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Nearly every day, I get messages and emails asking me for the great secret to learning how to drink more water. Unfortunately, there is no one single, magical secret for how to drink more water, but I can share what has worked for me personally!
WHY do I have to drink more water?
You’ve heard all the stats, friends. You already know them. But I will cover the basics real quick. Your body needs water. No, wine doesn’t count. You need water. Water is necessary for your body to lubricate joints, protect your brain, regulate an optimal body temperature, etc. Often suffer from headaches or fatigue? Your water consumption, or lack thereof, might be contributing to those symptoms, too.
#toughlove Plain and simple. You’re an adult. You just have to do it.
How to Drink More Water
I used to whine and make excuses such as, “When I drink too much water, my stomach feels upset!” Yeah, yeah. Looking back, I know I was just stomping my feet like a child in a tantrum, but hey, it got me by for a few years. π Now that I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking more water, it’s really no big deal. On average, I drink one gallon per day. I’ll drink more, if we’ve been out hiking the desert trails or if I’ve had an intense workout. Here’s what helped me get in the habit of drinking more water:
Tip #1 Hold Your Favorite Things for “Water Ransom”
RANSOM? WHAT!? Yes, I’m serious. I did this when I was first getting into the habit of drinking more water and it just stuck ever since.
If you want a cup of coffee in the morning, you are going to work for it. With water. π
Drink one cup of water before you get your cup o’ joe.
Like pre-workout before your lifting session? Awesome! One cup of water first, friend.
Want wine with dinner? Guess what you get first? Water!
Lemonade Water Flavoring (made without gross chemicals, yay!)
Tip #2 Give It a Kick of Flavor
There are oodles of water infusion recipes, but you have to find the one that YOU love or you won’t drink it.
I personally like lots of lemon slices, some mint leaves and a few drops of lemon stevia in mine. Sometimes I get a little crazy and go for cucumber slices and pretend like I’m at the spa. I just fill a pitcher and let them infuse overnight to 24 hours.
The kids really like berries (strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) in theirs.
Every two months, we also have an Amazon Subscribe & Save order of healthy lemonade flavoring shipped to the house, too.
Tip #3 Set Reminder Alarms on Your Phone
Think this is over the top? Well, I do, too, but it works! Nothing like your phone blaring at you to give you a nudge toward your glass of water. A few days of annoying alarms and you just get into the habit. Anything to stop the alarms!
Tip #4 Set Small Time Goals Throughout the Day
Grab a gallon jug and label it with hourly goals throughout the day. This will help you stay on track to meeting your end-of-day goal. I recently got one of these glass gallon jugs. I think I’m going to bust out some pretty labels from my Cricut and spruce it up, too. It needs a little glitter. π If the full-size gallon is too heavy for you (consider it a bonus workout!), try the half gallon size instead.
Tip #5 Try a Smart Bottle + App
If you need a boost of accountability (or competition) to really push your to your goal, try this smart water bottle.
You configure your water intake on their (free) app and then it does its thing. I’ll be sitting at my desk, minding my own business, and it will start glowing. It sends amusing notifications to my Apple Watch, too.
You can also connect with friends on the app for accountability. If you are up for a little challenge, it lets you “race” around a track with them to see who is meeting their daily goal. Hey, what can I say? I like competition. π
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