Drinking water is healthy, there’s no doubt about that. But I used to ignore that statement all the time.

Are you kidding me? Soda and juice were my jam. I didn’t want to consume boring old water; it didn’t taste like anything and I never really believed it could omit a change in my life. 

Until I tried. 

People constantly talk about how drinking a gallon of water a day can drastically change many areas of life. I was sick of hearing it - and I wanted to prove all those people wrong. 

But when I got into the swing of it, I did start to realize a lot of changes. I started to like those changes. I think you’d like those changes, too.

That’s why you’ll see that I’ve listed all the ways drinking a gallon of water a day has changed my life below. Check it out and see if you’d like to see improvement in those areas of your life. If so, I suggest starting tomorrow!

My skin is so much clearer… 

I struggled with acne in my teens and early 20’s, to the point where I was embarrassed to leave the house without a ton of makeup caked on to hide my blemishes, blackheads, and whiteheads. 

Unfortunately, putting makeup on top of acne doesn’t necessarily help the healing process. As the years went on, my acne took a turn for the worst - cysts started to form. Let me tell you, cystic acne is not fun, especially when I was getting steroid shots to calm the buildup underneath the first layer of my skin.

Sure, a little bit of a diet change had to happen for me to minimize the cysts and acne, but drinking a gallon of water everyday really did clear me right up. Now, I barely break out. When I do, it’s minimal and lasts a day or two before it disappears entirely. 

I feel less stressed… 

I’ve been a hypochondriac my entire life, or so my mother tells me. I worry and stress about every little thing, which only makes my anxiety and depression spiral out of control. Controlling and minimizing both my anxiety and depression is an ongoing, difficult task.

Again, I did have to change a few areas of my life to calm the stress down. I trialed and errored a few things in recent years, but a few decisions stuck out the most. Working out has calmed my emotions and balanced me out. Eating a more balanced diet has improved my mood. But I have to give some credit to that gallon of water I drink everyday; my brain is more focused and less stressed every single day.

My lips are no longer dry… 

I used to have the absolute worst chapped lips. It hurt to smile and laugh, especially through the dry winter months. No matter how much chapstick I applied, it couldn’t break the streak of dry lips. Kissing my boyfriend easily became one of my least favorite things to do - there was no soft pucker and it hurt!

When I started drinking a gallon of water a day, that all changed. Now, I still apply chapstick to give my lips some extra moisturization, but I don’t absolutely need to. The gallon of water hydrates me and leaves my lips feeling refreshed and plump.

The water curbs hunger cravings… 

Once I started drinking a gallon of water a day, I started to feel healthier - and I became addicted to that feeling. So naturally, with the personality I have, I began researching other ways to make myself feel healthy. 

One thing that was associated with water that often came up was this: Use water to curb hunger cravings. 

I thought, there’s no way that drinking water before each meal can make you feel more full by the end. In fact, it’s 100% true. I live by it.

Now, I make sure I drink at least a good helping - 16 ounces - of water before each meal. Not only do I fill up quicker and eat less, but I also feel better. I highly recommend it. Plus, I don’t end each meal feeling overstuffed. I’m balanced with the right amount of food to burn off for energy until my next meal.

Curbing cravings allows me to lose some weight… 

I quickly mentioned above that drinking water before each meal makes me fill up quicker and eat less. If you take filling up quicker and you add it together with eating less food overall, what do you get? The equation easily points to weight loss.

Since I’ve been drinking a gallon of water a day, I’ve noticed that I’ve been shedding some weight off certain areas of my body. My shirts fit better - they’re not tight around my arms. My pants buckle easier and I’m starting to use belts to keep them up on my hips. Of course, if you’re looking to go on a weight loss journey, you may need to stick to a strict diet, but just drinking a gallon of water a day will definitely help you slim up a bit.

I start every morning off with one glass of cold water to jumpstart my metabolism… 

So far, I’ve mentioned areas where a gallon of water has changed my life overall, but what about on a daily basis? When I narrow in on the dramatic (good) effects this health decision has gotten me, I see that I start every single morning off on the right foot.

Before I’ve consumed any food, I make it a point to drink a glass of cold water. This sort of shocks my digestive system, burning off calories immediately. In turn, this jumpstarts my metabolism and gives me the upper hand for the rest of the day. Not to mention, like I said before, it allows me to eat a much smaller breakfast than I would have before. Why? Because my body was more dehydrated than it was hungry - and we can so easily confuse dehydration for hunger.