Tips for Drinking More Water Everyday!

Water is one of the best beverages you can drink, yet we often don’t think about water the same way we think about needing a cup of coffee in the morning. It’s important to drink water and here are some simple ways to get into the habit of drinking lots of water everyday.

Why Drinking Water Is Important

While water is essential to survive, it can also help maintain an appropriate balance of fluids in your body, which can help with digestion, transportation of nutrients, removing waste from your body and maintaining body temperature.

It can also help improve the look of your skin because when dehydrated, skin can look more dry and wrinkled. Dehydration can also result in low blood pressure, headaches, dizziness and fatigue. Water can be a simple solution.

How Much Water Should You Drink Per Day?

Guidelines have suggested that men should drink about 13 cups of total fluids a day and women should drink about 9 cups of total fluids a day. Intake suggestions are greater for men, as they are generally larger and have more muscle mass than women.

If this total intake of fluids seems like a lot, don’t get overwhelmed. This really only breaks down to about 4 to 8 sips of water an hour. Often, it’s not the amount of water that’s the issue, instead, it could be that remembering to drink water is the tricky part. Along with remembering to drink water comes choosing to drink water as opposed to other tasty beverages. While pop or sports drinks may sound appealing, the sugar in these drinks could actually make you thirstier. So when you can, stick to water or at the very least drink water in addition to other drink options. Water isn’t only good for you but it’s also the least expensive beverage option!

Tricks to Adding More Water Into Your Daily Routine

1. Make it part of your routine. Incorporate drinking water into your daily morning and bedtime routine. This doesn’t mean you have to switch out your morning coffee for water, it just means drinking a glass of water before or after your coffee. It can be helpful to keep your routine consistent so that you drink water at the same time and place everyday. Just by having a glass of water before work or school you’ve got a head start on the rest of your day.
2. Get a Nice Water Bottle Marked with Time Oriented Goals. Water bottles are great ways to increase your motivation for water intake, and getting a nice water bottle that you like is important so that you carry it with you each day. Adding inspirational of fun stickers on your bottle can also help to make it uniquely yours. Studies have shown that the more you like your water bottle, the more likely you are to want to use it. It’s best to spread out your water consumption throughout the day, so marking your bottle with tape to represent timed drinking goals can help hold yourself accountable while spreading out your consumption.
3. Make it a Game. Making your drinking goals into a game can help act as an incentive for your new habit. It also allows you to reward yourself when you reach a milestone. Once you’ve achieved your drinking goals for a full week you can treat yourself to something you don’t normally do/get.
4. Set a Timer To Start Forming A Habit. If you’re having trouble remembering to drink your water, setting a timer on your phone can be a reminder that’s hard to ignore. Simply set a few phone alarms to go off throughout the day and when one goes off, chug a big glass of water. This may seem like overkill, but nothing helps get you back into a routine like a phone beeping at you to drink. Part of maintaining a habit involves finding a way to remember to drink your water without external reminders, but this can be a good start to put the routine into place.
5. Mix Up Your Water Drinking Experience. Adding some fruit or cucumber to your water can help make your drink seem a bit more interesting and appealing. You can also freeze up some lemon slices in ice cubes to upgrade your water this way. If you’re missing the fizz of pop, try some sparkling water or club soda. You’ll get the bubbly without all the sugar. You can also try switching up your typical water by adding a fun straw. Drinking from straws can also seem like less effort than chugging an entire glass of water.
6. Eat Your Water. Food has water in it too, fruits and vegetables are a great source of water and are a healthy alternative to chips or candy. Raw fruits and vegetables with high water content include: Cucumber, Lettuce, Celery, Radishes, Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Cauliflower, Watermelon, Spinach, Strawberries, Broccoli, Grapefruit, Apricots, Cherries, Grapes, and Zucchini. So pick your favourites and keep those around and easily accessible.

Learn to love the taste of water, because every sip is good for you.

Posted on September 14th, 2018