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soda to water
DeShadowC
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So recently I made a health choice to cut soda out of my life. I work as a phone support operator for a major communications company so I spend most of the day talking. As such I drink constantly and was going through around 6-8 sodas just during a work shift + the couple at home. So I've cut them completely out of my life to knock out the caffeine and the high fructose corn syrup and am drinking nothing but water. The problem with this being about every 45 minutes to an hour, I'm having to log off the phones to use the bathroom, which was never an issue with soda. As this affects my stats through work I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions I could try to help.
DeShadowC on
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Maybe try drinking colder water so it doesn't take so much to quench your thirst? Or do you just contstantly drink out of habit and not cause your thirsty? If you're going the bathroom every 45 minutes you're drinking way more water than you need to I think.
Part of the problem is I talk pretty much constantly for 8 hours a day. So my mouth gets dry causing me to drink. Plus this is at work so a catheter wouldn't work
1) You're drinking water for recreation. In which case, stop drinking so much water. You don't need that much water, and drinking ridiculous amounts of water will have a negative impact on your health. You've already displayed plenty of willpower in switching from soda to water - going from buckets of water to a reasonable amount of water should be easy by comparison.
2) You genuinely are thirsty enough that you have to drink this much water, in which case I'd direct you to the doctor to be tested for diabetes. The fact that you were drinking 6-8 sodas a day for what I'm assuming was an extended period makes this seem an unfortunate possibility. Excessive fluid consumption and consequently urination are big warning signs that something may not be right. If you've found yourself eating more since you've had this huge thirst as well, definitely schedule an appointment soon. Diabetes is not something to muck about with.
You can also look into things like crystal light mixes. The lemonaid and raspberry are very palatable. The little "on the go" packets mix with 20 oz of water, so drink one of those before/with lunch and one in the afternoon and you're good to go. They add like 5 whole calories and pretty much nothing else to a bottle of water, and they can sate your lust for a slightly sweeter drink.
EDIT: Re: drinking too much water. Its pretty rare for anyone who isn't absolutely gorging himself on water to accomplish that. Some sources recommend even up to 3 litres of water per day depending on your environment, exercise, etc. 8 cans of soda is 3 litres, so he would need to be drinking more than the equivilent of 8 cans of water daily to even equal that amount. You're not going to hurt yourself unless you drink well above that amount.
* Definately try the Crystal Light drinks - there's also a sugar free Hawaiian Punch one that's pretty close to the real thing. Having flavor will likely have you drink a bit slower.
* Try tea. There are plenty of decaffinated teas out there. They would help with the 8 hours of talking, be hot to force you to drink more slowly, and I find most places have instant hot water available.
Finally, how recently did you switch? It could just be your body adjusting to the increased water. I've worked at a call center now for 5 years or so and I don't think I've ever gone as frequently as you say and there were phases where I was drinking huge amounts of water during the day.
And if you are always thirsty, go to a doctor.
You need to change that.
Your body will use up more water digesting multiple meals over one single meal, so you'll pee less. Also, low blood sugar can be just as dangerous to you as high blood sugar.
Some of the indicators of diabetis are excessive urine production, excessive thirst and increased fluid intake. You can be of apparently normal health and weight.
If you only eat one time per day, your blood sugar will spike around that time, your body will flood insulin to combat what it sees as a massive sugar spike compared to your "normal" blood sugar level, and you can have a crash from that.
When I first switched from soda to water, I found that I was peeing way more often, and when I had to go, I had to GO, like, now. With soda I could hold it a lot longer. I think it took a week or two before I got fully adjusted to the water and normalized a bit more. If it goes much longer than that, though, you might want to get checked out.
Also my doctor once told me that not eating and only drinking soda during the day greatly increases your risk of developing diabetes. This was after i told him that i eat once per day, usually when i come home after work, and only have a bottle of water and a can of soda to keep me going while at work. So i can see how 6-10 cans of soda a day and not eating at all would probably increase that risk.
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A texas catheter isn't a hospital catheter. its basically like a condom with a tube that leads to a pouch that you strap to your lower leg. Hunters and long distance drivers are the biggest market, but there's no reason you couldn't use on if you are stuck at a desk all day.
also as others said, get tested for diabetes, just in case
Caffeine leeches water from your system, as does alcohol. Beer and pop do not provide hydration, even if they quench thirst (which isn't the same thing). Drinking excessive amounts of either will actually dehydrate humans.
'In a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the
American College of Nutrition, researchers at the Center for Human
Nutrition in Omaha, Neb., measured how different combinations of
water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the hydration of 18
healthy adults who drank caffeinated beverages routinely.
"We found no significant differences at all," says nutritionist Ann
Grandjean, the study's lead author. "The purpose of the study was to
find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking
normal amounts of it. It is not."
The same goes for tea, juice, milk and caffeinated sodas: One glass
provides about the same amount of hydrating fluid as a glass of water.
The only common drinks that produce a net loss of fluids are those
containing alcohol - and usually it takes more than one of those to
cause noticeable dehydration, doctors say.'
source:
"Really not necessary to gulp all that water"
By Benedict Carey, LOS ANGELES TIMES
Sure caffeine is a mild duretic, but if you wash it down with 12oz of fluid, that's a net gain. Shit, people used to drink BEER as their primary beverage back in the olden days.
yeah... I should get back to work...
I'm only talking about excess. In moderation caffeine gives me super-powers.
Even though you may be thirsty, or think you are thirsty, make a concious effort to drink less water and you will kinda train yourself and your body to not be thirsy and pee as much. I had been drinking sodas for years and it takes a week or so to get your habits moving in the right direction.
There's really no reason to even recommend this. If your body tells you you're thirsty, drink. Dehydration can make you tired and irritable. If it's a problem at work, ration how much you drink there as was suggested above.
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Also, eat. I used to drink a whole lot more coke until I started eating breakfast an hour into my shift. With the lunch 4 hours later, I'm a lot less "thirsty" and I usually don't have to hit the bathroom until I get home. Food helps keep the amount of water going out down.
BTW I am talking about high quality loose leaf hot tea (some types of green are naturally sweet). I know if may be difficult for you to make this at work but I work in a theatre and manage to drink about 2 - 3 liters a day.
I manage several EFL (English as a Foreign Language) schools, and lots of the teachers have problems like yours. Recently I've been doing a bit of research, as after 10 years in EFL my own voice is messed up and I have to drink tons of water (had diabetes tests already btw). Most people who don't work in talky jobs don't realise how hard talking all day can be.
I think people's throats and way of talking varies a lot, as does their work environment, so some people need to drink tons of water to lubricate their mouth/throat, and some don't. The ideas above are good, like gum. Another is realising your voice is part of your work and treating it accordingly - trying to rest it when possible, don't raise it etc etc.
A less obvious idea is the work environment - is it climate controlled? That can really dry things out. A humidifier might help a lot - what kind of area do you live in? Humidity varies hugely across the world (and even across the US if you live there).
I was speaking from my own experiences, which seem to mimic his. I literally drank over 160 ounces of water during a 5 hour work shift. I wasn't dehydrated at all but I was just used to drinking lots of soda that didn't hydrate me. So I just kept on drinking more and more water and i was peeing every 45 minutes.
Your reccomendation of rationing is really what I was trying to get at but didnt really achieve.