Self-Described “Water Hater” Would Rather Dehydrate Than Drink Water

A New York woman who claims she hates drinking plain water has ended up in the ER several times with severe dehydration because she simply refused to put water in her mouth.

Lori Cheek is what is known as a “water hater”, a person who hates both the taste of water and the “slimy” sensation of it going down her throat. She is fully aware of the risks of not drinking enough water, as she has experienced severe dehydration more than once, but she would still rather not drink anything at all than have a sip of water. In her day to day life, Cheek relies on hydration tablets, Crystal Light and other flavored drinks to stay hydrated, but she won’t touch water.

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“Even if there are absolutely no other options, I usually just opt to not drink anything,” Lori Cheek told Mel Magazine. And she’s not exaggerating one bit. The self-described water hater has been rushed to the ER three times, after fainting at the gym, suffering a panic attack, and after experiencing extreme exhaustion during a minor cold, all of which were associated with dehydration. Still, she says she knows the risks, but won’t change her drinking habits.

“People are often yelling at me about not drinking water, and I finally just agree with them so they’ll stop being upset with me,” the New York woman told 60 Second Docs.

Lori says she is addicted to fitness, working out every single day “no matter what”, but while most of her gym buddies stay hydrated with water, she will bring a cup of coffee to her workouts. She also has no problem drinking alcohol, as well as water-based beverages, but no plain water.

“I can only drink it when I’m about to seriously dehydrate,” Cheek said about water. “I can’t describe the taste, but I dislike it so much that when I know I should be drinking it, I have to force myself or convince myself I need it. If I do drink it, I almost have to shoot it so I don’t taste it — like I just try to get it over with. Moreover, I put all sorts of stuff in it to make myself drink it, like Emergen-C, Crystal Light and other flavored hydration tablets, because I can barely force myself to drink it plain.

Lori Cheek is definitely not the world’s only water hater. Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of people who dislike the taste of water. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr is a famous water hater who sometimes gets IV treatments to combat dehydration, but there are plenty of others as well. Lori Cheek is just a more extreme example.