How to Ensure You’re Drinking Enough Water

We all know that we’re supposed to drink plenty of water every day if we want to stay healthy. But most of us don’t. Why not? Perhaps some people don’t like to drink water, and some worry about having to go to the bathroom 25 times a day. But the real reason people don’t drink as much water as they should is that it’s just plain inconvenient. Here are a few tips on how to make it just a bit easier.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 1/2-gallon water bottle

1. Before you can find out how to make sure you’re drinking enough water, you need to know what “enough water” is. They used to say that everyone needs to drink eight 8 oz. glasses every day.
2. But that doesn’t make much sense when you think about the fact that human beings come in all different shapes and sizes. Wouldn’t it make sense that a bigger person would need more water? The new rule of thumb is that you should drink half your body weight (in ounces.) So, for example, if you weigh 150 lbs., you should be drinking 75 ozs. of water every day.
3. Fill a 1/2-gallon water bottle and have it handy where you work during the day. If you work at a desk, have it on your desk. If you drive a truck, have it in your truck. Only needing to fill a huge bottle once, and having it on hand as you go about your daily tasks, will make drinking lots of water much more convenient.
4. Drink water rather than soda pop, coffee, milk or juice with your meals whenever possible. Between the 1/2 gallon you consume during the workday, 2 or 3 glasses of water with your meals, and the water you drink if you exercise, you should be pretty close to your required daily intake of water (Step 2).
5. At first, you might find that you have to go to the bathroom quite often. But as your body gets accustomed to your increased water regimen, you should see your bathroom visits decrease over time.
6. It takes 21 days to form a habit. In other words, give your new water habit time. Keep at it for at least 3 weeks. By then, you might find that you’ve gotten used to drinking a lot of water, you’re feeling better, and you might have even lost some weight. Stick with it!