Drinking water

awhitley

I am seriously addicted to Lipton's diet green tea. Problem is it has aspartame and my doctor has advised that I stay away from artificial sweeteners. So for that and some other various reasons I won't get into, I need to drink water. LOTS of water!

So I want to know from any of you that have mastered the art of water intake...how do you do it? Tricks? Tips?

SingRunTing

I track my water intake using an app (free!) called "waterlogged". It has helped me out a lot with my water. When I don't track, I don't drink enough. When I do, I always go over. I don't know why, but that's how it goes.

Keep in mind that anything you drink really does count as "water". I add my morning coffee and afternoon diet coke to it as well. The majority of what I drink is water, but all liquids count.

Try brewing your own green tea for a while and drinking it black. It takes a few days to adjust, but now, I don't like any sweeteners in my tea at all. And I used to be a person who couldn't drink tea without a mountain of sugar in it.

KTRXS

I drink about 10-12 cups a day! At first, getting more water in my system was DREADFUL. There's no taste, and we need so much of it. So, I advise to just do it, get it over with and start chugging. Eventually, you'll learn to love it and will drink plenty with ease.

I drink a cup after I wake up in the morning. (This cup is always forced.) Then I sip another cup as I'm getting ready for work. So, by the time I get to work, I have 2 cups down. At work, I try to drink 1 cup before I eat my breakfast at my desk. Then, I try to drink 1 1/2 every hour (I sip it throughout the hour, so I'm not chugging it down at once) until lunch (It keeps me full all morning!). Then, every 1 1/2 cups every two hours after lunch. I try to drink 2 cups before dinner and another 2 after dinner. It keeps hunger and cravings at bay.

sls2072

I keep a 32oz bottle filled with water and just set a goal to try and fill it up 3 times a day.

lisele03

I’m sure you’ve heard of many of these ideas, but here are my tricks to meet my water goals:

• I sip water continuously while I exercise/walk
• I sip sparkling water with lime/lemon flavoring or just a slice of fresh throughout the day. (No sugar/salt content)
• I drink various non-caffeinated herbal/fruit teas. I like Celestial Seasons Raspberry Zinger right now. It has a very slight sweetness to it (although it has no sugar content) that eliminates the need for any additional sugar/honey
• I use my 16 oz. thermal coffee mug every day and when I’m done with my coffee in the morning (which I don’t count towards my water goal) I then just keep filling it up with variations of the above and sip on them all day and with meals. I know 4 of those is at least 8 glasses and I often drink 10 or 11.
  
  I know drinking enough water really helps keep my weight loss going in the right direction… Good luck!

awhitley

KTRXS- Thanks for the laugh! And the honest advice! I agree water is tasteless and it is really hard sometimes for me to get it down. So I actually appreciate your "suck it up and do it" approach!

SingRunTing- I am going to check out that app. Thanks!

chaines7169

I make it special, put lemon or raspberries, blueberries, cucumbers in mine. They I do switch to sparkling water with the fizz. but watch the salt. Hot tea when I am really cold, which I count. Could you make your own green tea and put it into your old bottles. Maybe tricking yourself and add a little sweetness-honey.

JustMimi215

I make the fruit infused water-water ,lemons,kiwi,raspberries,mint etc....It taste great and the fruit is a natural sweetener...

rebetha82

I add some lemon juice to mine and always have either a glass of water or a bottle of water around me

EmmieBaby

I flavor my water with either adding fresh lemon, orange, or cucumber. when I am in the office I try to keep my glass always full so I unconsciously drink. also I make myself some tea for every big meal (and sometimes as a snack)

awhitley

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions!

danelutza19

I just use a huge cup (1 liter /4cups).
When people try to eat less they use smaller plates, therefore using larger containers makes you drink more. At first, I actually linked drinking water to other activities: I had 2 cups with my morning coffee, 2 cups with breakfast, 2 cups before lunch, 2 cups with lunch, 2 cups with dinner. Funny thing, after about 2 weeks, it became a habit and I did it out of instinct. These days,I get extremely thirsty all the time and I even wake up in the night to drink water.

garyandkimber

Any thoughts on how long it takes your body to adjust to drinking more water?

I have never been big on fluids, which I know is so unhealthy. So this year I am making it a goal to up my water intake to at least 5 glasses a day. (May increase it more at a later point.)

I know that people can gain water weight at first, but I was disappointed when I stepped on the scale this morning and saw that I am up 1.5 pounds from my Dec. 31 weight.

I have a "lightly active" lifestyle, try to do something active every day, and make it to the gym for a workout probably 4 times a week. I have been staying in my net calorie range for losing 1 pound/wk (1500).

I can't think of any good reason for the weight gain, except maybe the additional water? But it seems like 9 days should be enough time for my body to adjust to the extra fluids. Thoughts???

danelutza19

It is very common to gain weight when you start a new workout regiment. Any intense activity will create micro damage in your muscles: this will break them down and "tell" them to rebuild themselves stronger. In order for your muscles to heal and grow they will store extra glycogen and water. Perfectly normal!!!! I once gained 4 lb the day after a very intense lifting sesion

As far as diet is concerned, they only nutrient that binds with water for digestion, are carbs. Imagine a piece of bread, a steak or some butter and you soak them in water... Only one of them changes.
Again, water retention is perfectly normal, check your macros for balance between carbs/protein/fat.

Sodium is another possible answer, too much salt and your body starts acting like a water baloon.

Considering you haven't been much of water drinker before, your body might just need extra time to get adjusted: it could take up to a month.

All in all, just do your best to get as close to 8 glasses a day as you can!

Petzwv

Use a straw :-)

20jaracapa20

I toss a herbal tea bag in a pitcher of water and drink it throughout the day.
Also...I down about 16 oz of water while my coffee brews in the morning.

lemurcat12

SingRunTing wrote: »

Try brewing your own green tea for a while and drinking it black. It takes a few days to adjust, but now, I don't like any sweeteners in my tea at all. And I used to be a person who couldn't drink tea without a mountain of sugar in it.

This. I do it with herbal teas (just cause I like them better) and it's a great alternative.

Other than that, I just have water next to me all the time, and if I do I drink it mindlessly. I finally forced myself to start actually counting this month and as I expected I'm generally drinking way more than 64 oz or whatever the goal is. (I try not to eat mindlessly, but I always like to be drinking something and water works.)