I drink two-three glasses of water as soon as I wake up every morning. And I like to think that I am pretty good at drinking water. However, I don’t really record my water intake every day (who does?!). So, when I got to track my water intake during this one-week challenge, I realised I was nowhere close to drinking three litres of water a day. And boy it was tough to gulp down that much water on the first few days day.
Well, it’s no secret that water is a vital nutrient and it is essential for most bodily functions. Drinking enough water can also help you with health problems like digestive issues, can cure headaches, and can give you radiant skin. So I decided to put all of this to test and took up a one-week water challenge.
What Happens When You Drink 3 Litres Of Water A Day For A Week?
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The challenge: Drink three litres of water every day for a week. Sounds easy, right? Let me break it to you–it’s not as easy as it sounds. Read on to know if I aced the challenge.
Day 1
I had to do some preparation before I decided to take the challenge. I bought a one-litre water bottle that helped me track my water intake throughout the day. For instance, between 8:00 am to 1:00 pm I had to finish a certain amount, then some more in the next hour, and so on. Unfortunately, I started the challenge at noon. The first half of the day was almost gone and I had to gulp down all three litres during the latter half of the day. It was unreal how I had to go and pee after every few minutes. It was inconvenient and so much water made me feel uncomfortable. I could actually feel water sloshing around in my stomach.
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Day 2
A lot of peeing continued and because I started late on Day one, I finished just before going to bed. I had a terrible night because I had to get up at least three-four times to pee and I really cursed myself for taking this challenge. On Day two, I decided to shift my workstation near the loo just to save time. I learnt my lesson on Day one and decided to start early. However, I had to cut short my morning run to come back and pee because I had gulped down a lot of water before going out on the run.
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Day 3
I planned better on Day three–drank two glasses of water as soon as I woke up and gulped down a litre of water after I came back from the run. Drinking the next two bottles wasn’t that difficult on this day. I was feeling energetic and water helped beat my afternoon slump. I also switched to green tea instead of coffee to increase my water intake. I also felt that increasing my water intake helped control my snack cravings. For instance, I reached out to my water bottle whenever I felt like grabbing a snack.
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Day 4
I woke up with a headache on Day four but because I was keeping myself hydrated, the headache was gone after a while. Why didn’t I ever try this earlier! Day four was a cakewalk for me. In fact, I tried to drink 3.5 litres on this day. I was energetic and I managed to work out for an hour as compared to my usual 40-minute workout sesh. Bonus! HOORAY!
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Day 5 & 6
My body was finally adjusting to the amount of water I was consuming. I was no longer running to the toilet frequently and didn’t feel any bloating. In fact, I noticed that my dark circles looked lighter and my skin also felt smoother and tighter.
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Day 7
I finished three litres earlier than I had expected, probably because of the excitement. The challenge was finally coming to an end. I definitely felt a lot healthier and experienced some positive changes throughout the week.
Verdict: I am convinced that it kept me energetic throughout the week. My skin definitely feels softer and my face looks fresh. If not three litres every day, I would definitely drink more water.
Featured Image: Author’s own
