What the lack of water might do to your body and did do to mine…

I have to warn you that none of what I’m about to tell you is pretty.. but it does go to show what the lack of water will do to your body. If you have any of these symptoms on a daily basis it could easily be because your body is struggling. What people seem to forget is that our bodies consist of 80% water and when we fail to introduce more water into our systems our body takes it from elsewhere to complete the necessary functions.

Since I stopped drinking water I have noticed several things. My coordination has been compromised. I believe this has happened because my joints, and this includes the joints in my fingers, have been dehydrated so movement isn’t as fluid as it should be. My fingers aren’t moving as well as they should be causing me to have more typing errors. My elbows hurt more than usual and my shoulders tire easily. My neck feels like it needs to be popped but nothing happens when I try and pop it. My knees have been clicking when I stand and my ankles and toes keep popping. It sounds like I’m cracking my knuckles when I take a step.

The area that seems to be the most bothered by the lack of water is my back. Today I had trouble getting out of bed and even now (nearly midnight) I’m still having to shift my position over and over again to try and reduce the amount of pain I feel in my lumbar region.

Internally a few things have been happening. I’ve experienced more heartburn than I usually do and (beware those with a delicate constitution) I am dreadfully constipated. I feel like I have to go but nothing is happening. Things are.. compacted. I’m not digesting as well as I should be and I do have minor abdominal pains as my body struggles to work through the food in my intestinal system.

This is all because my body is lacking the natural lubrication of water. I’m starting back with all my water first thing in the morning. I know that once I have water back in my system I’ll be annoyed by the fact that I will have to keep using the bathroom. I used to wonder why I would urinate so much when I drank water, but a doctor told me that while your body needs water when it’s first being reintroduced to it a lot of the water escapes. We aren’t like sponges, unfortunately, and it takes replenished cells to be strong enough to collect and pass along the water we drink.

If you aren’t a water drinker, you really should start drinking water. You’ll notice the same things I did/do.. the first few days (up to a week) about an hour after you drink water you’ll have to go to the bathroom and by the end of that second day you’ll notice your urine is nearly clear. This is how it should be. You actually shouldn’t be having yellow urine.. it should be nearly clear. This means the nutrients that were once coloring your urine are being properly absorbed again. You’ll find that after a week you won’t be having to go to the bathroom so frequently after you drink water.. your body will be absorbing more of it.

When your body gets the water it needs you will have a reduction of some of the issues I’ve mentioned or they will completely go away. Of course, if you are still having constipation after you start drinking plenty of water that is a major clue that you are missing some important parts of your diet. You will need to take the time to work with your diet to find the foods that give you the best results.

This all comes back to you knowing your body better than anyone else. If you learn things about your body then you will be able to make good decisions to keep it working well. I know that water helps reduce my joint pain and reduce the occurrences of my back pain.. and it stops me from being constipated. I can mark that on my list of things I can control about how my body works.

Water.. is life. And to me it means less pain and a better digestive function.

Pounds lost: 17.1 (371.9)

Daily insight: Craving water more than I ever craved the evil Pepsi. :)

Ounces of water consumed: 0

Steps in the right direction: 79

Re-learning how my body works…

I’ve decided to start a little experiment. I want to see if a change in what I eat or drink really does have an impact on my body. I didn’t have any water today and I’m going to refrain from water at least one more day. I want to take note of how my body is feeling. I want to see if my back hurts more, or my joints, or my eyes, or.. whatever. I want to see if my digestion changes or if my body even notices the difference whatsoever.

I think this is important because by noting anything that feels different I can make the connection between that pain or change and the amount of water I do or don’t drink. This will help me later when I attempt to figure out why something is or isn’t happening. For example, if I know that the lack of water consumption for two days causes my elbows to hurt more then I know that water is doing it’s job of lubricating my joints like I’ve read in articles about joint health. This will help me determine if I need to increase my intake of water later on when my elbows hurt.

I’ve said before that I think we should all know our bodies so that we can help doctors understand how we work before, during, or after we are hurt or ill. This is another way for me to have a better understanding of how my body uses the things I eat and drink.

Today was a good day. I laughed with my sister and nephew and then went home and laughed some more. I hope tomorrow is even better.

Pounds lost: 17.1 (371.9)

Daily insight: Knowing what makes you work will help you keep things working the best way they can.

Ounces of water consumed: 0

Steps in the right direction: 78

Taking a walk down nostalgia lane…

Today was a day for introspection and I found myself thinking about times gone by. I didn’t yearn for them or anything, but I did wonder what my life would be like now if I had made different choices. I’m closing in on my 37^th birthday and I find that it’s causing me to wonder about things I never stopped to wonder about before.

I don’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made because they’ve helped me become the strong, independent woman I am today. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop me from wondering if I made the right decisions. I never would have thought I’d be almost 37 without a reliable job embarking on a new phase of my life that I sometimes feel I don’t have the skill set for.

Some days I love what I’ve gotten myself into and other days I question my sanity. LOL Today wasn’t a question my sanity kind of day and yet I still had a lot of wonder running around my head. I even found myself friending some of my ex-boyfriends on Facebook. LOL Yeah, it was one of those kind of days.

Today I also finished Deborah Blake’s book Witchcraft on a Shoestring and I really enjoyed it. I think my favorite part of the book was her last chapter titled, The Everyday Witch. She talked about how being a witch had nothing to do with buying more stuff and had everything to do with connection. Connection to the earth, to the Goddess and the God, to the seasons, to the animals around us, to the people in our lives, to our communities, and the fact that we are the connection that is most important.

I really liked her writing style and how I smiled, laughed, and was called to think about the things she said. I plan on keeping an eye out for more books written by her. If you haven’t read any of her books, I recommend her. She’s a good example of what each of us really is.. An ordinary person living as valuable a life as we can while being true to ourselves.

I like that.

Pounds lost: 17.1 (371.9)

Daily insight: Being ordinary doesn’t mean you’re not special.

Ounces of water consumed: 0
Steps in the right direction: 77

Busy is the way to be…

Today was a busy day for me with a lot of things that I had to finish before the end of the day. I’m still working on it but I’m hoping to be done well before midnight. If I manage to finish I can start on my two week reprieve to get myself back on track.

In an attempt to get myself out of the rut I’ve fallen into I’ve applied to work for a former employer. We parted on terms that could have been better. I left the company because the management team at the time was mistreating my fellow co-workers and me. That team was fired from the company not long after I left the company due to the bad press they received and the way their behaviors created an adverse effect on the business. I’m hoping that the track record of those managers will sufficiently counteract the fact that I left without ever signing my termination papers.

I don’t really want to be moving backwards in my employment history, but these are tough times and I can’t allow my pride to get in the way of me being able to pay my bills. Keeping my head above water is more important than any ego that I may have.

I continued reading my book by Deborah Blake and I should have it finished tomorrow. I look forward to being able to share with you what I’ve discovered in between the covers of her book.

The diet went only so-so today and I have no excuse for that. I wasn’t able to get into cooking today and so that allowed me to make food that wasn’t exactly on the menu. I’m hoping that I’ll have all of the items that aren’t good for me out of the house within the next few days.

Ok, back to work for me. Talk to you again tomorrow.

Pounds lost: 17.1 (371.9)

Daily insight: You can’t have tunnel vision when you’re looking at the big picture.

Ounces of water consumed: 64

Steps in the right direction: 76

Getting back in the groove…

Today was a pretty good day. I purposely kept it as quiet as possible since I’m trying to get back into the groove of things. I caught up on the reading of blogs I haven’t been doing. It’s been nice to see what’s been going on with other people and I was pleased to discover some recipes that I’ve now saved to my favorite places. :) I managed to drink all 64 ounces of water last night and am doing it again today. This is a great step toward getting back

Part of my mellow day was spent reading a book by Deborah Blake about money saving ways to get the things you need to be “Witchy”. I’m enjoying the suggestions that she has and have learned a couple of new things. That’s always a good thing.

Other than that I found myself asleep on the couch at one point and woke up with a tiny sleep hangover. I had left the heater on and the house was stuffy which, of course, made me groggy. A call from my sister woke me up and when she arrived I was still half asleep. I can only imagine the conversation we must have had. LOL

The diet went pretty well today although it wasn’t stellar. I need to get rid of all of the “tempting” foods I currently have in the house. Once they are gone things will be easier to persuade back on track. For dinner, though, I’m going to have a warm cup of soup and then curl up in front of the TV before bed.

I have a busy day tomorrow finishing up the last of my freelance work so I can take 2 weeks off to get my priorities in order. I sure hope that I can get it all done tomorrow so I won’t have to think about it again for a while.

Pounds lost: 17.1 (371.9)

Daily insight: Warmth makes me very, very sleepy!

Ounces of water consumed: 64

Steps in the right direction: 75

Some days you can only keep your head above water…

Have you ever had days.. or in my case weeks.. where you feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water? The last 11 days have repeatedly kicked me in my backside. Of course, when I look back I wonder why. I had computer issues, then I had deadline issues, and then I had my “my body isn’t a happy camper” issues. The computer issues have thankfully been repaired, and after only 2.5 hours of sleep for 48 hours a couple of days ago I finished all of my work, although I did miss two deadlines. I think that’s what sent me into my “SIGH, I’m figgin’ exhausted and a little depressed” that’s kept a hold of me for the last few days.

I didn’t know how to get back online and admit all of this on here. I was afraid of my own oath of honesty. The scale on Thursday said my weight was 371.9 so I’d gained back nearly 2lbs and that added to my feelings of depression. I couldn’t face the fact that I was allowing myself to step away from my goals and my promise to myself. I could easily blame the amount of work I had given myself with my freelance work, but that is only part of it. Everything feels off kilter.

The loss of sleep because of my workload made me realize a few things. It made me realize that I was working 18+ hours a day for barely $25. None of it was even enough for me to pay my rent. If I count all of the work I’ve done for other people since November I can just make rent. That’s over 2 months of sacrificing time with my family and my goals for 1 month of rent. That is not ok. I was faced with the reality of my situation and that added to my self-deprecating attitude. I was asking myself things like… “What’s the point? You’re killing yourself for what? Why don’t you just give up?”

That kind of negative self speak isn’t unfamiliar to me, but I thought I had left it in my past. To have it rise up and point its finger at me in the mirror was hard to deal with. Is still hard to deal with.

In an attempt to cheer myself up I decided to do a reading with the Tarot, but every single card I pulled was negative. It made me feel defeated. I almost wanted to just stay down and not struggle to my feet again.

But I’m better than that.

Much better.

And I deserve more than just falling down and letting life run over the top of me. I deserve to be empowered and successful. I know that the only person that can make that happen is me. And I deserve for it to happen. So, I’m going to damn well make it happen.

I haven’t had any water today, but I put down that I’ll have consumed 64 ounces and this is my first step to getting back to where I need and deserve to be. I am going to drink all of the water I need to before I go to bed tonight. And I’m going to get back on this rickety wagon that I’ve allowed to roll over me and start steering it back down the path it should have always been on.

Pounds lost: 17.1 (371.9)

Daily insight: You’re the only one that can stop yourself from succeeding and you should never let you get in your way.

Ounces of water consumed: 64

Steps in the right direction: 74 - I just can’t count those days I let the wagon roll over me.

Circles in the Sand...

The line from the song won’t get out of my head as I sit down to write this. It seems like an odd song to be floating around inside my noggin’, doncha think?  Especially since today was just a day of work without any real daydreaming. I think I need a break so that I can get some real down time to read. I miss reading. I haven’t sat down to actually read, honest to goodness turning of pages, in months. I tried to read some of the books I have that pertain to my religion, but even those just sat there unattended.

Seems a shame that I’m doing all of this writing and none of it, outside of this blog, has been for me. A real shame. I think I’m going to take some time off after these last two big projects are done so I can concentrate on the things I want to write. After all, my reading a while back said my future has to do with my writing. And I have to believe that it means the writing I should be doing to get me published rather than the writing I’m doing for other people.

So, I suppose I should stop singing about circles in the sand and start making some art outside of my head. :) 

Pounds lost: 18.9 (370.1)

Daily insight: Glimmering, shimmering, dreams across the milky way.

Ounces of water consumed: 64

Steps in the right direction: 73

Differences…

Today, I feel different. I’m not really sure what it is that’s making me feel this way. I mean, outside of the usual aches and pains that belong to my body things feel different. I think it must be psychological. I feel like I a moving with more ease and that I’m taller than I was even yesterday. My path seems to be straighter when I walk through the house and I’m not really bumping into corners or stepping on my own feet like I usually do. I feel like my chair isn’t resting in the same spot in front of the computer and my arms are sitting differently atop the computer. I’m not sure why, but it’s like it’s not my body that I’m commanding.

Can you have an out of body experience in your own body?

I’m sure that this has more to do with the impromptu nap I took earlier today where when I woke up my head felt thick and heavy and my neck stiff. I’m sure I just woke up in an odd angle and it tilted my axis temporarily, but what a weird feeling this is. I’m also hoping that my nap won’t make it impossible for me to fall asleep tonight. I’ve been working on getting up at a “normal” time and don’t want to ruin my record.

The diet went well today, if you don’t mind me using popcorn at the movies as one of my snacks. Hehehe. But I did do well by not getting a soda and had water instead. The rest of the day everything went well, but I am only going to get 64 or my preferred 80 ounces of water today. Tomorrow when I’m sitting at my desk it will be better since I’ll have my water bottle just inches from my left hand most of the day.

I’m looking forward to spending the day working tomorrow and sneaking away for lunch with my mom. I still need to give her the Yule gift I made her. I really hope she likes it. I worked a long time on it and really think it’s great. :) All right. I think that’s it for now, I need to go get in a comfortable position on the couch. :) Night!

Pounds lost: 18.9 (370.1)

Daily insight: Spending time by yourself is good for your mental health.

Ounces of water consumed: 64

Steps in the right direction: 71

Relaxing…

Today I was determined to have some relaxation time. I snuggled on the couch while doing laundry and watching shows that had filled up my DVR. The puppy was a warm stole across my hip that didn’t move unless I made her. She was making happy, sleepy puppy noises under the blanket that covered us. It was a lovely quiet morning. My sister called me with wonderful news so we spent some time being exciting about it. I know that things will start getting easier for her from now on and that makes me really happy.

In the afternoon I went over to my parents’ house to get some things done. I love going over there, I always feel so welcomed and comfortable that I inevitably start to feel sleepy and relaxed. I sat in the recliner and had to shake myself awake. Hehehe.

I’m home again and thankful to be able to get back to snuggling on the couch. I have a date with my Step-mom and her mom tomorrow that I’m looking forward to. Soooo, I had better get done what I need to do so I can get back to the couch. :)

The diet went really well today, but I keep thinking I want something sweet even though I already ate a little nibble of pudding. Grrr, cravings are not my friend!

Pounds lost: 18.9 (370.1)

Daily insight: Encouraging words and hugs do wonders for the heart and soul.

Ounces of water consumed: 64

Steps in the right direction: 70

Keeping my eyes from crossing...

Have you ever had one of those days when you don’t really know where the day went, but suddenly you look up and it’s over? I had a day like that today. I know that I worked, because my eyes are crossing and my arms are tired, but I can’t remember hardly anything that I did today. It was like I was in a bubble in the office. I hope to heck that I remembered to take the puppy outside to do her business. Well, since there aren’t any surprises in the house I guess I at least did that. LOL

It’s surprising to me to discover that even though I haven’t been able to find a part time job, I’m busy all day long. Much longer than I would have been if I only worked 8 hours a day. That seems.. odd. I’m not sure I’d get everything I needed done done if I only allowed myself 8 hours to complete it. That makes me start to wonder just how I accomplished so much at work in the past. I was often a high performer and was the recipient of co-workers comments like, “slow down,  you’re making us look bad.” Curious.

Ah well, I still have an article and a quarter to finish before I can call it a night and then, let me tell you, my bed and I are going to be GREAT friends. LOL I’m going to sprawl all over it until it kicks me out in the morning. Hehehe.

I’m still delighted in the results I had with the scale yesterday and do remember doing some prancing earlier today when I was making some Tuscan tomato soup for lunch. I felt light on my feet. :D

Tomorrow, although it is a Saturday, is bound to be busy as I have work to do as well as a trip to get my brakes looked at. Hopefully, I won’t look up tomorrow and find the day over. I’m hoping to have some time to just relax and play catch with the puppy.

The diet went well today, although somehow oreos invaded my house and forced their way between my lips and down my throat. LOL I have NO idea how that could have happened. I’ll have to blame my zombie like state and that it’s a known fact that all zombies crave oreos more than flesh. (Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!) Ahem. Yeah, so.. yeah. I’ll work on that. :D

Pounds lost: 18.9 (370.1)

Daily insight: Oreo cookies are eeeeeeeeeeevil, but Zombies can’t get enough of them!

Ounces of water consumed: 80

Steps in the right direction: 69

Grrrrr technology.. grrrr!

About an hour ago my desktop computer decided it was happier freezing than working and I had to hard shut it down. :( Because of that I'm typing on my laptop and can't seem to get anything done. So, my post is going to have to be quick.

Besides the evils of technology giving me some more gray hairs, today was a good day. I managed to get a lot done including doing a bunch of testing for a job as well as having an interview over IM. :)

The diet went well today and my water intake was perfect. And the good news is that when I weighed in today I did so with a HUGE smile. I have lost weight again, Oh Happy Day! My weight is now 370.1 I am exceptionally happy about that! I believe things can only get better from here on out.

Pounds lost: 18.9 (370.1)

Daily insight: Numbers are only numbers, unless you give them power.

Ounces of water consumed: 80

Steps in the right direction: 68

Warm rosy glow...

Today was such a busy day and I was in such a good mood.  I got so much accomplished.  I ran all over town looking for items that I really need for my business and did a price comparison that everyone.  I'm pretty sure I found everything I needed and tomorrow morning I get to go buy them.  I had some questions like I always do, but thankfully my dad and his computer genius brain helped me figure it out.

I am most especially excited about the fact that I got the perfect one ear headset to use for my voice recognition software.  And believe it or not, I don’t have to correct the program every two seconds like I did before.  As a matter of fact (old boy, old boy!) I'm writing this post, completely hands-free.  Well, give or take a comma, a period, and a smiley face here and there. :)

Hopefully this will mean I'll get more work done with less pain, because less pain for me means more smiles and more time to be able to do the things I want to do.  You know, like reading books and making correct meal plan.  In other words, doing what I set out to do with this blog.

I think my good mood today really has everything to do with the numbers on the scale yesterday.  I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrow morning when I step on the scale again that news will be better than today.  Of course, the news I got today was pretty good. :) I'm contributing my good day today to the warm rosy glow I got from the scale. I hope tomorrow is just as awesome.

Pounds lost: 13.7 (375.3)

Daily insight: I love it when a plan comes together.

Ounces of water consumed: 80

Steps in the right direction: 67

I’ve.. Just.. Got.. To.. Say.. IT!

O…M…G!

It’s been five days since I last posted and things have been nuts around here. I love saying that because even though you aren’t present to see what I mean, I’m completely serious about it. LOL

I worked a long day for my Dad on the 31^st (We kicked butt, lemme tell ya!) so my sister and I had to cancel our plans for getting together to ring in the beginning of the new calendar year. She and I both wanted SLEEP. But I ended up staying up long enough to say Happy New Year to my sleepy eyed puppy.

The next day I went back to my Dad’s to finish up and was treated to a fantastic bowl of soup for lunch and an amazing treat for dinner! I love working for my parents, they always feed me so good. Hehehe. I still hadn’t brought my desktop in from the car so I didn’t get the chance to post anything.

The next day, Sunday, I needed to get rolling on an assignment that was due on Monday so I spent the day fighting with my voice recognition software until I finally gave in and just typed it all myself. The microphone on the headset is so touchy that if I had to take off the headset to go do something that when I came back I had to recalibrate it so that it could recognize that the word trapeze wasn’t actually trap a disease. SIGH. And once again because I didn’t want to “waste” time hooking up my desktop I used the laptop that doesn’t connect easily to the Internet so I didn’t post. Well, that and when I finally called it quits for the day it was after midnight.

Yesterday, Monday, I was trying to finish what I started on Sunday since I hadn’t managed to get more than 5-10 done and made the mistake of trying once more to use my voice recognition software. After an hour of trying to convince the program that bedding wasn’t betting or wetting or petting I wanted to throw my headset across the room. Needless to say, I need to look into a pair where the microphone stays facing the right way no matter how often I take it off and put it back on. I ended up using the laptop again, but wasn’t able to finish before midnight. SIGH.

Thankfully, my employer gladly gave me another day. Sooooooooo, today I busted them out! But because my arms were hurting from using the laptop I finally got off my lazy backside and brought the desktop back into the house and hooked it up. Viola! I was back in business and cranked the rest of them out as well as two additional 500+ word articles. I was on fire, baby!

I discovered tonight when I was reading over my last blog post that I didn’t note my weight last Thursday. Well, I can tell you that I wasn’t happy with it. I can’t remember what it was exactly, but I know that it showed me that I had gained rather than lost weight. Of course yesterday when I got brave and stepped on again the scale told me something COMPLETELY different. LOL But I’m going to wait until Thursday for my official weigh-in before I enter the number in to the blog.

Ok, I know there was more I wanted to say, but it all slipped out of my ear about 10 minutes ago. I think that’s a hint that it’s time for bed. And.. I’m off!

Pounds lost: 13.7 (375.3)

Daily insight: Never doubt yourself or you’ll just prove yourself wrong.

Ounces of water consumed: 80

Steps in the right direction: 66

Stylish Blogger Award!

How exciting! I feel honored to have been acknowledged as a new blog that Steph thought was stylish enough to share the love. Thank you Steph from Heart of Goddesses (whom I have been reading since I began this blog November 1^st).

Now it’s my turn

In order to accept this award you must….

1.Thank and link back to the person who awarded this to you.
2.Share 7 things about yourself.
3.Pay it forward to 9 recently discovered great blogs.
4.Contact those bloggers and let them know about their award.

Here are 7 things about me.

1. I have begun a renewed quest to get my weight under control and to bring my feet back on the pagan path where my heart has always been.

2. I love to write but spend more time daydreaming about what to write than actually writing. LOL

3. I have an addiction to Pepsi, most especially if it comes with a side of Pizza!

4. I have a silly nickname for every family member.

5. I’m the only brunette that should have been born a blonde in my family. (Think about it. LOL)

6. If I ever won the lottery I would open a work/live farm for homeless families so they can get on their feet again without feeling obligated to anyone.

7. I think men in Kilts are HOT.

Now for the blogs that I am passing this award, all were new to me since I began on blogger in November. I have been reading them every night before I post to my own blog just to see what everyone is up to. I always end up with a smile on my lips. You’re all great!

Heart of Goddesses (Is it cheating to link back to the blog that gave the award thus giving them the award again? Hehe)

Wiccan Writes

Witchy Grandmother’s Tea & Tarot

Cordelia’s Cauldron 

The Secret Life of the American Working Witch 

Confessions of a Kitchen Witch

Rising from the Ashes 

Wandering in the Woods 

Just Another Pagan Blog 

Thanks all!