We’ve had a lot of rain in my part of the world. In fact last year at around this time, the State I live in experienced significant flooding which has required investment in new infrastructure and lots of insurance claims. Worse still. Lives were lost.

But this post isn’t about that.

For a change I’m writing about something I do well. (And no, I don’t mean my ability to deliver oh-so-eloquent prose through blogging – NOT!)

In fact, even when I haven’t been trying to be healthy, I’ve enjoyed doing something that’s been good for me. And… you’ve probably guessed it from the title. Yes indeedy, I am – as it happens – a most excellent drinker of water (if only it was an Olympic sport, or if paid sponsorship were an option. *Sigh*).

I have to admit that this is something I basically take for granted. You know, ‘Eight glasses a day? Meh.’ In fact, I’m probably more in danger of drinking TOO MUCH water, which I’ve read is possible for reasons that have something to do with diluting vitamins or minerals or electrolytes or similar.

Another blogger recently talked about the difficulty she has drinking her ‘8 glasses a day’. And since reading her post I’ve been trying to cast my mind back to when I became a water-drinker. Certainly it wasn’t commonly done when I was a kid. Bottled water was almost unheard of in the 70s and 80s here in Oz, where tap water is almost universally drinkable. In the early 1990s I recall occasionally procuring a bottle of water when out, although it was seen as slightly frivolous back then.

When I was living in developing countries through the mid and late 1990s, water was a precious commodity and one I came to appreciate. At one point I was travelling around Mozambique (where I was living) for about 3 weeks and for at least a week of that bottled water was not to be found. The absence of toilets meant I tried to essentially drink nothing and used faux Fanta (aka Finta, which was possibly pink in colour) to rinse my mouth and brush my teeth.

I recall flying back into Australia after living in Cambodia for seven months and brushing my teeth at the International Airport in Melbourne and being struck by the realisation that I was ABLE to swallow the water without being laid up (or on the loo – Australian-speak for toilet) for days on end.

But sometime between then and now I became a lover of water. Well, of cold water more specifically. I have a 750ml bottle that sits on my desk and is filled at least 3 times a day. Four or more times most days (as I take it to the gym). At home I have a water filter/chiller thing which sits atop a kitchen bench and constantly wander about (or sit at my computer) with cold bottles of water.

At those times when I’m being SERIOUSLY healthy and minimising the crap I put into my body and drinking a lot of water, I notice my skin is visibly improved. I look brighter. Less exhausted. Less puffy. And not as old.

Having weaned myself off (vanilla) diet coke in the middle of last year (and experienced the benefits), my intake has again crept up over the past 4 or 5 months. Coupled with my inability to buy it in bulk (thereby paying $4+ for each 600ml bottle) I’ve decided the time has come to cut the cord again.

So, my consumption of water will be even more important. I know I can add lemon or have soda water and so forth, but water itself is fine with me. It’s something healthy I already do willingly and well… and I can’t say that about too many things.

When I read of others’ struggle to get their through their 8 glasses I am flummoxed – although others would probably say the same about my lack of fruit consumption!

I’m intrigued…
Are you a water-drinker or do you have trouble getting through your ‘8 glasses a day’?
Are there healthy things you enjoy doing that others find challenging?