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This is how to drink water to lose weight, eat better, and be healthier.
I’ve learned this lesson multiple times in my life and learning it again now.
I’ve been a fat guy. I’ve been an in shape guy.
Right now, I’m back to being a fat guy.
One of the big differences I can look back in my life and see what I did differently when I was in shape versus being fat was drink water.
In 1998 I joined the Marine Corps and stepped on the yellow footprints on October 13, 1998. It’s a date a Marine never forgets. Stepping on the yellow footprints is the first thing you do as a Marine Recruit when you get off the bus at your Recruit Training Depot.
At boot camp the first time we started drinking water I thought it was a punishment. Right before bed, we had to stand on line and drink an entire canteen (32 ounces) and then go to sleep.
The next day, we woke up and the day started by drinking another canteen of water. And so it continued….
After boot camp, I figured out the value of drinking water for health and I just kept up the habit. I drink a gallon plus water a day for years without drinking any soda.
And my health remained. When I look back to when I got fat again, one of the first things to go was water. I was in a new relationship and she was concerned that I drank too much Gatorade and lemonade because of the sugar content. While she was correct, I would drink both those drinks but also was drinking over a gallon of water a day.
I switched to diet soda to reduce the sugar intake and my water intake fell off. Soda makes you less thirsty for other things and all you want is more soda. And my health fell off and my weight went up.
Fast forward to 2019 when I found the 75 Hard Challenge and I had to drink a gallon of water a day. At first, it was tough, but after I started doing it I felt better, started looking better, moving better, and losing weight. Simple.
Now I’ve done the challenge multiple times and one of the things that I’m keeping is drinking a gallon of water a day.
That gallon of water keeps me from being hungry.
And that’s the secret!
If I drink a lot of water (a gallon a day) I am no longer hungry.
When I’m not feeling famished, then I can make good food choices, stay on a diet, and eat foods that are better for me. Simple.
When I eat better I have more energy, want to work out more, and want to do better in life. Simple
Drinking water to lose weight and be healthier. Simple.
How much water? Easy, at least a gallon. Simple.
First start by measuring your water. Get a system.
Everyone uses water bottles these days and I use a CamelBak Chute Mag Water bottle.
Just measure how many bottles of water you drink a day. Simple.
I find it easier to pound water as I did in boot camp over 20 years ago. This way I make sure I do it. I just stop and make it happen.
I use triggers. My first bottle is after my workout, I drink the entire bottle with one pull. You can go a little slower, but I find that it takes me an entire minute to fill the bottle, drink the bottle, and have it ready for next time. Simple.
My second bottle of water is after lunch. I just chug it after eating.
My third is at my snack time (3pm). I have my snack and then chug a bottle of water.
My last one is after dinner. This one is a little harder for me because I like to eat a big dinner. But I do the same thing.
Simple.
Four 32-ounce bottles makes a gallon.
Drink water to lose weight works for me because I drink so much water at one time it makes me full. And it keeps me feeling full until my next scheduled meal. I’m also not starving at the next meal.
Simple.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m full it’s really easy to eat things that are good for me. When I’m hungry, I’ll eat anything I can find and get cravings for crappy foods. I use to even jump in the car and run to the store to get some crappy food when I had good for me food in the house.
Not drinking water is a downward spiral for me. I Have to drink water to lose weight. If I don’t drink water there is no way I will ever lose a pound!
I dare you to try it.
Drink a gallon of water a day and you’ll find that eating good for you things is easier…
The biggest complaint is about going to the bathroom. And that can be a problem. You will have to pee more often if you are drinking a gallon of water a day.
But that is good for you! Most of us sit at a desk and don’t get up for hours on end. What do all the experts say about moving and how often you should do it?
Well if you drink a gallon of water a day, you will have to get up about every hour to an hour and a half to go to the bathroom.
It’s annoying to have to get up that often to go to the bathroom, but it is good for you in the long run.
The only down sides to drinking a gallon of water a day is three fold:
1 – At first you will have to force it down your throat. It will take a little dedication and commitment to stick with it for a couple of weeks.
2 – After you do it for a couple of weeks, you will be thirsty all the time. Drinking that much water a day, your body starts to enjoy it, and then crave it!
3 – People are going to think you are nuts. Because only athletes and elite warriors drink that much water. If you want to be in shape you have to do what in shape people do again and again. Ignore the haters and the other monkeys that just want to keep you down.
The bottle line, drink water to lose weight and be healthier.
I know you think it’s too simple. You think it’s so simple that how could it work?
Well, how could it hurt you? How much time and effort will it cost you?
If I’m wrong it will cost you next to nothing in time and effort. But if I’m right, you will start down your path to a better you.
Try it for two weeks. What do you have to lose. I dare you.
Ben Branam
And if you want to start a 75 Hard Challenge that will change your life, download my free 75 Hard Challenge Starters Guide here.