It may have been easy to drink more water last week when the temps neared 100 degrees. But now that we’ve cooled down a bit, it might be a little more challenging for some of you to get that water down. I’m here to chat with you about how much water you really need to drink to stay hydrated AND to offer you 7 of my simple how-to tips for drinking more water every day! And keep in mind that if the temps are really high … or if you sweat a lot … you need to be much more conscious about hydration.
But first, why am I talking about drinking more water anyway?
Water is the fluid that lubricates our systems and keeps us healthy and vibrant.
Think of a riverbed in a drought when it’s all dried up and cracking … where the water is so sparse that there’s no life in it.
Now compare your body to that riverbed and imagine what you are doing to it by not staying hydrated with enough water. Yup, soon enough it too will dry up, crack up and become uninhabitable.
So before you get to that sad state, let’s talk about how you will know if you’re not drinking enough good old H2O!
What’s important about recognizing dehydration?
The usual side effects of dehydration are a dry mouth and thirst. And you can also look out for other signs of mild to severe dehydration (in that order) such as:
● Low energy, fatigue and loss of muscle strength and endurance
● Hunger (oftentimes hunger can mean you are just really thirsty)
● Headaches and decrease in memory and brain function
● Decrease or no output of urine or urine that is dark, strong smelling, or burning
● Low blood pressure
● Tachycardia (high resting heart rate)
How do I increase my daily water consumption?
Easy! Just try these 7 tips for drinking more water:
1. Drink 1 - 2 glasses of water first thing in the morning
2. Keep a pitcher filled with filtered water for you to drink throughout the day in your fridge at home or on your desk at work
3. Drink 8 oz of water before exercise
4. Sip small amounts of water from your water bottle during exercise
5. Keep glass bottles of water in your car, at the office, by your bed, and anywhere else you frequent
6. Add slices of fresh lemon, orange (my fav), cucumber, or strawberry to your water or fresh mint
7. Add Emergen-C to sparkling water for a fun twist on taste, or try iced decaf herbal teas throughout the day
What do I do now?
If you’re thirsty for more ways to stay hydrated in your busy life, then grab one of my free transformation sessions so you can feel energized, excited, and inspired about your health.
To your health!