According to the CDC the average American adult drinks about 39 ounces of water per day. This is below the recommended amount. If you are like many adults who wish to increase your water intake, read on for five sneaky tricks to increase your fluid intake.
Why should I drink more water?
Water is essential for life. Your body is about 60% water. You need water for temperature regulation, clear thinking, eliminating waste, and proper circulation.
Drinking adequate amounts of water prevents dehydration, keeps your skin healthy, reduces fatigue, prevents constipation, and reduces the risk of kidney stones.
How much water do I need?
The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends that healthy men consume 3.7 Liters ( 125 ounces) and healthy women consume 2.7 Liters or 91 ounces of water each day.
These are just guidelines for adults with average activity. There are other factors that could change your water needs such as physical activity, climate, age, sex, pregnancy and breastfeeding.
How can I increase my hydration?
Increasing your daily fluid intake could be as easy as just setting a goal and finding ways to stick to it. If you don’t really care for drinking plain water than finding ways to flavor it could help. Maybe you just need to find ways to fit drinking more fluids into your daily routine. Read on for some great ways to increase your daily fluid intake.
1.Set a goal to increase your fluid intake
If you already enjoy drinking water you may just need to set a goal and find a way to stick to it. Believe it or not there are plenty of apps out there to help you keep track of your water consumption goals. These apps will be best used with a water bottle with measurement marks on it to help you keep track of your consumption.
2. Flavor your water to help increase your fluid consumption
If you struggle to drink plain water it may really help if you flavor your water. I like to infuse fruit flavor into my water. My favorite is lemon, but there are plenty of fruits and vegetables that can give your water a pleasant flavor without adding too may calories. I like to use a water pitcher with infuser to add fruit to my water because it keeps the seeds out of my water. It is also easy to clean out and refresh the fruit. If you prefer you could drink iced or hot tea as an alternative to plain water or fruit infused water. It’s best to try decaffeinated teas if possible. I’d recommend trying several teas before you rule this out. There are so many different teas you could try; there has to be at least one you would like.
3. Make drinking water a habit to help increase your hydration.
You can easily increase your fluid intake by making drinking water part of your daily routine. Jim Kwik, author of Limitless has a great example of this in his morning brain enhancing routine. He drinks a tall glass of water every morning to help replace overnight losses from breathing. You could also make it a habit to drink a tall glass of water before each meal. This can also help you to eat less and could improve your weight loss goals.
4. Eat your water to help increase your fluid consumption.
Simply increasing you consumption of fruits and vegetables could help to increase your overall fluid consumption. Some fruits and vegetables are very high in water. Examples of fruits and vegetables with the high water content are cabbage, celery, watermelon, peaches, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, oranges, cantaloupe, and strawberries. Other foods with high fluid content are yogurt, cottage cheese, and soup. Try adding some of these foods to your diet. You could swap French fries for coleslaw, or swap a sandwich for a salad or soup. Have a breakfast smoothie or try my Immune Boosting granola with yogurt.
5. Keep water convenient to help increase consumption.
Find a water bottle you love and make sure to take it with you. Make sure it fits into the cup holder in your car. Find one with a handle that is easy to carry, or invest in a water bottle carrier.
Leave a glass of water on your night stand at night. Keep a glass near you at work. Fill a pitcher with plain or fruit infused water and keep it in the refrigerator. Keep a tray of fresh sliced fruit or veggies in your refrigerator.
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