Goal of the Week: Drink Nothing but Water

Happy Monday loves!

While my boyfriend has taken over my computer until the end of the semester, I've been trying to get the hang of the Blogger app on my iPad. I absolutely cannot stand it. This is the third time writing this post. I'm sure most of you are also feeling like this on this lovely Monday morning (or afternoon or evening depending on when this actually gets published):

If you aren't, good! Seriously keep it up. 

It's Monday so I'm assuming a lot of you have had lots of coffee today. This week I'm challenging you to only drink water. 

I'm sure everyone has heard all of the benefits of why drinking water is good so I won't bore you with all of that. Energy is the benefit I'm after right now. I've been working out for a good 2 weeks now and attempting to only drink water. It's going alright-ish but milkshakes at Steak and Shake get me.

If you're a coffee drinker this is going to be a real challenge for you. Coffee is going to be calling your name as soon as you stop drinking it. The more you get into the habit of drinking only water, the more you'll notice the change in your energy level and how much longer this non-caffeinated energy lasts.

People have said that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but that's not true. It really depends on the person; habit formation happens in the basal ganglia in the brain (I think). It's going to take more than a week to actually get into the habit, but if you do it for a week you should start to notice how much better you feel. 

Do it this week (you'll survive) and hopefully you'll be motivated enough to make it a habit. I'm still working on it. Make some fruit or cucumber water for flavor. 

                                              

You can do it! 

Also if anyone has used the Blogger for iPad app let me know if I'm missing something or if it's just not that good. I can't change picture sizes, text orientation/color/font and my posts keep not saving :( 

Are you going to try the challenge? Have you already tried before? Or do you already have the will power to just drink water? Have a good rest of your day, and drink a glass or two of water between now and bedtime!

-graceyloo

My Thoughts on Vita Coco Coconut Water

At the beginning of summer, I posted about my summer resolutions for this summer, and drinking coconut water was on the top of my list. After extensive (well, what I consider extensive) research and reading several reviews, Vita Coco seemed like the way to go for coconut water drinkers. Most said that it tasted sweet, kept them hydrated, and talked about other health benefits of drinking coconut water in general.

I went to GNC and picked up the Peach and Mango flavor. I stuck it in the fridge before work to chill it, and took it to work with me.

I happened to be running very late for work that day, and had to park far away because of some event that was going on. I literally had to RUN to work in the awful Charleston summer humidty/heat, wearing long pants. Being the out of shape bum that I am, under normal circumstances I would have passed out by the time I got to work and/or felt absolutely awful. Lucky for me, I had my coconut water and drank it on my run to work. I felt wonderfully hydrated when I got there. Just a little hot (thank god I work in an ice cream shop...) and a bit worn out.

However, it wasn't the taste I was expecting. Considering it was coconut water, with peach and mango mixed in, I was expecting it to taste fruity and sweet. But it tasted like...tomato juice, like V8. It didn't taste bad necessarily, but not what I was expecting. So the taste wasn't good but tolerable because of all of the benefits of coconut water.

By the end of my shift, I had gotten a HORRIBLE headache, which I assumed was just from the running. I had gotten tired of drinking my coconut water and decided to switch over to regular water. (I gave the rest of my coconut water to my coworker who LOVED the taste. So I guess it's an acquired taste?)

I went back to GNC and got 2 other flavors, the regular coconut water and one with acai berry.

Same thing with both flavors: I felt hydrated and healthy, if that makes sense. But the taste wasn't quite right and I got awful headaches both times.

Needless to say, I got tired of the headaches and after the third coconut water I realized I got them after drinking coconut water, so I stopped drinking them. As I thought, the headaches stopped after I gave up coconut water. I have an allergy to most fruit (nothing fatal, just itchy mouth, throat, lips, tongue, etc.), so maybe coconut water was no different for me. Someone suggested I may not be allergic to it but I have an intolerance to it, like some are lactose intolerant.

Final thoughts:

-If you go to the gym or play a sport and drink sports drinks like Gatorade, this could be a healthier alternative to keep you hydrated.

-The taste wasn't as fruity as I expected, but it wasn't too bad. Others love the taste.

-Had horrible headaches after drinking it.

-Other than keeping you hydrated, coconut water has many other health benefits.

Do you or have you had coconut water before? Did you like the taste? What did you like/dislike about it?