While it has not been officially confirmed, many of my signs point to a weakening heart. One of the ways people combat heart failure is by limiting fluid intake. For certain individuals, the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada recommends 1.5 to 2 liters max (aka 48 to 64oz). Usually this is done only for more severe cases, but I decided to give it a try anyway. The fact that I sometimes suffer frequent urination also factored into my decision to do so.
To start off, I set myself a goal of 72 fluid ounces per day. (This follows the conventional wisdom of weight in pounds divided by two.) On days I go running, I allow myself an extra cup or two. My 32oz Boy Scouts Nalgene bottle and my 12oz Starbucks cup were designated as the primary ways to measure my intake.
Unsurprisingly, I soon discovered that I had been drinking way more than 72oz. At my previous pace, I would be sipping on water / tea / soda almost nonstop. If I had to guess, I would say that I topped over 150 fluid ounces a day. That sounds crazy, but here’s an example of typical liquid consumption in the olden days:
- 6 x 12oz cup of water
- 12oz cup of ginger tea
- 2 x 16.9oz Perrier soda
- 20oz bottle of Mountain Dew
- 12oz cup of soymilk
Anyway, old habits are hard to break; at the time of this post, I still end up going (slightly) over on most days. However, the amount of water intake is much more controlled compared to before. I can’t say much about the heart benefits yet, but it does seem like I need to pee much less. As for feeling thirsty, I have not run into that problem at all. So far, I’m happy with the results of my experiment; my limit will remain at 72oz for now.
