I LOVE the idea of New Year’s resolutions – starting a fresh year with exciting goals for self-improvement and hopes for positive personal developments…how awesome is that? Every 12 months we get a chance to wipe the slate clean, examine our lives, and re-set our focus and behavior in one specific and chosen area of our lives.
What a great exercise!
What a great opportunity!
Amazing things could happen!
Unfortunately, despite my enthusiasm for New Year's resolutions, I suck (really suck…super suck) at keeping them.
Traditionally, I do a bang up job with the making of the resolutions. I start thinking months in advance and pick (if I may say so myself) REALLY good resolutions.
Examples:
Be a better friend (2011)
Be nicer (2012)
Focus on spirituality (2013)
Read more - not counting “People” and “US Weekly” (2014)
Admirable goals, right? None of them lasted much past February (well, “be nicer” might have lasted a little bit longer – March, maybe?).
After, once again, failing in 2014, I decided that my resolution-keeping problem couldn’t possibly be my own lack of resolve or self-discipline (of course it couldn’t! Not possible!). No, the problem had to be with the resolutions themselves. They were too broad and without structure. I needed a resolution that was more action-based, a box I could check as completed every day.
So, when 2015 rolled around last year, I was determined to pick the perfect resolution – something that was 100% keep-able.
It was around this time that I also clicked on an article about the benefits of drinking water.
Let’s be clear: I don’t like water.
I mean, water is fine if there are no other options (Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Pepsi, Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee, Diet Sprite, Diet Mt. Dew, milk, Starbucks Iced Coffee, Gatorade, Powerade, Lemonade, Sweet Tea, Crystal Light, egg nog – in that order).
My history of distance running in conjunction with my dislike of water and the resulting inevitable dehydration, has landed me in many a post marathon medical tent and, on one occasion, Baltimore General’s Emergency Room.
Over the years I have gotten better about staying hydrated, but I still only drink just enough water to keep me from needing medical attention because, well, water is gross.
The article I read focused on a woman who drank 1 gallon of water every day a month (I think…I can't seem to re-find the original article).
Benefits enjoyed by the woman in the article?
Radiantly glowing skin
Gorgeous, flowing hair
Fingernails strong enough to withstand removing staples from thousands of 750 page documents (especially good news for an executive assistant, such as myself)
Staggering weight loss without changing her eating habits at all
An hour off of her marathon time
A modeling contract
More Twitter followers than Kim Kardashian
Everlasting love and admiration from everyone she met
Ok, so maybe it didn’t promise ALL of those things (like I said, I can’t find the EXACT article), but it did make drinking a gallon of water a day sound like a great way to improve my life in nearly every aspect.
Done and Done!
Faith’s 2015 New Year’s Resolution: Change my life in every way by drinking 1 gallon of water every day (except for weekends…because Diet Coke).
So, starting on January 1st, 2015 (except that January 1st 2015 fell on a Thursday…and we had Friday off too…and then the weekend…)
starting on January 5th, 2015, I grabbed the virtually unused LVC Nalgene bottle (purchased circa 2002) that had been sitting on my desk for 11-ish years, and filled it to the 32 oz line.
The beginning of my new, well hydrated life.
I know that you are dying…DYING…to know how I did.
Well, I am happy to say that I did it! Most days (most WEEKdays) I got to my gallon goal (and the days that I didn’t make it to a full gallon I made at least 96 ounces).
And the results?
By July I was more than a little frustrated. Drinking a gallon of water a day is hard (especially if you don’t like water), and after seven months it didn’t seem to be paying off AT ALL, at least not in any noticeable way.
The article had promised all of these amazing benefits, and the only real change was the fact that I had to pee all* of the time.
*not an exaggeration – I literally had to pee ALL of the time: during movies, during dinner, during bike rides, while running, while swimming, while walking, during plays, during dinner, in the middle of the night, during flights, during church services, during meetings, when in the car, before/during/after races of any kind, when walking through European cities (where FYI entrance to public restrooms is a small fortune), and roughly 50X per day at work
Despite the less than miraculous results (and annoying need-to-pee side effect), I pushed on with the water challenge, determined to see my resolution through – results or not.
Then, towards the end of December, as we were inching towards the 31st and I was counting down the days until I didn’t have to choke down a gallon-a-day/wouldn’t have to constantly be on the lookout for the closest restroom, the following interaction occurred – an interaction that changed everything.
(and I almost hate to share this because it feels like bragging, but…)
one day while running errands:
Homeless Man: Excuse me, but can I grab a cig?
Me: I’m sorry, I don’t smoke.
Homeless Man: Should’ve known you weren’t a smoker…you don’t have smoker’s skin.
It may be up to interpretation, but I'm pretty sure:
not smoker's skin = radiantly glowing skin
So, as of that fateful December day, Faith’s 2016 New Year’s Resolution: Continue to change my life in every way by drinking 1 gallon of water every day (except for weekend…because Diet Coke).
By this time next year, I’ll have a modeling contract FOR SURE.
Now, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find the nearest public restroom.
What a great exercise!
What a great opportunity!
Amazing things could happen!
Unfortunately, despite my enthusiasm for New Year's resolutions, I suck (really suck…super suck) at keeping them.
Traditionally, I do a bang up job with the making of the resolutions. I start thinking months in advance and pick (if I may say so myself) REALLY good resolutions.
Examples:
Be a better friend (2011)
Be nicer (2012)
Focus on spirituality (2013)
Read more - not counting “People” and “US Weekly” (2014)
Admirable goals, right? None of them lasted much past February (well, “be nicer” might have lasted a little bit longer – March, maybe?).
After, once again, failing in 2014, I decided that my resolution-keeping problem couldn’t possibly be my own lack of resolve or self-discipline (of course it couldn’t! Not possible!). No, the problem had to be with the resolutions themselves. They were too broad and without structure. I needed a resolution that was more action-based, a box I could check as completed every day.
So, when 2015 rolled around last year, I was determined to pick the perfect resolution – something that was 100% keep-able.
It was around this time that I also clicked on an article about the benefits of drinking water.
Let’s be clear: I don’t like water.
I mean, water is fine if there are no other options (Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Pepsi, Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee, Diet Sprite, Diet Mt. Dew, milk, Starbucks Iced Coffee, Gatorade, Powerade, Lemonade, Sweet Tea, Crystal Light, egg nog – in that order).
My history of distance running in conjunction with my dislike of water and the resulting inevitable dehydration, has landed me in many a post marathon medical tent and, on one occasion, Baltimore General’s Emergency Room.
Over the years I have gotten better about staying hydrated, but I still only drink just enough water to keep me from needing medical attention because, well, water is gross.
The article I read focused on a woman who drank 1 gallon of water every day a month (I think…I can't seem to re-find the original article).
Benefits enjoyed by the woman in the article?
Radiantly glowing skin
Gorgeous, flowing hair
Fingernails strong enough to withstand removing staples from thousands of 750 page documents (especially good news for an executive assistant, such as myself)
Staggering weight loss without changing her eating habits at all
An hour off of her marathon time
A modeling contract
More Twitter followers than Kim Kardashian
Everlasting love and admiration from everyone she met
Ok, so maybe it didn’t promise ALL of those things (like I said, I can’t find the EXACT article), but it did make drinking a gallon of water a day sound like a great way to improve my life in nearly every aspect.
Done and Done!
Faith’s 2015 New Year’s Resolution: Change my life in every way by drinking 1 gallon of water every day (except for weekends…because Diet Coke).
So, starting on January 1st, 2015 (except that January 1st 2015 fell on a Thursday…and we had Friday off too…and then the weekend…)
starting on January 5th, 2015, I grabbed the virtually unused LVC Nalgene bottle (purchased circa 2002) that had been sitting on my desk for 11-ish years, and filled it to the 32 oz line.
The beginning of my new, well hydrated life.
I know that you are dying…DYING…to know how I did.
Well, I am happy to say that I did it! Most days (most WEEKdays) I got to my gallon goal (and the days that I didn’t make it to a full gallon I made at least 96 ounces).
And the results?
By July I was more than a little frustrated. Drinking a gallon of water a day is hard (especially if you don’t like water), and after seven months it didn’t seem to be paying off AT ALL, at least not in any noticeable way.
The article had promised all of these amazing benefits, and the only real change was the fact that I had to pee all* of the time.
*not an exaggeration – I literally had to pee ALL of the time: during movies, during dinner, during bike rides, while running, while swimming, while walking, during plays, during dinner, in the middle of the night, during flights, during church services, during meetings, when in the car, before/during/after races of any kind, when walking through European cities (where FYI entrance to public restrooms is a small fortune), and roughly 50X per day at work
Despite the less than miraculous results (and annoying need-to-pee side effect), I pushed on with the water challenge, determined to see my resolution through – results or not.
Then, towards the end of December, as we were inching towards the 31st and I was counting down the days until I didn’t have to choke down a gallon-a-day/wouldn’t have to constantly be on the lookout for the closest restroom, the following interaction occurred – an interaction that changed everything.
(and I almost hate to share this because it feels like bragging, but…)
one day while running errands:
Homeless Man: Excuse me, but can I grab a cig?
Me: I’m sorry, I don’t smoke.
Homeless Man: Should’ve known you weren’t a smoker…you don’t have smoker’s skin.
It may be up to interpretation, but I'm pretty sure:
not smoker's skin = radiantly glowing skin
So, as of that fateful December day, Faith’s 2016 New Year’s Resolution: Continue to change my life in every way by drinking 1 gallon of water every day (except for weekend…because Diet Coke).
By this time next year, I’ll have a modeling contract FOR SURE.
Now, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find the nearest public restroom.
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