my water consumption.....

When I work out I drink a bottle of water, to me as long as it's wet while working out you will drink it. I then carry a bottle with me at work all day long with a spare one in the fridge. For lunch and dinner I drink some homemade brewed tea with a little sugar in it just to get a different flavor other than water. Then I play alot of ball so 4 nights a week it's easy to drink water as I need it to moisten my throat. I do agree though cold water is the best!!

I have been working on this and I find when I am conscious about it I do better. What other posters have said about telling yourself to drink water before you do XX or drink something else etc.

At work have a camelback water bottle that has a straw. 32 oz and I try and drink at least 1 sometimes 2 during the day. Then I don't worry about it the rest of the time.

I prefer stevia as a sweetener for everything now and there is a kind of crystal light that is hard to find called "pure" that is sweetened with stevia, and that is good to add sometimes.

At restaurants I think to myself that I want to get at least one refill!

If I don't think about it I reflect and find I did not drink hardly at all. So it is something I have to work at.

I like herbal teas like mint, "weightliess", and yogi teas but I have those before bed in the evening

What works the best for me is to make a bargain with myself. I don't get to eat meals until I drink 1 pint of water. I have 4 meals per day, so that equals 64 ounces.

I try to use bigger glasses that hold 3 or 4 cups of water that way it seems like I am not drinking as much. It tricks my brain to drink more.

Eight glasses of water a day an urban myth'?

Water and a well-balanced diet 'do far more than water alone,' Australian researcher says

CBC News

Posted: Jun 10, 2012 12:51 AM ET

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2012 12:48 AM ET

The common advice to drink eight glasses of water a day doesn't hold water, say nutrition and kidney specialists who want to dispel the myth.

"What drove us to drink two litres of water a day?" asks an editorial in this week's issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

The recommendation was driven by vested interests rather than health, suggests author Speros Tsindos of the department of dietetics and human nutrition at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia.
Other beverages also help us meet the body's fluid needs, say nutrition specialists. (Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)
"Humans need to maintain fluid balance and need to drink water when required, but should also consider fluid in unprocessed fruits and vegetables and juices. There is further evidence that water and a well-balanced diet does far more than water alone," Tsindos wrote.

"Water is important for health; however, the recommendation of eight glasses of pure water per day appears an overestimation of requirements."

Even a baked potato is 75 per cent water, said nutrition Prof. Susan Barr of the University of British Columbia, who sat on a Canadian-U.S. committee that looked at fluid intake.

"There's nothing magical about water from a glass of water as opposed to water from a food or any other beverage," Barr said.

Drinking caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee do not lead to dehydration, said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a nephrologist at the University of Pennsylvania who reviewed research claims on drinking eight glasses of water and studied how the kidneys handle it.

Let thirst guide you

"Drinking the coffee will count towards your total water intake for the day," Goldfarb said.

Goldfarb said despite the common idea that it's important to "drink eight glasses of eight ounces of water" a day, "There’s no evidence that benefits health in any real way and it really represents an urban myth."

There's no evidence you need to drink more water than what thirst dictates, Goldfarb added.

Studies on desert nomads showed people can consume minimal amounts of water in harsh environments. The military has also looked at how much water soldiers need to take with them when patrolling in hot climates without harming their performance.

"If one is just playing a game of tennis in an indoor facility, for example, or having a short run on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym, the need to maintain hydration during that is just non-existent," Goldfarb advised.

People have died of dehydration and from drinking too much water too quickly.

A good guide to tell if the body’s finely tuned fluid balance is to check the colour of your urine. If it's very dark, you're on the dry side; if it's very light or translucent, then you need to drink a bit less water, said Dr. David Price, head of family medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

Thanks for posting this question about water because I didn't know the crystal light contained anything bad but now I know.

yes! I never used it and dont plan to start after the things that I have read about it. Aspartame over time can do more harm than good.

There is no evidence to back that up. I'm not suggesting you drink it, but it's been studied quite a bit without producing any evidence that it is harmful.

Have you tried mixing a little juice in with your water? All non-alcoholic liquids can count towards your water intake. You don't have to drink plain water to stay hydrated.

I used to drink Pepsi all the time, so back in Oct I just quit. Now I drink almost only water, sometimes ice tea. I put 5 bottles in the fridge every night. When I get up in the morning it's the first thing I go for. I try to drink 2 by lunch , 2 by dinner and one after dinner. I space them about 1 bottle every 2 hrs. it works for me. It's a habit, like the way you cross you arms. It takes a long time ( I think I heard 27 days ) to develop a new habit. Try every day to increase by 4 oz. It will not be so hard.

I sometimes take a gallon pitcher and slice up a large apple in the bottom, add a cinnamon stick, fill 1/2 way with ice, then finish up filling with water. Put it in the fridge overnight and you have a refreshing crisp drink for the day. I will do the same process with a lemon, a few sprigs of mint, and 1/2 a cucumber. I will freeze grapes and use them as ice cubes for a change of pace too. Hope you can use these ideas. Good luck! :happy:

I'm tea/infusion/mate fans! and I'm always drinking those things! works for me!

well quite frankly, it just SUCKS.... I have never been a water fan, I must be honest. The most I can get in is 5 glasses a day. I really want to improve this. Any suggestions? Is there anything I can do to help with the flavor that wont eventually kill me (aspartame- crystal light, etc) or add on the extra sugar, that I dont need?

This is how I got myself to consistently drink 8+ glasses of water a day:
- I watered down my drinks for a few months- soda had seltzer water poured into it and fruit juice either got regular water or seltzer. I started with 75% drink 25% water and eventually got down to 25% drink 75% water.

- Then I switched over to flavored seltzer water- I love love love Poland Spring's Sparkling spring water. Just selzer water and essence- no sugar (fake or feal). I can't stand diet sugar at all so I don't drink anything with it- besides my QuickSlim that doesn't taste bad to me.

- I now drink one big bottle of the sparkling spring water in the morning/early afternoon and refill it to have another 4 glasses of regular filtered water.

I have 2-4 cups of coffee in the morning as well and sometimes a glass of milk at night and I'm trying my best to cut out alcohol from my diet. I drink soda now maybe twice a month and I don't really like it (it's like sugar syrup to me). Besides all of that, I just feel way better when I'm drinking enough water - so that's motivating as well.

GOOD LUCK!

I only like cold water. Also, I use a big bottle that holds about 6 cups of water in it. I try to drink at least one bottle. Honestly, I haven't been doing so great myself!

Drink when you are thirsty, stop when you aren't. Stop worrying about an arbitrary number that has absolutely no bearing on health or reality. Just stay hydrated, whether it takes 3 cups or 12 cups is unimportant. there are absolutely zero health effects for consuming more water than you need to stay hydrated, and it can in fact be fatal to drink too much (although, realistically, that's usually a combination of electrolyte depletion plus high water intake.)

How do you know 5 cups isn't enough for you?

My experience has been that it's something you have to get use to over time. I never use to be a big water drinker either. I use to drink SO much coca-cola. I cut that out, and started drinking Diet...then I cut that out completely and just went for water.

I found that over time, the more I got use to it, the more I needed water. I could drink other drinks (juice, pop etc on occassion) but would want a glass of water right after. I now carry a 32oz water bottle with me at work. And I have it sitting in an area where I can see it all the time.

Perhaps this is just a thing you need to get use to? And I definitely would try and do what some of the other have suggested and try lemon, or cucumber, or some of those packets you can add to drinks (like MIO or crystal light).