8 ways to drink more water

Struggle to get enough water in each day? You’re not alone. While staying hydrated is essential to our everyday needs, forgetting to drink, not liking the taste or being worried you’ll have to pee every 10 minutes are all popular reasons for not chugging down the recommend 2-3L daily intake. To help you keep adequately hydrated, we’ve put together eight easy tips you can use to improve this essential habit and stay on top of your daily drinking quota. 

1.  Add a flavour hitIf you find a glass of the H2O stuff rather tasteless then try adding some fresh fruits, (think strawberries, lemon or raspberries), veggie slices such as cucumber or ginger or even muddled herbs like mint or basil to create a bit of flavour. 

2.   Keep your water bottle (or jug) visible
By keeping your water source nearby, you’re dramatically increasing your chances of reaching for it.  Place your water bottle, glass or large jug at your work desk, by your bedside table and on the kitchen bench. In fact, challenge yourself to carry a bottle with you everywhere you go. That way you have a constant reminder to drink up such as driving in the car, completing your weekly shopping or even at the movies. 

3.   Sip before you go
Create simple routines such as taking a few sips before or after every bathroom break. Getting up from your desk or transitioning from one client to the next? Get into the habit of sipping whenever you’re about to get up and complete a different task. This is a great strategy to help prompt you to drink regularly.

4.   Add a splash of bubbly
Ok, so not the French alcoholic kind but there is something exciting about pouring a glass of fresh, sparkling mineral water. The bubbles offer a good change to plain filtered water and come with zero sugar. 

5.   Dilute your alternatives 
If you’re not already into water chances are you like the sweet stuff. That’s ok, start by watering down your juice, soft drinks and iced teas with a splash of H2O. You can slowly increase this to half and half ratios and before you know it…Voila, you’re sipping the pure stuff straight from the filter.

6.   Use a marked water bottle or jug
Aiming for 2L per day? Write down how many cups your hourly goal rate is and then use the marked lines on your water bottle or jug to track exactly just how much you need to have drunk by certain times throughout the day. Or for the tech savvy out there, you can invest in various apps to log how much you’ve had and set reminders make sure you’re hitting your quota. 

7.   Fill up before meals
Try and drink a full cup of water before you sit down to eat. Prepping the veggies for tonights meal? Place your glass or bottle on the bench an sip away while you cook. Not only will this keep you hydrated but filling your tummy can assist with decreasing your chances of over eating.
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8.   Sip, sip, sip 
​Just because you sculled your daily water target 5 mins before bed doesn’t exactly mean you’ve absorbed the full amount. In fact, it is far more efficient to sip smaller quantities during the day than drinking a large amount at once so sip regularly, your bladder will thank you for it.