Helpful Tips to Increase Your Water Intake

Who struggles with drinking enough water throughout the day? Probably all of us. The old notion that 8 cups a day is good enough is probably inaccurate for all of you reading this article. The Mayo Clinic actually recommends 125 ounces for males and 91 ounces for females. They also say that a person that exercises needs even more hydration due to sweating during a workout. The rule of thumb that I have always gone by is trying to drink near my body weight in ounces per day especially when it’s on a days that I am training.

So why increase your water intake? There’s way more science to it, here’s what water actually does:

• Filters out toxins.
• Lubricates your joints.
• Hydrates and increases the overall function of your tissues and organs.
• Helps regulate your internal temperature.
• Your body is made up of water, in turn, needs to constantly replenish what it releases.
• Proper hydration keeps the intensity up in your workouts.
• And most importantly of all, because your mom said so.

Lack of water throughout your day can lead to many things like lack of sweating, dizziness, muscle cramping, weakness and even heat stroke/heat exhaustion in more severe cases.

What are some quick helpful tips to increase your water intake?

• Drink all of your water from a container that allows you to view the ounces. A Blender Bottle or a Nalgene Bottle works great! For those of you that seriously struggle with water intake, they even make Smart Water bottles that link to your smart phone to help keep you on track with reminders. You could always go OG gym rat on the bit and use a gallon water jug – Put lines on it showing how much you need to drink by a certain time of the day.
• There are a number of apps out there to help you track your intake as well such as: My Water Balance, My Fitness Pal or WaterMinder. Of course, these all rely on you actually documenting it in the app.
• If you are truly trying to increase your intake of water, try to avoid relying on using a generic plastic cup in the cafeteria – that’s not an easy way of tracking H2O.
• Drink a glass of water in the morning before you down that caffeinated greatness. Plus, for every cup of coffee, it is recommended to increase your water intake.
• Ditch the Coke at lunch and substitute it for a sparkling water. If sparkling water is known as the “Taste of disappointment” to you, try putting in some lemon, lime, or cucumber.
• Eat vegetables and fruits with higher water content.

The bottom line is that you have to make healthy choices on a daily basis to increase your water intake.  There’s nothing wrong with choosing to have a different beverage – moderation is key.

For more information from the experts, check out this read!