The human body consists of 70% water. As such, drinking sufficient water is essential for optimal health. Water plays several vital roles 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 know how important it is to stay hydrated, nurturing the simple habit of drinking water is a challenge for most people. So, what can you do to 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. Setting a goal can motivate 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 it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. For instance, you can set a water drinking goal like 'drinking 43 ounces of water daily'. Having a SMART goal enables you to track progress - an essential aspect of keeping you motivated as you work towards realizing what you desire.
When working, take a glass of water every hour.
If you work for eight hours, taking a glass of water every hour means that by the end of the day, you'll have consumed eight cups of water. Start the day by filling your cup and topping it up every hour. This approach allows you 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 can drink water from any place - at home, traveling, working, or running errands. A water bottle is also handy because it is 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 more environmentally friendly than non-reusable plastic bottles. Learn more about water bottles on Fill2Pure NZ Review.
Drink water as opposed to other drinks.
This is an exciting way to ensure you take more water daily. It fits well with reducing calorie intake because you drink water instead of sports or soda. The drinks we consider sweet have vast amounts of added sugars that are highly 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 help 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 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 to remind you to take several dips of water every half an hour. Similarly, you can set it to remind you that you need to finish taking the current glass and then refill it after every 1 hour. With such reminders, you will increase the water you take daily, mainly if you are always busy or forgetful.
Before every meal, take a glass of water.
Another way to increase your water intake is to take a single glass before a meal. You can take three extra cups of water daily if you take three meals daily. Since the body sometimes mistakes thirst with hunger, taking a glass of water ahead of a meal can help clarify whether you are hungry. If you want to reduce weight, drinking water before a meal will 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 fruit combinations like lemon, cucumber, or strawberry to the water. You may also add water enhancers 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 harm your health.