Drinking water. Just water.

I've never been a fan of water. Through summer a cold glass here & there, but no where near the 2L minimum.

I don't drink enough fluids full stop. Coffee in the morning, a mouthful of juice here & there. Maybe a coffee before bed. That's it. If I go out, or buy a drink for any reason, it's coke. Thankfully it's not quite the addiction it once was, but probably only coz it was cold & coffee is warm.

So the last week or 2 I've decided to fix it. I am drinking at least 750m of water. Most days 1.5 - 2 of them. Still not perfect, but a damn good effort!

I've tried different ways to drink water. And none of them work. It's plain or nothing. But I've started buying the flavoured pump waters. Not cheap :/ BUT I'm drinking my water.

Am I right to think that they are better than no water at all? Or are they full of sugar that really won't help my cause. Do I have to go back to straight water?

Fresh fruits aren't readily available where I am, so to add my own fruit flavour I'd be very limited. No berries!
Obviously growing my own wont help right now :lol:

So are these acceptable? I'm active & also trying to eat well. I'm hoping to see & feel a difference in my body soon!

Btw: it's sad, but the last time I wee'd this much I was pregnant! It's annoying needing to go while out & about! That's how sadly dehydrated I've been for years :/

The weeing will slow down once your body gets used to more liquid. :)
I figure the same thing with the flavoured water (although I prefer plain water these days). I don't guarantee it's totally better for you

Have you tried a slice of lemon or lime in the water? Flavoured water does have sugar in it but it is better than nothing

I was going to suggest slices of lemon and mint. I fill a jug with lemon slices and just keep topping up the water you only need to change the lemons everyday. Good on you for drinking more water. The more you drink the more you want to drink and your body will start absorbing it better soon too. If you are drinking a large amount at once it can tend to go straight thru so be sure to sip here and there as well, that way it's easier for your body to absorb. I would stay away fro the flavoured waters because of the added ingredients, but you could start with one 750 flavoured water and one plain and then increase the plain water and decrease the flavoured water slowly too.

Also a slice of lemon in boiling water and drinking it as hot as you can handle it a brilliant way to kick the liver into gear and process any toxins in your system.

Forever, I loathed water, couldn't drink it at all without cordial in it. I used to take packets of Tang on school camping trips, and carry my own massive drink bottles, because I could drink the plain water. So here's how I came to be a lover of water, and it is literally the only thing I drink now (save alcohol LOL).

I started drinking natural cordials, and then began watering it down. Bickford berry cordial goes nicely into 4 litres of water, then it was 5, then 6... Bickfords Lime and Lemon & Barley are nice too. They are MUCH cheaper than flavoured Pump rubbish, about $6-$8 from any supermarket.

I also bought a Brita filter jug. Costs me $12 every 3 months for the filter from KMart, a little more from Coles. I still can't stomach straight tap water - and WA water is worse than Melbourne! I refill my water bottles in the fridge from it.

It is much easier to stomach, I found, if it is really cold - so keep it in the fridge.
Start with 1, but work up to 2, full glasses of water FIRST THING in the morning. Not only is it fantastic for your gut health and metabolism, it also gets 500ml out of the way before you realise what is happening.
Coffee is a diuretic - it makes you pee more, and strips hydration from your body. Not helpful. Every time you drink a cup of coffee, skull a full glass of water before hand. Every. Time. Coke (being full of caffeine) will not be helping.
You will get craving for the sugar. I still get them. For me, it is lemonade, not Coke, but they do go away for the most part.
Skull a glass right before bed - work up to two - it will help you sleep better, will make you feel better in the morning when you wake up, and before you know it 1 litre of your water intake passes without you noticing, simply by drinking the 2 glasses first and last things of the day.
Get a 1.25 litre Pump bottle. Fill it once, and carry it with you wherever you go all day, all round the house, the car and when you go out.
I preferred to have big skulls - can't taste how **** it tastes that way LOL, but you might be a sips kind of person. Either way, it is habitual more than anything. I can't function without water now, I cannot even begin to understand how totally dehydrated I was before. I didn't even drink water on shift. Blergh. I *feel* so much better now! My skin is better, I have more energy, brain works faster, it is quite amazing. I go without water for even a couple of hours, and I feel like crud.

So, total reformed water-hater over here, and that is how I did it. There are still days when I have to force myself to drink those first two glasses of water, but I know that I will feel better for it. I still get days when all I want i lemonade - so I buy can and realise I love it, but it just makes me more thirsty anyway. And I still drink coffee - but I don't *need* as much, because I am actually hydrated and have more energy without it.

Bickford's. Best. Stuff. Ever. ;)

Wow, I understand this one!

Did you know that you would need to drink 16 glasses of water to flush one cup of coffee through your system? It's so acidic! So on top of your 3-4L of water you should be drinking each day, you would need to add 32 glasses to flush those two cups you're having.

Fresh berries may not be available, but have you tried frozen berries? I do this in summertime! Very yum. I'm over the lemon/lime thing, so this works well for me. Fresh, organic mint leaves work a treat too!

Here's another way my clients are finding great success in getting their minimum 3-4L per day:

Drink 1-2 glasses around each food consumption time (wait 20mins between food and water at big meal times for healthy digestion)

Wake up
2 glasses of water before you even go to the loo.
20 mins later - Breakfast + 1 glass of water
+3hrs - small snack + 2 glasses water
+3hrs - 400-600cal meal + 1 glass water 20 mins either side of the meal
+3hrs - small snack + 2 glasses water
+3hrs - 200-400cal meal + 1 glass water 20 mins either side of meal
glass of water before bed.... no exceptions on this one

Having a little schedule like this makes it easy to stick to. It's also an awesome plan for healthy eating and weight loss. The idea is that you have no choice BUT to drink water at those times because it's part of your eating plan.

Xx
Hope this helps a little

I only drink water, tea and coffee. When I cut out all other types of drink about 10 years ago I have found my weight is so much more stable.

It takes a bit to get use to it but you will if you keep at it. My favourite to add is cucumber and mint to water. I also find that to be able to drink water all day long I drink it from a bottle and I drink it a tap temperature. If it is very cold I find it harder to drink.

I do exactly what LimeSlice does with the diluted cordial and Brita jug ;) I'm down to 1tsp cordial in 1/2L water.

I also find very cold water harder to drink, so add a little tap water.

I also drink a glass of ½ water, ½ fruit and veg juice each morning.

The lemon slices in a jug are a great idea, esp as we have the world's biggest lemon tree in our backyard!

Can you swap the coffee for green/decaf tea?

Firstly, I don't believe in the whole 2L myth. Different people need different amounts of water. Having said that, making the effort to drink a little more than you usually do will pay off bigtime.

But here's the thing - all fluid counts as water - except not coffee or cola or alcohol (because these strip more water out than they put in). Eating more soups & salads & fruit counts as water too. :) The question becomes how many extra calories/sugar you want to consume at the same time.

Here are my tips: try sparkling mineral water. Get a water filter (so it tastes nicer to start with) and if you're chilling water in the fridge, chose a bottle or jug that seals, so you don't get nasty fridge taste in your drink. Even better, use ice cubes to chill your fresh, filtered water. Previous suggestion to dilute cordial is much better & cheaper (& kinder to the environment) than flavoured pump drinks. Also there are fruit flavoured tea bags that can be used for pleasant iced teas. But try to challenge yourself to have at least one glass of plain water each day - start small - so that it becomes more "normal".

PS - it might be worth getting a dental check up if your drinking habits are changing.

And get yourself a really nice glass, one just for you, that you love to drink from. :)

The dental check up I do need :/ and I will when I have the money & time. I need 3 teeth removed...

Yesterday the only thing I drank besides water was iced tea. Not even a coffee. Still a bought iced tea but better than coke. Green tea too.

Will have to look in the local supermarkets. Only have the local very small iga & another iga 60k away. Anything else needs to be bought online or travel 2-3 hours.

Ive done the lemon. That's how I upped it when pregnant. Ive tried it, not as keen as I was back then.

Im doing one flavoured, one plain most days. But flavoured water costs money. That novelty will wear off soon.

Will try frozen berries. Bet they won't be cheap :/

I prefer sparkling water so we invested in a soda stream and I have soda water with a squeeze of fresh lime.

I have a soda stream mum loaned me. Cant do it. Mum does the same, with lemon.

On the plain water today. Slowly, but getting there.

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Did you know that you would need to drink 16 glasses of water to flush one cup of coffee through your system? It's so acidic! So on top of your 3-4L of water you should be drinking each day, you would need to add 32 glasses to flush those two cups you're having.

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Can you clarify that? That just seems very extreme. If anything there have been articles about the issues with over-consumption of water.

Can you drink too much water? - Health & Wellbeing

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Eight glasses a day?

We've been told we need to drink at least eight glasses of water a day, but Taylor says there's no scientific evidence to support this. Health professionals agree men's bodies need around 2.6 litres and women's around 2.1 litres of water a day (pretty much eight glasses a day). But it turns out you get some of this from other drinks and food, Taylor says.

"Approximately four glasses of water, or a litre a day, is obtained from the food that we eat. So we get that from solid foods and things such as watermelon, tea, coffee, milk and yogurt, which all contribute to our total fluid load," Taylor says.

You can also include caffeinated drinks in your fluid intake. While these drinks do have a mild diuretic effect (ie they promote water loss) you get more fluid from them than you lose. However, alcohol makes you dehydrated.

On top of what you get from food and drinks, your body produces another 250mls of water a day when metabolising substances in the body, such as fat, protein and starch.

Taking all this into consideration, Taylor suggests you drink four to six standard glasses (250ml) of water per day. Obviously, you will need more if you are living in an extremely hot climate and are very active. Likewise, if you live in a very cold climate you may need to drink a little less.

So how do you know when you need to drink more water? It isn't rocket science, your thirst can be a guide or check the colour of your urine – it should be pale yellow.

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Checkout the cordial that's sweetened with stevia- its available from the supermarket. Tastes pretty good and much better than sweet water. How about cold fruit or mint tea?

stay away from stevia if you are BF, pregnant or trying to get pregnant, it is a traditional birth control medicine in some countries.

I do the soda stream too, my eldest dd loves it she calls it bubble juice, I am trying to have more plain water but struggle too it has to be filtered or I feel like gagging.

I actually read last night why you pee more as your body is getting used to the intake. From what I read, its your body letting go of its stored supply of water, because it starts to rely on the fresh water coming in every day.
Alot of people think the water is going straight through them & give up after a few days because of this, thinking its not working.

I've done 2 days now with just plain water. I'm back to a coffee or 2 a day, but as I've said, for me & my body that is a huge deal. Just the water intake on top of other drinks is going to be a good thing for me. I know water comes from everything you eat & drink, but everything I was drinking included sugar & all sorts of other additives. I'm not against coffee & caffeine. It has its benefits, as does tea, with antioxidants etc.

Any amount of water for me, with or without coffee, is going to have huge benefits compared to before.

What about buying a big carton of juice, fresh juice, no added sugar etc and using it like cordial. A little bit in a glass or bottle and the rest water, just to add a bit of flavour and as you get used to it you could slowly decrease it until you're having plain water. I haven't read the other responses so sorry if someone has already said the same thing :)

Hi Astrid

Caffeine in coffee is highly acidic. It causes a cortisol response in the body which leads to toxins being stored in the fat cells. I give a seminar at least once a week on this - I just don't have enough time right now to sit here and type it all out I'm afraid (I have not long arrived home from teaching classes etc and I have clients to train early tomorrow, and more nutrition clients after that). To reduce the toxic acid build up caused by each cup of coffee, you would need to drink 16 glasses of water to flush it out. Yes, if you drink 2 cups of coffee you would need to drink 32 glasses of water to flush it out. Many people experience the 'spare tyre' in the lower abdominal area as a result of coffee consumption. This fat is due directly to cortisol levels being too high as caffeine is one of the worst factors which cause huge cortisol spikes in the body. This is called the stress cortisol response.

Water consumption for anyone whose body regulates its own temperature, generally through sweating (that is anyone who is not an infant/small child/elderly) would require 3-4L of water to be consumed on a daily basis (without taking into consideration medications, caffeine consumption, activity levels etc). Those who exercise at an intermediate to advanced level or anyone who naturally sweats more than others would require more water per day. The 2L per day is great for anyone within the other category (the elderly, young children etc). Once hormones kick in, you need more than 2L a day. Without the adequate amounts of water per day, dehydration begins, even if you don't think you feel dehydrated... and the acid levels in your body rise which leads to a toxic build up in the system.

I am yet to meet an exercise professional or medical professional who suggests the old-school 2L per day. That 2L is just to avoid complete breakdown. It is not to survive in a healthy body.

If you want to have muscle definition (i.e abs instead of a belly), water is crucial. Muscles are stronger and tighter when the adequate water intake has occurred.

I could continue on this topic for hours but it's way past my bedtime... and lack of sleep is another one of those things responsible for cortisol production.

Xx
Thanks for asking the question!

I guess someone forgot to tell my abs that I need 32 glasses of water a day. Lucky because I'm pretty sure that would cause kidney failure.

32 glasses of water per day , that crazy !! Every body is different and suggesting people Are not functioning and their body is not healthy if they are not drinking 3-4 liters a day , that's not healthy IMO ..
It has been proven that to much water can also be bad for the body ..

I go through stages where I drink non stop as I think I should , I end up being sick cause Iv drank more than I needed . Now I drink when I feel I need to , I sip water . Some days I drink 1 ltr some says 2 some days less .. Every day is different ..

I can drink water fine but not tap water .. I love sparkling mineral water , sometimes I add a little of the more fancy cordials to mix it up a bit

I think you should take a moment to re-read my post.

And yes, the whole point being that coffee is so bad that you literally can not flush it out of your system fast enough. But that has nothing to do with your abs. Again, take a moment to read before you jump to conclusions.

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I guess someone forgot to tell my abs that I need 32 glasses of water a day. Lucky because I'm pretty sure that would cause kidney failure.

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On the other hand there are plenty of studies that point to the benefits of moderate consumption of fresh coffee.

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On the other hand there are plenty of studies that point to the benefits of moderate consumption of fresh coffee.

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Exactly. And no evidence suggesting coffee (or acids etc which occur naturally in plenty of foods like citrus fruits, pineapple and coffee beans) needs to be "flushed out" of our bodies. I've quizzed my Drs on this previously (when there was hype aout 3 cups of water for each cup of coffee) and I'm perfectly happy that a moderate amount of coffee (2-3 cups per day) is fine.

Re water (to get back to the OP's question) I try to have a 750ml bottle on the train both ways to and from work to get a minimum of 1.5L. I still don't love it, but I know it's good for my body, digestion and skin, so I do it.

Herbal teas (I love camomile with mint) is good during winter and just fresh mint in summer is nice if you can get it.

I also find I eat much better when I'm well hydrated.

:)

I have done a couple of courses that say coffee and tea both have health benefits in moderation it's when you are adding sugar that it can be a problem. You can have alkaline foods and drinks if your think your body is too acidic as drinking that much water is going to flush out the electrolytes, salts and everything else our body needs and it would shut your body down. The hardest thing to recognise is when you are thirsty as your body often feels like you are hungry when it needs water.

Peanutter, that's what I'm doing. Carrying 750 ml bottles around everywhere I go. In a pop top, rather than screw on lid, for the lazy side in me ;) I'm having at least 2 of those a day of plain water.

Haven't decided if I like cold or tap temp, depends on the time of day I think.

From what's been said, if we do get about a litre of water out of foods each day, & drink 2 litres (the 8 glasses) of water, than we are consuming around 3 litres a day. So that should really be more than enough shouldn't it? Unless there's exercise/heat etc involved... So as long as we're deriving water from foods, & drinking a minimum of 1-1.5 litres, we're not doing too bad.

I'm going to stick to my 1.5-2 litres for now. I don't scull it yet, unless hot. I'm just continuously drinking throughout the day. I'm fine with myself having coffee with sugar in the mornings (or 2 or 3 a day when catching up with friends). Any amount of water I'm drinking now, especially the amount I'm drinking, is huge for me & my body. I'm not looking to be anything other than healthy. I'm not fussed on muscle definition, but hoping the change does flatten my belly a little, because that's the only issue I have with my body. And I think I already see a change, but I may be imagining it... :lol:

I'm happy with that :)

Good job!!

Encouragement. Yes. (google it from "couples retreat" if you don't get the reference ;) )

Did google. Think I've found my entertainment for tonight. I think I've been missing something in my life from the look of this ;)