Water shortage

Drinking - that's like a swear word for me. And I'm not even thinking of alcoholic beverages. Just plain ol' water. I'm not really into booze.

Apart from the odd occasion after working out followed by going to the sauna and sweating a lot I do not feel thirst. Ever. I lived and worked in the desert (Sinai) and even there, in the middle of the summer I did not feel thirsty.

Consequently I do not drink. A couple of years ago I actually noticed that I can go all day NOT drinking a glass of water. Back then I found it funny. Now it just annoys the hell out of me.

I suppose it also explains my chronic constipation since I was a toddler. I’ve been carrying that particular monkey on my back ALL MY LIFE.

And I know, thank you very much, that I should take in at least 2 litres (64 oz) of water/liquid every day. But I cannot.

It’s not the lack of knowledge, nor lack of willingness. I would if I could...

I used to go on “binge drinking” sessions every time I noticed I haven’t drunk again for a day: I just stood at the kitchen sink and forcing down glasses of water one after the other. (Yep, binging on water – that’s precious!) But these spurs of watering were always one offs, so I cannot count them as habit. More like a punishment. Not to mention that is not an option any more, as I cannot take more than a little tiny sip at a time – my gulping days are gone!

Later on I learned that drinking sufficient amount of water helps with weight loss. Hurray – let’s drink to that! I actually got a hold on it (and a trusty 0.75l plastic bottle) during my pre-op diet, and during those 10 days I always met the 2l target. I was actually getting used to it. And it got even better: my surgery was in the middle of a hot Hungarian summer, so I kept my trusty bottle (it become like a juju for me) and kept sipping all day and all night for weeks. I felt great! For first time in my life I did drink enough AND it helped my constant poo-problem. Wow – I was in awe of the magic of water.

Then the gas pains started... every day, around 5pm (I was through about 3-4 bottles by then) they came like clockwork. And the damn things hurt like hell!!! I was so newly banded that I never made the connection between sipping my water and these god-awful gas pains. But then my eye were kindly opened in our support group: lose the sippy bottle as sipping makes you swallow a lot of air with your water – and as it cannot come upwards any more (in the form of burp) because of the band, it MUST go downwards and that, Ladies and Gentlemen, HURTS. So I invested in a 16oz plastic travel cup/glass which has a different opening (no sipping involved) than most but still drip proof – and low and behold: the gas pains disappeared completely! Another WOW!

My bottle...

 (I'm getting to my point here, but slowly.. bear with me. Thursday is my hump day and my brain doesn't operate as well.)

Another issue is that water for me is just not good enough. I don’t enjoy it. But I don’t enjoy it so much, that I just cannot make myself drink it. I was told to flavour my water with lemon. No, thank you – I’m acidy enough without that. Enter the revelation of the little sachets called Crystal Lights. Now that’s a nifty little invention I’m honestly grateful for: they make my water drinkable. So ever since my surgery I’m dependent on Crystal Light. BUT I live in the UK. There is no Crystal Light here in the stores. I need to get my fix from an online retailer: a monthly supply I usually buy is about £50  (about $75). Yes, that’s how much I spend on Crystal Light. Crazy, I know but I’m hooked and I cannot find a UK alternative for that invention. What a bummer. (Anyone reading from the UK: do you know an alternative for Crystal Light I can get from a supermarket here?)

But lately even my trusty Crystal Lights doesn’t make drinking water any easy. I actually had days lately when I was cruising along with one 16oz glass a day. That’s blumfuff, not water intake. I have my travel cup sitting on my desk. My first thing to do in the office – after starting up my PC – is to fill this bad boy with fresh, filtered water, toss a CL in it. I know by lunch time I need to get through 2. Ideally. Then another 2 before I leave the office. That would give me the required 2l, and any extra I drink after that is a bonus. However in the last 10 days I never had a day when I completed this circle. I’ve been left with more than the half of the first glass by lunchtime... And of course I’m not supposed to drink 15 minutes before and 30 minutes after my meals... that also cuts down on possible drinking time.

I felt that I actually don't have enough time to sip 2l of water in a day. So I have charted my waking hours, and surprisingly, after discounting all those times I cannot drink, there is still over 8hrs left when I can. That would average 0.25l per hour. That doesn’t seem much. (yes, I’m probably over analysing this, but it gave me great satisfaction to create a Gnatt chart in Excel while doing this) However, my bottle is still standing in front of me, untouched, and it’s 11.30...)

Conclusion?

I know that I need to have at least 2l of water per day in me. I have the knowledge.

I am willing to drink as much as I should. I have willingness.

I know how much better my WL is when I drink enough and what good this does to my insides. I have the motivation.

I've got my glass and my CL and unlimited supply of freshly filtered water. I have the tools.

So why cannot I drink enough????? End result: crapaty-crap drinking.

So please do help me with the maths:

Knowledge + willingness + motivation + tools = required outcome. Khmmm... WRONG!

If knowledge, willingness, motivation and tools are all present, why doesn’t this happen for me?? What am I missing from this equation? Anyone? Please enlighten me!

OK, it just hit me (right at this very moment typing all this up) that this can be translated to all my weight loss efforts in the past.... ssshhh... we are getting into deep, psycho-analysis territory here... Would worth the trip, though. Maybe one day...