Water help

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I am struggling to drink more water. I want to drink at least 6 cups a day to start. Right now I struggle to do 3. Any tips on drinking more? Also, is putting no calorie flavoring in the water ok? Is it better to drink the water with flavoring than no water at all? I drink one low calorie Gatorade a day and about two cups of coffee. I know I need to drink way more than I am but it's a struggle.

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  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Not everyone agrees on this. Personally, I think putting additives in the water defeats the purpose. It has to be straight up water. Start by setting out 6 bottles of water. Aim to drink one right when you wake up and right before bed (2), then four throughout the day (say around 12PM, 2PM 6PM and 8PM). You can do it! Before you know it you'll be craving water.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Flavoring is fine.

    Here is my tip: When you get up in the morning, after you've weighed yourself (assuming you do that in the morning), chug down two glasses of water right away. Do it, bam, it's done. You're 1/3 of the way to goal without even putting your clothes on.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Not everyone agrees on this. Personally, I think putting additives in the water defeats the purpose. It has to be straight up water. Start by setting out 6 bottles of water. Aim to drink one right when you wake up and right before bed (2), then four throughout the day (say around 12PM, 2PM 6PM and 8PM). You can do it! Before you know it you'll be craving water.

    If I drank a whole bottle of water before bed I'd just wake up a couple of hours later to pee.
  • Vegplotter
    Vegplotter Posts: 265 Member
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    It's a diet myth that you must drink pure water (sorry peaceout-aly). Any liquid including milk, tea, soup, juices, flavoured or sweetened cordials do the trick. You ought to aim for eight glasses of water (or equivalent) across the day. Drink with or without food. Soups and milk shakes have other diet benefits too because of the way your stomach digest them.
    Sweetened drinks and alcohol are high calorie - so not a great idea.
    Even real coffee, which is a diuretic, gives more water than it expels.
    Fizzy drinks rot your teeth and deplete calcium in your bones so they aren't a great idea all the time.
    We also obtain water from foods like tomatoes, salads and fruit.
    So getting enough water in the diet shouldn't pose a problem for anyone.
    You can easily tell if you aren't drinking enough. Your urine will be dark. In the WC it should be the colour of a good white wine!
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    All liquids count for hydration, so no, you don't have to drink just straight water. Drink whatever you like, but remember that drinking milk and juice, for example, may 'cost' you too much calorie-wise. I drink water, tea, coffee and diet soda.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    All liquids and even lots of foods can provide hydration. No need for silly rules about PURE water only. That just makes things unnecessarily complicated.
  • scubakat67
    scubakat67 Posts: 485 Member
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    Former "not a water drinker" here. I used to NEVER drink water, except during exercise. Several months ago, I resolved to drink more water. I have a 24 oz water bottle that I keep on my desk - the goal is to refill at least 3 times daily. In the beginning, I had to MAKE myself drink - and it needed to be cold, no ice. Adding a squirt of lemon juice helped. I don't think there's anything wrong with infusing your water. Pretty much, every time my eyes landed on the water bottle, I would make myself take a swig. And I always carried it with me in the car so it would be handy. It didn't really take long before I was able to meet my 3 refill/day goal. I'm probably up to 5+ now, and surprisingly, will have times when nothing will quench my thirst but ice cold water. I do cut myself off for the most part in the early evening - otherwise I might as well sleep in the bathroom. Still have an occasional Coke Zero, Powerade, or iced tea, but the majority is water.
  • khhregister
    khhregister Posts: 229 Member
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    I didn't drink water as a kid AT ALL until I started going for hikes with the Camp Fire Girls. All of a sudden, during those many-mile hikes, a bottle of water became the most delicious refreshing thing ever. It took my being actually very thirsty before I developed a taste for it, I guess.

    Now I drink TONS of water, at least 2 L a day, often closer to 3.
    It helps that I use a really pretty glass bottle, and I try to drink one when I exercise and one with each meal.

    Nothing wrong with adding tea or something else to make it more palatable for you. But give this idea a try - go for a REALLY long walk with nothing but water to drink. It may change your mind like mine! :smile:
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Vegplotter wrote: »
    It's a diet myth that you must drink pure water (sorry peaceout-aly). Any liquid including milk, tea, soup, juices, flavoured or sweetened cordials do the trick. You ought to aim for eight glasses of water (or equivalent) across the day. Drink with or without food. Soups and milk shakes have other diet benefits too because of the way your stomach digest them.
    Sweetened drinks and alcohol are high calorie - so not a great idea.
    Even real coffee, which is a diuretic, gives more water than it expels.
    Fizzy drinks rot your teeth and deplete calcium in your bones so they aren't a great idea all the time.
    We also obtain water from foods like tomatoes, salads and fruit.
    So getting enough water in the diet shouldn't pose a problem for anyone.
    You can easily tell if you aren't drinking enough. Your urine will be dark. In the WC it should be the colour of a good white wine!

    That's why I said not everyone agrees as to what to use the water logger for. I personally use it for only water. And my doc said to drink water without additives (although I have a health condition so that could be why)
  • akilia112010
    akilia112010 Posts: 46 Member
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    I personally love to drink water. I would suggest adding lemon or even cucumbers to your water to give it flavor. I think flavor mixers are fine too.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited September 2016
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    jennb2096 wrote: »
    I am struggling to drink more water. I want to drink at least 6 cups a day to start. Right now I struggle to do 3. Any tips on drinking more? Also, is putting no calorie flavoring in the water ok? Is it better to drink the water with flavoring than no water at all? I drink one low calorie Gatorade a day and about two cups of coffee. I know I need to drink way more than I am but it's a struggle.

    I assume you struggle to drink enough water because the taste isn't that appealing to you. I'd suggest you just get some water flavor drops you like the taste of and use those. Mio makes a bunch, crystal light makes some...lots of options out there.

    That said you can hydrate with juice just as well as you can with water. I mean most beverages contain water, it doesn't have to be just water...it has to contain water.
  • fatterlot
    fatterlot Posts: 3 Member
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    I use the Wunderlist app to keep on track with things like this. I find it helpful to have an mini goals that are written down, so to speak, because then it feels more like a fun (lol...) mini challenge rather than a struggle.

  • caoceanlover
    caoceanlover Posts: 46 Member
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    I have found that using a straw helps me drink more water, I think I just get more each drink that way, not sure why it works. I keep a 64 ounce water "jug" on my desk and aim for one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Sometimes I only make it through half of the afternoon fill-up, but even if I just get through the morning amount, that is still 8 - 8 ounce glasses of water. I started out slow, but now I am up to a gallon a day just at the office and I crave water.
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 653 Member
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    Putting a little flavor in your water definitely helps. The only thing I drink is water, except for a cup of coffee in the morning. I drink about 100 oz a day. I put either a squirt of lemon, or True Lemon packets in. The packets are just crystalized lemon. Makes my water taste great and makes me want to drink a lot of it.