One of the most overlooked factors when trying to improve nutrition is water intake. Water is great, and it is apparent that you need to drink it, but most people do not pay much attention to their water intake, and in general, do not consume enough (even though most think they do).

While I always have my 64 ounces neon pink water jug with me that I consume daily, after my operation that water jug was put away and I found myself severely lacking in my water consumption. Not only was it an impossible task to get out of bed while on crutches and get water, I really did not want to have to go through the process of crutching to the bathroom every hour. Enough of my excuses, I should have been drinking my 64 ounces of water. But hindsight is 20/20 and I wanted to share what happened when I stopped drinking enough water.

 I had a headache everyday.

Ever since I was a kid I had suffered from migraine headaches. However, since working on my nutrition I have noticed a severe decline in my headaches. When I stopped drinking as much water during my recovery I had a headache daily, something that has not happened since I was a teenager when my beverage intake was 90% soda. Coincidence? I think not. In fact, one study found that increasing water intake was just as effective in relieving headache symptoms than taking an over the counter medication in people who suffered frequent headaches (Price A1, Burls A2.)

My skin looked horrible.

And I don’t mean this statement like I found the fountain of youth and my wrinkles went away, I am talking about that 13-year-old in class that could have been the before picture for a Proactive ad. That’s right, my face started breaking out everywhere. Not only that but it was dry, dull and I had my first pronounced wrinkle.  Once my water intake was back to normal my skin returned back to normal with no assistance from any medications.

I was hungry all the time.

Not only did I have the face of a 13-year-old, I had the appetite of a 13-year-old boy. I was hungry ALL of the time. I know it sounds cliché that when you feel hungry you are probably just thirsty but seriously I ate a full meal of balanced macronutrients and was “hungry” an hour later. Yea, I was thirsty no doubt about it. This is also why water is so important, especially for those weight loss clients, because if you are adequately hydrated this will prevent you from overeating. Not only that when our bodies are properly hydrated you are less likely to retain water. That’s right! When our bodies our dehydrated our bodies hold all the water that it can to survive.

I was tired all the time.

After the anesthesia started wearing off and I started becoming a functional person again I noticed my energy levels had severely decreased. While I know that just having surgery was a part of that I noticed that on days I would drink more water that my energy levels were a lot higher than days where I didn’t drink as much water.  When we are dehydrated our blood circulation to the muscles is lowered thus brings on a feeling of lethargy. This is not good for those people that have performance goals. For better performance in the gym make sure that you are adequately hydrated.

If being a zit faced, tired and headache ridden individual doesn’t convince you to drink more water there are many other signs that you may not be drinking enough water. Ever get achy joints and blame the weather? Well achy joints can be another sign of not getting enough water as water lubricates our joints, so when we don’t get enough we can get those rainy day joint feelings.  In addition, lacking water affects your entire body including your heart, kidneys, urine, and so much more. Feeling any of these side effects? Try drinking more water or click here for an estimate of how much water you should be consuming per day!