I HATE DRINKING WATER. Help!

pannellkat
pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
I cannot stand drinking water - it's like a task for me. I have to literally set alarm reminders just to drink a cup of water and I feel like I am forcing myself to do it. The only time I enjoy water is while I am working out because I'm so thirsty but just sitting at work at a desk - it's hard!

I do NOT drink soda, juice, energy drinks, gatorade or anything like that, the only other thing I drink besides water is Coffee and occasional tea.

Can you help me with suggestions on how water drinking can be more pleasant for me and at the same time get in at least 8 cups a day without having to think so much about it?
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Replies

  • j4nash
    j4nash Posts: 1,719 Member
    drink the most right after working out. if you're really pushing yourself then drinking it won't be a problem. i use jugs of water and drink out of it. tend to drink more water that way.
  • ash127
    ash127 Posts: 2
    I find drinking water easy since I am ALWAYS thirsty (and no, I'm not Diabetic)... but one way that a lot of people I know use Crystal Light to make drinking water more enjoyable. Good Luck!
  • ctmom1
    ctmom1 Posts: 189
    Slices of lemon, lime, cucumber or mint leaves all make the water taste really good!
  • hkbyrd
    hkbyrd Posts: 1
    I rarely just drink "water", but drink lots of it with an eyedropper of Avon Healthy Remedies Green Tea Extract added. I find it to be just a tint of tea taste which (to me) seems semi-sweet. I get it from a friend who sells Avon.

    The label reads: "Green tea helps promote energy & vitality.* Dietary Supplement"

    * Not FDA evaluated disclaimer

    Green tea is know for raising our resting metabolic rate (RMR).

    I love it, and maybe you will too.

    Cheers!
  • 135gratitude
    135gratitude Posts: 364
    Make herbal iced tea! You can add lemon, lime, honey, or stevia to it....

    Take any herbal tea bag (e.g. raspberry, peach, lemon zinger, etc) and drop in a glass. Fill the glass with two inches of boiling water and steep for a few minutes. Removed the tea bag, fill the gladd to the brim with ice, and fill the rest with cold water - done! A glass of lovely tasty iced tea, and zero, or close to zero calories.

    I have this when I need a treat!
    :flowerforyou:
  • linz1125
    linz1125 Posts: 441 Member
    I really love the crystal light pink lemonade packets and the propel berry on the go packets. I also just recently found the Sobe LifeWater is really great. It's not really water, but they have some awesome flavors at 10 calories per service. Plus it is really light and refreshing. My 2 favs so far are yumberry pomegranate and fuji apple pear. YUM!
  • strongandfit
    strongandfit Posts: 231
    Coffee is a diuretic. It's the opposite of water. So I would first eliminate the coffee.

    Buy yourself some really nice glasses. Shop around. Maybe it's a clear mug with a handle. Maybe it's a glass made of blue color. Make it appealing. Then put it in front of you EVERYWHERE you sit down.

    And watch it disappear. If you wait till you workout to drink it's already to late. Your body is dehydrated.
    Good luck. :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: Drink!

    The surest way to drink lots of water is to remind others to drink!! :wink: :drinker: :drinker: Water!!
  • lenmana
    lenmana Posts: 171
    I have a hard time just sitting around drinking water, but I do if I'm eating something. So I have a big glass with every meal and then my snacks too! Makes it easier for me.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
    Hey Girl!.

    I thought maybe my story would help. I was never really a big drinker of fluids. Never really drank coffee until I opened a Starbucks Coffee Shop in my school to raise money. I usually would drink Milk with my cereal, iced tea with my lunch and iced tea with my dinner and that's it. Well several years ago when I had a physical the nurse said to me, hey, did you you know you have blood in your urine? You could have bladder cancer!. UM, no I didn't know. Well I don't need to tell you, 1, she's an $#^&#$%@, and 2. It scared the crap out of me. They ran some test and seems the bloods been there a long time. Some prople have some spillover they said. well, everytime I went to the doctor for the next couple of years this blood in the urine kept coming up until my physical 2 years ago. My doctor said, "your blood level in your urine have increased and I'm sending you to a urologist to rule out anything bad". Ok, now this is freaking me out. What could it be? Cancer or the bladder? Kidneys? Who knows. I prayed to God for healing and believed that he would heal me. So I kick up my drinking of water a bunch. Twelve days later I go see the urologist and the blood is gone. He question me about my fluid drinking and I told him what I stated above and he says, "you know, some people drink water" He was being funny but I got the idea. Water is so very important to your system it can't be overstated. Now in my case, 12 days later is not near enough to reverse years of dehydration, but God is. I was healed.
    Fast forward to my physical 2 months ago. Urine test was normal. Dr. didn't even talk about it...just said it was normal. Yeah God. So, if your urine is not coming out clear, you are dehydrated and doing some damage.
    Another point is that your muscles are made up of water and when you are dehydrated they are dehydrated and because maintaining muscle takes calories to do that you are depriving yourself a way to drop weight faster. So Girl, drink that water. I drink between 8-13 glasses a day as well as other beverages.
    I pray that my very personal story will help you in some small way to drink more water. Or, as my fitness hero Tony Horton says, "drink your water people"

    God Bless.
  • icandoallthings
    icandoallthings Posts: 1,212 Member
    I hate drinking water too! I always see people sucking on their water bottles
    and am envious. I literally have to force myself to drink it. Haha - while I was
    reading this post, I was drinking my water because I felt guilty! :laugh: :laugh:

    Thank you laddyboy for sharing your story! What a wake up call! I think it will
    help me to remember that this is important stuff! Keeping your body hydrated
    is mandatory. Praise the Lord for His healing power and for prayer. I'm going
    to pray that He helps me start loving H20! :bigsmile:
  • lesleygrace
    lesleygrace Posts: 1
    something i realized really helped: drink a glass or two just after you've put in a fresh piece of gum (if you're a gum chewer). Adds a little kick to the end of every gulp! Good luck!
  • Foxyvox
    Foxyvox Posts: 1
    I studied dietetics and nutrition in college and am working on a medical degree. Here are my thoughts.
    I STRUGGLE WITH THIS TOO. There are many possible reasons you have trouble getting hydrated. The human body is astoundingly capable of adapting to almost everything we put it through. Maybe you became dehydrated one Summer and failed to replenish yourself for whatever reason, then slowly became more and more used to it. Your brain suffers. Your blood pressure drops, literally every cell in your body learns how to live with a little less water.
    Possibility two is that you are a super taster! This is scientifically supported: people who have a heightened sense of taste. Are you a foodie? Maybe you are tasting the fluoride, chlorine, minerals, and other things in thee besides what it is truly supposed to be: hydrogen and oxygen.
    It sounds like you are generally very health conscious. Not drinking soda and consuming artificial foods keeps your sense of taste "normal" and not desensitized.
    There could also be a mental/emotional factor contributing. You've psyched yourself out thinking there is something wrong with you! If you truly do not have a medical diagnosis, you are just human. :) I have never seen this insight on this topic, so I hope mine sticks. Lastly, the only time I ever truly ENJOYED drinking water since I faced chronic dehydration, was when we had a reverse osmosis water purifier at work. It was no longer a chore to drink water, but something I looked forward to. It should be no wonder that I fellin love the first time in my life I actually tasted pure water. If you can invest in a purifier, that is my best advice.
  • Zandia_1
    Zandia_1 Posts: 183 Member
    If I have to drink out a a bottle or a cup, I don't drink 8 cups. BUT if I add a straw, I mindlessly sip all day long. Today I had 9 cups of water before lunch!
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    Would you drink warm ( kettle boiled) water with lemon / lime slices in it? For cold weather it is my preference.
    I have kidney stones so I've learned the hard way.
    Force it down!!
  • Born_2_Lose
    Born_2_Lose Posts: 59 Member
    Slices of lemon, lime, cucumber or mint leaves all make the water taste really good!

    This is true, and it does taste good! Also if its hard to drink water make sure you buy you an all expensive, decked out, appealing water bottle, mug, cup or whatever. Thats what I did, so when I sitting at my desk I reach for my water without even thinking about it :)
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Hey Girl!.

    I thought maybe my story would help. I was never really a big drinker of fluids. Never really drank coffee until I opened a Starbucks Coffee Shop in my school to raise money. I usually would drink Milk with my cereal, iced tea with my lunch and iced tea with my dinner and that's it. Well several years ago when I had a physical the nurse said to me, hey, did you you know you have blood in your urine? You could have bladder cancer!. UM, no I didn't know. Well I don't need to tell you, 1, she's an $#^&#$%@, and 2. It scared the crap out of me. They ran some test and seems the bloods been there a long time. Some prople have some spillover they said. well, everytime I went to the doctor for the next couple of years this blood in the urine kept coming up until my physical 2 years ago. My doctor said, "your blood level in your urine have increased and I'm sending you to a urologist to rule out anything bad". Ok, now this is freaking me out. What could it be? Cancer or the bladder? Kidneys? Who knows. I prayed to God for healing and believed that he would heal me. So I kick up my drinking of water a bunch. Twelve days later I go see the urologist and the blood is gone. He question me about my fluid drinking and I told him what I stated above and he says, "you know, some people drink water" He was being funny but I got the idea. Water is so very important to your system it can't be overstated. Now in my case, 12 days later is not near enough to reverse years of dehydration, but God is. I was healed.
    Fast forward to my physical 2 months ago. Urine test was normal. Dr. didn't even talk about it...just said it was normal. Yeah God. So, if your urine is not coming out clear, you are dehydrated and doing some damage.
    Another point is that your muscles are made up of water and when you are dehydrated they are dehydrated and because maintaining muscle takes calories to do that you are depriving yourself a way to drop weight faster. So Girl, drink that water. I drink between 8-13 glasses a day as well as other beverages.
    I pray that my very personal story will help you in some small way to drink more water. Or, as my fitness hero Tony Horton says, "drink your water people"

    God Bless.

    This is lovely glad to hear the tests were normal you were divinly inspired
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Slices of lemon, lime, cucumber or mint leaves all make the water taste really good!

    This is true, and it does taste good! Also if its hard to drink water make sure you buy you an all expensive, decked out, appealing water bottle, mug, cup or whatever. Thats what I did, so when I sitting at my desk I reach for my water without even thinking about it :)

    Heck yeah! $10 Big Bertha 100oz Big Gulp cup! Filled w/ water, ice, and 1 decaf tea bag. MMMMM heaven! Never knew you could be in love with a cup.
  • kticoulet
    kticoulet Posts: 8 Member
    Start small. I frequently forget to drink liquid of any kind except coffee. I got a Camelbak water bottle or a Sigg bottle and try to drink two over the course of the day. And I drink hot herbal tea in the evening so I get there. But it's not easy. For sure. Slow and steady. Add lemon, try the Mio flavor enhancers
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I used to be lucky to get 3 or 4 glasses in a day. I HATED plain water. :tongue: So I started with those little sugar free drink packets for awhile. After a few months I transitioned to flavored (not sweetened) green and white teas. I would brew it strong and then gradually dilute it down to where one tea bag would flavor a day's worth of water. I don't remember when, but months down the line I suddenly decided I was too lazy to brew tea anymore and I just went to straight up water. I drink about 12 cups a day now on average.

    Here's my best advice: Get one of those big cups with a lid and a straw. Drinking from a straw seems to encourage you to suck down whatever's in the cup, so make sure it's not soda! Over time your body gets used to all that water and you start to like it. :drinker:
  • Tw1zzler
    Tw1zzler Posts: 583
    This comes up a lot.. I keep a glass of water near me at all times.. when I get up I drink 8 oz. then I drink half a glass each time I get up.. I just keep a glass of water near me but dont' track it. Water is life, I just drink up.

    You can add fruit or cucumber.. I like Pellegrino w/ lime.
  • sgv0918
    sgv0918 Posts: 851 Member
    my daughter swears by finding a cup, bottle, something you love to drink out of. Makes it easier
  • ash190489
    ash190489 Posts: 587 Member
    TRY THIS:

    http://www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Water

    It's all about putting fruit and herbs in your water and gives the boring taste of water a more refreshing and yummy flavour.
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
    I'm with the OP. I hate water. The only time I drink it is while I'm working out... or if it's been flavored adequately. There are flavoring packs that help give it some umph... though personally I'm waiting for a flavor packet that makes my water taste like diet Pepsi. Or Turkey Hill iced tea.

    I have a long wait.
  • cm99camper
    cm99camper Posts: 7 Member
    I drink with a straw, then keep it with me when I'm doing something (TV, reading, etc). I tend to drink more that way.
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/water-265761
  • SJax7192
    SJax7192 Posts: 46 Member
    OH MY GOD!! AS SOON AS I SAW THIS I HAD TO REPLY!!
    I HATED drinking water too, but I found these flavor things that you squirt in to water and it completely changes the taste. It doesn't taste like water and I'm drinking at least 8-10 glasses daily, easy.

    I usually get the "Our Family" brand because they're cheaper. They have no calories, sugars, fats, nothing. They're awesome! I haven't touched a soda in almost a month because of them. They've completely changed my life and I hope that it works for you!

    If you need any other help, don't hesitate to ask! :D
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    1 word.


    TOUGH


    You need it, so drink it. You think anyone likes something that has no taste? No... but we all drink it. You dont you die...simple. Your skin will look shocking, dried out & well.... crappy anyway. Water cleanses you from inside out.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Slices of lemon, lime, cucumber or mint leaves all make the water taste really good!
    this.

    plus caffeine free teas, decaf coffee, iced or cold, and juices as long as you count in your cals.

    sparkling water too! perrier pelligrino etc.
  • CALABRESE3
    CALABRESE3 Posts: 86 Member
    MIO They even have green tea flavors..
  • angelcurry130
    angelcurry130 Posts: 265 Member
    If it isn't flavor that bothers you, perhaps it's temperature? Cold or cool water really does nothing but give sensation to the mouth. Since you are a big fan of tea and coffee, perhaps you could drink water like the Chinese do. In most of northern China, people will drink hot water after meals. Skip the tea bag...just drink the hot water. Might be easier for you to get used to. :)
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