I know..... UUUUUGGGGHHHHH.... But just hear me out!!!!!! please??
For some, its easy to drink eight 8oz glasses of water a day, but for others (including myself) it can be a struggle to not only achieve the recommended amount, but to do it consistantly day after day.
We all know water is good for us because that is what we have been told since we were young, but how is it good for us? Well, I could type for hours about what it does for the body, and the physiological effects, but lets just keep it short and to the point....
Your brain- Your brain is made up of mostly water and when you are dehydrated the brain is far less efficient and you aren't as alert as you normally would be. Also, dehydration is one of the leading causes of headaches and migrains. With that said, water is also a natural remedy for a headache/migraine.
Kidney and Co. - Same rules above with your organs. Water helps protect them and working at 100%. Water also helps flush toxins out of your kidneys. Water is the best thing to give your kidneys because it helps flush toxins and helps prevent kidney stones. You can live with one kidney, but why risk it?!
Cholesterol - believe it or not, but dehydration can be the cause of high cholesterol. When the body is dehydrated, it produces more cholesterol to prevent more water loss!!!! By staying hydrated, the body produces cholesterol regularly!
Joints! not the illegal kind - Water helps keep your joints lubricated so they'll move easier. This is something that younger people may not see as a concern right now, but the better your joints are now, the less of a problem they'll be in the future!
Weight gain/loss - When you're dehydrated, your body tends to retain fluid which can lead to weight gain. When you give the body the water it needs, your body breaksdown fat easier and flushes it out which helps with weight loss!
The list goes on and on, but the point is, water is key. Now the next step is to figure out that all important 'how do I get those eight 8oz glasses?!?!' or 'I hate the taste of water.... because there is NONE!' We'll start with improving the taste in a healthy way...
healthy additions to water
Lemon - adding 1/4 of a lemon helps give water more of a Lemonade taste and it also assists in flushing toxins out of your body!
Cut Strawberries - Not only improves the taste but adds a little more vitamin C to your life!
Mint - Mint contains antioxidents and helps with the funcitons of the liver!
Gatorade propel/crystal light packets - a box of these is usually under $5.00 at the grocery store and adds a better taste to water without adding calories.
Flavored water recipe
(give it a try... I think its pretty good)
1 pitcher water
1 lemon sliced
1/4 cup mint leaves
5 medium strawberries sliced
Add all ingredients to the pitcher of water and stir. Let sit in the fridge overnight and you have flavored water!
Now that we've figured out how to make water taste better, lets make it more convenient......
Trusty Nalgene Sidekick
This bad boy goes with me EVERYWHERE! The car, work, when i'm with friends, the couch.... the only place it doesn't go with me is if i'm in a restraunt (but order a water!). There are several kinds of nalgene bottles. I like this one because it 24oz so I know if I drink 3-4 of these in a day I've met my eight 8oz/day! This method seems to work the best for me!
Gallon a day challange
Drinking a gallon of water (128oz) is a great goal to work towards. The goal with this is to start the day with a gallon of water and ending the day with it empty. Some people like the idea of this challange because of accomplishing drinking the whole gallon in a day. FYI, if you aren't consuming much water to begin with, this might not be the best thing to start out with because you might be going number 1 most of the day! However, this is a good goal to work towards!
Keeping Tabs
This is also a way to make drinking water a game. Its simple. Keep track of how many glasses (8oz) of water you drink each day. If you make it to eight, put an X on your calander. The idea is to see how many X's in a row you can achieve!
I know drinking water isn't as fun as coffee, tea, diet coke, beer, etc. but if you can form a habit of making this a staple in your life, it'll make the biggest difference in your everyday life!
Live healthy, be happy!
Lindsay
Love your blog Lindsay! Can't wait to learn more! I was going to ask about flavored water like Propel? I'm becoming addicted to that taste, but is it as good as the flavored water you're talking about....health wise?
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