How i became a water-pusher

Sometimes it’s the small discoveries that make the biggest changes to our lives, and that’s how it was for me with water. I can clearly remember the day. I was at my friend’s house in New York, looking at a children’s book she’d bought for her daughter.

On one of the pages, there was a drawing that showed how much of the human body is made up of water. It was illustrated by a body, blue from the feet right up to the chest, and I remember sitting staring at it for a while, unable to grasp that idea. The body seems so solid.

But we consist mainly of water – we are 55% water in the autumn of our life and 75% water when we are newborn! The exact percentage varies slightly from source to source, but it’s around that figure.

Flicking through that book changed something in me, and I sat there on the sofa thinking about how unpleasant it must feel to be dehydrated. If such a significant part of us is out of balance.

And that’s when I became a water-pusher. My nearest and dearest often tease me about it, and yet also rely on it. When we’re on the dance floor or going hiking in mountains, they rely on me being the one who has remembered the water.

Skincare rule no. 1 – stay hydrated

A well-hydrated body is skincare rule no. 1. The best comparison I can make is a raisin and a grape. What would you prefer your skin to look like?

But there’s so much more to hydration than that. Together with oxygen, it is the foundation of human life. We can go without food for a long time, but without water, the brain contracts and the organs fail.

We write Stay hydrated - DRINK WATER on all Karmameju products. It’s not something you normally see on skincare, but it’s so important to me that we always inspire each other to get the most out of everyday life, and I hope it’s a reminder of how important it is to drink water. Every day.

A dehydrated body suffers. There are many symptoms associated with dehydration: fatigue, poor concentration and memory loss, headaches, high blood pressure, aching muscles, accumulation of waste, sugar and salt cravings, sagging skin, poor digestion. The list is long and it doesn’t end there.

If beautiful skin is important to you, it is thought-provoking to know that the body is designed to “steal” from the skin if it lacks water itself – so the skin is last to get what it needs. If you’ve been dehydrated for a long time and start focusing on drinking water, the improvements will be both physical and noticeable.

My best advice on remembering to drink water

Decide on how much non-diuretic fluid you wish to drink every day. This includes water, infused water, sassy water, herbal teas and the like. Opinions are divided about what is best from a pure health point of view, and it also depends a lot on your size, the climate you live in and your level of physical activity during your day. I would say somewhere between 1½ and 2½ litres.

Buy a glass water bottle, and if it contains 500 ml, for example, place four elastic bands around the belly of the bottle. Each time you empty the bottle, refill it and remove an elastic band. By the end of the day, all the elastic band should have been removed from the bottle.

Always carry water with you – that way you drink more. People often say to me “but it’s annoying that I have to keep going to the toilet”. My answer to this is: think that the body is cleansing itself and how good it is for us to move – if you have sedentary job, it’s vital to get up frequently. See it as a little break in the day.

After visiting the toilet, look down in the bowl. There are many clues to the internal condition of the body there.

Stay hydrated / DRINK WATER is part of Karmameju’s NO BEAUTY WITHOUT TRUTH universe. Read more about it here

All the best / 
Mette