Moms and dads,
For quite a time I am trying to loose weight. One of the "musts" - you have to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.
My question is - how do I make myself drink all that water? I am not a water-drinker. I don’t like to drink water. I can drink tea or juice or milk. I know I have to hydrate, but I am not thirsty! And if I force myself, all this water is just moving inside my stomach.
I can drink a glass or two while exercising, but what do I with the rest?
I also am not really up to "brightening" my water with chemicals. I tried flavored water - tastes yucky.
Any tricks? Or maybe tea without sugar or sweetener will be a good substitute? I have a variety of herbal teas without caffeine that I like and can drink regularly.
Thank you, ladies!
I do have a water bottle on my desk. With or without straw, if it is before my eyes all the time, I drink from it.
I guess, the sloshing - that is what drives me nuts. And, yeah, FREQUENT trips to the bathroom :-)
EDITED
I tried lemon juice in my water today. Thank you mamas, who suggested it!
It makes water a little "tart-ish", and that's exactly what I like. Why this simple idea did not occur to me?
That is why I like to read this site - people gently make you see something you did not notice right under your nose.
We drink lots of water.
I like it icy cold and with a little lemon juice or orange slice in it.
You'll get used to it. Just think about all the extra calories you are NOT ingesting!!
It sounds weird, but it will eventually just become a habit and water will be all that you want. Seriously. The more you drink the easier it becomes. I used to hate water.
Try drinking your water with a straw. It will help you to consume more without thinking about it.
The 8 8oz glasses of water for a total of 64 oz a day is outdated and was always a generalization.
I have heard that it's half your weight in oz so if you weight 100lbs it would be 50oz a day.
But, yes, the point is you need to be drinking lots of water. But other unsweetened fluids also counts. Unsweetened tea is a very good choice. There are health benefits in many teas so long as you are brewing real tea and not using chemical tea mixes. Also, you get fluids from the foods you eat and those count. Eating an apple helps provide part of your daily fluid intake as does eating a salad etc.
One thing we do here is put a few drops of straight lemon juice in the water. We bought one of those bottles of lemon juice you get in the cooking section and keep it in the fridge. Lemon juice also is good to flush out water retention. Even my 2 year old loves a few drops of lemon juice in her water. We can't use any of those flavor packets for water as they all have artificial sweeteners which we're all allergic to.
I am more apt to drink water if it's cold. I don't like room temp water at all though I will drink it if that's all I have to drink and I'm thirsty.
Get yourself a big refillable bottle and keep it with you and drink throughout the day instead of trying to gulp it all down in one sitting. It may help with the feeling of it sloshing around in your stomach.
Add a fresh lemon to the water if you don't like plain water.
I keep a water cup with a straw (I think it helps me drink more) at my desk and that's when I drink the most of it. Also at lunch I only have water.
ETA: I like room temperature water better. I think when it's cold you tend to sip, while it's a little warmer you drink more.
Hi, Alena:
Get you a schedule of when you will drink your WATER.
One cup upon arising
One cup at noon
One cup at supper
One cup for desert after supper.
You choose the other times that
you would like.
Just a thought.
D.
I know it can be hard.
It used to be a lot harder for me especially when I worked outside the home but when in the office, I would "remember" to take a drink every single time my desk phone rang, the intercom buzzed me, someone knocked on my door or someone called my name.
Back then...I drank water ALL THE TIME. lol
Now as a SAHM, I keep a glass of filtered water on the counter (it
can be cold or room temp....whatever you prefer) and I not only GET thirsty but use the clock at a guide. If I haven't had a drink, I drink some every hour on the dot.
Now, I just drink religiously so I don't need a "reminder".
When I gave up soda, all I wanted was water. I'll have some hot tea during the day at the office, but I only really want ice water. It's my new craving thing. I'm also trying to drop weight, but wanted to give up soda because it's just so bad anyways.
It will just become habit. Start to have it when you get up, one with snack, one at lunch, one after lunch, one with afternoon snack, one before dinner, and one with dinner. You'd be shocked how much you can go through if you don't think about it.
Try drinking distilled water. It has none of the funky aftertaste of tap or some other bottled waters. Keep a bottle of water with you at all times and you will get used to sipping from it often. Should reach a point when you feel naked if you forgot your water.
try AquaFina-it is tasteless and easy to drink-drink it at room teperature.
If you check into the facts, the 8 8oz glasses of water a day idea came from the bottled water companies, not anyone in the health profession. It is junk science that has been repeated so often for so long it has been accepted as true. It is not!
Now, to get all of the liquid you need (half your weight in ounces each day) - water flavored with slices of fruit like lemons, limes, or berries, coffee & tea count but not if sweetened with tons of sugar (use a no calorie substitute), and don't forget that lots of what you eat has water in it - some fruit and veggies have a naturally high water content and all of that counts towards the liquid requirement. I would stay away from all but the lowest calorie fruit juices as all that sugar will not help you lose weight. There is also those drink additives like Crystal Light, and Mio that purport to flavor your water without adding too many calories. Good Luck.
I drink a lot of water, but it has to be room temperature...some people can't do it...I prefer it this way. Try it.
Or try fresh lemons in it or even lemon juice.
Another thing I do...is drink from a water bottle with a straw.
It is important to drink water...I drink about 100 oz. a day...more like 12 glasses a day.
My tricks are as following:
1) Room temp water is a must for me, goes down easier!
2) Use a straw!
3) Just do it fast!
~I don't mind the drinking of the water...what I do mind is the constant peeing you have to do after drinking ALL that water! Ugh!
