One of my favorite drinks is water. I know, I know – I’m one of those people!
But it’s the truth! I will drink other drinks, but it is only once in a while. As an example, I got a whole box of BodyArmor in January (4 different flavors with 6 bottles of each flavor) and I’m still working through it.
Micah has probably had more BodyArmor’s than I have to be completely honest. It’s super good, but I just prefer water!
Drinking water is something that is associated with “healthy” and I know a lot of people struggle with drinking enough water so I wanted to give you some of my tips and tricks for drinking enough water during the day.
Tip #1: Bring Your Water Bottle Everywhere
One way to increase the amount you think about something is to have reminders everywhere! In this instance, I recommend taking your water bottle or cup with you. This could be to your desk, as you are watching TV, eating meals, or folding laundry.
The more you have access to the water, the more you’ll think about drinking. And guess what? The more you think about it – the more you will actually do it!
Think of your water bottle as your security blanket or your favorite stuffed animal you had as a kid. You didn’t go anywhere without that thing.
Your water bottle is now that thing! Take it with you in the car and as you go about your day!
Tip #2: Set Hourly Reminders
I know this sounds crazy, but it’s also a good practice to take breaks throughout your day. When your reminder goes off, drink some water, stretch, maybe walk around, and then go back to what you were doing.
I know a lot of us are working from home, so these hourly reminders are great mental health breaks as well!
There are also a ton of free water tracker apps that you can download to help you remember.
Even better, get a water bottle that has those reminders written on the side! I got one for myself and it helped give me some baby steps as I was starting out.
Tip #3: Make it Fun
When was the last time you had a fun straw in your drink? Add a straw to your water bottle or glass to help you get more excited about drinking water.
You can get some colorful packs of straws from every grocery store and it’s a great way to add some fun to your goal of drinking more water.
You can also come up with some sort of reward system for hitting your water goal – maybe it’s buying yourself a new book that came out or a fun water bottle!
(Bribery always works for myself when I’m trying to create a new habit)
You can also download an app to make tracking your water intake a little more fun! I'm playing around with Waterllama right now, but here's a list of other trackers you can try out.
Bonus Tip: Add Fruit
Don’t like the taste? Instead of trying artificial sweeteners, get some fresh fruit and put it in your water!
I’m always a big fan of pineapple, but there are so many great choices out there. Pick a couple and experiment to see what you like (lemons, Oranges, Berries, etc).
“But…I’ll have to go to the bathroom all the time!”
One of the biggest complaints people tell me when they start drinking water more is the increase of trips to the bathroom.
Which to be honest, you will probably see an increase – that’s good! Your body will adjust to the increase of water after a couple of days. Here are some hints for not having as many unwanted trips to the bathroom.
Stop Drinking Water by 9 pm
This will allow your body time to actually process the water and help you not have middle of the night trips to the bathroom!
Don’t Chug, Sip
Instead of chugging your water all at once, try to take sips throughout the day. That way your body has time to actually absorb the water!
You got this!
What’s your favorite fruit to flavor your water with? Let me know in the comments!
Lemons and strawberries 🍋🍓
Lemons!