Today marks the exact midpoint of a 6-week weight loss challenge I am participating in. It is going well and perhaps I will share some results in 21 days when it concludes. But tonight I wanted to share with you a secondary challenge that is within the weight loss challenge itself.

Every day of this diet I am participating in my own 100-ounce water challenge. As a method to help me reach my weight loss goal, I was advised to drink 100 ounces of water daily. Of course, this suggestion came from a fitness authority. Snap Fitness, the gym I work out at, is sponsoring the weight loss challenge and the owner, Christine, is coaching me through it. When she told me how much I should drink each day, I asked her how I was going to accomplish that. She pointed to her large water bottle and said, “Just sip on one of these guys all day long.”

I have become pretty good friends with my water bottle.

And so it began. The first day was tough. I had a scoreboard in my head and was basically counting the ounces one-by-one. It took a lot of effort as I scrambled to the bathroom more times in a 12-hour period than I ever had in my life. Drinking all the ounces the next day was challenging too. So was the next. But over the next two and a half weeks things started to get easier as I settled into a routine.

Instead of mindlessly chugging water to reach the 100-ounce magic number, I decided to rely on some structure. This is my water plan…

When I get home from my workout at the beginning of the day, I drink two 20-ounce water bottles. That puts me at 40 ounces before the sun even rises. During lunch I will drink another 20-ounce water bottle. I will then retreat to my home office with my 32-ounce Hydrapeak water bottle that Sid gave me for my birthday. I will sip on that all afternoon and by the time the workday is over I have already downed 92 ounces. At dinner I will eclipse my daily goal by drinking another 20-ounce bottle. Then, for good measure, I will drink another 20-ounce bottle after the kids go to bed and Sid and I are sitting on the couch watching TV.

I use the Hydrapeak water bottle that Sid gave me on a daily basis. As for the WSU hat, I got it from my sister’s family and if you notice in the picture above I am wearing it.

So why all the water? Is sending 100+ ounces of fluid through my body on a daily basis actually good for me? Absolutely! From a strictly physiological standpoint, H20 helps regulate body temperature and flushes out toxins. It carries nutrients to all cells in our body and oxygen to our brains. Water also allows the body to absorb important substances like amino acids and vitamins. Finally, you can’t ignore the science that suggests water can suppress our appetite and boost our metabolism.

These are the 20 oz. bottles of water I drink.

But there are a few non-biological reasons why the 100-ounce water challenge is working for me…

1. Although it might seem lame, reaching 100 ounces is a daily micro goal and completing it gives me just a little bit of satisfaction.

2. In order to reach 100 ounces, I need to drink water at lunch and dinner. This ensures that I am drinking a healthy/0-calorie option at these two important meals.

3. Friendly accountability! My brother and his fiancée are also doing the 100-ounce water challenge. The four of us (Sid included) have a group text message and throughout the whole day we update it with how many ounces we have consumed.

We seriously use our group text to keep daily tabs on where we stand with the challenge.

Running to the bathroom constantly can get annoying but the positives of the 100-ounce water challenge sure outweigh the negatives. With 21 days left in the weight loss challenge, it means I have 2,100 more ounces to drink…I think I can do it. Thanks to Christine for helping me truly embrace water! I look forward to updating everyone in a few weeks. Don’t Blink.