I've always had trouble drinking 8 glasses of water per day

Susanthecatwhisperer

Me too! Although, in the warm weather, I can drink a 32 oz bottle of G2 Gatorade, so I hope that counts for something! I will go through spells of drinking water, or something else with flavor, even if it's a little lemon seltzer.

Mrsfreedom41

I make lemonade. 1 cup of lemon juice (from the large plastic bottle)
1 cup of sugar or sugar substitute (I use splenda)
6 l/2 cups of water
Mix together and keep in fridge
This is the only way that I can get in my water for the day and if you use a sugar substitute, there is no calories.

needamulligan

I know some people will tell you to forget about the 8 glasses of water per day suggestion. I feel dramatically different after getting to the 8 glass minimum. I guess I didn't realize how dehydrated I was. Or, how splenda drinks seem to trigger my cravings for sweets. I'm going to continue counting my water because it works for me.

That said, try drinking ice cold water through a straw. Some lemon, lime, orange wedges may also help.

fatty_mcgoo

I used to have the same problem. You probably don't feel thirsty because your body is so used to being dehydrated that it retains a lot of water. I know this was the case for me. My change was gradual though. If I went from drinking 2 glasses a day to 8, I didn't feel great. So I started with 3 glasses a day, then 5, etc. Over time the "thirst monitor" in my brain changed. Now (after about a year of consciously trying to drink more water) I easily drink about 10-12 glasses without needing external prompting. Some general suggestions:

- use a Pur filter, it might be that you don't like the taste of tap water. (Consumer Reports gave Pur better ratings than for Brita)

- drink ice cold water (again, taste. it makes water taste less mineral-ly)

- flavor water with natural fruits or vegetables like lemon, cucumber, strawberries, raspberries, etc. AVOID adding artificial flavoring, it usually contains copious amounts of citric acid which is really bad for your teeth and calcium levels. It also generally contains artificial sweeteners which can also cause problems. Stevia should be ok.

- try carbonated mineral water. not as good as pure water but definitely not as bad as artificial stuff/soda.

- keep a reward jar on your desk. One jar has marbles, the other is empty. Move a marble over everytime you drink a glass of water. It's up to you whether the marbles signify anything (e.g. 1 marble = 1 dollar you can spend on a treat). Even if the marbles do not represent anything, studies show that being able to visually see and quantify progress is extremely motivational.

- force yourself to drink more water for one week. make a note of how you feel through out the day, if you feel more energized, less sluggish, etc. If you feel better, you may be more encouraged to keep up the habit. (try to even out how much you drink throughout the day. If you chug down 4-5 cups at a time, you will feel sick as you may overtax your kidneys and throw your electrolytes off balance).

- a specific suggestion: my aversion to drinking water stemmed from having slow stomach emptying (gastroparesis) i.e. I feel full for a LONG time after eating, so adding water to that just makes me feel way too bloated. If you have this problem as well, try to identify what is causing your stomach emptying and then avoid those types of foods. If it's not caused by a particular food and is just a physiological thing, eat/drink some ginger, it should speed up stomach emptying.

Hope some of these are useful. Good luck and good health!

newpurple2013

I collect water pretty water bottles which helps me want to drink water. For real sounds funny but it works for me. Plus I like water taste so refreshing:)

fionarama

I find the whole drinking water thing so silly and so misunderstood. there is liquid in most food - maybe you eat a lot of fruit and get fluid in that way.
Its amazing how many people think it actually has to be water, and any other liquid doesn't count. It just means thats about the fluid you need in your diet you get it in all sorts of ways and your body is pretty smart, it will tell you when you need a drink.
I mean there are people in the world literally drowning themselves to death with water because of the whole drink water thing, it happens. People actually die from drinking too much!

cwmw

No matter what, I have always had trouble taking in the daily recommendation of 8 glasses of water. Even if I exercise and drink say, two bottles of water during and afterwards, I end up drinking less during the remainder of the day.

I've tried adding the low-calorie drink mixes to make it more "fun"... doesn't work.
I have a 32 oz. jug-looking water bottle on my desk at work, and know that I should drink two of them per day... can't do it.
I do occasionally suffer from gout and take medication for it which necessitates high fluid intake to avoid kidney stones... still struggling.
Oftentimes, I feel as if I have a physical limitation from being able to drink more water than what I do, especially in the morning.

I think in the 3 months that I've been on MFP and tracking water intake, the most I've ever recorded was 5 glasses. My average is probably down at like 2 or 3.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this? Do you just try to force yourself to drink 8 oz. for every two waking hours?

I'm always over my water quota daily, will share with you how I manage this.

- Half a glass of water when I wake up (0.5z)
- Cup of coffee to start my day (1.5)
- Half a glass of water to wash down the coffee aftertaste (2)
- Cup of hot green tea when I get to work (3)
- Another cup of hot green tea for lunch (4)
- A third cup of green tea/water for the afternoon (5)
- Cup of water when I get home (6)
- Cup of hot tea after shower (7)
- Glass of water with dinner (8)
- Two cups of hot tea whilst browsing internet after dinner (10)

Hope that helps with your water intake!

fddc2cpa

Thank you, everyone, for the supportive comments (except Dave198lbs.)

fddc2cpa

it takes about 4 seconds to drink a cup of water. less than a minute all together to drink 8 cups and you have all frickin day to do it

MAN UP and quit whining and drink your water

good god...

Dave198lbs: Gee, that's so supportive of you. Now go back to staring at yourself in the mirror.

Hollie6790

I had trouble too, in the beginning. I drink a glass when I wake up to start, and then throughout the day I drink out of my aluminum water bottle which holds 2 cups so it's a little easier. It's definitely a challenge but I end up forcing it because it's so good for you. I've noticed how much better I feel when I do have 7 or 8 glasses. I know the amount of ounces has been debated or what not, but I think 8 is good. Drink out of 16oz bottles or cups this way it seems like 1 but it's technically 2.

Itsme_Mary

I think drinking all that water is so over rated! I drink when I am thirsty. I don't stress over it. I drink quite a bit, not always water, unless it has lemon or something it it. I also like sparkling water with lemon, I don't worry about how much Water I drink. I am more concerned about not eating a lb of sugar a day!

dragonflyjill

A friend who is a dietician explained to me that the whole "8 glasses a day" thing is indeed a myth. Some agency was making a "food pyramid" type poster and along the bottom depicted eight glasses, just to signify that lots of fluid is good. This has been interpreted as an eight glass a day "rule". But everyone's body is different, and as people here have pointed out, we do get water from other sources. My two cents is don't worry about it until it becomes a problem. If your weight loss stalls, you feel yukky, whatever.

It's not broke. Don't fix it.