I did something very stupid yesterday-I didn’t drink enough water. I drank a few cups of coffee and a couple of Dr Deppers, and while these drinks list water as their main ingredient-they are not, in fact, water.
I am a water drinker from a long way back-that bit about 8 glasses of water a day has never been a burden for me-except perhaps as an occasional limit. I have been known to down 8 ounce glasses of water at one go and during my cycling days I would drink a couple of oversized water bottles on my rides and stop for refills along the way.
So it was odd that I got distracted and didn’t drink enough water yesterday. I paid for it this morning by feeling like death warmed over. Stiff and tired and dry eyes-not exactly stranded in the Shara dry-but for me, a bit of discomfort. I am making up for it today by sipping water whenever I get a chance.
From time to time there are stories in the news about people dying from drinking too much water-something like gallons of water at a time apparently. Now I like water, but I don’t like drinking water that much. Besides, if everything is working as it should, you need to get rid of all that water every couple of hours anyway. But it does make for interesting news.
I thought about becoming a chef at one time. When to the local Culinary Academy and took a series of tests to see if I had the basic skilled needed to work in a kitchen. Could I tell the difference between sour cream and whole milk, for example-somehow I got that one wrong. But they did have a taste test that involved water with small amounts of flavoring added to it-I aced that test, to the amazement of the chefs who had tested my skills on milks and creams. It was not long before I realized that the life of Anthony Bourdain was not the life for me. But it was a fun experience.
I need to add here that I drink TAP water not spring water delivery to my door-as in the stuff that pours out of a faucet. I have drank tap water all over the country, with the occasional water cooler water tossed in for good measure. Some tap water is pretty nasty stuff, and some of it is amazingly good. I have never been a fan of bottled water, water filters, and a lot of over purification of water-though I was tempted to buy some Arctic Water that I saw one time. That kind of pure water from ice burgs that they make really good vodka from. But I never really got around to it.
So, like the advice about using sunscreen, I would advice that every should feel free to drink water.
I have been making a concerted effort this year to drink more water, its a struggle for me. I don’t really take in much liquid at all, and I know my body is paying the price. I am just never thirsty.
However, the more I drink, the more thirsty I become, so with time, I am getting much better.
Water Power!
Creepy thing is they say by the time one feels thirsty, that’s your body in distress mode, cryin’ fer sustenance. So the bit about sipping throughout the day is probably your best bet for making sure fluid is routed efficiently to all your umpteen billions of hardworking little cells.
It’s funny about the tap water bit though. I live in Vancouver and we have one of the more sophisticated water filtration systems, plus what we’re working with is what bottlers pay for: pristine glacier water and mountain springs. Yet bottled water is huge in this city.
At work we have water coolers…I don’t know how much the boss spends to keep 3 or 4 coolers stocked. A lot. One day we ran out and while I was standing at the sink washing my coffee cup a coworker popped in, only to be disappointed by the empty container. “No more water!” he said sadly. “There’s plenty!” I said, gesturing down to the stuff flowing out of the tap. “UGH!” he said, as if I had suggested he drink ditchwater or something. It was comical. I mean grim.
People are funny about things like water-there have been newscasts that shows the water in bottled water being filled from a city tap! Yet still people want ‘bottle water’ over tap water. It is odd.