'Thought I had water poisoning': Canadian woman hospitalised after attempting fitness challenge

A woman from Canada said that she was hospitalised after attempting a fitness challenge on social media which involvesdrinking a gallon of water a day, a report by The Independent said last Thursday (July 27). Taking to TikTok, Michelle Fairburn said she thought she had water poisoning which can occur after drinking over three to four litres of water in a few hours. Fairburn described some of her symptoms including weak muscles, lack of appetite, nausea, and being “on the toilet all morning”.

“I’m doing the 75 Hard, so I’m drinking an excessive amount of water,” she said and pointed out that she was on the 12th day of the challenge. Fairburn further said that all she’d eaten that day was bread since she was trying to “put sodium back” into her body.

A severe sodium deficiency,but woman defends challenge

As she was being hospitalised, Fairburn said she had “severe sodium deficiency,” and that her doctors told her the condition “could be fatal”. “I’m going to the hospital and they’re going to check everything, and apparently they can raise my sodium gradually,” she said in a follow-up video on TikTok.

The woman said she would continue with the challenge but doctors told her that she has to “drink less than half a litre of water a day”.

In a third video, Fairburn defended her decision to do the 75 Hard after people in comments claimed it was toxic. She said she was doing much better, before confirming that she’ll be following her doctor’s orders of drinking 32 ounces of water a day or less.

What is 75 Hard Challenge?

The 75 Hard Challenge was created in 2019 by entrepreneur Andy Frisella, a podcaster and chief executive officer (CEO) of the supplement company 1st Phorm. The programme's website states that 75 Hard is not a fitness challenge but a “transformative mental toughness programme.”

The participants need to do certainthings every day for 75 consecutive days, such as following a diet with no alcohol or meals outside the chosen diet,completing two 45-minute workouts, one of which must be outdoors,clicking a progress picture,drinking a gallon of water andreading 10 pages of a book.

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