I know I don't drink enough water. Sometimes I go to bed and realize I haven't had even a sip all day. I'm a teacher and bathroom breaks are limited, so I haven't been able to guzzle all day like I know I should. One cup of liquid in my body and I'm running to the bathroom in pain!

So I was wondering....I'm about to go on summer vacation for a little over 2 months and I want to drink as much as I can while I have this time. I hear that my body will adjust if I just start drinking it. The bathroom breaks should subside. Is this true? Also, should I increase my water intake slowly over time so my body doesn't go into shock?

I also plan to exercise more. My own kids are older now, and I have no plans this summer to go out of town. I want to experiement and start a routine I know I can stick with, even when school starts up again in August. Is an hour a day of power walking enough? Should I exercise both in the morning and night?

The eating thing is going to be harder to conquer because of my food addiction. The water and more exercise might help me choose to eat less naturally, I'm hoping!

Thanks for any advice on the water thing!

Heidi
175/175/135

This is absolutely true.. at least for most people I've talked to. You will think you need to live next to a bathroom at first. But it will get better.

I don't know about shock but you do want to give your bladder time to adjust. I wouldn't drink so much at one time to the point of making myself uncomfortable.. but I'd keep the bottle handy and sip slowly all day. Refilling of course.

I am also a teacher so I really understand about the bathroom breaks. A kidney stone sure did cure me of that hazard. Now I drink water and make arrangements to relieve myself when necessary. But I do admit I don't drink as much at school as I do at home.

Exercise.. I think an hour of power walking is great.. if it is not too much for you. Overdo it and it will be short-lived. Also, look into strength training if you are not already doing so.

I am wishing you the best.

Thanks Jayde for the help. I walk almost every day (about 2 miles) and have competed in walks (2nd place last year at cancer walk!), but I haven't been consistant in the power walks. I know I can do it, it's just getting off my butt and doing it! I'm going to try to make it a habit so it won't be hard for me to keep it up once school starts again.

What grade do you teach? First grade for me! I love the little ones.

Heidi

I enjoy walking also.. but mostly I do it on the treadmill. I like the climate control.

First grade? Yikes.. you must have angel wings! I actually teach grades 1-5 but I specialize in 3-5. I love the first graders but in small doses. Very small doses...

For me when I first started drinking alot of water I did had to go pee like every 20 mins. It took about a month for me and has now slowed down alot. I go more like every 3-4 hours. Still alittle annoying but I know its a good thing.

I drink 6 liters of water a day. I find I still go quite often (but maybe not as much) but usually it goes from not having to pee to having to pee really bad there is no happy middle. Somedays are okay, some days are not. My boyfriend likes to make fun of me for going to the bathroom so much, haha.

You should be drinking 1oz per 2# of bodyweight plus 4oz per 15 mins of exercise. Start slowly, for me it helped drinking things like green tea so it didn't go through me so fast. I drink quite a bit of water now during the day without bathroom breaks being too much of a problem, but I remember a time at summer camp that I refused to drink water at lunch because we were not allowed to use the washroom until after lunch. The best advice I have got for water is until you adjust, try to have only 1 glass of water after 5 PM (otherwise expect a few nights of running to the bathroom)

As for the exercise, do you feel that you are working hard enough? For some people an hour of power walking is a huge goal, for others they don't even consider it as part of thier exercise. Work at your own level and remember that you are in charge. If you were your own personal trainer would you think it was enough? You can adjust your exercises to your life and your own weight loss goals, if you are ok with a pound a week, than do the work for a pound a week, if you want three pounds a week you have to put in the effort for three pounds a week (by the way it seems like it is about 12x what you need for one pound a week)

Try eating more protien earlier in the day and having a glass of water whenever you feel hungry. If you know you eat for reasons other than hunger at certain times during the day try to plan for it. T.V. is one of my pittfalls so I try to work out during commercial breaks so I'm not tempted to grab a snack during them (watching shows like the biggest loser also makes it easier for me to avoid snacks)