The human body consists of 70% water. As such, drinking sufficient water is important for a person to live in optimal health. There are several important roles that water plays in the human body. This includes balancing electrolytes, maintaining blood pressure, keeping the body temperatures in check, enhancing cell health and lubricating the joints. Though many people are aware of how important it is to stay hydrated, for the majority of people, nurturing the simple habit of drinking water is a challenge. So, what can you do to ensure that you stay hydrated all the time?
Here are 7 healthy ways to drink more water:
Make drinking water a daily goal
Having a daily water drinking goal can go a long way in helping you increase your daily water intake. The simple step of setting a goal is capable of motivating you in a way that causes you to take action and make positive adjustments that remain in the long run. When setting a goal for water intake, make them specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. For instance, you can set a water drinking goal like that looks like, 'to drink 43 ounces of water every day'. Having a SMART goal enables you to track progress - which is an important aspect of keeping you motivated as you work towards realizing what you desire.
When working, take a glass of water every hour
If you are at work for eight hours, taking a glass of water every hour means that by the end of the day, you'll have taken 8 cups of water. Start the day by filling your cup and keep topping it up every hour of the day. With this approach, you are able to maintain a consistent water intake throughout your workday.
Always carry a reusable water bottle
Bringing a water bottle with you everywhere you go throughout the day will help you take more water. With a reusable water bottle, you will be able to drink water from any place - whether you are at home, traveling, working or running errands. A water bottle also comes in handy because it is also a visual reminder that you need to drink water. When you see the bottle on your kitchen table or on your office desk, you are quickly reminded that you need to take more water. At the same time, reusable bottles are friendly to the environment compared to the non-reusable plastic bottles - learn more about water bottles on Fill2Pure NZ Review.
Drink water as opposed to other drinks
This is an interesting way to ensure that you are taking more water each day. It fits well with the need to reduce calorie intake because instead of drinking sports drinks or soda, you drink water. The drinks we consider to be sweet have huge amounts of added sugars that are extremely harmful to our health. To enjoy optimal health, it is recommended that you reduce your intake of added sugar to below five percent of the calorie amount you take. A single 8-ounce of soda every day will exceed the recommended intake. Replacing your intake of sugary drinks and increasing your water intake is a cheap and easy way to reduce calories and helping reduce weight because added sugar is known to cause obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Set a water drinking reminder
The technology we use today can go a long way in helping us to drink more water. For instance, you can use your phone to remind yourself when you need to drink water. At the same time, you can explore the different water drinking applications or simply use your smartwatch alarm. One of the most effective ways to use your alarm is by setting it in a way that it reminds you to take several dips of water after every half an hour. Similarly, you can set it to remind you that you need to finish taking the current glass then refill it after every 1 hour. With such reminders, you will find yourself increasing the amount of water you take each day, particularly if you are always busy or are too forgetful.
Before every meal, take a glass of water
The other way you can increase the amount of water you take is by taking a single glass of water before you take any meal. If you take three meals each day, this means you'll be able to take three extra cups of water each day. Since the body sometimes mistakes thirst with hunger, taking a glass of water ahead of a meal can help clarify whether you are indeed hungry. If you are looking to reduce weight, drinking water before a meal will enable lower your calorie intake.
Take flavored water
If you don't like the taste of water and feel you need just a little flavor so you can drink more of it, consider getting an affordable fruit infuser bottle so you can add some fruit combinations like lemon, cucumber or strawberry to the water. You may also add water enhances to the water to add some flavor. However, note that most water enhancers in the market contain additives such as artificial sweeteners and sugar that could be harmful to your health.
