By Vicki Little
Sixty-four ounces of water is what you should drink every day. That’s a lot of liquid. And that’s only on the days when you are not exercising, not trying to lose a few pounds, not out in the heat, not sick or dehydrated. When those situations occur, you’ll need to increase your water intake a bit more. Drinking that much water can get tedious, so here are 8 suggestions on how to make it easier to guzzle down those 64 ounces.
1) Add some flavor. Adding flavor to your water will help shake things up a bit and keep it from getting boring. Add a bit of seltzer water and some fruit to make it a pleasant drink to sip on. Add a slice of cucumber, lemon, lime or other produce to change up the taste in your water bottle.
2) Eat fruits high in water content. Your 8 glasses of water don’t have to all come from the tap. Enjoy some tasty fruits and vegetables instead. Fruits that are high in water content are: watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, raspberries and cantaloupe. Vegetables high in water content include: cucumbers, lettuce, celery and tomato. Try a salad with light dressing or fruit for snacks to help sneak in more H2O throughout the day.
3) Use a water app. There’s an app for everything these days! You may be surprised once you actually start tracking water intake, how little you really drink.
4) Drink a glass of water before you give in to a craving. Once you feel that craving hit, fill a glass of water BEFORE you reach for the snack. Chances are, you may have just enough time to decide you don’t really need a snack, or you will eat less of one. This will save you calories while increasing your water intake.
5) Water down your juice. When you drink juice, pour half a glass of juice and half a glass of water. Yep, it counts. And it tastes better than just water as well.
6) Always have a water bottle on hand. It is much easier to track how much you are actually drinking by counting how many bottles of water you drank. It also helps because those little sips add up quickly, and it will become a habit.
7) Use a straw. You drink much faster through a straw.
8) Make it convenient. Put a pitcher of water with your chosen fruit or other flavor in the fridge so you can quickly pour a cold glass rather than cutting fruit each time. Freeze half a water bottle so you can quickly add water to it and go when you are in a rush. Don’t keep soda in the fridge to tempt you!
Vicki Little is a work-at-home mom with two young kids. A Colorado native, she is the Publisher and Editor of Macaroni Kid Aurora and Downtown Denver. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, reading, camping, or enjoying a bottle of wine with friends.
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Sangeetha menon
June 15, 2015 @ 7:31 pm
Good post. An App for water intake..should give a try:-)