Have you had your 8 glasses today?

Dehydration. I live in a perpetual state of dehydration because I have not made it a habit to drink the "eight glasses of water a day" that is prescribed by health professionals. There are days that I can look back and realize that I've not even managed 2 glasses, let alone 8! (Many experts actually recommend more, depending on your body type, age, etc)

So what?
There are all kinds of implication of not getting enough water. Hypertension and poor blood circulation are just two areas impacted by a lack of sufficient water. I suffer from both. A few months ago, I attempted to give blood but was turned away. Why? They couldn't find my blood vessels because I was so dehydrated! Not only was my unhealthy habit damaging to myself, but it also hindered my ability to help others.

Learning to drink more water is a difficult discipline for me to develop. It just isn't in the forefront of my mind and I often overlook my body's "thirst indicator." Did you know that we often time mistake our bodies thirst signal for hunger and eat when we really just need a drink of water? Yep. It's true.... and this feeds right into another difficult discipline for me: eating right.

This week I read this passage from Jeremiah: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Obviously there are some spiritual implications here; however, I believe there are physical implications as well. My body is designed to need water, yet I have forsaken the habit of drinking water as needed. AND I have substituted unhealthy alternatives in place of water: drinking beverages that are filled with sugar, caffeine, etc and eating when my body really just wants a drink of water OR simply not drinking anything at all (empty cisterns).

Plain and simple: I need to have good old fashioned water in my diet because that is the best thing I can do for my physical body. It hydrates me, keeps my blood flowing (which gives me more energy), cleans out my system and in the end, it contributes to losing weight. Nothing but good can come from adding water to my daily regimen. I like that!

If you're ever in the neighborhood drop by for a cup of cold water. Cheers!


Blessings,
Julie