7 tips for drinking more water!

Hey there! It feels like summer already here in Missouri. The nurse and mom in me are all about staying hydrated. All too often we forget to drink our water while we’re livin’ it up outside. Not only does drinking water keep you safe and hydrated, it also helps your body burn fat and keep all those gears a-turnin’. So, this week I’d like to chat with you about how much water you need to drink to stay hydrated AND to offer you 7 of my simple how-to tips for drinking more water every day!

Be sure to grab your Free How to Water Guide at the end!

If you’d rather listen than read, the Facebook live recording is located at the bottom of this post.

But first, why am I talking about drinking more water anyway?

Water is the fluid that lubricates our systems and keeps us healthy and vibrant.

Imagine a riverbed in a drought when it’s all dried up and cracking, where the water is so sparse that there’s no life in it.

Now compare your body to that riverbed and imagine what you’re doing to it by not staying hydrated with enough water. Yup, soon enough it too will dry up, crack up and become uninhabitable.

So before you get to that sad, dry state, let’s talk about how you’ll know if you’re not drinking enough good old H2O!

What’s important about recognizing dehydration?

The usual side effects of dehydration are dry mouth and thirst. And you can also look out for other signs of mild to severe dehydration (in that order) such as:

Low energy, fatigue, and loss of muscle strength and endurance
Hunger (oftentimes can mean you are just really thirsty)
Headaches and decrease in memory and brain function
Decrease or no output of urine or urine that is dark, strong smelling or burning
Low blood pressure
Tachycardia or rapid heart rate

How much water do I need to drink?

This is such a loaded question! The amount of water you’ll drink depends on you and your lifestyle. We’re all so different (yay :)) Here’s a good rule of thumb:

Drink between 64 ounces and 0.67% of your body weight
- For example, if your body weight is 150 pounds, then you need to drink anywhere between 64 ounces and 100 ounces (0.67% x 150) of water per day
How much water you currently drink
Your level of activity (how much you sweat ;-))
How much caffeine or alcohol you drink daily
- Both caffeine and alcohol are dehydrating, so be sure you go “1for-1.”
The temperature where you live
- Super-hot summers require more water

You can tell that you’re drinking enough water when:

Urine is on the light side
Urine is abundant
You have to empty your bladder about every two or three hours
- If you’re constantly going, you could be drinking too much water
- NOTE: When you first start to increase water consumption, you WILL be in the bathroom more often than you’re used to, but that will only last a few days, and then the body will adjust.

How do I increase my daily water consumption?

Easy! Just try these 7 tips for drinking more water:

Drink 1 – 2 glasses of water first thing in the morning
Keep a pitcher filled with filtered water for you to drink throughout the day in your fridge at home or on your desk at work
Drink 8 oz of water before exercise
Sip small amounts of water from your water bottle during exercise
Keep glass bottles of water in your car, at the office, by your bed
Add slices of fresh lemon, orange, cucumber or strawberry to your water or fresh mint
Add Emergen-C to sparkling water for a fun twist on taste, or try iced herbal teas throughout the day

What if I don’t like the taste of water?

Add slices of lemon, lime, cucumber or orange to your water
Add mint leaves to water
Add your favorite flavor Emergency-C to water for sparkle and taste
Drink your favorite flavor herbal tea, iced or hot
Use a pretty drinking glass or goblet!
Heat water and drink with lemon

What do I do now?

If you’re thirsty for more ways to stay hydrated in your busy life, then click here now to schedule a time to talk with me, so you can feel energized, excited and inspired about your health.

And be sure to grab your FREE How to Water Guide here.