It’s so easy to choose to drink anything but pure unadulterated water these days but really one of the best things you can do for your body is to drink enough water every day. It may seem daunting at the start to consume 2 liters or half a gallon of water (weather dependent) but I’m going to show you how it is easily achievable it is. Here are some easy tips to help you drink more water and reap the rewards that follow.
Break it down into manageable gulps
When you’re looking at the oodles of water you know you should consume it may seem rather daunting and completely unreasonable to think that your body needs that much water to function at its peak. The truth is if you break it down into more manageable gulps then this task begins to feel a lot more achievable.
You can break the quantity down into a number of a certain sized water bottle that you have to drink, or the number of glasses you have to refill. This is all a case of trial and error to see what works for you. Some people prefer two large water bottles, others the smaller ones, or glasses. It depends what gels with your activities and your lifestyle, but the trick here is to always have a gulp of water within arms reach of where you are.
The other thing I will say here it don’t leave your drinking to once or twice a day where you guzzle down a heap of water. For one you’ll be needing to use the bathroom a lot after that! But also, this kind of defeats the purpose of the increased water because your body can’t absorb and use that much water at one time.
The better thing to do is to sip your water throughout the day, this is much easier and more pleasant to do and is far more sustainable in the long run than the alternative. And as you want to be drinking over the whole day you’re going to need a way to BYO your water where ever you go.
Bring your water with you
We’re all busy and drinking more water is something a lot of us mean to do but just forget to do it because there is so much going on. An easy way to increase your water intake is to take your water with you. So if you’re going somewhere, whether it is to the shops, or for a quick stroll out of the office, always take water with you. In this case the practical solution is to take a water bottle and have it “glued” to your side. That way you can take sips often and before you know it you’re having to refill your bottle again!
I have found that keeping my water bottle with me is the best way to ensure that I spread out my water intake throughout the day. This makes for an overall more pleasant experience and it also helps you to stop feeling peckish all the time.
Reduce the intake of other beverages
Especially while you are trying to build up your water intake it may be worth reducing your consumption of other liquids. Things like coffee, tea, and soft drink all tend to be the fluids we choose in place of water. Whilst it isn’t all bad to have these options when you’re trying to increase how much water you drink leaving out the other options is a good idea.
Myself I love a good cup of tea but I also have realized that when I drink a lot of tea I don’t end up drinking a lot of water, because after all there is only so much liquid you can drink in a day. So, I let myself drink tea in the morning and then switch to water after no more than two cups of tea. This way I’m still getting the enjoyment of the tea (all herbal by the way) but I am also being thoughtful to manage how much water I am drinking and ensure I get enough each day.
Build up to your goal by tracking your progress
Whilst your ultimate aim is to drink the suggested amount of water each day (climate and weather depending) if your current intake of water is zero or close to zero then you’re going to need to warm up a bit.
As a side note increasing how much water you drink in the short term will lead to an increased visit to the bathroom, but don’t let that stop you from Getting Healthier. This is a very short term side effect that once your body realizes it’s going to get enough water from you it will stop passing it through.
The best way to build up to your goal of increased water consumption is to start tracking how much you drink each day. We have our own Get Healthy Tracker that you can download that has a day by day tracker as well as a month of consumption graph that will help you see the progress you’re making!
Reap the Rewards for Drinking More
If you increase how much water you drink there will be some great side effects that will start to occur. Your body for one will start to operate better and be able to flush more of the bad stuff out of your system. Because your body no longer feels starved of water it will stop retaining water and you may see your weight decrease. Your skin will probably start to look better and you will feel cleaner from the inside out.
Because you are drinking more water, you may find that you are less hungry, though you should still eat a balanced three meals a day plus two snacks you won’t feel such a huge urge to snack in between meals.
Get Healthy
Drinking more water is one sure way to Get Healthy. It is an effort at first but your effort to improve your consumption will be rewarded with you feeling better in your owns skin. You will likely feel more alert and have a better focus which is great for helping you get on with building the life of your dreams.