40 Creative Ways to Drink More Water | Stur Drinks UK It is a fact; drinking water is essential to our being. It is so important to stay hydrated during our day, not only to replenish the water that we lose throughout the day, but drinking more water can aid in weight loss, manage diabetes, essential in pregnancy and also keeps your teeth, skin and gums healthy. But how can we drink more water in a day? We are so busy, we spend most of our day in the office, or in the car travelling to and from work, then the gym and finally home to rest. Water consumption becomes second place in our life. According to Water Cure, through regular day-to-day activities the average person loses approximately 10-15 cups or 3-4 litres of water a day. This represents the water lost through breathing, urination, sweat and bowel movements alone. There has been some bad advice in the industry as of late with regards to water consumption and a lot of this advice has now become out-of-date. Out Of Date Fact 1: You Should Drink 8 Glasses of Water A Day Many health professionals have said for years it is recommended that we try and drink 8 cups or 2 litres of water a day. However, this is only a recommendation and according to Harvard research depending on your lifestyle, size and other contributing factors; drinking 4-6 glasses of water is just as good for you. Accurate water consumption should be not be based on how much water you can drink a day, as this varies with body weight, size, activity levels, climate, etc.. You should drink what you need and when you are thirsty; never force the act of drinking water (this can lead to negative health implications). Out Of Date Fact 2: Don’t Drink Coffee/Tea and Other Soft Drinks Only Drink Water Also another myth is to make sure you drink water, not soft drinks, coffee/tea, juices/squash, etc. This has also proven to be inaccurate as there is a high concentration of water in these drinks and if you can you should balance your in-take of these with water when required. That being said, you should try to limit your in-take of caffeine-based products though as they can cause dehydration and coffee/tea can add as a diuretic (making you go to the toilet more).
Too many sugary drinks with artificial flavours, sweeteners and colours, although contain water and contribute to your daily recommended intake, should be limited as too much sugar based products can cause weight gain, dental problems and even cause diabetes. With these water drinking myths answered and backed up with facts, you should always remember before you start consuming more water, that as human beings we consume a large amount of water every day, without drinking water. What most people forget is that we get a lot of our water daily from eating fruits, vegetables and other food elements in our diet. So with that understood, to increase a healthy water in-take we do not need to consume too much more extra water during the day. Here at Stur Drinks, we love water and have created 40 creative ways to drink more water on a day-to-day basis to ensure your happier, healthier and more energised while at home, work and at the gym. We suggest you pick your top 3 favourite water drinking tips straight away and then try and increase these over the coming weeks and months. Whether you drink water daily or not we have created easy to follow, actionable steps on how you can start today to increase your water drinking habits. Best Tips for Drinking More Water A Day
Image from: https://pixabay.com/ 1. Add your own natural fruit juice for water flavouring. Adding a squeeze of lemon, orange or lime can add some flavour to your water and make it more appealing to drink. TIP: Invest in a hand juicer to make this activity easier and less hassle. If you’re unable to get hold of one, use concentrated juice drops.
Image from: en.wikipedia.org 2. Introduce spicy food to your diet. By eating more spice and hot foods you will naturally want to drink more water. TIP: Only eat spicy foods if you can and its part of your diet. Also if you’re not used to it do not eat very spicy food as can cause stomach upsets.
Image from: dotcomplicated.co 3. Use an App. There are some great water apps available for smartphones like Water Logged. These apps help you keep track of how much water you have consumed throughout the day and send you reminders to keep the water flowing. TIP: Use Waterlogged for iPhone and Water Your Body for android.
Image from: http://www.ebay.co.uk/ 4. Use a water filter jug. If you live in a hard water area, your water could have a funny taste. Using a filter will purify your water, making it fresh, clear and tasty. TIP: You can buy a Brita filter jug or use one of these stylish eco-friendly reusable filters such as Soma water filters.
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5. Buy a bottle of water and carry it with you. One of the main reasons that many of us don’t drink enough fluids is because we don’t have water with us. Keeping a bottle to hand to help keep you hydrated. TIP: Once your plastic water bottle is empty refill it and keep it in the fridge.
Image from: www.womenshealthmag.com 6. Stay hydrated while you exercise. Being dehydrated when exercising can cause an increased risk of blood cots, as your blood will thicken and your blood vessels will become narrower. We all get thirsty whilst we are exercising because we are losing more water through sweat. TIP: Remember to carry a bottle of water with you to sip during training, do not wait until you are back home. A good way to remember to do this is to take a sip after every exercise/set.
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7. Drink water as your starter. When you are out for dinner a really easy way to drink more water is to have a glass before your meal. In many cases we are often just thirsty rather than hungry. This tip will help you stay hydrated as well as help you lose weight as you are eating less and drinking more. TIP: This does not have to be when your eating out, you can incorporate this into your work day, lunch and evening meal.
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8. Eat plenty of water rich foods. As mentioned above water doesn’t just have to come from what we drink. You can stay hydrated by eating foods with a high water content, like cucumber, lettuce, melon and celery. These foods are healthy and will keep you fuller for longer. TIP: Cut some water rich foods up to snack on during the day. They’re healthy and assist in hitting your water targets (watermelon has 92% content of water).
Image from: www.wisegeekhealth.com 9. Drink water on your nights out. A really great tip to drink more water is to substitute every other alcoholic drink on a night out with a glass of water. This is much healthier for your body and will save you from feeling horrible the next morning. TIP: If this is too difficult in big groups at parties, make sure 2 hours before you go home you drink plenty of water to avoid being dehydrated the next day.
Image from: Can Stock 10. Drink a glass of water whilst you wait for your brew. When you are making a cup of coffee or tea and you’re standing around waiting for the kettle to boil, grab a quick glass of water. This will counteract the effects of drinking caffeine, which is actually very dehydrating. TIP: When going to get the milk for your hot drink, make sure you have a cold water jug in the fridge too. Grab it while you’re getting the milk and pour a nice glass of water while the kettle boils.
11. Invest in a really nice re-useable bottle that you will actually use. Using a bottle that you will enjoy using will motivate you to carry on drinking throughout the day. TIP: Buy a water bottle like this stunning stainless steel one, which is insulated to keep your water cold all day. If you’re looking for a cheaper option, you can also buy pre-filtered bottles like these ones from Bobble.
Image from: www.diytrade.com 12. Drink through a straw and keep sipping throughout the day. Melissa Harrison from BuzzFeed recommends using a fun straw to help you drink more water. TIP: Buy a crazy straw to make sure you do this or buy a water bottle with a sip filter.
Image from: www.activelivingzoomers.com 13. Try different types of water like, spring, mineral, sparking and flavoured water. TIP: You can jazz up water with one of these variations. Remember, whatever helps to make water more enjoyable for you is a good thing.
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14. Keep a bottle of water with you in the car and take a sip while you are stuck in traffic. Driving dehydrates us especially in the hot weather and with the air con that dries out the air. TIP: On long car journeys make sure you set reminders on your phone as alerts to have a good drink of water every 30 minutes. In warm weather increase this to 15 minutes.
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15. Replace your daily vitamin tablets with vitamin water drops for your drink. Take in all the essential vitamins and stay energised all day long. TIP: If you’re finding it hard to find or drink vitamin drops you can use effervescent versions that have to be taken in a full glass of water. This can be part of your daily morning routine.
Image from: www.drinks-insight-network.com 16. Swap the sugary squashes, fruit juices and fizzy drinks for a glass of water. Reducing your sugar level will help in weight loss, diabetic management and help maintain healthy gums. TIP: If you have a sweet tooth and want to add some flavour to your water try adding a water flavour enhancer without artificial sweeteners.
Image from: www.edensprings.co.uk 17. Keep an eye out for water coolers and stop for a quick drink. TIP: Invest in an office water cooler machine if you don’t have one. If this proves too expensive buy a desktop version.
Images from: www.healthtipspark.com 18. Include water drinking into your daily routine. Drink 2 glasses of water in the morning and start the day how you wish to proceed. TIP: Taking an effervescent vitamin like mentioned above can start this off. Also if you’re taking any morning medication make sure you take them with a full glass of water not just a small amount.
Image from: Lifehacker 19. Add deadlines to your water drinking. Aim to drink a certain amount by 10am, midday, 2pm and in the evening to make sure you hit your target, like this from LifeHacker (check out their image above). TIP: Use a DIY water bottle with deadlines on so you know when and how to reach your targets during the day. In the evening, you can substitute cold water with a warm water drink to reach your goals.
Image from: www.lifehacksmama.com 20. Make a water wager with your friends and colleagues. Set goals and challenges on who can drink the most water (within reason and for health benefit). Making water drinking fun will encourage you to re-hydrate. TIP: Pair off in teams and offer an incentive for the winner (i.e. whoever loses makes the coffee/tea for the next day).
Image from: Wisegeek 21. Set a timer on your phone as a reminder to your top up your drink. This will act as a mental trigger and keep you continue drinking. TIP: Make goals that are realistic and achievable during the time that you can drink water.
Image from: www.psfk.com 22. Always re-fill your glass or water bottle. You are more likely to drink more if you see water in front of you rather than an empty glass. TIP: Buy an inspiring glass water bottle or drinking glass. These ones look great to us.
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23. Adding ice cubes to your water will help keep your drink refreshing and tasty. This is also a really good trick if you want to loose weight. Drinking cold water burns more calories, as your body needs to work harder to bring the water temperature up. TIP: Buy a bag of pre-freezed ice and place into your drink during the day. If at the office you may need to improvise.
Image from: www.freshfruitportal.com 24. If you are a fruit juice lover and can’t cut it out of your diet, try diluting it with water, this will count towards to your daily water intake and still be something sweet you will enjoy. TIP: Buy concentrated fruit juice to limit your usage in water.
Image from: Wisegeek 25. Have a glass of water after you have been to the loo. This will ensure you are replenishing the water you have just lost. TIP: Before going to the toilet pour yourself a glass of water and leave it on your walkway back to your office/lounge. This makes it easier to pick up on your way through.
Image from: news.arabnet.me 26. Reward yourself to hitting your water target. Get yourself a treat after a week of drinking your goal of water consumption a day. TIP: After you have hit your water goals it is essential to reward yourself, no action worth doing is without reward.
Image from: destinationryd.com 27. Build up your water levels slowly. Increasing your water intake drastically might come as a shock to you and your body. Build up the amount you can drink slowly and increase it until to hit your target. TIP: If you do not drink any water, start by drinking 1 glass a day (by using one of these tips) then go onto another tip and increase your consumption naturally.
Image from: www.cosmeticstarzana.com 28. Water is great for your skin. Adding water drinking to your skincare routine is a great way to remember to drink more and give your skin a healthy glow. TIP: As part of your daily skincare routine drink a glass of water, keep a glass in the area you carry out this essential routine.
Image from: wnmu.edu 29. Play water-drinking games with your friends. We’ve all heard of beer pong, why not substitute this for water pong. TIP: You can make this game more exciting by adding a few of your favourite natural water favouring drops, fruit or different waters (sparkling, flavoured, etc.)
Image from: health.allwomenstalk.com 30. Freeze little bits of lemon and lime or your favourite fruit and use these as ice cubes in your water for a refreshing summer time treat. TIP: You can use all citrus fruits and even some vegetables.
Image from: health.allwomenstalk.com 31. Add fruit to your water. Fruit infusions are all the rage and by adding pieces of fruit to your water bottle/glass this can create a pleasant water drinking experience. TIP: Invest in a fruit infusion bottle, which you can prepare and make up in the evening, place in the fridge and take to work the next day.
Image from: www.torontosun.com 32. Keep a glass of water handy when you are at home, watching TV cooking dinner or searching the Internet. It is much easier to carry on drinking if it is next to you. TIP: Make sure to keep the glass within arms reach and on at eye level.
Image from: www.creative-calenders.com 33. Keep track of the amount of water you are drinking. Make a tick chart and record how many glasses of water you are drinking. This will help you track how many glasses you have to go. TIP: Make a water consumption spreadsheet and tick it off as you go along. Or download a chart like the one above at www.creative-calenders.com.
Image from: www.dailymail.co.uk 34. Set yourself rules. “I can’t have another coffee or snack until I drink 2 more cups of water”. TIP: If you have difficulty with this rule, enforce a “water buddy” who will monitor and manage you.
Image from: virginpure.com 35. Have a big glass of water at every transitional point of the day: When you first get up, before you leave the house, when you sit down to work, before you go to lunch… TIP: Make drinking water part of these milestones during the day; brush your teeth – glass of water, take vitamins/tablets – glass of water, at the gym – bottle of water and at night have a hot water based drink.
Image from: www.gosocial.co 36. Eat ice lollies. Eating lollies during the warm summer months can not only quench your thirst but can also increase your water intake. TIP: Make your own lollies from natural water enhancers to provide a sugar free summer treat for the whole family.
Image from: www.pinterest.com 37. Cindy Dyson from Spark People talks about becoming a water connoisseur. Just like wine, you can become a connoisseur of water. There are a lot of different types of water on the market these days and to increase your enjoyment of water you can try these out to. TIP: Try coconut water, almond water, and maple water during your next shopping trip and review them against your current water.
Image from: www.sheknows.com 38. Infuse your water with herbs. You can use leaf herbs to enhance the flavour of water. Many people use mint to provide a subtle taste enhancing to their water consumption activity. TIP: Mix fresh mint leaves with fruit to create your own infusion.
Image from: sf.funcheap.com 39. Drink hot water at night. Drinking hot water at night can soothe and relax you. By adding in flavour enhancers you can increase flavour of this. TIP: Add lavender or honey/lemon to your water to increase your enjoyment. You can even use fruit based infused teas.
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40. Drink hot water in the morning. Drinking hot water can also be done in the morning. This can aid digestion and with flavour enhancers can make the consumption of water more enjoyable. TIP: Squeeze lemon/lime juice into a glass of hot water in the morning to boost your skin radiance for the day.