How to make yourself drink water!

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,692 Member
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    What's the trick to getting yourself to drink enough water during the day? I'm supposed to be drinking at least 8 glasses and I am proud to ever get to 3!
    Like losing weight, if you have a goal, but no plan on how to do it, you'll never reach it. Easiest way I've found is to buy a 32 oz bottle and refill it 2 times and make sure you empty them by the end of the day by drinking.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • moseler
    moseler Posts: 224 Member
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    My doctor explained that their is actually water in all beverages... that is why people who never drink just water don't die from dehydration. Of course, plain old water is best... but I drink unsweetened black tea as my beverage of choice and I drink only about 1-2 bottles of water per day... I am healthy, I am not dehydrated and I am losing weight... so, don't worry about 8 full glasses of water on top of everything else you are drinking... however, with that said, be sure to choose beverages that are not high in artificial sweeteners, sodium or caffeine... those all wreak havoc on our bodies in different ways and can sabotage your overall goals.
  • thechubner
    thechubner Posts: 94 Member
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    If you're not a big water fan try adding a little something to it. It jazzes it up w/o adding too many calories. My favorites are cucumber slices, lemon and lime wedges, a few fresh mint leaves. You can always add a little tomato juice, tobasco, a celary stalk and a shot of...oh wait that's a bloody mary....

    But seriously nothing you add to water is going to make it taste like a soda / juice if that's what you're used to drinking, but you can add really nice flavor without adding a ton of calories. If you absolutly cannot stand water use crystal light or Mio. You'll get flavor and very few calories - then gradually decrease the amount of flavoring you use. With Mio this is easy, with Crystal light just make bigger glasses of water and add the same amount of powder.

    Once upon a time I couldn't stand to drink water - now it's my beverage of choice (after my morning coffee :) )
  • agriffitts85
    agriffitts85 Posts: 38 Member
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    the avedrage cup or glass sold here in america in a 16-24oz cup or glass.... unless youre drinking out of little juice glasses all the time and the average person does not do that, or at lease in my understanding... i know i dont.... i fill up my gatorade bottle with water and crystal lite and drink like two of those a day and that is a 64 oz bottle, so water intake for me isnt an issue
  • sbfreak17
    sbfreak17 Posts: 42
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    Like several other people, I used Crystal Light packets in the beginning to establish a "habit" of drinking water and now I can easily make it through 4-5 liter bottles a day...sometimes with Crystal Light, sometimes without. I've found that sometimes drinking plain water can get "boring" for me so the packets are a nice change to add a little flavor. When I use the packets, I use 1 packet per liter bottle...it's not so much like kool-aid then lol.
  • senyosmom
    senyosmom Posts: 613 Member
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    Hello, I too sometimes struggle to get the whole 8 glasses down. I find it easiest when I am in the car and have a bottle of water in my hand. Each way to work and back I can manage to put down a bottle (17 ounces) so that gets me to the halfway point. I keep a bottle of water on m y desk and try to drink the whole thing in the morning before lunch and another in the afternoon after lunch and that gets me the whole 8 cups a day and still allows me to have a non-water drink with my lunch and dinner. Good luck!!
  • urbancyclist
    urbancyclist Posts: 16
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    A Beginner's Guide to Drinking Water

    Step 1: Open Mouth
    Step 2: Pour in Water
    Step 3: Swallow
    Step 4: Repeat as Necessary


    This made me laugh so so very hard!!
  • urbancyclist
    urbancyclist Posts: 16
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    A Beginner's Guide to Drinking Water

    Step 1: Open Mouth
    Step 2: Pour in Water
    Step 3: Swallow
    Step 4: Repeat as Necessary

    Great guide. and now ive properly learrned how to quote as well.
  • suziblues2000
    suziblues2000 Posts: 515 Member
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    A Beginner's Guide to Drinking Water

    Step 1: Open Mouth
    Step 2: Pour in Water
    Step 3: Swallow
    Step 4: Repeat as Necessary

    Smart *kitten*!!!! (there's one in every crowd) ;)
  • amyreafleng
    amyreafleng Posts: 69 Member
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    Just start by replacing one drink a day with water...the more water you drink the more you will start to crave it!!
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    I get my water from my copious amounts of tea i drink a day! :D
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
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    A Beginner's Guide to Drinking Water

    Step 1: Open Mouth
    Step 2: Pour in Water
    Step 3: Swallow
    Step 4: Repeat as Necessary

    From a person for who drinking water is easy!!!!! I choke & gag the stuff down. It is NOT easy peasy!
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    I found a bottle at Target made by Rubbermaid. It has a straw in it and holds 32 oz. I carry that thing with me everywhere i go! Work, gym, in the car, at home. I am finding i fill it up AT LEAST 3 times a day. That's 96 oz!!!
    I add ice to make it even better. Here are some helpful facts also:

    10 Reasons to Drink Water
    1. Water is absolutely essential to the human body’s survival. A person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water.
    2. Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.
    3. Water leads to increased energy levels. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.
    4. Drinking adequate amounts of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer, bladder cancer, and breast cancer.
    5. For a majority of sufferers, drinking water can significantly reduce joint and/or back pain.
    6. Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease.
    7. Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.
    8. Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance.
    9. Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.
    10. Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation.

    What's the source of that?
  • Rosifbabi
    Rosifbabi Posts: 1
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    :wink: what i do is fill up a 32oz bottle and no that i only have to consume two of those. Even though its equal to 8 cups of 8oz glasses of water i feels like your getting away with just two cups!!! lol mentally it works
  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
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    Recently I wanted to start getting more water in as well, as I was only getting 3-4 cups a day.

    I started adding Propel Zero packets to my water in early April, which really helped. I was able to easily have anywhere from 8-12 cups per day very easily.

    Then I started noticing that my heart was doing funny things - like serious palpitations, and I was having issues with being short of breath. I had no idea what was causing it, and even went to my doctor and had a 24hr Holter monitor put on (not results yet, that was last week and doctors as slow as *kitten* when you're not almost dead).

    I realized last Friday that it was the Propel that was doing it and STOPPED using it. My heart symptoms have stopped completely.

    Now there is nothing quite a good as plain old water. That tastes better than heart palpitations any day of the week.
  • lublue
    lublue Posts: 123 Member
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    Carrying it around in a bottle never fails, you drink it just because it's there.
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 888 Member
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    I keep my water in a sports bottle....for some reason that is a super easy way for me to drink it!
  • tempted2touch
    tempted2touch Posts: 10
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    Coming from a person who never drank water and instead had six cans a coke a day start with one cup if water a day and work your way up. In the beginning I tried drinking three cups and after the second cup I wanted to gag. For me not actually counting how many cups of water I drink help me drink more because saying 8 cups seems like a lot but it really isn't.
  • MrsSorenson
    MrsSorenson Posts: 450 Member
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    I bottle of water is 2 cups ish, so I drink 1 bottle on my way to work, and one on the way home. That is already 4 cups right there! It's easy to drink water while you drive because you are not focused on the water itself as far as how bland it is to drink lol.

    When I'm at work I keep at least 2 bottles on my desk and make myself drink little bits all day. At least one has a Crystal Light packet in it.

    When I'm at home I let myself have a diet soda but I'm starting to not mind it at all. But honestly I used to be just like you and can barely choke down a bottle a day.
  • mrsleftybrown
    mrsleftybrown Posts: 42
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    I make a game out of it. I love to have a little treat of like a sugar free jello or something like that and I don't allow myself to have that unless I have had at least half of my water for the day. That works. Also I drink two glasses of water when I take my daily vitamins. One to take them and one to make sure they go down. Then when I do dishes after breakfast I drink another one, same with the dinner dishes. Oh what do you know, I have just drank 4 of my 8 glasses of water of the day. Then whenever I go outside I drink another glass. It all balances out.

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