Helpful Tips to Increase Your Daily Water Intake

Health

Sep 19

Everyone knows that water is good for you. The thing is, it tastes like nothing and let's be honest, who really wants to drink nothing? It's easy for some people to gulp down a big glass on nothing but for the rest of us, it can be a bit challenging. I've shared a few tips and tricks down below to help you increase your nothing intake by half!! First, let's get into a few reasons drinking why water is beneficial. *Water information courtesy of Web MD*

Drinking water helps maintain a proper balance of fluids in the body. If you didn't know, the human body is composed of 60% water. On a daily basis through just living, we dehydrate the body by creating saliva, using the restroom, and many other things. Functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.
Water helps control calories. Drinking a lot of water is great for weight loss. Have you ever compared the calories in water to the calories in soda? There is no comparison. Water has no added calories at all. It is pure hydration. Increasing water intake and decreasing high-calorie beverages will inevitably lead to weight loss. Save those calories for an actual meal.
Water Keeps the skin on FLEEK. Your skin contains plenty of water and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. Water helps diminish wrinkles and prevents dry skin. Say goodbye to pimples! Well, pimples also come from eating a lot of greasy and processed foods so it's not really goodbye but drinking water helps to kick-start the clearing process a lot faster. Stop eating so many greasy foods. I'm not crazy enough to tell you to completely stop. They can be eaten if consumed in moderation.
Water is a helping hand to your kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine. Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate,
Water helps you poop. I know!! No one wants to talk about their sh*tty habits. But at the same time, who want to be full of sh*t? When you drink adequate amounts of water, it helps to push poop aka bodily waste toxins out of your body. If you haven't sat on the toilet in a few days, you're pretty backed up. You should poop at least once a day. On a vegan diet, it's common to poop 2 to 3 times a day.
Water makes you strong. Water helps energize muscles. Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. When muscle cells don't have adequate fluids, they don't work as well and performance can suffer.

Now that you know why you should drink nothing. Let us get into how we can actually follow through with it. Drinking water doesn't have to be as boring as it sounds.

Fruit water. Flavor your water with different fruits to add some excitement to your drinks. Cucumber + Strawberry + Mint. Orange + lemon + lime. Those are a few of my favorite fusions.
Tea time. Drink tea. Tea is a natural calming agent and it tastes soooo good. My favorite tea brand is Yogi Tea. Their teas have no added sugars or mystery words. I tend to stay away from their drinks that contain stevia simply because I don't like the aftertaste. I normally just heat up and entire pot and steep one tea bag in the water. I drink some while it's hot and then reserve the rest in an airtight mason jar. It holds in the fridge for a week and tastes amazing both hot and cold.
Carbonated water. This is for my soda drinkers. When I'm craving soda, I mix carbonated water with frozen berries. The flavor from the berries infuses with the water and gives it a pretty good flavor. Keep in mind that our bodies are naturally alkaline which means that a lot of acidity can be harmful in large doses so keep that in mind.
Timing is everything. Our body craves water at different times. Water after a workout is EVERYTHING. I drink a good bit of water in the morning especially since I've been sleeping for hours. I recommend that you split up the amount of water you drink throughout the day.
Make it cute. Get a cute water bottle. When things look good, they're more enticing.
Accountability partner. Joe and I check in with each other throughout the day to see how the intake is going. Well, he checks in with me. Make it a friendly competition.
Room Temperature. Room temperature water is the best water to drink because it is the closest to your body temperature. Drinking cold water at large amounts can shock the body which slows down the absorption process.