Helpful Tips to Drink More H2O

As you're probably aware, here at Sage HealthStyle, we truly believe that everyone knows what they should be doing, but it's hard to actually get that stuff done. For example, you know you should be drinking water every day. You might not know how much, and you might not know why it's so important, but you definitely know you should be doing it. If you're only drinking it for the sole purpose that our bodies are made up of about 70% of water (therefore, it's safe to assume that we need to frequently replenish that supply, the same way the Earth needs rain to keep the lakes and rivers and oceans full, right?), that's good enough for us... 

But besides the obvious "our body needs water to survive", which has been drilled into since we were kids, why else should we be concerned with how much water we have every day? The benefits are vast and numerous, but here are our top reasons why we choose to stay hydrated: 

• Fresh, dewey, glowing skin. Seriously, the easiest, cheapest way to keep your skin clear & beautiful and to help with aging. 
• Flushes out toxins from your body
• Help your digestive system (a.k.a: poop talk!) 
• Helps eliminate headaches (honestly! We don't even keep aspirin in our houses because we just don't need it)
• Helps promote weight loss (read the tips below for more info on this)
• Helps with brain power (our brains are mostly water, so it helps you think clearly and stay focused)

But how much should you really be drinking? We like to tell our clients they should be drinking anywhere from half to all their body weight in ounces, daily. So, if you weigh 150lbs, you should be drinking 75-150 ounces of H2O everyday! Holy H2O! That's a LOT of water to intake. So how do you do it? Here are some of our go-to tips to ensure we're staying hydrated (especially if you're one of those people that drinks coffee - caffeine dehydrates you -  for breakfast or likes to get in a run during lunch, staying hydrated is key to your success): 

• If you're one of those people that thinks water is tasteless and torture just to drink one glass, try adding some flavor to your water. A great, NATURAL, way to do that is by adding some different fruits. The possibilities for combinations or options really are endless here. A simple squeeze of lemon or lime, infusing your water with berries or a combo of blackberry & lime (start thinking about your favorite sparkling water flavors for inspo), adding other citrus or water-based fruits, etc. 

• Fruit not your thing? No problem! Try some veggies or herbs! Cucumbers, celery and ginger are great additions. As well as, basil, mint, and lavender. Try one or a combo of several. You can even try mixing up the fruits, veggies & herbs for something new every day (or week). 
• All that water drinking is going to make your trips to the restroom a lot more frequent. After making a pit stop, swing by the kitchen or break-room and grab another glass of water. Chug that before heading back to your desk or back to work. Like we mentioned above, you have to keep refilling your body, especially when it has been evacuated. When there's a drought on Earth, we pray for a little rain fall to replenish the waterways. Same for your body!
• Drink a FULL glass of water before every meal. Still hungry after the first serving? Have another FULL glass of water. Not only does this help you consume more water, but it helps curb your appetite and caloric intake too. Win-Win (we're all about win-win situations here)!
• Opt for sparkling water or soda-water over actual soda. You can always garnish soda-water with fruit to get the sweetness you're craving. There are also SO many flavored sparkling water options out there, that you have no excuse not to find one you love. If the flavor isn't strong enough for your liking, try adding some of the real fruit to it to kick it up a notch and make it more enjoyable.
• On that note, got a thing for sugary drinks like juice, lemonade & iced-teas? Try adding regular, sparkling or soda-water to these drinks to help dilute them. You'll still get your sugar kick, but you'll get the added benefit of not consuming as much sugar (our belief on how much refined, added sugar should be consumed every day is a blog for another time!) as well as drinking more of that natural, good-for-you H2O! Try to keep the ratio 1:1 with these mixtures. 
• You know what also counts for your daily water consumption? Tea! Any regular, steeped tea, whether you prefer it hot or cold counts! Great news, huh? 
• Keep a journal or track your progress in an app. #BuJo is the new craze taking over Instagram as an old-school throwback for keeping track of things like sleep, food, exercise and even water intake. You can even track your water levels in apps such as FitBit, Apple Health, or Daily Water Free. 

• Still not drinking enough water and struggling through the day? Try eating foods that have a higher amount of water in them. Seriously, this isn't a trick. Eating water-rich foods is a great way to get some extra hydration. Cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon, grapefruits, celery, and certain lettuces are a few examples of fruits & veggies high in water percentage. 
• Out for a night on the town? Try the 1:1 rule when drinking alcohol. If you're going to imbibe in adult beverages, make sure to drink one glass of water to every glass of alcohol (that includes shots!). And since we've heard this from clients in the past: no, drinking a vodka/whiskey/whatever-hard-alcohol drink mixed with water does not count towards this rule. Great that you're choosing water over soda for your mixer, but you still need to consume that extra glass before ordering your next round. Not only will this help with your hangover the next day, but it keeps you from over-indulging as well (which is better for your waistline & your wallet... win-win!). 
• One last option, is using water bottles that are marked for you. These help you easily track how much water you're consuming so you know if you've reached your daily goal. If you want to get super fancy, there are even water bottles on the market these days that combine the benefit of an app that tracks how much water you drink for you! Talk about taking things to the next level! 

Drink up, friends! 

Comment to let us know your favorite way to drink more water! 

References: 

Self: 12 Easy Ways to Drink More Water Every Day

MindBodyGreen: 10 Reasons Why You Should Drink More Water