The drinking water game
With all the things on which modern medical professionals differ, it’s nice to know there seems to be at least one thing they agree on: we should all be drinking more water. Every system in our bodies depends on it! How much? The Mayo Clinic recommends 72 ounces of fluid a day. Some people recommend drinking the numerical value of your weight in pounds, in ounces. Others suggest half that. Others recommend drinking only when you’re thirsty. If left to my own devices, I would drink approximately zero ounces a day, making the “only drink when you’re thirsty” advice not terribly useful. I rarely drink anything besides water, and am great about drinking during meals, but have always had difficulty putting away anywhere close to the recommended amount. (In fact, I wrote about this a few years ago, too!) However, just recently I’ve put in place a system that seems to be working for me, so I thought I’d share! My desk at work! Photo by Robyn Van Dyke. Apparently I really thrive on mini challenges, because this is what I do. Every morning at work, I fill up my 24-ounce water jar. Before I eat lunch, I have to finish it. I drink another full jar with lunch, then fill it up again for the afternoon, and I have to finish that one before I leave to go home. (I leave my jar at work every day except for Friday so I don’t have the excuse of forgetting it! I wash it over the weekend.) I drink another 24 ounces with dinner, bringing my daily total to about 96 ounces. A tip: every time I pick up my jar, I drink five sips instead of one – helps it go down quicker! As for the amazing skin, health, and