Day 5: Drink More Water

IMPORTANT:  Before you read this post, get up, pour yourself a glass of water, drink it, and then come back to your computer.  No, I’m not kidding.  Go, pour, drink.  I’ll be here when you get back.

Photo courtesy of buywaterfiltersandionizers.com

Did you finish your water?  Good.  You just did something really good for yourself.

 Do you drink enough water every day?  Very few of us do.  Most sources say we’re supposed to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day.  It can be tiring listening to people preach the importance of staying hydrated, but there are several benefits to drinking plenty of H₂O.  Maybe one of these will resonate with you:

• Water flushes toxins from your body
• Water makes your skin look healthy and glowing
• Proper hydration keeps you cooler in the warm summer months
• Drinking adequate water can assist with weight-loss
• Sometimes the body confuses thirst with hunger.  Drinking water before succumbing to a food craving can help you figure out if you’re really craving that bag of Skittles

 

Still not convinced?  Try making water more appealing by trying one of these tricks:

• Squeeze a lemon, lime or orange wedge into your water
• Add a couple of tablespoons of your favorite fruit juice to your water
• Try Propel or Crystal Light (both come in handy, single-serving packages that you can add to your water).  Personally I like Propel because it’s clear.  Crystal Light powder usually leaves me with stained fingertips, a stained countertop, and a Kool-Aid mustache.  But I’m a big kid like that…
• Invest in a nice water bottle that you really like.  Sounds kind of weird, but the time in my life that I was consistently drinking my 8 glasses of water a day I was drinking it out of my awesome pink Nalgene bottle
• Does drinking water make you chilly in the winter?  Try unsweetened green tea during the day or unsweetened chamomile tea in the evening
• Turn water drinking into a challenge.  Fill up a 2 liter bottle with water in the morning and keep it in the fridge.  Challenge yourself to drink the whole thing before you go to bed

 

Discussion: (use the comments area below)

• Do you drink enough water?
• What strategies do you use to make sure you hit your daily quota of H2O?