How To Drink More Water

With the New Year drawing close, and many of us already making our New Years plans to go out and get the festivities started, we’re all sure to need a detox to give us the best start to the year. I for one, am planning on being utterly boring this year – though it is a preference to me, by having a quiet New Years on the sofa binge watching my favourite TV Shows on Netflix. The one thing I have endlessly wanted to do is find ideas, and tips, as to how to drink more water.

We all know that we need to get our recommended daily allowance of water drunk each day to maintain a healthy lifestyle – which is about 2 liters a day. As our body weight is made up of about 60% water, it’s essential to get that recommended amount into our bodies to flush away the toxins. And at zero calories, learning how to drink more water can be somewhat life changing for those looking to not only detox, but also lose weight and change up your lifestyle. 

Ever since I’ve known I have always been educated by my parents, in their attempt to get me to drink more, of the benefits of drinking water. Drinking water has endless health and weight loss benefits – it has zero calories in it, therefore chugging down enough water during the day not only keeps you full but also does not fluctuate your calorie count out of balance.

It can also help flush out toxins affecting your organs and your skin, it is one of the best ways to get glowing skin and clear up any breakouts. Your skin really does reflect what you put in your body, think of it like a mirror. So you are really what you eat, or drink in this case.

It is also a natural energy booster; we shouldn’t get dehydration confused with fatigue. If you do ever feel run down, try drinking a glass of cold water, and see if that helps. It may be that you’re just dehydrated and it’s your body’s way of alerting you.

Getting down the daily amount of H2O, however, is not as easy as it sounds. I’ve generally always opted for juices, fizzy drinks or adding squash to my water. And as I did that, my weight and health fluctuate. Even though I was eating healthy, nothing got rid of the bloat or the breakouts I was experiencing on a daily basis. It was only when I looked at myself in the mirror, after eating a meal and going through a can of full fat coke, that I realised I actually looked like I was pregnant! Enough was enough, and I needed to really listen to my body.

I’ve put together  a list of ways on how to drink more water and take advantage of a health staple that is easily accessible, and much needed in everyone’s diet:

Set a goal – instead of telling yourself that you need to drink more water, without having any idea of what your goal really is, set yourself a target to drink say 8 glasses a day. This way you will be keeping an active track during the day. I for one know that if I simply have a glass in front of me at my desk, I won’t actively drink any of the water. By the time I realise, 3 hours or so have passed and I’m still sipping on that same glass of water.

Water Bottles – Chose your water bottle wisely as there are so many out there! I currently use a Polar water bottle along with my water infuser which I bought from John Lewis. By having a water bottle near you and on your desk, not only reinforces that you need to drink more water as it’s in front of you, but also helps you keep track of how many times you fill up the water bottle. If it’s also attractive and beautifully designed, that’s a plus. Sometimes you can get water bottles with motivational quotes on them, which can help.

I used to use just a normal clear water bottle and marked it with timings along the bottle as deadlines. So I would have 9am, 9.15am, 9.30am etc. By doing this I knew at which point on the bottle I needed to be at by a certain time. This spaces out your intake during the day and also gives you a target to work towards. I slowly phased this out as it started to become second nature to me to get guzzling.

Infuse your water – I’ve been infusing my water for such a long time now to sort of wean myself off putting squash in my water. Natural fruits and flavours are so much better for you than sugary squash flavourings. There are so many combinations you can try out when infusing your water – I’ll have to write up a seperate post for all the different ones you can do. I tend to use slices of freshly cut lemon, with or without mint, and it just adds such a refreshing natural taste to your water. Lemon infused water also has a ton of benefits for your skin and your immune system.

Eat spicy food – Spicy food is a great way to get more water into your system. It’s the best way to cool down after eating an extra hot Nando’s peri peri burger, or a spicy curry. Let’s face it, the last thing you want to be grabbing is a glass of coke or lemonade after eating a meal, as it’s likely to just leave you bloated. Not only will you be drinking more water, but hot food is also a perfect way to speed up your metabolism.

Set a routine – If you get into the habit of incorporating water into your daily routine, it’s likely to become a permanent fixture within your day to day life. For example, if you start drinking a cold glass of water after a hot shower, or have a cool glass just after waking up in the morning before breakfast. You can try adding a glass of water just before your morning coffee. It’s not about making sacrifices, so you can still have your energy boost if you need it, it’s just about adding water into your routine where it’s not extra effort to do so.

Sometimes it’s easier to just have a glass of water visible and in front of you if you’re still having trouble remembering to add this to your morning or night time routine. Place a bottle on your bed-stand or dressing table, or in the desk in front of you at work.

Eat your water – This may be a weird one for some, but it can be done. There are so many foods out that there are very water based, and great for toting up to your 2 liters a day. Fruits and vegetables, for example, are your go to foods for this one – try Cucumbers, Lettuce, Celery, Tomatoes, Watermelon (when in season), Spinach, Strawberries,and grapes. These fruits and vegetables are so easily accessible, and can be incorporated into your diet in so many different ways such as a fruit salad, a side salad or on their own as snacks.

Just be careful, if you do cook any of these, the water content inside the foods drops significantly.

Try out these ways to drink more water, and see how your body confidence and health changes dramatically! Water is so important as an addition in our diets, and it should really be your go to way to hydrate.