Drinking water - how do you do it?

[thefrozensouth]

My new years resolution was to drink a large jug of water each day with a view to gaining gorgeous skin and for general health. I did it for about 3 days then went back to drinking mostly instant coffee.

I know its just a case of drinking the stuff, but how do others actually get around to drinking a large amount of water each day?

I drink loads of water, I don't go anywhere without a bottle on me. I really think it is a case of the more you drink the more you want and need it. I have a minimum of 2 litres a day, it gets commented on often and my trips to the loo!

Would it be more bearable if it was squash, or fruit tea? It doesn't have to be plain water.

There has been talk in the papers recently of any water based drink counting towards fluid intake, including tea and coffee.

It's all a myth. You piss out excess water. Your body is clever and tells you when you need it. By being thirsty.

I do it by paying attention to thirst and knowing the difference between thirst and other things.

If you're not tuned in you can ignore it until you're quite dehydrated (especially if you drink a lot of coffee normally so you're used to dehydration from the diuretic effect).

As Eliot said, your body will tell you what to do, just pay attention to it. Then you want to drink water and it's easy.

I have:

Large mug of tea first thing (does count towards water intake but caffeine will dehydrate as well as having an affect on your nervous system- how well do you sleep at night?)
Water bottle on my bike when I cycle to work- drink about 300ml
I talk a lot at work so have a cup of water in front of me to sip - drink 2-3 cups
At least 500 ml with lunch. Usually plain water but sometime juice.
Another 300 ml on my bike on the way home.
A couple of pints whilst I'm cooking/ with dinner.
Another mug of tea in the evening.
Sometimes half a pint or so before bed.

Actually by the time you are thirsty you are already dry and on the way to dehydration , definitely a believer in 2 litres a day.

Sodastream - I don't like flat water but love the bubbles...
We live in a hard water area and the carbonation makes water clearer and more palatable. I drink at least one Sodastream jugful per day, two on most days.

I work in the community so I keep one of these in the car.

It never leaks and is easy to drink from when I arrive at calls, and as I leave. I'm drinking far more than before I bought it.

By drinking when you are thirsty you have missed the goal posts, you need to sip water throughout the day and not just gulp down a pint in one go. I don't have much going for me in the looks department but I am always being complimented on my skin. Water is beauty.

agree with once you start drinking it you need more. I have a cup of tea in the morning, followed by a coffee, then a 750ml bottle of water, I can feel the dehydration straight away after a coffee. Then I keep filling that bottle during the day and usually have at least 4 of them, and a few more glasses of water around dinner and before bed.
Just keep sipping at a bottle of water

I constantly have a glass of water on my desk at work, because we have a water cooler with nice water in it. At home I just go to the tap... Don't think it's ever made a difference to my skin though, which is dry. I just get thirsty and like water!

I think it's important to differentiate very thirsty from slightly thirsty. You need quite a lot of water during the day especially if you work in air con, but most people have trained themselves to ignore a slight feeling of thirst (or think it's hunger). If you drink more water you start to be able to tell (feel instantly better afterwards).

Sip all day and don't drink huge quantities at once or over a short time or I end up mostly in the bog! I think it's just a question of consciously doing it. Water, let's face it, is not the most alluring of drinks but you get used to it. Keep it in the fridge and add a few slices of lemon, and transfer to a bottle if you're on the go.

I drank sparkling water for ages before still did the trick - was a good way to get shot of my soda habit.

To get shot of the coffee habit, I needed to switch to decaf. Once I did that, my body relied less on the caffeine to get through the day and started to be properly thirsty. I usually get through just half or one mug of decaf before needing to switch to water.

My work has glasses and a couple of water jugs, so I keep one topped up through the day.

Thistledew, I read you should limit water (to the minimum) just before eating a large meal, or during and after (just twenty mins either side of a large meal - like your evening meal - and during it, as it dilutes gastric juices and impedes digestion. Not sure if it's BS but I tend to stick to that...

Little and often is best, I think.

I have heard that as well LeoandBoosmum, but I cannot eat a meal without a big glass of water, I just can't. I always find it weird to see someone eat without a drink!

Anyway, works for me, I've always done it. I drink water with every meal and savoury snack and try to remember to sip it in between times as well.

By the time you are thirsty you are already dehydrated.

Some people never get thirsty.

I drink lots, so does ds, we drink with every meal and never go anywhere without a bottle in my bag.

I've realised recently that I am always thirsty and that being dehydrated could be the cause of my chronic constipation . Obvious I know, but it just didn't click. Also Flylady's june habit was drinking water so I got a few reminders by email. I bought a 750ml plastic drinking bottle which has a clicker on the side to count how many bottles you've filled and aim to drink 3 of these a day. I pace myself so 1 bottle by 1pm, next by 5pm and last by 9pm. If I haven't finished the bottle by the deadline I drink whateve remains in the bottle in one go. I've just started doing this but am hoping it will do the trick.

I just try and always have a bottle with me in view so it reminds me. Surpassed myself last night by drinking 3l at the gym but it was roasting

Of course its important to stay hydrated but all this drinking eight glasses a day batshit is a myth originally perpetuated by bottled water companies to push their product.

i hate people walking around clutching water as if its the chuffing sahara desert

Is it the same with feeling hungry? I should continually eat so that I never feel hungry as that would mean I was starving? Might have to investigate this.

tee hee

Op....I drink gallons of tea and coffee in a day....I just make sure I have a glass of water with every one.

The trick to managing your daily quota I was told, was to keep a bottle each day with the amount of water you aim to drink in the fridge and then keep decanting it into a smaller bottle which you take with you and keep taking sips from. You then top up the smaller bottle and start again until the whole lot is gone.