Water is absolutely essential if you are doing physical activity of any kind, but especially for your planned fitness regimen in or outside of the gym. You should drink it before, during and after any workout, as you want to replace the water you are losing by sweating. Water also helps regulate your body temperature, controls blood pressure, maintains blood and oxygen circulation, convert carbs into energy, transports nutrients into cells and waste products out of them, and increases your overall activity performance. As a bonus, water can act as a natural pain reliever, as it fends off headaches, migraines, muscle cramps and achiness, and supports the body’s ability to repair and recover from injury.
Water is an essential and easily accessible resource for most everyone, and there is no excuse not to get enough of your required daily intake. Like many things, it just comes down to making a good, healthy choice, and when you consider the massive amount of benefits to your body when you drink water, it’s crazy not to! It’s only benefit after benefit when you choose to hydrate your body.

I was not raised in the healthiest of environments, and by that, I mean I could eat and drink whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and I continued that into adulthood. (In fact, I remember not too long ago priding myself on the fact that I could do this with no repercussions, without a second thought to what I was eating or drinking, thinking that I must have a stomach/gut of steel.) There were no limits and I was not exactly encouraged to drink water. While we always had the typical, homecooked “meat and potato” meals, we also always had the tasty, sugar-and-fat-laden food and drink choices constantly available – for instance, I was pretty much raised on Coke, as that is what my Dad liked and bought. So, I drank Coke, not water. I don’t think my parents did any of this on purpose, they just did not know or think any better. Because they had no health or weight issues, and were a bit ignorant, eating “healthy” and making certain food choices over others was not a big issue. And maybe back then in the 70’s and 80’s, things weren’t quite as bad as they are now, what with the food industry now supplying us with literal poison - food and drink containing harsher ingredients, additives, hormones and chemicals and less nutritional content, the rise of processed food and GMO’s, fake “meat” and other foods, and just being all-around lazy or impatient in our food choices and preparation.
I believe the way I was raised around food, and the money-grubbing food industry itself, along with not having the knowledge of both at my fingertips, as I do now, are the reason that I have had a digestive disorder for the past two years. Yes, it was only two years ago that I took a good, hard, long look at everything I had been putting into my body since I was a child, or that I really sat down and learned about nutrition at length. After all, I had no real reason to before I was having issues. 
In hindsight, it’s a good thing that I was finally forced to, before something very serious happened. I realized, with some embarrassment and disappointment, that I ate pretty horribly most of my life and almost never drank water. This was a wake-up call. I actually can’t believe I never had any significant weight or health issues before this, or that my teeth had never rotted out of my head. However, along with aging, I’m positive the result of our eating habits and ignorance finally began catching up and has contributed to both of my parents health issues over the last 10 years. I now try to talk to them about all I learn nutritionally, and give my dad a damn glass of water, but their eyes kind of glaze over, they give me a chuckle and I am only half listened to. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks is what comes to mind here.
In any case, drinking water has been a huge (beneficial) change in my daily life, although I still have days where I have to make the conscious decision to make that choice happen. To think that I practically starved myself of water for just over 40 years is insane, and I actually feel guilty over it. While I still love my Pepsi, I make sure to drink six glasses of water daily. It’s still a struggle on some days, but I know that the benefits are enormous and I tell myself I am crazy and lazy if I can’t manage to accomplish this easy (and free) health-and-wellness goal every day. Not to mention, my parents are a constant reminder of what my future looks like if I don’t. So, I guess I can’t save them, but I am keeping the water habit for the rest of my life! 
