Easy Ways to Drink More Water Every Day

Is one of your goals for 2018 to get healthier (or work out more or eat better or the like)? One easy way to start on that journey is to drink more water! Drinking enough water is essential for a healthy body. Here are some great ways to help yourself get into the habit of drinking enough water, every day!*  

1. Find your preferred drinking vessel. (Sounds so fancy, doesn’t it?)

But seriously. Find your glass or water bottle of choice. At home, I like to use real glasses, but at work I refill my Camelbak straw water bottle like it’s going out of style. Goodness, I even use my water bottle at home quite a bit because the cats (or the toddler!) can’t tip it over and break/spill it. Ha! I know there are all sorts of fancy water bottles out there—your friends can probably give you recommendations. But you don’t have to spend a fortune… just find one that you like and will enjoy using.

2. Set a goal for how much water you want to drink in a day.

I found this article on Healthline helpful—most women should drink 9 cups (72 ounces) per day. If you’re pregnant, that increases to 10 cups (80 ounces) and if you’re breastfeeding, 13 cups (104 ounces). Whew! Of course, other factors affect this such as your activity level, climate, etc. If you see these amounts and get discouraged, don’t despair. You can work your way up there!

3. Break your goal down over the course of the day.

I drink a glass of water when I wake up in the morning, before coffee. Then when I get to work, I fill up my water bottle (24 ounces) and try to finish it before noon. Then I refill and try to finish it by 3 pm so I can have a refill for my commute home.

(A little history: I had this a terrible, horrible drive home one day when I was pregnant. There was an accident #ThanksNashvilleTraffic and my 30 minute commute ended up taking about 75 minutes. I was tired and hungry… but at least I had my handy water bottle and a good audiobook. That was before I got hooked on podcasts.)

Assuming my morning glass of water is about 8 ounces, I end up drinking ~80 ounces per day, give or take. Some days it’s more, other days it’s less . . . but once you add in water through food sources or hydration through other beverages, it usually works out. 

If you want, you can track this using an app or your planner for a little extra motivation. 

4. Add some flavor!

Plain water hard to swallow? There are lots of ways to add a little flavor to your water to make it taste better, without adding lots of sugar and/or calories. 

Infuse water with fruit, veggies, or herbs.

For a party, bridal, or baby shower, I always like to make a big pitcher of infused water. But there’s no reason you can’t do this on a regular ‘ole weekday. Some of my favorites include: 

• muddled berries
• crushed fresh mint, basil, or rosemary leaves 
• sliced cucumber
• cubed pineapple or watermelon 

Here are some additional water “recipes” to try! Pineapple Ginger Mint Water . . . genius! 

Squeeze in some citrus! 

Wedges of lemon and lime on the edge of your glass at a restaurant can be a little sketch (I’m always a little leery of whether they’ve been washed or not… is that just me?). But they’re delish! When I think about it, I love slicing a lemon or lime into wedges and stashing it in a tupperware to keep in the fridge throughout the week. This makes it easy to use throughout the week. I’m now also curious about adding in oranges or grapefruit, thanks to those suggestions linked above from the Food Network.

Add water drops.

The NMB team got to try SweetLeaf Water Drops over the summer. They were soooo yummy! Try them out, or another squeezable water flavor products/flavor packets to dump in a water bottle available at your local grocery store. Just be sure to read the labels to make sure you know what you’re getting in terms of sugar, calories, and added ingredients. Many of these options are better than drinking soda, but probably not something you want to drink tons of long term. Baby steps!

5. Treat. Yo. Self! with sparkling water.

This is one of those personal choice areas, just like the squeezy drops. But fizzy water is big these days, and I think it’s a fun treat now and again. If you’re trying to motivate yourself to make healthier beverage choices, then great! Just be aware that different brands have different ingredients so be informed to make your choice. 

*Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional so don’t take this post as medical advice. The Healthline article was written and reviewed by medical professionals though, so this librarian approves of the source! 🙂