Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You!

Thanks to Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water for sponsoring today’s discussion

When I was younger I would do just about anything to avoid drinking water. I really just didn’t get how anyone could like drinking water. To me, drinking water seemed like punishment, no flavor, no fun.

Now that I am older, I understand the significance and the role of water in my life. Hydration is not only important, it is a vital part of being healthy, and as time went on I got to know this personally.

Breaking the bad habit of going to juice over water was not easy, but it was incredibly important especially now that I am a mom. Every mom wants her child to be healthy, and I was intentional about raising a child who was a water drinker, even though I was not. It is funny to hear myself asking my daughter, how much water did you drink today or did you have any water? I have even gone to the extremes of having her put that juice back in the refrigerator to make sure she stays both hydrated and healthy, by drinking enough water on the front end.

Of course, this wasn’t my personal story. For years, juice was a calorie killer for me, and it wasn’t until I was well into my 20’s that I realized I was not only gaining weight, but I was also trading in my health for “pleasure” because I choose juice over water whenever it was an option. I actually ended up adding pounds to my waistline, because I would drink more and more juice, but I was still thirsty. It just didn’t make sense, until I did some research. Although I was drinking juice, my body had to process it differently. Water went in my body as an instant help where my body experienced my juice drinking a lot differently. My body had to work harder to process my juice, the sugars which are usually high in juice was raising my blood sugar, and it just was not doing the job when it came down to hydration. I knew something had to change.

I can still remember all of the tricks I had to use to get my water down. I tried everything, cucumbers, oranges, and lemons whatever I could think of to make it easier to get the water down. People would look at my water glass and think is she drinking lemonade or water, because with 5 lemons inside it was probably hard to tell.

When I started to working out, and I became more active, I realized that nothing but water really quenched my thirst. No matter how much juice I drank, I just never felt hydrated. Oh, I guess this must have been what they were talking about!

As I started to take my health more seriously, I also started to do more and more research. Surprisingly, whenever I read about being healthy, or taking care of myself somewhere in that article there was a tidbit about drinking water. All this time, I had been missing out on all of the amazing health benefits that you get from increasing the amount of water you drink. I learned so much about how water helps our bodies function better, and I also came to understand the importance of water when it came to things like helping you look young and keeping your skin looking beautiful. Water became my secret weapon when it came to alleviating headaches, getting rid of colds and knocking those bugs out of your system before they turned into something worse.

Over the years, what seemed like a chore is now a natural habit. When I got out to dinner I ask for water, when I stop for lunch on the go, I ask for water, and when I am out and about it’s water, water, and water. I even find myself adding water to my drinks because I have gotten so used to drinking water, that now even the 100% juice just seem to sweet to drink by itself. It has taken a little while for me to “get it”, but now I really do, and that is the lesson and legacy I hope to pass along to my daughter. Health begins with making good choices every day, and the healthy choice I choose today and every day is drinking more water! Do your own research so you can really understand all of the important things that drinking water can do for you.

Make it fun, start a water challenge in your house to see who can get at least 64oz of water in their bodies every day, and once you get there try to add an extra glass or two just to see how you feel. Lastly, take the hydration challenge and make a vow to drink more water over the next few months and pay attention to how you feel who knows you may even end up winning an even better reward, a nice vacation! Join the hydration challenge here http://linqia.cc/7b98eea