Hold that thought, I'll be right back...

Everyone has heard that you have to drink 8 glasses of water a day to be healthy, right? But why? Sure, they say it "flushes toxins" (a claim I am always very skeptical of) and "keeps you hydrated" (which, contrary to what they tell you, any fluid - yes, even caffeinated ones - other than alcohol can do). People claim that when they start drinking water their energy level skyrockets and they feel amazing.

One of my 50 goals was 50,000 cubic inches of water, which translates to about 10 cups per day. Not quite as much as I "should" have, but far more than I normally drink (which is often none - I live on tea and coffee and soda).

And up until the last few days I was doing well with my goal, drinking up to 20 cups per day on some days. And illness aside, what did I notice?

I had to go to the bathroom a lot.

Did I feel more energetic? No. Did my skin glow and get miraculously clear? No. Did I lose weight? No.

Drinking that much water has done nothing except increase my toilet paper consumption.

I don't really want to keep stuffing myself with water. I add a tiny bit of lemon juice to it, and, frankly, there are times that irritates my stomach. I dislike water, even though we have some pretty good water here.

Why would I want to drink water when I could have tea?