I know I don’t drink enough water. Yet, knowing how important water is for my mind, body, and strength, I can give these 3 easy ways to boost my water intake and take care of my health.
Did you know…
Water makes up about 60% of your body mass.
Every single one of your cells requires water to function.
You can survive for weeks without food, but you will not last more than a few days without water.
When you don’t drink enough water, you become dehydrated.
When you are dehydrated, your body can’t function. It loses its ability to regulate itself and flush out toxins.
“Drinking water is like washing out your insides. The water will cleanse the system, fill you up, decrease your caloric load and improve the function of all your tissues.” – Kevin R. Stone
Drinking water prevents this, and it is one of the best things that you can do to improve your health.
Drinking water can also help you lose weight and burn body fat. Studies show that drinking water raises your metabolism and improves your ability to burn fat. (Source)
Unfortunately, most of us are not drinking enough water.
How Much Water Do You Need?
If your goal is to improve your health, you should drink 8 eight-ounce water glasses per day. If you exercise a lot or want to lose weight, you should drink more.
Most fitness experts recommend that you drink half of your body weight in ounces of water every day. For example, and a 200-pound man should drink 100 ounces per day.
An easy way to know if you are drinking enough water is by looking at your urine color. It should be clear to light yellow in color. If it is dark yellow or amber, you need to drink more.
How To Drink More Water
1. Keep It With You
If you always have a bottle of water with you, are you more likely to drink it? Make sure that you fill a large bottle or a pitcher in the morning so that you can stay hydrated all day.
“I always have water, tons of water. It’s even in my bathroom because I used to be so bad at drinking water, and I want to stay hydrated.” – Selena Gomez
2. Add Some Flavor
If you don’t like plain old water, try adding some fruit or herbs. This can make your water taste better and has the added benefit of getting more fruit into your diet. A few great options are strawberries, grapes, and lemons.
“I drink tons of water. When you’re puffy, you think you can’t drink water since you feel more bloated and gross but that’s what you do to get the toxins out of your system. I put a little lemon in the water bottle that I carry around with me or drink a cup of hot water with lemon. It’s a natural diuretic.” – Kate Walsh
3. Use An App
We use apps for everything from tracking our schedule to getting a ride home. Why not use an app to track your water consumption?
Waterlogged is one of the free apps available to help you track how much water you consume each day.
“I tell myself that water is my medicine and that to stay well, I have to drink a gallon of it every day.” – Ciara
The bottom line is that drinking water is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your health.
~Diadel Kimberlee