drink plenty of water.
In the past, I've found it hard (even boring), to drink the recommended eight 8-ounce glasses each day.
I've heard it is also suggested that we should drink half of our body weight in ounces each day.
(If you weight 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces...which comes out to 12.5 glasses/cups each day).
Here are some tips that have helped me drink close to 100 ounces of water each day.
And no, I don't weigh 200 pounds...it just happens to be 3 water bottles worth of water!
I've mentioned before that I like to add flavored ice cubes to my water bottle. This really does add a nice touch and keeps me coming back for more sips throughout the day. I fill our white ice cube trays with regular water and the colored trays with flavored water (or in the case above, some frozen canned pumpkin from the fall...to eventually be used in a pumpkin/gingerbread smoothie)! This helps keep things organized, and keeps Derek from icing his knees with fruity flavored ice cubes after a hard workout/run/football/basketball game.
I make sure to keep my water bottle (with the cap off & in reaching distance from me) on my desk when at work. This makes it extremely accessible and visibly reminds me to keep drinking throughout the day. I take it to meetings with me and aim to drink one bottle by lunch, another by the time I leave work, and finally one more by the time I go to bed. I also keep my vitamins nearby so I remember to take them with my morning snack, lunch, and dinner. I like that the water bottle I use lists the ounces right on the bottle, so I can keep track of how much I have left to drink.
(Remember, 8 liquid ounces is equal to 1 cup).
Freezing fruits and vegetables to use in place of ice cubes also adds a nice flavor to your water. Berries, cucumbers, and orange, lemon, or lime slices all freeze well. As with everything, the key is to stay organized and prepare ahead of time.
Drink up,
stay hydrated without getting bored,
and continue making small changes to better your health!
Great post Jen! My hubby and I have started a 21 Daniel Fast. Only eating fruits and veggies and water is the only drink. It's challenging to say the least! So I've been drinking lemon water like it's going out of style. But I love the idea of making flavored ice cubes!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law did the Daniel Fast and enjoyed the challenge. Glad you commented...I'll be adding your blog to my daily reads :) Hope all is well in Arkansas!
DeleteGreat ideas! I'm working to reduce my Diet Coke intake. I'm slowly moving to Crystal Light in the afternoons, but I know that plain water would be even better. I will keep these ideas in mind! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteScott, Thanks for reading!
DeleteI haven't had Diet Coke in about a month...but before that I went through phases of staying away from it for a week and then drinking it my the gallons the next week. My husband will never understand my Diet Coke obsession...I guess it's a diabetic thing...ah, that fizzy/bubbly sensation!
But anyways, I've just found that being really intentional with drinking more water and trying different variations until I find what I like has really helped. Good luck!