So confession– I’m really bad at drinking water! I rarely feel thirsty, it never comes to mind to hydrate throughout the day, and typically I only think to drink water while I’m working out or with meals. Sadly, this is NOT enough water according to every recommendation ever on drinking water. Last month I decided to get proactive and get into the good habit to drink more water, and so far it’s been working great, so I thought I’d share my tips on how to drink more water with you!

Add Flavor!

Water can be totally mundane so I add a squeeze of fresh lemon, lime, and my favorite some fresh mint to my water and it makes a world of difference. I don’t drink soda, but I hear that adding a little flavor to water for people who do drink soda is a big help in adding flavor.

Tips on adding flavor:

• Crush or shred the mint leaves and put at the bottom of the glass and add ice! Crushing/shredding the mint releases more mint flavor and I find adding the ice on top keeps the leaves from getting in the way of drinking.
• I find squeezing lemon or lime juice opposed to just dropping a lemon/lime slice adds more citrus taste goodness.
• BUT I’m lazy! And slices are great for refilling so at work I usually cut slices. If you do this make sure to buy organic and also wash and scrub the fruit first! I do this as soon as I take it out of the grocery bag. You don’t want any bad things going into your water!

Make It Convenient

At the office, at the gym, on the go…most people are not home most of the time, so make it easy for yourself and keep a water situation convenient!

Tips for keeping it convenient:

• Keep a large glass at work. Most jobs (mine included) only keep disposable small paper cups in the kitchen, not only is it wasteful to constantly use them but it take two of those cups to make an actual serving size of water. Bring a bottle, cup or glass from home! Will save you trips to the kitchen!
• Keep your water accoutrement (lemon, lime, mint, whatever) in the office fridge! I bring lemon wedges in a tupperware to work and just keep it in the fridge. I LOVE lemon and it actually is useful not just for water, but adding flavor to the salads or sandwiches I bring in for lunch.
• Besides my glass at work–I also have my bubi to lug around, a reusable bottle in my gym locker (you can keep in your gym bag, if you don’t have a locker), and a designated bottle for my outdoor runs. So I have a place for water for every situation!

There’s an App for That!

Of course there is! PS–This is my real phone guys :). I downloaded the app Daily Water, there are other water tracking apps, and while I dig the simplicity of Daily Water, there are more I want to try that actually calculate how much water you should drink by your weight and offers more options on whether you’re drinking from a bottle, glass, ect…BUT here is how I’ve been using Daily Water:

• I keep very minimal notifications on my phone  (little red alert bubbles annoy me to no end!), but I DO keep Daily Water notifications so a quick glance at my phone shows me how my water intake is doing.
• I set alerts 3 times a day (thinking of adding another actually) to remind me to get some water!
• And it resets in the morning, no thinking or remembering involved :).

There are many many benefits to drinking your recommended serving of water and I have to say I already feel them! My skin is not as oily (summer is mean to my skin) and I feel more awake throughout the day.

So friends are you a natural good guzzler of water?! Or do you need help like me?!