7 Tips For Drinking More Water

I just completed a 14-day water challenge and I’m here to offer you some tips for drinking more water. My goal was to drink at least 8 glasses of water – 64 ounces – every day.

Did you know? The average adult body is about 60% water. Its jobs include regulating body temperature, moistening tissues, lubricating joints, and protecting organs. Water is a major factor in optimum intestinal health in addition to aiding the liver and kidneys. It also transports nutrients to your cells.

So, it’s kiiinda important to be well-hydrated if you want to feel your best and help your body to be it’s best.

TIPS FOR DRINKING MORE WATER

Over the course of 2 weeks, I found these seven things to be the most helpful in reaching my goal.

1. GET A TUMBLER

The person leading our challenge advised us to get a cool water bottle or cup from the get-go. Did I heed this suggestion? No. And I suffered because of it for several days. At home, I enjoy drinking out of mason jars but they are not easily portable. I needed to be drinking all day to meet my goal. I finally decided on this tumbler for a mere $11 and it changed my water game. It’s stainless steel and will help keep your drink hot or cold. The screw on top is also pretty handy and prevents spills if you accidentally knock it over. Most importantly, it also fits in a regular-sized cup holder in the car. You’ll need to be able to take your water with you, so this is important!

2. DON’T FORGET THE STRAW

Straws help immensely. There’s something about using a straw that gets you to drink more. Trust me, get a straw! The tumbler I chose comes with a stainless steel straw, which also helps the drink to stay hot or cold and you don’t have to worry about harmful plastic.

3. SOURCE YOUR WATER

If you are going to make the commitment to drink more water to experience the health benefits you might as well make sure you are using quality water. There has been a lot of buzz about alkaline water in the last few years and with good reason. There is research to show that drinking alkaline water regularly can lower cholesterol, blood glucose, acid reflux, and blood pressure. It can also prevent dementia and there are claims it has cancer-fighting properties too. Essentia water boasts a 9.5 pH level. A little-known fact is that Berkey Water Filtration also creates alkaline water. If you want a quick and inexpensive solution, you can also add 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda to 64 ounces of water to make it alkaline.

4. DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Before you start your challenge, figure out exactly how much 64 ounces is. For my 16-ounce stainless steel tumbler, I’ll need to fill it up 4 times to get in my total consumption for the day. If I’m up by 6 and in bed by 10 then I need to be halfway to my goal by the time I finish my lunch. Yes, you can catch up if needed but it makes it go so much more smoothly if you can stay on track.

5. START EARLY

I found that it was easier for me to reach the halfway mark at lunch if I started sipping as soon as I woke up. For this reason, I fill up my cup the night before and put it on my bedside table.

6. ADD LEMON

For starters, adding flavor to your water can help it to taste better but there are also many health benefits of lemon water. It can boost your immune system, balance your pH, help detox your body, improve your skin, improve digestion, provide electrolytes, help fight gingivitis, reduce inflammation, and more! Lemon is also another quick and inexpensive way to make your water alkaline.

7. SIP, DON’T GULP

This was one of my biggest takeaways from the water challenge. When I first started, I thought gulping down water was the way to go. I could certainly get ahead that way. The result? I spent a lot of time peeing. For a girl who stays super busy, this was extremely frustrating. When we gulp water, our bodies can’t absorb it that quickly so it passes it right on through. Having my tumbler nearby where I can sip frequently made a huge difference in the number of trips I made to the bathroom.

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?

Would you be interested in doing a water challenge? Leave a comment or let me know and I’ll put a new group together.