Not enjoying water

sportjeep
sportjeep Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
Not sure if this belong here or not, if not please let me know so I can place it in the correct forum :). So water to me is blah and even if I put in flavor (mio, crystal light, Hawaiian fruit punch, etc) of single serving packets I just can't get into the habit of drinking water. Any advice on how to incorporate more water into my diet?? It's like I'm forcing myself to drink water and I don't want to force myself to do anything, I want this weight loss to be enjoyable. Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
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Replies

  • wrensong27
    wrensong27 Posts: 33 Member
    For me, I make sure it is REALLY cold. That seems to help. I dodn't like it much at first but these days it is about al I am drinking (besides my morning coffee). Yesterday for the first time, I ordered water when I went out to eat instead of Pepsi....It wasn't easy
  • weefreemen
    weefreemen Posts: 652 Member
    I think it's definitely a learned behaviour, saying that I always slice fresh fruit (either watermelon or grapefruit) into my big jug of water every morning, then it tastes more like the fruit and less like water and doesn't leave that icky taste from things like Crystal Light.

    You'll get used to it and your body will certainly enjoy it and then start demanding it!


    Stick with it...
  • biodyno
    biodyno Posts: 1 Member
    Maybe try using a straw to start out with or add slices of lemon or lime in the glass. You don't taste it quite as much. When I first started incorporating more water, I found filtered water to help tremendously - not bottled water, but filtered (like a Pur or Britta filter). My office has a filtered water cooler from Culligan and that helped too.

    I've heard that slices of cucumber are supposed to be good, but I'm a little afraid to try it. Like wrensong27, water is pretty much all I drink now outside of morning coffee. The more I exercise, the more I crave it now. Keep after it, you'll get there!
  • missmigraine
    missmigraine Posts: 8
    I agree with all the others - good ideas. My suggestions - keep a jug in the fridge - I like it COLD.
    Also, there are tons of awesome fruit teas and other teas around that you can make and keep in the fridge. I love iced tea - I mix up and change the flavours a lot. Sometimes with a few lemon slices - sometimes fruit tea, whatever you like.

    The other point I'll make that I find the more water I drink, the more I want to drink it. Try for a few sips every time you go into the kitchen or sit down at your desk - whatever works for you. Don't feel like you have to down a jug at a time.
  • SEishen
    SEishen Posts: 35 Member
    Start with something that you can have with you and ready at all times. I have two of these Thermoses. I drink green tea and diluted iced tea all day long, plus the cold water I drink first thing in the morning.
    http://www.thermos.com/products/vacuum-insulated-purple-flower-hydration-bottle.aspx

    This thing keeps hot hot and cold COLD!
  • Its_Nat
    Its_Nat Posts: 184 Member
    I was the same, never drank water. But I bought a one litre 'bobble' bottle, that filters the water as you drink it. I keep that with me every day and make sure that by the end of the day that I have finished that bottle at least once, if not more. I won't allow myself any other drink, except milk in my coffee. It was hard, but between the still water from the bobble, and fizzy mineral water (which I use as my treat when I don't WANT water) I've learnt to be ok with it.
  • SierraSwearingen
    SierraSwearingen Posts: 8
    Add bubbles! King Soopers/Kroger has 0.89 cent 2-liter bottles of flavored, carbonated water, which has that nice refreshing finish that soda has, without the calories.
  • kellygirl324
    kellygirl324 Posts: 74 Member
    Try adding lemon or True Lemon and some Splenda. Its delightful. Even as a child I had a difficult time with water. Im not a soda drinker, but I always chose tea. Now I am tea free and have learned to take advantage of drinking water around my workouts. I make sure it is ice cold!!!
  • dmcw19
    dmcw19 Posts: 129
    I love flavored seltzer for my water, not the ones with artificial sweeteners. My kids have even learned to like it, they prefer it to juice now. Even though it is carbonated, I feel less bloated from it. It seems weird to jump around exercising and then drink something bubbly, but I have never felt bad from it.
  • NaurielR
    NaurielR Posts: 429 Member
    Start with something that you can have with you and ready at all times. I have two of these Thermoses. I drink green tea and diluted iced tea all day long, plus the cold water I drink first thing in the morning.
    http://www.thermos.com/products/vacuum-insulated-purple-flower-hydration-bottle.aspx

    This thing keeps hot hot and cold COLD!

    I second this.

    I am *horrible* at drinking enough liquids. i just don't like gulping water. But, I've found that if I keep a water bottle within reach, I'll sip at it just because its there, and within a couple hours its empty.

    There are many powdered flavorings for water that you could try as well. They're usually 10 calories per packet. If you don't like the packets for whatever reason, you can also try flavored teas. Celestial Seasonings makes *really* good fruit flavored teas. My favorite is the country peach passion flavor, but they have a box that has a lot of different flavors
  • myfitnessval
    myfitnessval Posts: 687 Member
    my sis in law haaaaates water but the only way she'll drink loads of it is with slices of cucumber and strawberry in it. also try oranges or lemon in there too. so delicious. good luck!
  • shierrarobin
    shierrarobin Posts: 181
    I totally understand this because I was the same way. I had to ween myself very slowly off of other drinks and onto water. I started by cutting myself off from soda completely by not buying it and not letting my fiance buy it. That was what ultimately did it for me. I didn't give myself the option of drinking anything besides water, milk and apple juice. And when I started working out, I found out that apple juice and milk don't do much for you when you're sweating up a storm, so I started drinking water of my own accord.

    I don't know if this way would work for you, but try it if other methods don't work.
  • toddmshaw
    toddmshaw Posts: 2
    Try sparkling water, like Pellegrino or Perrier. Perhaps you will find the texture and fizz more enjoyable, and it is just as healthy as regular water.
  • frhenderson
    frhenderson Posts: 32 Member
    I made one of my first weight loss rewards a soda stream water carbonator. You can get soda syrups and make your own soda, but I really like plain sparkling water. My new favorite is to add lemon juice to the sparkling water. It didn't take long for me to not miss the sugary drinks.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    Are you drinking decent water? I used to live on the California Coast and the tap water tasted HORRIBLE. When I moved to Washington I tasted what good water was supposed to be like.
  • TXtstorm
    TXtstorm Posts: 163 Member
    Here's a weird thing for you to think about... several folks here have mentioned liking their water very cold and planning to be sure that they will always have cold water available. I can't bring myself to drink much water at all if it's cold.

    When I was pregnant with my first child I was struggling to learn to drink water... trying to force it down. I tried some of the ideas mentioned... flavoring the water, adding lemon or lime slices, drinking from a straw, drinking from a water bottle, drinking from an open cup. I iced it up because I've always preferred my soda, tea, Kool-aid, and almost everything else well iced and cold. Well not water. Once I figured out that room temp water suits me much better, it went much easier. Over a decade later I now drink mostly water, either bottled or just filtered tap water, with some iced tea or an occasional diet soda (Diet Rite, pref Cherry Cola).

    Try a variety of types of containers, flavoring agents at various strengths, temperatures, water sources and any other variable you can think of to see if there's a happy solution for you too!

    Good luck!
  • matroma
    matroma Posts: 24
    I hear ya. I could go all day with just drinking 2 cups of morning coffee and that's it-can even eat meals without a drink. I live in a hot, dry climate and have gotten myself dehydrated, but I just do not have that desire to drink water. I don't hate it, I just don't reach for it. For the new dietary changes I am making, I drink one room temp bottle in the A.M.-just knock it back. I just can't do the cold water thing. At work I force a bottle down with lunch-if I don't my coworkers nag until I do it-then with dinner, I drink 2 bottles, then a bottle around 7pm. This helps me feel full, and I am getting to the point where I am not only getting used to it, I kind of know when its time to drink one. I am making the changes first, then letting my mind and body catch up to the idea. I used to live on Hawaiian Punch Sugar Free flavors, but I am trying to kick some of the artificial stuff as well.
  • rdonald57
    rdonald57 Posts: 74 Member
    i really dont enjoy water either, but i am with SierraSwearin. i buy that kind of water at HEB. I spilled the water all over me and thought it would dry all sticky like a diet Coke and it dried up just like water, no sticky. That water got me off diet Cokes. Not because it dries like water but because they taste good. Better than sodas.
  • HorseWithNoName27
    HorseWithNoName27 Posts: 188 Member
    Try these. They max water taste soooo good, at least for me. I used to have the same problem as you did, and drank a lot of diet soda. Now I'm off the diet soda and drink a gallon or so of water a day.

    http://www.amazon.com/Brita-35530-Ultramax-Dispenser/dp/B00009LHZH/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1343793023&sr=8-10&keywords=brita+water+filter

    http://www.amazon.com/Brita-Bottle-with-Filter-Blue/dp/B004GN8RDY/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1343793023&sr=8-14&keywords=brita+water+filter

    You'll have to replace the filters for these within two to three months (they are about seven bucks for a filter) but otherwise very cheap for good, filtered water.
  • Lovestoscrapbook
    Lovestoscrapbook Posts: 295 Member
    I have found that when I'm drinking water consistently, my weight loss goes much smoother. Try Ocean Spray's new Cran-Grape drink mixes. It tastes just like the juice (swear!) but only 10 calories. Yum!

    And yes, as other posters have said, fruit slices, flavor mixes and very COLD water will help.
  • missypoo1974
    missypoo1974 Posts: 43
    My only tip is keep a water bottle (or drinking cup) in your hand. You will drink it without even thinking about it. Do this whenever you can...sitting watching tv, driving somewhere, if you go for a walk, etc. I have found that I can drink a liter of water on my 1/2 hour drive to work. I know it sounds silly, but it's worth a try, right?
  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    I like pellegrino or topo chico in a glass with ice and lime...ahhhhh...drinking it now.
  • krystymc
    krystymc Posts: 29 Member
    i can't stand water either. our town's tap water is disgusting, so my family drinks filtered. but that still isn't fun. i'm a sipper, i used to have a big glass of pop/soda on my computer desk all the time to sip at. never really been into coffees and the like, just the sweet drinks. it was a comfort, it meant life was good if i had that cola there.

    now i'm very aware of how much water my body needs. so i have given up trying to like it. i don't want to force myself. but, like a hard workout or like a physical challenge or goal, it's not there for me to like it. it's there for me to conquer, to hurdle, to work through and move beyond.

    to me, and clearly others, water sucks! but it's so necessary that i try to not force myself to like it and just accept the fact that i NEED it. so badly. we all do.

    changing containers helped too. i remember beer drinking days of decades gone by, when we were all happy with a brewskie we could chug really fast like a college pro. find a container that measures the water with numbers on the bottle, and has an easy to drink from opening, so you can just chug that stuff down fast and hard and smack your lips, calculate how much you drank, record it and feel satisfied for that...albeit somewhat sick in the tummy for the first little while.

    water may be an acquired taste but i don't expect i'm ever going to like it. but i sure love what it does for my body!

    here's my bottle. http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091201 oddly enough...they call it a chug bottle! and i only now realized how many ounces it holds *hangs head dejectedly and smirks* apparently counting ounces of water i drink isn't something MFP will do for me...*goes to adjust something* >.>
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
    I used to be sort of the same way. I didn't hate water, but I didn't want to drink it and I think my body got used to being dehydrated. About a year ago, for a couple of weeks I just dealt with it and forced myself to drink a lot of water (I carried a large water bottle with me everywhere I went, even around the house). At some point during those couple of weeks, I think something just clicked physically and I was suddenly CONSTANTLY thirsty. I went from drinking maybe a cup or cup and a half of liquids (not water) a day to two liters of water a day. Now I rarely drink anything other than water; the only other drink I "regularly" have is coffee and that's only a few times a week. I never would have expected it a year ago, but water is now appetizing to me if that makes sense.
  • SmileyFaceGuy
    SmileyFaceGuy Posts: 201
    When I first started drinking water, I hated it too. How I overcame this was seriously just by chugging it; I didn't have too much of a problem drinking as long as I didn't let it linger in my mouth. Now, I don't mind drinking water at all.

    I don't agree with the others suggestion cold water, but that's just personal preference. I like room temperature water. The only problem with room temperature water, however, is that it gets hot when you take outside while exercising in the summer. Eww.
  • sportjeep
    sportjeep Posts: 13
    My fiancé have the Pur water filter pitcher that we drink out of. And yes I have tried just about every water flavor single serve packets out there. Though I'm still using them, I've been taking all of your suggestions into consideration and been trying to keep up. I'm at 3 cups now and am planning on drinking more thanx to the many suggestions :).
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    I like skim milk, coffee, lattes. That's how I get most of my liquid in.
  • tigerlily132
    tigerlily132 Posts: 21
    My only tip is keep a water bottle (or drinking cup) in your hand. You will drink it without even thinking about it. Do this whenever you can...sitting watching tv, driving somewhere, if you go for a walk, etc. I have found that I can drink a liter of water on my 1/2 hour drive to work. I know it sounds silly, but it's worth a try, right?


    I completely agree. I have a 16.9 oz water bottle at work which I constantly fill up. By the end of the work day I've had 8cups without even thinking about it. Today I had a total of 11 cups of wate
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    My only tip is keep a water bottle (or drinking cup) in your hand. You will drink it without even thinking about it. Do this whenever you can...sitting watching tv, driving somewhere, if you go for a walk, etc. I have found that I can drink a liter of water on my 1/2 hour drive to work. I know it sounds silly, but it's worth a try, right?


    I completely agree. I have a 16.9 oz water bottle at work which I constantly fill up. By the end of the work day I've had 8cups without even thinking about it. Today I had a total of 11 cups of wate

    That's a great idea, but my problem is that I always set them down and forget about them. Probably lost $50 worth of nalgenes that way.
  • mccbabe1
    mccbabe1 Posts: 737 Member
    ive always loved water and drank water... just knowing how good it is for you!!! and once you get into something and used to something you want it more...and water is calorie freeeeeeeeeee...
    like a lot of other people on here I too like it very cold! I throw water bottles in the freezer and have em ice cold for workouts!

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