The 30-day Water Challenge: What You Need to Know
Contents
Introduction
In a day and age where every single individual is obsessed with health, fitness and the way they look, it is not surprising that you can come across at least one new trend, diet regime or challenge that promises to be the holy grail of weight loss and work wonders for your body in a short amount of time. Time and time again we have seen that this happens to be a mixed bag because while some of these fads and trends have genuinely helped people, especially because they have been based on scientific evidence, but at the same time, a large number of them have been shams as well, which have made people sick. In light of that, today we look at the new trend of the 30-day water challenge, which has taken the internet by storm. From average individuals working a 9 to 5 job to celebrities getting ready for the Red Carpet, thee 30-day water challenge is the absolute new revolution and seems to have affected just about everyone.
But how safe and helpful is the 30-day water challenge? Can anybody do it, and does this challenge even have scientific reasoning and logic to support all of its claims? Today, we break down some of the basics of the 30-day water challenge to see if it is worth its own salt.
What is the 30-day water challenge?
First of all, as the name suggests, it is a diet that involves an individual to drink one gallon or 3.7 liters of water every single day. However, the idea is not to drink all of the water in one time as you would get nauseous but to distribute it evenly throughout your day so that you do not put too much pressure on yourself, and also so that you remain hydrated the entire day as well.
The challenge claims a number of benefits. Not only does it claim to make your skin brighter and more youthful looking, but it also claims to help you lose weight without imposing any dietary restrictions on regimes on a daily basis.
What are the rules of the 30-day water challenge?
So, the 30-day challenge sounds a little too easy to be true, you think? Well, this one has a few rules that some may find a little hard to abide by. Let’s take a brief look at them.
- You have to drink at least 1 gallon of water in a single day.
- You are not allowed to add sugar or any other artificial sweetening products to your water.
- During the challenge period, you are not allowed to drink any kind of alcoholic drinks.
- Limit the amount of caffeinated and carbonated drinks that you consume during your day.
How can drinking water affect your overall health?
Of all the kinds of liquids that an individual consumes during the day, water is the most essential. Let’s take a look at the reasons as to why that is so.
- It helps your brain function and also improves your mood. In fact, studies have shown that individuals who suffer from fluid loss tend to get irritated and lash out more often, and their brains’ performance power also tends to be reduced. One study also associated fluid loss with feelings of anxiety and stress.
- Water is one of those detoxifying drinks that literally has no side effects. The more water you consume, the more your body flushes out the toxins from your system, which is the main reason why detox diets mostly consist of liquid products.
- Since water helps to flush out all of the body’s toxins, it also helps in maintaining the hormones and other fluids in the body, leading to a state of balance or homeostasis. This also makes sure that all of the hormones, chemicals, and enzymes in your body are working the way they should be.
- Water also helps to maintain the levels of electrolytes in your body, especially when you are doing any strenuous activity like exercising. In the absence of proper hydration, your cells tend to shrivel up, and also due to the production of lactic acid, you get muscle cramps, the prolonging of which tends to muscle degeneration.
- As doctors have been saying, water helps in hydrating keratin cells, which make up the hair and the nails. Consequently, if you keep hydrating throughout the day, you will get brighter and stronger nails along with reduced hair fall.
- Water helps to fill your stomach and curb your hunger. As a direct result of this, you feel fuller for a longer period of time and consume less food, leading to weight loss. The same is also true for food products that have high-water content in them.
- Water is also a natural remedy for people who suffer from issues of the digestive system like gas formation, bloating as well as constipation. Not only does water accelerate the metabolism process but also helps make bowel movements easier and more regular.
- Kidney stones have also been known to be removed through the urinary bladder once the person starts drinking lots of water. Some even suggest that regularly hydrating can prevent the risk of kidney stones coming back.
What is the science behind the 30-day water challenge weight loss?
The water, as science has been saying for decades, is one of the essential liquids required by the body to function on a day to day basis and almost here fourths of the human body consists of water. At the same time, water, as you already know, is a filling liquid. Not only does it make sure that the pH balance in your digestive system is neutralized, especially when your stomach produces more acid or when you have been hungry for too long, but it is also known for increasing the basic rate of metabolism of your body, which means food is digested more quickly and more thoroughly and therefore, there are reduced chances of indigestion, gas formation and bloating.
More than that, the idea is to drink at least one glass of water before large meals so that your stomach fills up faster, and your hunger is significantly curbed. As a result of this, the individual tends to eat less and which results in a significant and visible weight loss.
What are the 30-day water challenge benefits?
Of all the people who have attempted the 30-day water weight loss challenge, have reported the following common benefits.
- Reduced levels of hunger and cravings: As mentioned previously, the more water you drink, especially before your big meals, the fuller you tend to feel and the less food you tend to consume. This is the reason why you tend to lose weight even when you don’t alter your diet but drink lots of water.
- No digestion problems: People have also said that ever since undertaking this challenge, they have had improved digestion with uniform and regular bowel movement, and have also reported to having better digestion than when they were not in the habit of drinking so much of water during the day.
- Increased energy levels: Most people at the end of the 30-day water challenge have reported to having greater energy levels and reduces levels of stress and anxiety, which has led to more work output during their days.
- A decrease in weight: Since the 30-day water challenge is about drinking 3 liters of water, lots of people who have undertaken this challenge has also reportedly lost a few pounds without having had to make any necessary changes in their diets whatsoever. Also, since this diet forbids caffeinated drinks, it can be a good way for you to stop your dependence on caffeine for good.
- Healthier hair and skin: Most people, during the first week, have reported to having breakouts, but clearer skin later on. This is because the water tends to flush all of the toxins through your skin. In fact, if you hydrate yourself enough, you can delay the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of aging.
How effective has the 30-day water challenge been for people?
Most of the people who have tried the 30-day water challenge have reported to feeling slightly nauseous during the first week. Keep in mind that most of these people have not had the tendency to hydrate themselves carefully so far, and so it is natural that the body reacts to the newly added intake of water. One the second week, a lot of people have also reported to feeling lighter and having few breakouts. Again, this is normal because this is the reaction to your body attempting to flush out all of the toxins from your system with the help of the extra water that you are consuming. All in all, most of the people have reported that they feel lighter and also shed a few pounds. But of course, as is the case with any diet, the outcome, that is the weight that you lose depends on a number of factors like your body type, built, height, the rate of metabolism and so on.
Some tips on making things a little easier
We understand that following any diet can be a little difficult, especially if you have never done anything like this ever before. But to make things a little easier for you, we have a few tips and tricks that will make this simpler for you.
- Get a friend to do this challenge with you. This way, not only will the two of you be able to keep each other motivated, but you will also have someone to keep track of your progress.
- Make sure you drink plenty of water before you eat anything, even if it is a snack. This will help you to keep a check on what you are eating.
- If things get a little boring after a while, try adding some soothing herbs like lavender and rosemary to your water to add a little punch to it.
- Try to drink from a bottle that has the measurements etched on it. In this way, you will know if you are completing your quota of the day and how much of water you are drinking during the day.
- Keep a calendar to make sure that you are marking your progress. In fact, we suggest that you keep a record of pictures of your skin, your weight before the diet and so on so that you can see the changes and let them motivate you.
What are the possible complications and risks associated with this?
Like a number of weight loss diets and Extreme Weight Loss Methods, the 30-day weight loss challenge also comes with its fair share of risks and health issues, which is why before you venture on this diet, you need to be aware of such possible risks and how it can affect your health. Most importantly, you can take measures so that you can be safe.
- A number of times, the direct results from this 30-day water challenged can be hampered if you do not control the amount of carbonated drinks and alcohol that you consume for those 30 days.
- Water poisoning is real and it can happen to you. Like they say, too much of a good thing can be bad, and the same goes with water. If you drink too much water, then there are chances of the necessary and important electrolytes being drained from your body with sweat and urine, leading a sodium-potassium imbalance, which in turn can cause other issues like nausea, lightheadedness and so on.
Having mentioned all of this, we strongly suggest that you do not combine the 30-day water challenge with any other forms of extreme diets because your body will not be able to fully and timely adjustments to the changes. Apart from this, we also suggest that you avoid this weight loss program if you have any serious issues or health complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure and so on.
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