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naraburns  nihil supernum  11mo ago (text post)   3994 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 30, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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Quit being a nancy its literally water. If drinking water is soo arduous for you that you need to think of ways around it, reevaluate your willpower.

Also "aesthetically repulsed" by people who are conscious about their health. The shit you read online 🤦

Carrying around one of those water jugs all day isn't being health conscious, it's following a stupid trend and acting like you're on a field trip to the Sahara during a 30 minute meeting.

OK so as someone who started carrying around a huge jug of water before it was trendy, I want to explain my reasoning.

I love being hydrated. It's the best feeling, because being dehydrated is the worst feeling.

Thank god I live in America where decent cold water flows relatively freely. European vacations are basically me moving from ice machine to ice machine but still feeling like a desiccated husk. Even with that infrastructure, literally nothing beats having a double-walled vacuum jug with an integrated straw and the perfect amount of ice.

Heading into the office that's too small for an ice machine but has a lukewarm water fountain? Stack the motherfucker with home fridge ice that gets diluted all day. Heading up to bed where I know I'm going to blow through the whole 1.18 liters? Put in just enough cubes to perfectly melt as I wake up at 7am. Going on a walk of indeterminate time and distance (there are toddlers involved)? Grab the water bottle and avoid getting thirsty and pissed off.

I wash fewer cups, I can go longer amounts of time without stopping in a convenience store or interrupting work meetings, and yes I can broadcast palatable aspects of my personality with the 2 stickers I have on there. Water bottles rock.

I love being hydrated. It's the best feeling, because being dehydrated is the worst feeling.

This has got to be the big difference in lived experience. I don't mind feeling dehydrated, it seems like no big deal at all to me to just be kind of thirsty until I arrive at whatever destination has a beverage available. This goes for the proverbial Euro vacation (I'm American also, but actually agree completely with how I see the Euros treat beverages), for a hike with friends, for normal everyday runs, and even for running races short of marathons. Unless I'm doing something where I actually think I'll be in danger, being dehydrated doesn't seem any different to me than some accumulated muscular fatigue or hunger - it'll be fine, I'll arrive somewhere, and I'll enjoy a meal, a beverage, and some rest when I do.

I do think you build up a tolerance. When I was younger I was proud of my ability to go without water - an entire soccer game in the summer with just a couple pulls from my jug was fairly common, and I'd always have a surplus to share.

However, as I've gotten older, I have to stay hydrated enough to support my addiction to caffeine and my love of salt. The difference between how I felt when I'd wake up in the morning and maybe have a sip of water before coffee and work vs now (chugging immediately upon waking up) is vast.

A final point I'd make is being a camel is a great power to have. I still like carrying around a surplus of water. Whether through irresponsibility or circumstances beyond my control, I have frequently found that having a container of the resource most critical to survival close at hand is an overall good practice.

The worst feeling is hyponatremia. Mild dehydration is simply meh.

No one is finishing the entire jug in the span of a 30-minute meeting. As a 2L jug carrier myself, it usually lasts me around 6 hours. I could pull out the excuse that I live in a place with literally the same climate as the Sahara, but no I won't provide excuses for literally carrying water around, you're the ridiculous one for getting peeved by it not me.

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