How to Drink More Water and Stay Hydrated!

This month’s One Simple Change is to stay hydrated!

August is one the hottest months for most of the country and staying hydrated is so important.

Your body is 60% water making it a principal component of your body. Did you know that in EVERY single cellular process in your body water is used? That means that if your body is dehydrated it can’t work properly at the cellular level…and that is a BIG deal!

The benefits of a well hydrated body are plentiful. Water helps with digestion…goodbye constipation, kidney function, metabolism, cell regeneration, glowing skin, sweating, detoxification, less bloating and so on.

So how do you know how much to drink? There is the old adage to drink eight, eight ounce glasses per day. While this is a great starting point there are things to consider such as weight and activity level.

Weight is a very big factor to consider. Considering your body is 60% water it is fairly obvious that a 200 pound man and a 140 pound women have different needs. A good rule of thumb is to take your body weight and multiply is by 2/3 or 67%. This will help you determine the ounces your body needs. If we take the 200 pound man, multiply by 67% we find that he would need 134 ounces or 16.75 ounces of water daily.
Activity the second factor to consider is activity level. The more active you are, the more you sweat or expel water. A good rule of thumb is to drink 12 additional ounces for every 30 minutes of exercise.

Now that you have figured out how much water you need, you have to figure out how to add it to your daily life without feeling like you are floating away! It may seem overwhelming at first but it is very attainable. Here are a few tips:

Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning: Drinking a glass of water when you first wake up helps to jump start your metabolism…especially if it is cold!
Drink 2 cups of water before every meal: By doing this, you end up eating less during meal time and lose weight. By doing this, you help your body differentiate between hunger and thirst…You’ve also busted out 48 ounces of water! Go YOU!
Use a container: The easiest way to keep track is to get a water container. I personally carry around a container that way I am never without water and I can easily track my consumption. I personally use a bigger container like this one but you could easily one like this. You will just have to fill it up more often.
Flavor it! Infused water is delicious and it helps to add flavor if you find water boring. Some of my favorite combinations are lime/cucumber, strawberry/mint and strawberry/lemon/cucumber. You can get a Infuser pitcher like this one or they even make a cute water bottle version like this!
Make ice cubes. I LOVE cold water. Another option for flavor is to make infused ice cubes. You can cut up strawberries, limes, lemons, cucumbers, mint etc and place them in ice cube trays with water. Once they are frozen plop them in your water. As they melt, the flavor with transfer to your water. This is an excellent tip for those who find the flavor of infused water strong. This helps to better disperse the flavor overtime and continue the flavor after refills.