Have you heard of this WaterTok thing? WaterTok is trending right now on Tik Tok and it is huge among folks who are trying to get their water intake up. Lose weight and more. But the question is, is this effective and should you be doing it? Before we get into that, though, can we just talk about how Tik Tok is one of the worst inventions of our lifetime right now?
I think it’s one of the worst social media platforms out there. It is Chinese spyware. I don’t care what anybody says. This thing is dumbing down our society.
Do you realize that the Chinese actually have a different version of Tik Tok called Douyin? And our version, which is Tik Tok, shows completely different content. They send us the stuff that dumbs Americans down and the water Tok challenge is a pure testament of this.
If you never heard of it. Listen, you are in good company here because I only recently heard about this because I don’t go on the Devils app over there. But let me go ahead and break it down for you. So basically, you’ve got these people, mostly women, taking big giant cups of water or gallons of water, and they’re adding ice to it. And then these powdered drinks along with syrups, and usually they’re sugar-free syrups and sugar-free powders.
You know, stuff like Crystal Light and even Kool-Aid. Yes, y’all Kool-Aid. Okay. It’s just crazy out there. Vigilante in the streets. And they’re pumping it up with all these artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors and calling it water.
And they are die-hard about it. You cannot talk to the “Water Babes,” “The Water Girls”… You can’t tell them nothing, because, honey, they are ten toes down into this. But I know what your question is. If you’re reading this, you’re trying to figure out if this is insane or if it’s something that actually works and it’s something that you should be doing.
You know, we always talk about the science here on my platform, so we’re going to get into that. And I want to give you my recommendations as a coach and a trainer for over 25 years about what you need to do when it comes to your water intake and if you should be partaking in the WaterTok challenge.
Water’s Importance to the Body
So before we can talk about whether or not this is effective. Let’s break down the science of what water is in the body and why it’s so important.
Men’s bodies are comprised of about 60% of water, whereas women’s bodies are comprised of about 55% of water. And that has to do with our differences in body fat.
Water is responsible for a number of biological processes, including regulating our body temperature, lubricating the joints, transporting nutrients, balancing out sodium levels, the acidity of our blood, and supporting digestion as well.
Of course, we know about the benefits of water to our skin, as well as proper cognitive function and organ function as well.
Water is important for exercise performance.
Dehydration can thwart your efforts, whether you’re in the gym, or if you’re trying to work out and complete any kind of a sport. So we already know that water is important. That is a given. You learn that in health one on one. Now, the challenge for a lot of folks is getting in the amount of water that they need per day.
The daily required amount of water for men and women is about 64 ounces of water per day.
The daily required amount of water for men and women is about 64 ounces of water per day.
Now for someone who works out, you definitely going to need a little bit more. You typically hear folks saying that having about a gallon of water a day is typical for those who are into fitness.
And I actually do agree with that.
For most of my clients, I typically recommend that they take in about three-quarters to one full gallon of water per day. And that can be a challenge for anyone.
And if you look at what a lot of the folks say who are doing this WaterTok thing, that is their number one complaint. That they want to drink more water, but they find it hard because drinking water gets boring. It’s tasteless. They don’t like it. They can’t do it. It’s hard!
All of these mental blocks are slowing down their water consumption. So adding a ton of flavors and fake sugar to it makes it a lot easier, right?
Okay, maybe. Maybe not.
Let’s go ahead and get into this a little deeper and ask whether or not the WaterTok thing should be something that YOU should be doing.
The first thing we want to ask is if this water at all.
Okay, Google, What Is The Definition of Water?
In order to get to the bottom of figuring out whether the WaterTok trend is a healthy option or a waste of time, I feel like we need to discuss exactly WHAT is water.
So, I took to Google and asked that very question. Here’s what it said:
Here’s the definition of water. A colorless, transparent, odorless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms. It is vital for all known forms of life. Despite not providing food, energy, or organic micronutrients.
(Sarcasm has entered the chat): The more you know…
So getting down to the definition of what water actually is, it is tasteless. It is odorless. It is colorless. Therefore, by putting all of these additives into your water, is it water anymore?
By definition, the answer is noooooo!
And here’s the crazy thing. This is the thing about social media and the times we live in today that make people completely delusional.
If you go ahead and tell these WaterTok people that they’re not actually drinking water, that they’re drinking a beverage, they lose their sh*t! They absolutely just lose their minds. Then they want to argue with you when facts are facts.
So at the end of the day, this is not really water. It is a beverage. And many beverages, of course, contain water as the first ingredient. But water plus anything else is not water alone. It is a beverage.
WaterTok Is Like Drinking Diet Coke All Day Everyday, And Nothing Else
Do you know what I equate this to? This is kind of like those folks who drink Diet Coke all day. You know, people who drink diet soda. And that’s all they drink? Well, yeah, technically speaking, if all you drink is diet soda, even though it is sugar-free and all that other stuff.
Yes. You are getting in your daily intake of quote unquote, liquid or water, but it doesn’t mean that it’s healthy for you. And that’s the thing that we got to look at, whether or not doing this, adding all of these things, even if you’re drinking a gallon of it, what are the health effects? What can it actually do?
Is there a detriment in the long term? Let’s go ahead and talk about that.
WaterTok Health Risks?
When asking whether or not the water top challenge is actually something that’s healthy. I think there’s a gray area in that. Again, this is just like drinking diet soda all day, every day. And that’s all you drink. Yes. You are getting the benefits of being “hydrated.” But the benefits, do they really outweigh the long-term effects down the line?
Here’s what happens when you actually start consuming more sweeteners, artificial sweeteners in your diet…
Even to this day, the verdict is still out on whether or not artificial sweeteners can lead to cancer.
A lot of the research up to now points to the fact that for the most part, they aren’t seeing a direct link between cancer and artificial sweeteners. However, there is a more direct link between artificial sweeteners with obese 80, which is related to 13 different cancers. So it becomes more of a cascade of events. If you want to consider the health impact of drinking these things on a normal basis.
From a health standpoint, for me as a fitness professional and someone who’s been an athlete and a dancer my whole life, my biggest concern is the are the additives in it. Not only do you have the sweeteners, but you have the food coloring in it, and minimal nutritional value as well. So to me, it isn’t something that I would want to put into my body on a normal basis when I’m trying to be healthier overall.
We already have enough additives and more in the food that we eat. So why are we trying to put it into the beverages that we consume on a daily basis? It doesn’t make sense.
Does Artificial Sugar Make WaterTok Dangerous?
There have been some concerns with a sweetener like aspartame and whether or not that has been linked to cancer. And some studies have shown that there is an increase in breast cancer in women who consume aspartame a lot. So that’s one sweetener you might want to consider staying away from.
But not all artificial sweeteners are created the same. Some are natural.
You have things like stevia, which present a good option for those of you who want to have something that’s sweet in your beverages but has less of a health risk.
Now I’ve gotta admit, stevia to me is absolutely disgustingly gross, but if you like it and you can handle it because you are trying to be healthier, I think that it is a good option.
Some others might mention monk fruit artificial sweeteners as well. I always say to do your research and see what might work best for you and what your needs are when it comes to your diet and your training.
Another thing you might want to consider is these artificial sweeteners are 180 to 20000 times sweeter than regular sugars, and they can potentially alter your taste buds so that way your reaction to sugar isn’t the same as it was before this hyper-consumption.
That means that will begin to crave sweeter and sweeter drinks, foods, and more over time.
As you can probably imagine, for those of you who are on a program to lose weight, change your body, or even maintain your weight, that is not a good thing. Craving those sweets. Next thing you know, you’re eating a bag of cookies or a whole entire muffin or cake or something like that. All while chugging down this water tock stuff!
There is always an effect on everything. There’s always a tradeoff. Is that tradeoff worth it in the end for you and your goals? That is the main question.
Any Solutions? Yes! Here Are Healthy Alternatives To WaterTok
So, yeah, you know me, I always give solutions. I cannot just come on here and tell you that something sucks is bad, you shouldn’t do it. Blah, blah. I got to tell you, some alternatives go ahead and put in place in order to maybe have a little bit of your cake and eat it too. Or at least do things better.
The first thing I want to tell you is that if a celebrity is doing it, if TikTok tells you to do it, please run in the other direction. Now, these are the two or sources when it comes to fitness, health, diet, nutrition, training, and anything like that. If they’re telling you to do something, there may be some kind of a catch.
It may be something that’s horrible for you, it’s bad for you. You should just ignore it. It’s not for you. And this is one of those things.
Now, I will say as a coach, if I were working with you and you’re someone who’s really into this WaterTok thing or you just have a hard time drinking water, I would meet somewhere in the middle. Whereas, I would say that it’s okay for you to have this kind of thing every once in a while.
What would that look like? Maybe you have a small cup of it during the day, but the rest of what you consume is water or other things like tea, for example. Then we can go ahead and have you enjoy it and still do it in moderation. But it’s not something that I would say that you should be doing on a normal basis to fulfill your water requirements.
It just doesn’t work like that. It’s just not healthy in the long run.
When you’re taking on a new program, you really want to establish the habits, the behaviors, the mindset and the things that you need to do to have a lifestyle that will last you for the rest of your life. So being completely restrictive, where you say you can never have this I think is not the right thing to do.
I think that limiting it is definitely a smarter thing and weaning yourself off of this if you are addicted to this kind of thing is the best call to action.
The Magic Power of Tea And Fresh Fruit As A WaterTok Alternative
Another alternative that you can try, which is something that I’ve done with myself. When I was competing, there were times I had to drink two gallons of water a day. When I have a client going through peak week as competitors, going right into their show in the last couple of days before, we’ve got to dehydrate them. And the way that we do that is by drinking two gallons of water a day.
Imagine having to drink two. How do we do it?
I always advise that there’s nothing wrong with flavoring your water. That’s why I’m not so shocked about this and how popular it is. But instead of going for the sweeteners and the powders and all that stuff, use fruit. Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, lemons, limes, whatever it is, make a little concoction and put it together and let it seep in your water. It has such a refreshing flavor.
For a little zest, you can also add herbs to it. Mint is perfect for this kind of thing. Being more innovative like this is a lot healthier and you’re getting the benefits of a little bit of vitamins and minerals in the water from the fruit.
Another trick that you can try is using tea bags. There are so many different kinds of flavor tea out there on the market right now from fruity flavors to just wonderful herbal flavors, putting that into your water, letting it seep without any sweeteners or anything like that is a perfect alternative.
Now, if you do want something a little bit sweeter, of course, you can add something like stevia or any kind of plant-based natural sweetener that’s calorie-free to your mix.
But keep in mind, it’s not water anymore! If you do that… It’s not water.
Listen, y’all need to go ahead and rethink things that you see on TikTok. TikTok is dangerous! And if your mental and emotional health is a priority then why don’t you go ahead and check out this next post over here. In it, we’ll discuss how trends on TikTok are ruining women and our self-esteem as well. And I really want you to pay attention to this. Go ahead and click here to learn more about this dire phenomenon. I will see you over there!
