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‘I Drank 8 Glasses of Water Instead of Only 3 Every Day for 2 Weeks—Here’s What I Noticed Right Away’
Beth Ann Mayer – July 25, 2023
The idea of staying hydrated throughout the day is nothing new, and the reminders become more prevalent as the temperatures rise each summer. And have they risen this summer or what? About one-third of Americans were under excessive heat warnings earlier this month. It’s so hot in Europe that they’re naming their latest heat wave after a character in Dante’s Inferno.
I’ve decided to pick this hot-as-hell (literally?) summer to get back into marathon running for the first time since 2018, the year before I got pregnant with my first of two sons. I’ve felt parched (normal) and dizzy (not normal) after running. I’ve also realized I probably finish one 24-ounce water bottle daily.
Part of this is because my second child considers my water bottle a toy (despite all the other real toys he has). So, I generally keep it out of his sight and mind, which means out of my reach. At 17 months, he nurses like a newborn—another reason I need to stay hydrated.
Between the weather and my training regimen, I knew this had to change for my health. So, I committed to drinking more water.
The standard recommendation is to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily. The guidance likely stems from a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board recommendation to drink eight glasses of water per day. A few things got lost in the sauce in the decades since. The first was followed by, “Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.” Translation: Fruits and vegetables contain water that counts toward your daily intake. The second: the Nutrition Board advised people to consume 2.5 liters (84.5 ounces) daily, not eight 8-ounce glasses (64 ounces).
In the years since, researchers have debunked this recommendation as a myth. But The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine recommends men drink 125 ounces (3.7 liters) and women drink 91 ounces (2.7 liters), which isn’t all that more than the 1945 recommendation.
I’ve also done numerous interviews with dietitians and doctors since starting my writing career nearly a decade ago. Regarding water, and without fail, multiple health professionals have told me that starting with a goal to drink 64 ounces of water daily is a good baseline.
It’s certainly better than 24 ounces. I had to start somewhere.
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Benefits of Drinking Water
Understanding the benefits of upping my water intake only further motivated me. According to the CDC, drinking water helps to:
- Maintain a normal body temperature.
- Preserve the spine and tissues.
- Elimination of waste (peeing, sweat and pooping).
- Keep joints lubricated and cushioned.
Related: Here’s What Happens to Your Body if You Eat Avocados Every Day
What I Used
In theory, drinking more water is one of the simplest, lowest-cost ways to enhance your health. You truly don’t need much except access to clean, safe water (sadly, a luxury for some) and something to drink it out of. To help me stay on track, I decided to use a few tools:
- My trusty 24-ounce water bottle. I’m a words person, not a numbers person. But 64 divided by 24 is 2.66, meaning just under three full water bottles would get me to 64 ounces.
- Waterllama app. This app sends notifications to remind you to drink water and allows you to track consumption. When I was pregnant with my first, I actually tracked water using an app and found it helped me stay on track with nutrition. I figured the notifications would also help me remember to sip, even when juggling work and parenthood.
How It Went
On the first day, I realized how little water I drank. By noon, I had consumed 12 ounces of water. Some may call that a water bottle half full, but it felt half empty to me. I had 12 hours left to drink a whopping 52 ounces of water to meet my goal. I gulped. And gulped. And gulped. I spent the rest of the day feeling like I had a stomach full of water and like I was pregnant again because I needed to pee every five seconds.
There had to be a better way that felt less like a pressure-filled fire drill. I decided to set small goals beginning on day two. I’d aim for 24 ounces by noon, 24 ounces by dinner and 16 ounces between dinner and bed. And, to make it feel like less of a hill to climb, I focused on referring to it as “one water bottle by lunch,” “one water bottle by dinner” and “two-thirds of a water bottle by bed.”
The method worked instantly. I received a notification every two hours to drink water, and I was able to do a quick water bottle check to ensure I was sipping enough. I always was and felt accomplished as I watched my water intake numbers go up in my app.
The biggest challenge on the second day was my three-mile morning run. It was already pushing 80 degrees at 7:30 a.m., and I was dehydrated by the end. On the third day, I consumed 12 ounces an hour before working out. It allowed me to use the facilities pre-workout but have enough left in my tank to complete an even longer run of five miles.
By day five, drinking 64 ounces of water felt way more manageable. I felt better during my workout and more hydrated throughout the day, but I still had dizzy spells and felt rather depleted by dinner.
Cleveland Clinic notes that several factors dictate how much water you should consume daily, including:
- Metabolism
- Weather
- Size
- Physical activity
- Breastfeeding
The weather is warmer than usual, and my physical activity is higher now because of my training. And, like I said, I’m nursing a toddler.
I decided to focus on drinking at least 64 ounces daily, but not considering that a maximum. Instead, my goal became to drink enough to feel good. On days seven and eight, I drank before I got thirsty and got up to 80 ounces. I felt better. However, during the second week, I realized that between 100 and 110 ounces was more of my sweet spot. I never felt dehydrated or dizzy and could run around and play with my kids. Not surprisingly, I needed more on days I did longer runs.
What I Learned
Because drinking more water is low-cost, it sounds like a super-simple way to boost your health. But it can be challenging, particularly if you’re super focused on your career and tend to put everyone else first (hello, parenthood). That was probably my biggest takeaway, so please be kind to yourself if you struggle to stay hydrated.
My other learnings include:
- Eight 8-ounce glasses daily is a baseline. This recommendation—which was never the real recommendation—is a good starting point. However, it may not be your endgame.
- Water intake is fluid. No pun intended. However, it’s perfectly normal to need extra water on one day when it’s really hot, or you did a more intense workout than you did on a rest day that you spent mainly in the blissful air conditioning.
- Drink when you’re not thirsty. Don’t wait until you’re dehydrated or thirsty to drink—those are late-stage signs you need water, not early ones.
- Water is pre-workout fuel. Sipping water about an hour before working out will help you feel more hydrated during your sweat session (minus the urge to pee one mile into a six-mile run).
- Stop before bed. Try to limit water intake about an hour before bedtime to reduce the midnight bathroom run (rest is also essential to health). You may need to reduce consumption sooner or later, but I found 60 minutes worked for me.
- Apps help. I’ll probably stop tracking now that I’m in a flow with my water intake. I found tracking can aid in accountability but become a bit obsessive for me, but it was an excellent tool to get me started. Play around with it and see if it helps you reach your hydration goals short and long-term.
- Water is essential. Though eight glasses daily may be a misnomer, the benefits of staying hydrated can’t be understated. I felt so much better when I woke up in the morning, during workouts and throughout my day because I was more hydrated. I had more energy to chase my kids around and tackle my to-do list.
On the last point, I hesitate to call drinking water “self-care” because it’s something necessary (in the same way showering with the door closed or grocery shopping alone aren’t really “self-care” but get pinned in that way for busy moms).
But it’s also not something to sacrifice to care for your children or get work done. Fill your cups (or water bottles) so you’re not quite literally pouring from an empty one all day.
Next up: This Is How Much Water People 50 and Older Should Drink Every Day, According to a Urologist