Help me to drink more water!

[Jewelanemone]

I read, time and again, that drinking water makes a huge difference to people's skin and overall health and wellbeing. My problem is that I really don't like water and I struggle to drink the recommended amount. I drink tea, coffee and occasionally herbal tea through the day.

It's a habit that I need, and want, to get into and I wondered if anyone had any tips. I really don't want to carry a water bottle around with me all the time but I want to increase my intake (which is currently almost zero).

Was going to suggest this, or make some fresh lemon tea and keep it in the fridge.

Add a bit of lemon or lime juice, OP, that's what I do. Just squeeze it in.
A glass on a morning, before lunch, before dinner and a glass before bed, ( not too close to bedtime though as you don't want to be weeing all night)!
You'll soon make it a habit.
It really does do wonders for your skin.

This is the routine I think will work best for me. Like a pp, I'm not a sipper, I'd rather drink as much as possible in one go!

A pp mentioned the Twinings Cold Water Infusion bags. I've had these before, and they're lovely, but my local Tesco has stopped selling them. I'll see if I can find them on Amazon.

If you have a Samsung phone there is a reminder to drink water option on the already installed pedometer step counter app. You can set it to what ever frequency/target you want.

Unless you’re dehydrated, drinking copious amounts of water is really not ‘something you need’.

I drink water when I’m at the gym and feel I need it. I don’t drink it throughout the day. I’ve tried this and I’m just going to the loo all the time and pissing (what looks like) water. This suggests I’m over-hydrated.

Day to day, I’m not dehydrated. My skin and health are just fine.

I have 5 or 6 different water bottles all around the house. Next to the bed, next to the couch, dining table. I find this really helps.

I just drink when I feel thirsty. Tea, decaf coffee, fizzy water with juice (sometimes), yogurts count as liquids too. I never drink water because I "should". In fact 2 ltrs of water on top of other liquids can be dangerous and lead to all sorts of issues. So just be careful and read up about water toxicity. Too much water can dilute sodium in the blood and it's dangerous. However, a few glasses of water here and there will probably be ok.

Drinking litres and litres every day to "hydrate" is now losing traction with the medical profession. I see it as a fad to sell water bottles myself.

Make some jelly, have it for pudding. Add some chopped up fruit, grapes, mandarin segments etc for extra benefit.

I reached quite well into adulthood not liking water. Clearly my parents were a bit odd, I was genuinely never given it to drink. I only drank fresh fruit juice because they believed that was healthier.

Things that helped me -
Drinking through a straw with a bottle (god only knows why).
Drinking nothing else. It tastes so much better when you’re thirsty.
Starting alongside exercise, again, you’ll crave it when sweaty and dehydrated.

I drink nothing but water now, I crave it and I have lovely skin!

I wouldn’t drink any of the tea, coffee etc until you’ve had at least a litre of water. If you really don’t like it, you need to let yourself get thirsty so you ‘need’ it.

I too struggle with drinking enough water.

I bought a soda stream and having chilled fizzy water in the fridge to sip in the evening is quite a treat.

I drink sparkling water, can easily get through a 2 litre bottle a day. 37p each in Lidl!

I have a solid water drinking habit. I developed it in my twenties when I had a series of terrible, dull office jobs. Getting up to get water and chat with anyone who would indulge me was how I got through each day. It really is habit forming. I tend to drink a glass just before my morning coffee. Then I take another glass and a herbal tea up to my office at 9am. Every time I come downstairs I get two drinks- water and herbal tea. I have fizzy water as a treat. Sad but true. I get dehydrated, or at least I feel thirsty when I am off work and the routine is disrupted. I lose energy every school holiday. Could be the lower fluid intake. Could be the kids. I definitely see the benefit in my skin. It also helps me not get so ravenous. Sugar intake goes up in the holidays too. Drinking lots of water is definitely worth it.

Thank you everyone for your ideas. I'm hoping to cut down my coffee intake and work and replace it with water or herbal tea.

Those of you who prefer chilled and/or sparkling water, you're absolutely right! Both things make it much more palatable.

I love sparkling water but I thought it was terrible for the enamel on teeth?

As previous posters have said, it's two litres of LIQUIDS per day, not two litres of water. Unless you are an athlete or hard manual worker, or breastfeeding, or living in a very hot climate:

Here is an authoritative report:
https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/the-importance-of-hydration.html?_

There's also this:
https://www.bupa.co.uk/newsroom/ourviews/keeping-hydrated

Even this, which recommends 2.7 litres of liquids per day for women says that 20% of that amount (about 0.5 litre) will come from food.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

This is also interesting:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink

Apparently - kids with braces are told to avoid it, for instance.

Anyway glad there's some sensible posts by posters like @nameXname ... I'm very healthy and well hydrated but really only drink water after evening teeth cleaning, unless I'm being extra active and/or somewhere hot.

So long as the 'fluid' isn't neat spirits!

Our tap water is very chalky and I don't find it pleasant to drink but do find it more palatable when chilled.

When you are at home, I'd suggest keeping a jug of water in the fridge or adding an inch or so of cranberry or cloudy apply juice to a 200ml glass of water.

Having the amount of extra water I am aiming to drink a day already measured out in the fridge works as an incentive for me to drink more. Otherwise most of my fluid intake comes from decaf coffee, the food I eat and the odd glass of red wine.

"Even this, which recommends 2.7 litres of liquids per day for women says that 20% of that amount (about 0.5 litre) will come from food.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256 "

Mayo is a US site and I've found that US sites often suggest a higher fluid intake than the UK. Maybe temperature related.

What absolute rot. 2 litres of water is never going to be dangerous for a grown adult, even if they’ve had other liquids too. You need to be drinking a LOT more, in a short space of time, like gallons, to hit water toxicity levels. Stop spouting such rubbish.

I'm not mad on water but drink loads of diluted peppermint tea. I put two bags in my cup at the beginning of the day, then just keep adding either hot or even cold water. If I CBA to go down to the kettle. Once you get used to it you'll feel you really need that level of liquid and get thirsty more.

I also struggle with this! Rarely thirsty.

I have to try to down a couple of pint glasses early on. It seems to spur me on to drink a bit more. Then I have cold brewed mint tea in the evenings.

if I forget early doors, I find I’m thirsty-ish in the evening but don’t have time to drink 2l then.

Wake up - 1 pint
10am - 1 pint
Lunch - 1 pint
4pm - 1 pint
Gym - 1 pint
Dinner - 1 pint

I don't sip water, I down pints at a time. Much easier!