How to Increase Your Daily Water Intake
For some people drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water a day comes easy, but for others, it’s a struggle. It might be because you don’t enjoy it, you don’t think you have the time, or you may just simply forget! It’s not a secret that drinking water is essential for good health, here are a few benefits of getting enough water during the day:
- Improved skin, hair, and nails
- Relief from headaches
- Reduces muscle cramps
- Helps to flush out your body
- Improves weight loss efforts
- Gives you more energy
If you’re having trouble getting your daily dose of H2O, here are a few different ways you can increase your water intake.
1. Drink Water Before Every Meal
The first tip for drinking more water on a regular basis is simple – just have a full glass of water before each meal and snack you consume, including before your morning cup of coffee. This is one of those simple reminders that allows you to drink more water, without really having to think too much about it. Train your mind to know that if you are going to put anything into your body, whether it is your breakfast or a late-night treat, you have to drink 8 ounces of water first.
In addition to increasing your daily water intake, this also will help your food digest a little better. Plus, it prevents you from overeating since the water helps to fill you up a little. It is not uncommon to think you are hungry, when in fact you are thirsty. If you are no longer hungry after the full glass of water, wait a bit before eating.
2. Make Your Own Infused or Flavored Water
A common problem people have with drinking water isn’t that they don’t remember to drink it, but they’re just not interested in it. This is where you have more options. You don’t necessarily have to drink just plain water all day, every day. There are many ways to add flavor to your water and make it more interesting, without piling on the sugar and calories.
The Simple Method
If you are short on time and just want a super quick way to add flavor to your water, go with the lemon water. All you need to do is add a few lemon wedges into your water, squeezing the juice in first, then put the wedges in. Lemons have a lot of tart juice, so this will flavor your water quickly and easily. You can also try a mixture of lemon and lime, or use other juicy fruits like grapefruit.
Fruit or Vegetable Infused Water
When you have more time, you can use other fruits, vegetables, and even herbs to flavor your water to make infused water. You aren’t just flavoring your water with these ingredients, but adding more nutrients from the produce and herbs.
To make infused water start by prepping your fruits, veggies, and herbs. Berries should be sliced so you can access the juice inside, fruits with hard skin should be peeled first. Veggies should also be peeled and chopped. Muddle your herbs to release the oils and flavors.
Add the ingredients to the bottom of a pitcher, cover with ice, then add your water. Let it sit in the refrigerator for as long as you can before drinking it, which really allows those flavors and nutrients to come through.
3. Limit Other Drinks You Consume
Another little trick for drinking more water is to reduce all of the other drinks you consume. This doesn’t mean drinking water 100 percent of the time and never having a cup of juice or soda again. But, it does help to reduce them, so that when you are thirsty, you go for water instead. This eventually increases your water intake simply because you are going for water when you feel a thirst, and not other beverages.
4. Always Track Your Water Intake
This isn’t something you need to do every day for the rest of your life, but for now, it might be hard to determine how much water to drink and if you have even reached your goal for the day. Start by figuring out a good way to track your water. This can be an app on your phone, a notepad, a planner you keep in your purse, or a program on your computer.
Start by tracking your water for a few days before trying to increase how much you drink. This lets you know how much you are currently drinking on an average day. If it is less than 8-10 glasses of water (8 ounces each) a day, you need to start increasing it. Once you are tracking daily, it helps you know how and when to drink a little more throughout the day.
5. Enjoy Fruits & Veggies with High Water Content
If you find that you simply can’t drink enough water, then eat your water instead! You should still try to drink as much as you can, but this is good for the days when you’re a little below your water intake goal. There are fruits and veggies that have a high water content, therefore helping to hydrate you. These include: Cucumbers, Grapefruit, Apples, Pineapple, Lettuce, Celery, Radishes, and Watermelon.
6. Dilute Your Juice When You Have it
During those times when you really want a glass of juice instead of water, you can dilute it to increase your water content a bit. Just think about it – if you have a 12-ounce glass, and you dilute it with water just by 25 percent, that cup of yummy, fruity juice has also added 4 ounces of water. It is a super easy way to add to your water intake for the day. This is also going to reduce your calories, carbs, and sugar.
As long as you keep these reminders in the back of your mind, and follow the other tips mentioned, you should be on your way to increasing your water intake and benefiting from it.
This article was originally published in 2019 and has been updated for 2022.
