Bullet Head was a Lot Smarter than We Thought
In high school, we had a friend who we affectionately called “Bullet Head”. Whenever we’d eat out, the rest of us would splurge and buy a Coke, but he’d always get water. “Water’s Free!”, he’d say. (Bullet Head was on a tight budget. I had another high school friend whose budget was so tight that one day he put 78 cents worth of gas in his car, but that’s a whole nother story.)
We should’ve learned something from Bullet Head (like water is better for you than Coke), but we were young and foolish. And water’s not that free anymore. But the more I study health and wellness, the more I realize the importance of water in maintaining excellent health.
In fact, by doing this one, simple thing—drinking enough water each day—you can improve your health tremendously.
Yes, there’s lots of debate on how much water you need. So, I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version, based on my experience and research, and let you make your own decision.
Your body is about 70% water. Your muscles are about 80% water. Each cell is filled with fluid, which is mostly water. Each cell is surrounded by fluid, made of water. Your cells function and communicate through these intra and extra cellular fluids. Hormones and other important chemicals (endorphins, neuropeptides, etc.) travel through the bloodstream; blood is mostly water.
Get the picture? Your body needs water to work right, to express your best Health and your Best Life.
But how much do you need? Research has shown that a human body works best when it has ½ an ounce of water per pound of body weight each day. So, how much do you weigh, roughly? Divide that by two. Drink that many ounces of water each day. Yeah, it sounds like a lot, especially if you’re not in a water habit.
And that’s what I’ve found helps the most—get into a habit. If you keep a 20 ounce bottle with you, and keep track of how much you drink each day, it will get easier. When you finish one bottle, try to get into the second one. Once you can drink two each day, try to get into the third one. I weigh about 165, so I try to get 80 – 100 ounces each day, which is four or five 20 oz bottles. Two before lunch, two before bed. Not too hard. (I refill the same bottle for a day or two).
Or if you think it’s too hard to drink that many bottles, try this: go get a box of 5 oz Dixie Cups. Ones with cartoons or pretty pictures on them. Fill one up and drink it at the o’clock and the o’thirty of each hour. Think of it as a little water ‘shot’. If you start at 9:00 and go ‘til 5:00, that's 85 ounces of water! And you'll barely even notice that you did anything (except for the pile of crumpled cups) . And that’s not counting a glass at lunch and supper. Not as bad as it sounds, eh?
Don’t worry. After a few days your bladder gets used to the extra volume, so you won’t still need a potty break every hour.
Here's to your Health--drink up!
Dr. Vince
We should’ve learned something from Bullet Head (like water is better for you than Coke), but we were young and foolish. And water’s not that free anymore. But the more I study health and wellness, the more I realize the importance of water in maintaining excellent health.
In fact, by doing this one, simple thing—drinking enough water each day—you can improve your health tremendously.
Yes, there’s lots of debate on how much water you need. So, I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version, based on my experience and research, and let you make your own decision.
Your body is about 70% water. Your muscles are about 80% water. Each cell is filled with fluid, which is mostly water. Each cell is surrounded by fluid, made of water. Your cells function and communicate through these intra and extra cellular fluids. Hormones and other important chemicals (endorphins, neuropeptides, etc.) travel through the bloodstream; blood is mostly water.
Get the picture? Your body needs water to work right, to express your best Health and your Best Life.
But how much do you need? Research has shown that a human body works best when it has ½ an ounce of water per pound of body weight each day. So, how much do you weigh, roughly? Divide that by two. Drink that many ounces of water each day. Yeah, it sounds like a lot, especially if you’re not in a water habit.
And that’s what I’ve found helps the most—get into a habit. If you keep a 20 ounce bottle with you, and keep track of how much you drink each day, it will get easier. When you finish one bottle, try to get into the second one. Once you can drink two each day, try to get into the third one. I weigh about 165, so I try to get 80 – 100 ounces each day, which is four or five 20 oz bottles. Two before lunch, two before bed. Not too hard. (I refill the same bottle for a day or two).
Or if you think it’s too hard to drink that many bottles, try this: go get a box of 5 oz Dixie Cups. Ones with cartoons or pretty pictures on them. Fill one up and drink it at the o’clock and the o’thirty of each hour. Think of it as a little water ‘shot’. If you start at 9:00 and go ‘til 5:00, that's 85 ounces of water! And you'll barely even notice that you did anything (except for the pile of crumpled cups) . And that’s not counting a glass at lunch and supper. Not as bad as it sounds, eh?
Don’t worry. After a few days your bladder gets used to the extra volume, so you won’t still need a potty break every hour.
Here's to your Health--drink up!
Dr. Vince
posted by Dr. Vince at Tuesday, April 25, 2006
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