How much Water should I be drinking?

We’ve all heard the old saying “Eight-8 ounce glasses of water a day.” Though, is this really correct for everyone? The simple answer is NO.

The Eight-8 ounce glasses of water per day is the rough amount needed for an individual that weighs about 150 pounds (in reality, this rule is only good for a person who weighs about 128 lbs to be honest – and a 150 lb person would technically be slightly dehydrated based on our standards). This does not account for people who weigh more or weigh less than the stereotypical 150-pound person.

Why is it different for each person?

Well, to keep it short and simple… water is a base component that helps the body stay healthy. It keeps everything hydrated (as well as a bunch of other things), and essentially, there has to be enough for every cell in the body. So, if you need enough water for every cell in your body, a person with a larger body has more cells. Someone with a smaller body has fewer cells.

The Water Rule

So, how do you figure out how much water YOU should be drinking? The general rule is:

Take your body weight in pounds / 2 = # of ounces of water each day

So, if you weigh let’s say 185 lbs, and you divide that by 2, you get 92.5 ounces of water. Then, to figure out how many 8 ounce glasses that is, you divide the 92.5/8 and that comes to 11.5625 glasses each day. So, realistically if you weigh 185 lbs. should be drinking about 11-1/2 to 12 eight ounce glasses of water today.

Now, keep in mind… some people may need a little more than this… some might need a little less then this. This is only a general rule of thumb. To find out more, read the book suggestion at the end of this article.

I couldn’t ever drink that much water!

For many people, going from the amount of water that they consume to the “correct” amount can seem daunting as many people drink only a fraction of the amount of water that they should be. Going from where you are to where you should be is not an overnight thing for most people. For many, if they drink very little water, honestly, their cells wouldn’t know what to do and will start peeing it out, and if it’s a big difference, you can actually damage your kidneys, and deplete electrolytes, and other dangerous things. My suggestion for you is to gradually increase the amount of water you ingest over a few weeks or a month, and plan it out over that time period.

Tips for increasing water intake:

• sip on room temperature or even slightly hot water with meals,
• Do not drink a bunch of water right before or right after eating (it makes it harder to digest food),
• Try to increase the amount of water by only an 8-ounce glass every day or two,
• You might want to consider taking a multi-mineral supplement, like SpectraMin from Energetix,
• A great complex homeopathic that helps “remind” the body how to utilize water efficiently is ReHydration from Energetix,
• If you are a person who has to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, give the Moist-Heat Liver pack a try for a few nights,
• Teas are a great, flavorful way of increasing water. While caffeine is technically dehydrating, overall you’ll probably be increasing what you already were taking in, plus you’ll be getting the benefits of whatever herbs or plants are in the tea!
• Check out Dr. Emoto’s work with water imprinting! Say a little prayer on your water before drinking it… or what we do at home is have on the water filter pitcher some tape that says “Love, Health, Happiness, and Wealth”. Some other ideas are things like “Joy”, “Emotional Stability”, “Passion”, “Bliss”, and the list goes on.

So, give this a try in the new year and see how it can help you on your journey in wellness. As always, feel free to schedule a full Initial Consultation in our office and we can help you even more along your journey, and remember… “Water IS Life!”.

Additional Reading…

A fantastic book to look into is “Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: you’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty!” available on Amazon.