10 Tips For Drinking More Water

We all know that drinking water makes and keeps us healthy, but why does it seem like such a chore to truly get enough of it?! Or in the very least the "recommended" amount. I've compiled this list of 10 tips that seem to really help me or encourage me to drink water and my hope is that they might be of help to you too!

Most of the time I'm really pretty good about drinking water because I've had some health problems in the past and I know that drinking a large amount of water during the day really does make my body feel better.. as cliche as that sounds. I'm not going to lie though, there are many many times where I would rather order soda at a restaurant or I would rather drink juice in the morning or just really do anything else besides drink water. So in an effort to get back on the right path with my water intake I tried so many different things, but found these 10 to be the most helpful.

Tip #1. Always have water with you. Here's the deal.. carrying out this tip may seem like a bit overkill in the beginning, but trust me, this has been one of the more efficient methods for me! What I do is always have a "water glass" or bottle if you prefer and then even if I decide that I want something else to drink like juice or coffee (which is a must in the morning for me) I also have a glass of water. What I have found doing this is that I want to enjoy the other drink and have the taste of it, but not necessarily have it quench my thirst. That's the point of the water. So even if I'm taking in something sugary, I also end up drinking the whole glass of water because I truly am thirsty. 

Tip #2. Find something that you really enjoy to drink water out of. My dad used to make fun of me for the amount of water bottles that I own. He even calls them my sippy cups because I constantly have one with me and as crazy as it sounds, they make me want to drink more water. Find something that catches your eye from across the room, that you really like, and would like to drink out of. Something that fits your personal lifestyle and the lifestyle that you live, but only use this cup, water bottle, travel mug, whatever you choose for WATER! I have a couple that I honestly am attached to and at this point even when I look at them it makes me what to drink water. Another thing is that I love to drink out of straws and sometimes that helps with how much I drink too! Any other girls out there with me on the straw thing?!

Tip #3. Flavor your water. I feel like this one is a bit of a given because lemon water seemed like it was all the craze a while back. We were gifted an infuser for Christmas and we love it! We not only put lemons in it, but we also put mixed berries in it too. One time we did lemons, raspberries, and blackberries and it was some of the most delicious water I've ever had. Play around with it though! You can put anything you want in the water to give it flavor. Something I want to try soon is adding mint leaves to the water (Kaleb doesn't like mint though so I'll have to try that one on my own). You don't have to have an infuser either. You can put the ingredients straight into whatever you drink out of. It's best to let the water and whatever you use sit for at least a few hours to really mix. 

Tip #4. Order water over soda. I know this one is hard okay. And definitely not always possible. Especially if you live in place that has really honestly horrible city water like me! Even if you order water every other time you go out, you're winning. Or use tip #1 and order a glass of water as well as your soda.. it's free right!

Tip #5. Fill up your cup often. Again might seem like overkill and a bit useless, but you don't want to get stuck somewhere with no water.. even if it's just down the stairs from your kitchen. I'm guilty of this, but I also know that if I take a half full bottle downstairs and finish it, I'm less likely to go get more. So instead I usually just fill my cup or bottle whenever I pass the kitchen, just to be safe.

Tip #6. Reuse plastic water bottles. This tip just comes from my inherent, but ever so shy need to save the planet. If I drink out of a plastic water I typically refill it 2-4 times before throwing it away. I don't know why, but this makes me feel less guilty for drinking out of the plastic bottle in the first place and in turn I drink more!

Tip #7. Figure out the perfect temperature. I absolutely despise warm water. We're talking like will-not-drink-even-if-my-mouth-is-as-dry-as-a-desert. It does not taste good to me and makes me not want to drink it. I also don't really like sweat on cups and bottles that ice creates. I typically settle for a happy medium and drink water the temperature that it comes out of the tap at and I (most of the time) drink it fast enough that it doesn't get too warm on me. However I do love me a nice chilled in the fridge glass of water, it almost tastes sweet to me at that temperature.. is that weird? Seriously though! Find that perfect temp that tastes just right to you, it really will help with how much you drink.

Tip #8. Brush your teeth. This one is a bit silly, but brushing my teeth always makes me super thirsty for some reason. Probably because I use minty toothpaste, but I typically drink a full glass of water after brushing my teeth. Now, I can't guarantee this one will work for you but anything is worth a try in my opinion.

Tip #9. Chew minty gum. Same with this one. Might be silly, but it works for me so why not see if it works for you. It never fails that I drink more water when chewing minty gum and I think that it might be because I love that cool feeling and sweet taste that you get from the mixture of the gum and water. 

Tip #10. Take a cup of water to bed. Last, but not least, I can not preach this one enough. Always, always, always take a glass of water to bed! Even if you just take a couple sips, it's more than what you were drinking before. This is the one thing that I can say I have been practicing for probably 10 years now and I always drink a full glass of water before going to sleep. It's almost like I can't go to sleep without it now!

That's it for my tips to drinking more water. And listen..no one ever mentions that you don't have to implement all of these things to help you drink more water. Even just doing 1-2 of these things will help and is progress. It always seems to be an all or nothing thing and that's just not true, in my opinion anyway. I hope that these tips help you in drinking more water and if they do, be sure to let me know. I'm curious!