Is Your Daily
Water Intake Enough?
What's your recommended daily water intake? Does it even matter? Find out with these tips to easily drink more water.
Water is the most important thing in your healthy diet. Yet it's neglected by many.
Maybe it's the taste (or lack of), or maybe it's just seen as a boring drink. Chances are, you're not drinking enough.
How Much Is Enough?
Recommended daily water intake varies depending on where you are in the World. If you want numbers, it's anywhere between 1.2 and 3 litres a day.
There are other factors that affect this, which is covered further down this page.
My advice is to forget the numbers. I've tried drinking 8 glasses a day. It never works, I always lose count.
I've tried notching down each glass, but it starts to feel like a chore. And everyone hates chores right!
Listen to your body. If your urine is a dark yellow, you often feel thirsty, constantly have dry lips - chances are, you're dehydrated.
There are so many general symptoms of dehydration. Constipation, lack of concentration and headaches to name a few. Get to know when your body needs more water.
Prevention is always better than cure. So don't wait until you're thirsty.
Daily Water Intake - The Best Tip
My top tip is to sip water throughout the day.
Keep a bottle of water near you all the time. A 500ml (cheapest brand) bottle is the perfect size for me. I fill 3 bottles and stick them in the fridge overnight.
The next day, I simply keep one beside me and take sips.
When I finish each bottle, I re-fill and put it back in the fridge.
Get the next bottle out and carry on sipping.
I know if I drink all 3 bottles by the end of the day, that's enough direct water for my body.
The indirect water that I get from food will top it off.
Try it for yourself. Start with 2 bottles and see how your body reacts. Don't worry if you're urinating loads, give your bladder time to adjust.
Days when I'm not near a fridge? I half-fill a bottle and put it in the freezer overnight. I top-up it up in the morning, and take it with me.
This way, it's ready to sip and cold. I haven't met anyone who likes warm water. Keeping it cool goes a long way to actually drinking it.
Replace soft plastic bottles every 1-2 weeks. That's a lot of plastic. Not good.
If you want a more environmentally friendly approach, check out Aquasana, and (glass) bottle your own pure water.
Glass is better than plastic because:
Glass is 100% recyclable. Millions of plastic bottles go into landfill everyday.Water tastes better in glass. OK that's my opinion, but experiment for yourself. Keep drinking from and re-filling the same plastic and glass bottles for just a week. See which tastes better at the end.Glass keeps water pure. The reason why I said to replace plastic bottles every 2 weeks, is because plastic leaks small amounts of harmful chemicals. The longer you keep the same plastic bottle, the more contaminated the water gets.You can do all this easily with a home water filter (with a cheeky 20% off with this link, and a free glass water bottle).
Daily Water Intake - More Handy Tips
Here are some more daily tips to increase your water intake:
Pour yourself a tall glass of water with each main meal. Start drinking it before you start eating. Try to finish it before you finish eating.Water is the best form of water! Get the bulk of your water intake from plain water.Eat more fruit n' veg. Everyday fruit like apples and oranges are over 80% water. Seasonal fruit, especially all types of berries, are my personal favourite. Tomatoes and cucumbers are almost 100% water.Drink milk often. Go for skimmed or semi-skimmed variations.Drink fruit juices with no added flavourings. Just a mix of fruit juice and water.Eat more food cooked in water. You can't go wrong with pasta or rice.Tea and coffee drinker? They do provide you with loads of water. And the caffeine part isn't so bad after-all (in terms of water retention). The other down sides to caffeine remain though, so I'm sticking to non-caffeinated versions.Drink less alcohol. Large amounts of alcohol will badly dehydrate you.
Daily Water Intake - Other Factors
Some factors may affect your daily water intake. Usually this means drinking more water.
The main factor is exercise. Take into account how much activity you do. For me, on a normal day of exercise, an extra 500ml of water keeps me going.
This may be different for you. Again, it's about knowing and listening to your body. Remember to take sips, rather than gulps. Drink a little before, during and after your exercise.
For any longer and more intense exercise, you'll also lose electrolytes. A reputable sports drink is the best option to replace lost water and chemicals (sodium, chloride, potassium).
Swimming? You'll still lose water through sweat. Drink water when you're out of the pool.
Some other factors:
Hotter climates.Diarrhoea.High fever.Vomiting.Breast-feeding.They all result in increasing your daily water intake. Refer to your health professional about the medical conditions, if you are unsure.
Final WordYour daily water intake is an essential part of a healthy diet. I've noticed the changes in myself, since I started drinking the right amount for me.
It's also a great place to start if you want to lose weight. Water will make you feel full, whereas otherwise you might crave snacks or more food.
It's all about habits, routine and knowing your body. Keep your daily water intake up and enjoy your added energy.
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