great for insulation and insurance. If you’re looking for something a bit trendier, glass bottles from BKR, or from Milli are amazing as well. If infused water is your jam, we absolutely love this one with a glass body, infuser basket, and bamboo top. Apart of adulting is having a good water bottle. If you’re still carrying around a plastic one, it’s time for an upgrade.

It takes 21 days to ingrain a new habit.

Don’t wait until January. Be willing to make goal setting apart of your life. If pen and paper isn’t your thing, choose an app like habit tracker to track your progress. While this 7 day challenge was a great start, it takes much longer to build new habits and break engrained ones.

The results.

My skin looks healthier than it ever has to date. I’ve stopped mindlessly eating snacks and instead would grab a cup of water to fulfill the need. Since this challenge (this post has been written 2 weeks after it was completed), my body literally craves moisture. Every time I begin to feel thirsty I head to the kitchen for a fresh glass of water.

Join the challenge.

Because I’m all about inspiring my readers and love to move forward together, I invite you to join me on this challenge. It’s a fresh week and there’s no better time to do so! Your body will thank you for it.

Here’s the challenge works: