The 4 week water challenge. Does it really take 10 years off of your face?

I know I don't drink enough water. I know how important drinking water is, I just don't do it. I do sip on water throughout the day but my maximum intake is around 12 ounces of water per day. A far cry from what is recommended, though despite all of us knowing 8 by 8 {8 glasses of water by 8 pm}, water recommendations are no longer a one size fits all approach. WebMD has a recommendation of 1/2-1 ounce of water for every pound. I'm 108 pounds and live a fairly active lifestyle, so around 100 ounces is a pretty fair goal to shoot for.  A few years ago I had a pedicure at a spa {thank you groupon} and the esthetician told me that my skin was dry. I didn't think my skin was dry. It didn't feel cracked or flaking but she recommended that I drink more water.  She told me I could be dehydrated. I took note of it, but obviously didn't really change my habits.   I guess I sort of underplayed how important drinking water is for my overall health. For some reason, despite having seen this article before, I was inspired to drink more water and to start a little blog experiment.  I thought that I would document the process week by week and see if I saw results as drastic as she did. She really does look 10 years younger. I'm wondering if it will work for me.

source

I downloaded an app to my phone to help me keep track of my daily water intake. The author drank 3 liters of water, which is about 101 ounces, so I set my app to track what felt like an ocean of water every single day. I started on a Monday, so with no makeup on, I took a picture. Each Monday I logged my observations from the week and snapped a no makeup picture.  I do occasionally drink things other than water {usually coffee}, but those don't count towards my water goal. I'm sticking to logging strictly water only. So here we go me on day 1.

Come see what this journey was like for me and if I will keep on drinking 101 ounces of water every single day. Are you dying to see if I look 10 years younger just by changing this one habit?

week 1: 

I noticed more zits this week. I don't normally break out, but I had at least four lovely zits rear their ugly head. Not sure if it's coincidence or not.  Some people say it's my body's way of getting rid of toxins.  While trying to drink so much water one day, I skipped my coffee. I don't drink a lot, only one cup a day but if I don't drink that one cup, by the afternoon I have a massive headache.  On this particular day I didn't get a headache. I read later that water helps you detox from caffeine and I will heartily agree. I'm not ready to give up my coffee, but on those days that I don't drink it, it's nice to know that just by keeping up my water intake I won't suffer the caffeine withdraws like I once had. My bathroom visits are crazy. I'm in there nearly every hour and at night I'm up once. This part is not my favorite. I met my water goal 5 of the 7 days but still drank more water on those days than normal, so I consider it a win as I ease into this new habit.

week 2:

More zits. I can't even. They are mostly on my neck. Can I blame the water? Perhaps it's taking so many years off of my life that I'm now entering puberty again. I have found that if I get my water consumption in by 8 pm, I don't usually wake up at night to go to the bathroom. If I am still chugging by 10, then there is no hope for me sleeping straight through the night. Speaking of sleep, I always slept well, but I have had some pretty great nights of sleep. Coincidence? I'm noticing that my contacts aren't quite as dry as they sometimes get in the evenings and I'm finding that I am craving water now. I'm constantly sipping and carrying my big cup full of water with me everywhere I go. I met my water goal 7 out of 7 days last week, usually exceeding it by a few ounces. 

week 3:

I was traveling this week, so it was harder for me to fit in copious amounts of water consumption with my schedule. Pretty much, that's a nice way of saying that I didn't have time to be making bathroom stops every hour!  But I did manage to get my water goal 5 of the 7 days. I had a massive zit that required it's own zip code. Seriously, this whole zit thing is a major downside if the two really are indeed linked to one another.  I normally have some pretty killer cramps and this month, I didn't notice them quite as much.  The introduction of yummy Tex Mex into my diet and eating out nearly every meal for five days straight had me gaining five pounds. I have always heard that drinking more water would make you fuller and help you lose weight. I did not find that to be true.

week 4:

You would think that by now the habit of drinking water would be in place but I can't say that it was. It was still a struggle for me to make sure I downed enough water. I met my water goal 6 out of 7 days. I'm still noticing acne. Maybe it's not water related at all.  I was hoping that my bladder would expand and get used to the increase in water but it hasn't. I'm still making frequent bathroom trips and that interruption in my day is pretty annoying.

Recap

I'm actually pretty darn proud of myself for sticking with this little experiment for 4 weeks. I made note every week of how many days I made my 101 ounce goal and even when I had a shortcoming, I was still drinking far more water than I normally do on average, so I consider it a win all around. I want to say that I noticed a huge change in my skin like the woman in the article that inspired me but I don't. I was really hoping those dark circles under my eyes would be less dark and noticeable but they haven't. The constant bathroom stops this month have been beyond annoying. My kids even mentioned that they are all ready for me to be done with my little experiment because they are tired of the bathroom breaks every hour on the hour!

4 weeks of 101 ounces of water before and after

The end results

I really wanted to notice a bigger difference. I really did. I wanted this experiment to be life changing and that drinking more water was something that I could swear by as a way to make you look younger, but it's not. I know many experts would disagree. Maybe the benefits are all internal and I've never been healthier or more flushed out. Who cares that I didn't notice a difference in my skin besides a ton more acne?  Will I keep it up? Probably not. I don't love spending my day finding bathrooms and making pit stops. I didn't notice enough benefits to make it worth it in the long run. Of course I will continue to drink water, just not 101 ounces of water every day. 

Should you do a 4 week water challenge?

Maybe, just maybe if I was trying to break a soda habit this might be a great challenge to take to help change that behavior.  I know every person is different and you may notice huge benefits from drinking more water. I would hate to discourage you from trying because there is no harm in it. Just be warned that you will be making frequent bathroom breaks!  Don't take my word for it. Give it a try. I would love to see how your skin changes just by drinking 101 ounces daily. You may have killer results.  Have you ever tried a water challenge? Did you notice any benefits to it? Would you try taking the 4 week water challenge?