Competitive Athlete Hates the Taste of Water, Hydrates with Coffee, Beer and Flavored Drinks (Exclusive)

Lori Cheek, 52, says plain water "tastes metallic" and she can only drink it with flavored powders

• Lori Cheek is an avid athlete who went viral for talking about her aversion to water

• While she shares that she doesn't "like the taste of water," she will add flavored powders to make it more palatable

• When she goes to the gym, she sips a hot coffee with "Stevia and a hazelnut zero sugar creamer"

Lori Cheek is an avid athlete, having completed two half marathons, two duathlons, one triathlon and one Ironman relay.

She also doesn’t drink water.

“I just don't like the taste of water. It tastes metallic and it's like liquid metal to me,” Cheek, 52, tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“I drink other things,” Cheek explains. “I don't know why everybody thinks it's so nuts.”

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Cheek, the founder and CEO of an online dating business, said that, “so many people think I'm a freak because I don't drink it.”

After recently going viral for a video where she discussed her aversion to water, Cheek said, “the next morning I woke up and I had hate messages all over the place.” But, she shared, “On the other side, I had so many people reach out to me about them hating water. There's tons of people out there that hate it, too. I'm not the only person.”

She did want to clear one thing up: While she did end up in the emergency room for dehydration, that hasn’t happened in 15 years.

“I was at the gym and I just hadn't had any water,” she said. “And I think I overdid it.”

The Mayo Clinic recommends "about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women" — and adds that "20% of daily fluid intake usually comes from food."

Cheek — who said she loves to snack on watermelon, which is hydrating — says she's careful about staying hydrated without water, and adds flavored powders like Crystal Light or Liquid IV to her water before drinking it.

“I am obsessed with snacking on Pedialyte popsicles, which are ultra hydrating,” she says.

And yes, sometimes Cheek does drink water — small amounts in the morning with her vitamins.

"I'm not drinking to hydrate,” she says. “I'm just drinking to get these pills down.”

When she goes to the gym, her drink of choice is coffee with “Stevia and a hazelnut zero sugar creamer.”

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“Occasionally in the middle of a workout, I might sip my coffee,” she says, “but I always take coffee to the gym.”

“My main thing is just drinking other things,” she explained. “I know coffee can sometimes dehydrate you, but still it's got water in it. I drink beer. That's my cocktail of choice. It's made with water.”

She also wants people to know that she has tried all different brands of water. “I feel like I've had almost every flat bottled water out there that's available in the U.S.,” Cheek says. “ I don't like it. I don't like it from our water filter. I just always have to put something in it.”

However, the triathlete admits, “If I'm in a race and there's water, I'll drink it.”

“But that's just like my last resort.”

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