3 Tips You’ve Probably Never Heard of Before to Help You Drink More Water
Are you drinking enough water?
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times but are you drinking enough water? Do you feel thirsty right now?Dehydration is a common issue amongst people, especially during these hot summer months. It is also one of the easiest problems to fix and can have a massive effect on how you feel.As a Nutrition Coach with Mod3rn Fitness, we ask every single client this question, “How much water do you drink every day?”Most people are not drinking enough water. They are drinking plenty of coffee, tea and soda, but they are not being conscious of how much water they are drinking and how much they really need to stay hydrated.
How much water do you need to drink?
As a general rule of thumb, I like to recommend our clients drink at least half their body weight in ounces of water every day. So, for example, if you weigh 200 lbs, try drinking about 100 oz of water daily.Now if you are very physically active or sweating a lot during the day, then you will likely need to increase this amount to stay hydrated.
Why is drinking water so important?
The brain is made up of approx 80% water. Pretty amazing right?! What is also interesting is that if the brain notices a decrease in water by as little as 1%, then you will start to experience a decline in mental cognition, things like memory loss, lack of focus and a declining mood.Not only that, we need to be drinking enough water to ensure that wastes are adequately removed from our body and that our cells are functioning properly.
How do you know if you’re drinking enough water?
The easiest way to tell if you’re drinking enough water is to look at the color of your urine. A well hydrated person should have a very light yellow or even clear colored urine.Note that this color can be masked if the person drinks a lot of coffee and tea, both of which are diuretics, meaning that it will cause the person to urinate more leading to a lighter colored urine.Another easy way to check if you’re drinking enough water is to see how thirsty you feel. Drinking more water will not only quench your thirst, but sometimes thirst might confuse you into thinking you’re hungry. So making sure you’re drinking enough water may help you reduce your calorie intake too.
How do I drink more water?
I’m so glad you asked! There are a few handy tips that I like to tell our clients such as:
Drink a full glass of water upon waking
Drink a full glass of water before any meal or snack
Set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself to drink water throughout the day
These are all great tips that can be easily implemented. But if you are still finding it hard to drink more water, I’ve come up with 3 ways that you’ve probably never heard of before to drink more water.
Three tips you’ve probably never heard before to drink more water!
These tips are fun, new and different ways to help you tackle that hydration goal!I also released a podcast episode on these very tips on the Just F-FIT podcast for Mod3rn Fitness.
Make sure you head over there to listen to the full explanation on these tips. Here's the link!
The tips are:
Give yourself a reward
Drink through a straw
Make fresh fruit and water popsicles aka Refreshing Hydrating Popsicles!Yes! Popsicles are a fun way to help you increase your water intake. Especially if it’s a super hot summer day, a nice refreshing popsicle is a great way to cool down and help you hit your water goals.My kids also loved these popsicles! I used sliced strawberries, blueberries and sliced peaches in these ones. The fresh peaches were super sweet and they infused such a wonderful summery flavor into the popsicles.
You can make these popsicles with your favorite fruits, veggies and even herbs or spices. For instance, you could use lemon and orange slices, or peach slices and fresh basil leaves, maybe even apple slices and cinnamon. The options are limitless!If you try this recipe, let me know! Make sure you snap a photo and share it on social media. Tag me nourish_with_renata on IG or Facebook.
I'd love to see what you make!
Refreshing Hydrating Popsicles Ingredients:
Sliced fresh fruit of your choice
eg strawberries, blueberries, peaches, or use slices of your favorite vegetables, herbs or spices
Water
Instructions:
1. In a popsicle mold, place a few slices of your favorite fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs or spices.
2. Top off each popsicle mold with water, ensuring that you leave enough room for the popsicle stick without the water running over the top of the popsicle mold.
3. Freeze overnight or until fully set.
4. Carefully unmold popsicles and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:Instead of plain water you could also use flavored, sugar free water or even sparkling water. If you use sparkling water, make sure you leave even more room in the popsicle mold for expansion of the water as well as the gas from the sparkling water.For even more flavor in the popsicles, leave be fruit to infuse into the water for 2 hours before placing the popsicle mold in the freezer. Or use the popsicle stick to gently push on the fruit slices to release more of their juices into the water.