100 Ounces a Day Water Challenge

Back in July my husband and I decided to challenge each other. Summer got the best of both us and the coffee/pop to water ratio was not looking good. As we got ready for our trip to Las Vegas we decided a little water challenge was in order to get us back on track.

First we did some research.

On average I had been trying to drink around 70-80 ounces a day of water. When a run (or workout) day happened I would usually end up around 100 ounces just to feel like I was keeping up. Most online resources agreed that we should be drinking about half of our body weight number in ounces of water.

Body Weight / Water = Oz Per Day

While we both had different goal numbers (and there were additional ounces for exercise, heat, etc.) I felt like I was already at mine (70 ounces per day) so I decided to step it up. On top of the 70 ounces a day I was also drinking two and sometimes even three 16 oz cups of coffee a day . I knew I had room to change it up.

The goal for 17 Days (countdown to Vegas) was 100 ounces a day.

100 Oz Of Water a Day Water Challenge – The Plan

I’m not a fan of the water we have here in our house, so I headed to the local grocery store and picked up two gallons of water and a couple of five gallon water jugs. We each got a gallon with our name on it and ounces labeled as goals throughout the day.

Except for the first two hours of the day every two hours was 16 ounces of water.

Each day I headed off to work in the morning with my jug filled up to 100 ounces. Throughout the day I would fill up my water bottle from the jug as I made it further and further through the jug of water. Having a water bottle along let me drink water throughout the day without having to carry my jug around.

However, the jug itself really helped keep me more accountable. Not only did my co-workers laugh at times for carrying in a big jug of water every day but the jug helped give me a visual of where I was at as the day went on.

Water is the one thing I have been 100% consistent on tracking through Fitbit for well over a year and a half now but seeing how much was left each time I filled up my water bottle made a huge difference.

Water Challenge Results

There were good days and bad days. For the most part we were able to stick to the plan. We each tracked separately and according to my Fitbit app I missed 5 days, 3 of those days were by less than 10 ounces.

In the grand scheme of things I don’t know that those missed days mattered.

I was able to cut back to one cup of coffee a day, mainly because I drink coffee slowly and by 11am would need to catch up on water. That took care of my main goal. I now am between one and two cups of coffee a day. Usually by the time I drink half of my second cup I’ve moved on to water and don’t go back to coffee in the afternoon.

Despite drinking less coffee, I still found that I had the same if not more energy than I did before. It’s amazing how water can do that for you.

As for the goal of the water challenge being habit forming, I failed miserably here. Once we hit Vegas and water cost $12 a bottle it all went down hill. That doesn’t mean I don’t plan on getting back on track.

I’m working my way back with the goal of 80 ounces a day right now. On workout days it tends to be closer to the 100 ounces. Maybe next up we’ll go for a gallon of water a day.

Have you ever done a water challenge? Was it successful? What changes did you notice?