FORO Experiment | When My Family is Filmed for 2 Weeks #NoMoreFORO

What happens when my family is filmed for 2 weeks? You have our very own FORO Experiment. This post is sponsored by ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestlé ®. All hydrating opinions are my own #NoMoreFORO

FORO Experiment | When My Family is Filmed for 2 Weeks #NoMoreFORO

The last experiment I completed was in middle school. I had the big trifold cardboard presentation, did weeks of research and used big words like “hypotheses” to sound cool. I never thought that I would conduct another experiment again, let alone be the subject of one. Insert my family into the biggest and most interesting experiment of our lives with ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestle®. 2 weeks. 24/7 live cameras. And water. Lots of it. When My Family is Filmed for 2 Weeks | The FORO Experiment. Maybe I should have paid more attention in science class…

Water is good for you. There’s no argument there. And living in Florida, I know exactly how important that is. Being dehydrated can be a serious issue, especially with 90 degree + days. So when ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestle® offered to conduct a water experiment in my home, I was excited. My family loves drinking water all day, everyday. I love that I can show my kids the importance of healthy hydration through not just my words, but by my actions. However, I know that that’s not the case with every family.

Did you know…?

• Today, beverages account for 47% of added sugars in the US American Diet and more than 13% of calories consumed per day. The newly released 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that the primary beverage consumed should be either calorie-free – especially water – or should contribute beneficial nutrients such as fat-free and low-fat milk and 100% juice.
• Replacing a single 12-ounce, 140 calorie sugar-sweetened beverage with water each day for a year can cut more than 50,000 calories from one’s diet.

What is FORO?

If you’ve ever experienced the anxiousness of running out of family essentials – diapers, milk, eggs, water, then you know exactly what FORO (Fear of Running Out) is. Conserving. Rationing. Holding on to the last few. Dreading that trip to the grocery store. FORO brings on a low scale feeling of anxiety as your mom brain goes into hyperdrive.

“How much do I have left?”

“Can I go 2 more days before going to the grocery store?”

“UGH! I don’t want to buy more __________.”

Are you inconvenienced yet? I can feel my blood pressure rising! Buying bottled water by the individual bottle means you’re spending way too much time restocking at the grocery store. Buying in bulk keeps your shopping trips infrequent, but those cases are so heavy, and big box stores are energy-sapping circuses. With that dreaded trip to the store looming, a sense of anxiety takes over. As your bottled water supply dwindles, you begin to hoard those last few bottles for your kids, your spouse, or even just a thirstier moment. This is a phenomenon referred to as The Fear of Running Out—denying yourself and your family the bottled water they want just so you don’t have to go back to the store or add another inconvenience to your day.

The Experiment

So the idea was to test out the FORO experience, aka The FORO Experiment with our own family and document the whole 2 weeks. Hence why our family First, the ReadyRefresh℠ chome delivery service was to bring a RIDICULOUS amount of water to our home. I’m talking 5 gallon jugs, cases of Nestlé Pure Life water, and even fancy sparkling water like S.Pellegrino and Perrier. And on top of all of that, we had our favorite Florida brand Zephyrhills – in every size and flavor imaginable. Did you know they have a sparkling line too? And we get all of that amazing water for 1 week. 7 days.

Sounds too good to be true, right?

Then for week 2, the majority of the water is taken away. We are left with “just enough” to stay hydrated, but no extra. Then we monitored and gauged our thoughts, feelings and intake. Then add the extra layer of cameras filming us 24/7.

The Hypothesis

A good experiment always begins with a good hypothesis, right? So my prediction was that Week 1, we would increase our good water drinking habits, just by the sheer vision of a huge stock pile of water right in the kitchen. However, by the end of Week 2, I predicted our family would basically be falling apart…your basic meltdown nightmare times four.

Week 1

It all begins with the delivery. When it comes to your home, you want to feel confident that you are always making the best choices for you and your family, especially when it comes to health. Now there’s an easy way to bring a little more health into your home – ReadyRefresh – a customizable beverage delivery service that provides your family with a variety of leading bottled water brands in assorted sizes and flavors like Zephyrhills (still and sparkling), Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, San Pellegrino, and Acqua Panna. With ReadyRefresh there is something for everyone in the family! ReadyRefresh makes staying hydrated easy and convenient offering expanded delivery hours, flexible frequency options (choose weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, every 3 months or even one-time ordering) for any product delivered and increased communication (pre-delivery and post-delivery notifications).

I actually had never thought about having water delivered to my home before, but it was so convenient. No grocery store trips. No lugging cases into my car. More minutes in my day to get chores done, to enjoy family time, even splurge on a few minutes for me – I know, crazy idea!

So what happens after the delivery is made? We drink! I’ve never been so hydrated in my life. During Week 1 our family was surrounded by water, and I felt super spoiled. There was never a time when we were without something to drink – from the beach to car rides to school lunches. And just by having case after case in our home, our intake skyrocketed to about 10-15 cups per person per day. I felt like a superstar parent, being able to keep up with my kids, focus on my work and still make dinner, do laundry, tuck in beds without the evening crash.

Week 2

I became the water drill sergeant. I was constantly checking the jug to see how much was left. Counting how many bottles were left to last us through the 7 long days. My husband and I both had a big decrease in water consumption. I had no idea how much our water intake was really affecting our everyday life – our moods, our conversations, even the way we connected as a family, until we had to document it. To put it lightly, it was rough. I was losing minutes in my day – minutes that could have been spent connecting with my kids – just thinking about what we were going to drink next. I never want our family to go through another “Week 2” again.

The Results

The data is in, and not just in our family. ReadyRefresh also conducted a survey of 4,000 Americans to see if FORO is real. The FORO statistics are surprising. Results included:

• More than half of all surveyed (52%) experience FORO at least once a week.
• 69% of survey respondents run low on everyday household items at least once a week.
• 69% of those surveyed experience feelings such as stress, anxiety and worry when household items start to run low.
• Nearly half of all full-time working parents (46%) surveyed say they ration or replace everyday household items with a less desirable alternative at least once per week, in order to avoid running out completely
• According to the survey, when running low on household items, food (67%), toilet paper (51%) and bottled water (43%) are the most likely to be restocked first – ahead of items like milk (20%) and diapers (7%).
• Of those surveyed, three out of four (76%) working parents would buy more household items in bulk if it was more convenient

Conclusion

So what’s the conclusion to our 2-week FORO Experiment? Well, you’re just going to have to watch this video to find out. Maybe we didn’t get the 100% expected conclusion like my middle school science project, but this FORO Experiment certainly earned more than an Honorable Mention ribbon.

I’m convinced that having more water in our home gives our family more opportunities to be healthier while enjoying more minutes of our day together. There’s #NoMoreFORO in this household thanks to ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestlé®. If you’re looking to increase your water consumption in your family’ household, consider the ReadyRefresh℠ home delivery service. Be sure to follow ReadyRefresh℠ via Facebook and Twitter for the latest products, offers and more.

Share your own FORO stories online by using the hashtag #NoMoreFORO.

Do you think that the “Fear of Running Out” or FORO is a real thing?