I consume A LOT of fluids each day. None of them are alcoholic, though. But you could measure the volume in gallons if you really wanted to.
I’m not exactly sure when in my life I began this habit. I do remember back in the Kimberly Club days, Dave calculated for me how many calories I was consuming just in Pepsi, and it was not pretty. 2,000+ just in soda. of course, at that time, I was living in Michigan, so it was pop. I made the switch the next day to Diet Pepsi. At the volume I was throwing down, it only took a day or two to adjust to the new flavor, and soon, the diet was my preferred taste.
It wasn’t that long ago when I could think back over the past X-number of days and realize I had not had anything to drink other than Diet Cola. It’s nothing short of amazing that none of my children really picked up on this habit. My youngest, Ja, drinks the most of any, but it’s part of a variety of drinks she enjoys.
Over time, my selection has changed based on semi-sound reasoning. I switched to caffeine-free soda only at home, thinking I might sleep better. Then, after becoming interested in blood pressure and sodium’s effect on it, I switched to flavored water.
All along, though, my intake hasn’t changed much. I might drink a little less these days as I can’t get a good read on whether higher fluid intake creates artificially higher BP.
Generally, I will have 120-160oz of Diet Coke during the morning to early afternoon. This works out to three or four fountain sodas. Then, at home, I’ll fill my 40oz insulated mug two, maybe three times. Do the math, folks; that’s up to just over 2 gallons of fluid daily. That’s not all coming out as sweat, you know.
So I pee. Often. Voluminously. On occasion urgently. I will not leave the house without stopping by the bathroom first. My job has me travel from retail store to retail store, and the same rule about pit-stopping applies. Usually, when I go to run, I get to the trail, pee, then doddle for a bit until I can pee again. And that does not stop me from needing to pee mid-run.
I’ve got my spots mapped out. You can find pictures of some of them on my Instagram feed, placesivep33d. Nora and I have a walking route we enjoy taking some evenings; there are two pee opportunities along the way (only one of them is a toilet).
(This post is long overdue, and there is an important update to this story, so I’m going to have to end it here and forge forward. Stay tuned.)