If you like to scroll through health and wellness posts on Pinterest, you've likely seen a plethora of decorated gallon jugs. These gallon containers are marked with times written on different lines to measure water intake, different hand drawn designs and motivational quotes such as, "Remember your goals! You can do this!" Regardless of how the gallon jugs are decorated, they are all a part of the same water gallon challenge.
The goal of the water gallon challenge is to drink at least one gallon of water each day for 30 days while abstaining from sugary drinks and sodas, alcohol and caffeine. I saw this challenge online many times before deciding to give it a try. Initially, I started this challenge alone with the intentions of only drinking water for one week. I failed on the second day when I forgot my jug at home. After my initial failure, I decided to try again for the entire 30 days and set up a Facebook accountability group with other people interested in giving the challenge a shot. I channeled my inner Bobby Boucher and got started! If you're wondering why someone would want to try a challenge like this, you can read my reasons here.
I went through varying emotions during this challenge. At times, the challenge made me feel very positive. I knew I was doing something good for my body. At other times I became very frustrated with the challenge because I had almost no variety on what I was drinking. The only thing I drank other than water was a small glass of milk. While the challenge does allow you to add fruit as a natural sweetener, I chose not to. I also was frustrated early on in the challenge with how frequently I suddenly found myself needing to pee. Around day four, I felt like I had moved into my bathroom. Over time, this did not feel like as much of a problem and I stopped feeling negative about my bathroom use. Peeing is actually good for you and I was clearing out my kidneys.
I am a very visual person so I decided that the best way for me to keep track of how much water I had drank was drinking it straight from my jug. The jug was heavy in the mornings and a pain to carry around. I also received many stares and questions as I drank from it in public. Others in my accountability group chose to measure how many times they would need to refill their water bottles to equal a gallon of water. There is no right or wrong container style, only personal preferences.
I was amazed by the changes I saw in my body during the 30 days. Over the course of the challenge, I lost eight pounds and felt fuller with less food. Around day five, my skin developed a natural glow and became softer. During days 12 to 15, I began to have breakouts on my face due to my body going through a detox. After those days, I noticed my skin went back to being clear with a glow. I also noticed I rarely got headaches, I didn't want mid-afternoon naps, and I literally never needed any lip balm like I usually would. During the challenge, my muscles had also become much firmer. Before I began drinking so much water, I was afraid I might have had mild rosacea because my face often looked very pink and red. The redness in my face went down dramatically.
An unexpected side effect of the challenge was that I learned a lot about myself. I did not realize how much alcohol tended to dominate most of the social gatherings I attended. I went to several birthday parties over the 30 days and frequently had to turn down alcoholic beverages being offered to me. Some people were very respectful of my decision while others said things like "Oh it's just one shot," or, "But beer has water in it!" I began to understand how difficult life must be for recovering alcoholics trying to participate in normal social gatherings.
I would recommend this challenge to anyone that is interested in trying it. While it is not the easiest thing I have ever done and required a large amount of willpower to keep going, it was worth it. I feel great, look great and was able to kick bad habits. Even though my challenge is over, I still find myself wanting water over soda which is huge for me. While I might not carry a gallon with me every day, I still intend to drink mostly water with the occasional indulgences.
