I hate water. How do I increase my water intake?

A few cents from my side on the topic ...

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- 70% of your body weight (just like the earth) is made up of water.

- If you do not replenish it with fresh water everyday, then the body reabsorbs the water present in the large intestine (which at the time lies mixed in your faeces) and sends it to the liver (through the portal vein).

- The liver works extra to clean the dirty water and then it recirculates this water back in the body

- Remember that it's still the water from your poo that is going in your brain. It's like taking the water flushed from your toilet, putting it in a water filter and drinking it. Would you like to do that?

- Over long periods of this situation being repeated, the liver gets overworked and slacks in the quality of its functions.

- One interesting function of the liver is to produce bile juice, which is also responsible for digesting the fat you eat. An overworked liver will not produce adequate bile - leading to unexpected weight gain / or / difficulties weight loss.

- So by not drinking enough water (which ideally should be 2-3 litres daily; or the intake amount which leads to clear urine - with no trace of yellow) you are simply inviting trouble in the latter part of your life. Remember the MFP diary says drink 'at least' 8 cups of water.

- If your not drinking enough water then your body is a living leaking sewage with high chances of weight issues. The taxation on the liver and kidneys over long periods is likely to cause hypertension as well.

The above may motivate you to drink water

P.S. Cold water is not recommended. Room temperature or luke-warm water is ideal.

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Lemon is acidic, but when it enters the body it becomes alkaline.
You can test it yourself.
- Take some litmus paper and drop a few drops of your urine on it. It will most likely be acidic.
- Then have a 10-15+ teaspoons of lemon juice (can dilute it if you like)
- When you go to pee next do the litmus test again.
- The pee will be alkaline
- The benefits of having an alkaline body are enormous which you'd already be aware of
- Lemon causing teeth decay is a laughable gimmick

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Hope the above helps! Cheers!

Reference:

Just guzzle it. If sipping on it sucks, pour yourself a huge glass of barely cool or room temp water and then just down it all at once.
Do this several times a day and you've hit your water intake! Sip on other stuff throughout the day.
The "pain" is temporary, the benefits are worthwhile!

This is what I do too!

There are no benefits to drinking plain water over other fluids for the purposes of hydration. Drink what you enjoy.
Why endure the "pain:?

Personally I don't want to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of artificial sweeteners, or sugar, or any other thing that seems to be in most other beverages. It's actually not painful for me anymore. I love my water now, it just took some time. Now that water is my primary beverage, my skin looks healthier, my stomach hurts less and I generally feel better.

For you, that's great.
But the OP has stated she doesn't like it.
By the way, things like soup have things in them that have nutrients. Coffee has antioxidants and has been shown to prevent Type II diabetes so as well as the hydration factor it has benefits that plain water doesn't have.

She has stated that she doesn't like it, but she is also asking how she can get her 8 cups a day in. Clearly she wants to drink more water, just wants suggestions for how she can get herself to do it. From what I've seen, nobody here is arguing that things like coffee don't have benefits. But she isn't asking about coffee, she's asking about water.

Just guzzle it. If sipping on it sucks, pour yourself a huge glass of barely cool or room temp water and then just down it all at once.
Do this several times a day and you've hit your water intake! Sip on other stuff throughout the day.
The "pain" is temporary, the benefits are worthwhile!

This is what I do too!

There are no benefits to drinking plain water over other fluids for the purposes of hydration. Drink what you enjoy.
Why endure the "pain:?

Personally I don't want to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of artificial sweeteners, or sugar, or any other thing that seems to be in most other beverages. It's actually not painful for me anymore. I love my water now, it just took some time. Now that water is my primary beverage, my skin looks healthier, my stomach hurts less and I generally feel better.

For you, that's great.
But the OP has stated she doesn't like it.
By the way, things like soup have things in them that have nutrients. Coffee has antioxidants and has been shown to prevent Type II diabetes so as well as the hydration factor it has benefits that plain water doesn't have.

She has stated that she doesn't like it, but she is also asking how she can get her 8 cups a day in. Clearly she wants to drink more water, just wants suggestions for how she can get herself to do it. From what I've seen, nobody here is arguing that things like coffee don't have benefits. But she isn't asking about coffee, she's asking about water.

My point is that she can get water in by drinking coffee or any other liquid that contains water. Doesn't have to be "plain water" So I'm answering her question by saying you can get water in by drinking things that taste good to you.
There are a more than a few comments here suggesting that she she should just get used to it; I say why should she?

My remark about the coffee was to demonstrate that although many people believe "plain water" is the best, that actually other fluids contain benefits that water doesn't have on top of hydration. Also to point out that adding artificial or real sweetners aren't the only things you can add to water.

suck it up drink it anyway lol

I love water, but I can't drink it room temperature or hot, it has to be ICE cold. I will drink it tepid if I HAVE to, but I don't care for it. I also don't like ice water in styrofoam cups. Bleh.

Get a pretty cup, fill it with ice, and enjoy a nice glass of ice water on a hot day. A shot of lemon, or some frozen berries isn't going to hurt you, in fact it adds just enough flavor to make it interesting. Ice tea is good - UNsweetened, but the caffeine is not, so still drink water. I have some crystal tea glasses that make me feel special drinking out of them, sometimes that helps.

Someone said that the need for water is perpetuated by the bottled water company and that is not truthful. Bottled water is no better for you than tap water, its just more convenient. Get a refillable water bottle (stainless steel is the "cleanest" for taste) and don't buy bottled water. No big. We have large refillable water bottles and a cold water dispenser and it works great for us because we don't care for our tap water and it costs way less than buying bottled waters (we do buy a lot of bottled water for family gatherings as it is easy to transport in large quantities).

No matter how much water I drink, I battle dehyrdation daily. I have to go to the ER to replenish fluids at least once a summer, sometimes more. If you don't drink water it wreaks havoc on your body. Caffeine is a DEhydrater, so please watch your caffeine intake. Basically, if it has caffeine in it is really not rehydrating you. Watermelon and pineapple are my two go to sources (besides water) to rehydrate quickly. Dehydration is a miserable experience, and when you get to the point of needing fluids it is really horrid. I get tremendous headaches, very weak, and highly confused. Typically this happens when I'm sick, or when I get too hot and can't drink enough water.

Someone else said that pale yellow urine is your indicator of hydration. This is very true. The goal is almost clear. The lighter the urine the more hydrated you are.

Someone else said that water is not a "magic elixer", I have to beg to differ. Water is the lifeblood of our bodies. We are made up of mostly water. Water lubricates our joints, keeps our organs working properly - including the brain, flushes toxins, and can even make you feel fuller faster by filling up your stomach. Water can even keep you from having a hangover while drinking alcohol (hangover is dehydration as alcohol is a DEhydrator). And best of all... you already pay for it, it comes straight out of the tap. When you pay your water bill so you can bathe, wash dishes, or water your garden... you can water your body as well. Nothing extra needed.

Water is not a magic elixir. Any fluid you drink, and all food you eat contains water, that your body is more than capable of extracting for hydration purposes.

As for caffeine, you need extremely high doses in order for caffeine to dehydrate. To put it terms of soda (just for an easy visual) you would need to consume an entire 12 pack of soda at once in order to consume enough caffeine to actually have any kind of dehydrating effect. Of course, consuming an entire 12 pack of soda would also mean you've consumed over a gallon of water (12 oz * 12 cans = 144 oz, 1 gallon = 128 oz,) which more than makes up for any potential dehydrating effect. Couple that with the fact that regular caffeine consumption make a person immune to the diuretic effect of caffeine, and that blows the "caffeine dehydrates" myth out of the water. That's probably why controlled studies have all shown that caffeinated beverages hydrate just as well as water.

Could you please provide your source information. Thanks.
[/quote
]Not sure if these are this poster's reference, but here is something from another MFP member oft posted:

As for tea/coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
adj.
Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
n.
A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what

http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo