6 Ways To Get Your 8 Glasses Of Water Every Day

Drinking plenty of water helps your kidneys to function more efficiently, which also helps to flush dangerous toxins out of the body. Another benefit of drinking water is that it helps relieve constipation by softening the stool, allowing normal bowel function to return.

Drinking water is an effective way to reduce water retention and flush out excess water that is stored in the body’s fat cells. It may not sound like it makes sense at first, but the way that it works is that the body retains water when it is not receiving enough water each day. By giving your body what it needs, it recognizes that the water is now readily available, so the body let’s go of the stored water and water retention decreases.

Understanding how much water is needed for your particular body type is very important. Most people drink way too little throughout the day.  With some simple math, you can find out exactly how much water you should be consuming on a daily basis. By taking your weight and dividing it by 2, this will give you another number, which represents how many ounces of water you should ingest daily. For example, if a young male weighs 180 pounds, he would need to consume at least 90 ounces of water to satisfy his daily requirements.

After finding out how much water you require on a regular basis, the next step is to find a water bottle that will accommodate your daily drinking needs. If you grab a 20 ounce bottle, you will need to drink at least 5 of those bottles a day to meet your goal. Also, keeping water readily available to you at all times is an effective way to ensure that the correct amount of water is consumed each day. Drinking from your ration throughout the day and not trying to cram an entire day’s water ration in at the last minute, is the best practice.

In our busy schedules, we as individuals tend to forget to drink our suggested amount of water on a daily basis. Some people even tend to avoid drinking the proper amount because they find water to have too bland of a taste, usually because they have an addiction to sugar or other sweeteners. There are many little tricks people can use to ensure that they are consuming an adequate amount of water every day.  By following some simple suggestions, you could be drinking yourself to improved health.

Ways To Get Your 8 Glasses Of Water

Cool it Down

For some people, the temperature of the water can change the way that it tastes. Many individuals prefer cold water, as cold water can often taste better and can add to the cooling feeling during a hot summer day or after a workout. Be aware that decreasing the temperature of the water may cause the water not to be processed immediately in the body.

The body must first bring the temperature of the water back up to room temperature before the body can process the water and use it to hydrate. This uses up additional energy and can also burn a small amount of calories, which is not ideal during a case of dehydration.

Add Flavor

Another idea for changing the taste of the water to make it more enjoyable is adding flavor to a glass of water. Lemons and limes are all-natural and work well to add a sour kick to a plain glass of water. This is a nice alternative to the store-bought flavored water that normally comes with lab-created sweeteners that can cause more harm than good. 

Eat Water-Rich Foods

Eating water-rich foods is another way to ensure that you are meeting your water requirements for the day. Watermelon is one of the most water-rich fruits available, with an average of 92% of the fruit being made up of water. Some other alternatives that have a high water content include tomatoes with 95% water or eggs with a surprising 74% water. Fresh-cut cucumbers and some mint leaves added to a glass of water can leave you with a bunch of creative flavoring options from day to day.

Hourly Glass

Some people find it easiest to set a reminder that alerts them every hour. You can set a timer on your watch, desk clock, or cell phone that will alert you at the top of every hour. Drinking one 8-ounce glass every hour for most of the day will ensure you are consuming at least 8 glasses of water each day.

Before and After Meals

Drink one full glass of water before your meal. When finished eating, drink another full glass of water. If you consume the standard 3 meals per day, with this method, you will ensure that you drink at least 6 glasses of water per day. Then you only have an additional 2 glasses to fit into your schedule some time throughout the day.

Cut Your Other Beverages

If you are one of those people who can’t drink water because you don’t like the bland flavor, try alternating between water and other beverages. Tell yourself that if you want a cup of diet soda or juice, you must first drink an entire glass of water. When you do have that juice, cut it with water so that you are drinking half juice and half water. If you are drinking a diet soda (which should be done in moderation), be sure to add lots of ice, which will also cut the amount of soda you drink in half. You can also alternate between water and non-water beverages. For example, for every 4 glasses of water you drink per day, allow yourself one non-water beverage. This is an effective way to ensure that you are drinking enough water and cutting back on other beverages.