8 tips & tricks to help you drink more water

Eight glasses of water every day? No matter how you pour them, that’s a lot of liquid. But that’s the recommended daily amount of water needed to keep your skin glowing, your digestion in check, your energy up, and your metabolism kicking. But despite the many health benefits, most of us fall way short of our eight glasses.

If you feel like you’re barely treading water when it comes to H20, don’t despair. There are lots of little tricks you can try to transform yourself into a water-guzzling machine. Here are a few to get you started:

Keep it close

Let’s be real, if you’re stuck at your desk all day or on the road traveling for hours, you’re not going to make it a priority to get water very often. The fix: keep a big glass of water on your desk or a water bottle in your bag so you have no excuse. And if you work at a desk, leave the cup in plain sight so you’re constantly reminded.

Sip, don’t gulp

Chugging a huge glass of water all at once helps you get it out of the way faster. But that sloshy, bloated feeling that comes with it might be enough to deter you from drinking altogether. Instead of forcing yourself to down a ton of water all at once, take small sips throughout the day. You won’t just feel better, it’s better for you. Water absorbs more easily when you sip gradually, instead of waiting until you’re thirsty and gulping it down.

Turn transitions into triggers

If you have trouble remembering to drink enough, get into the habit of sipping whenever you switch from one activity to the next. For instance, finish your water bottle before you get out of the car to go to work, or don’t leave for lunch without finishing the glass of water on your desk.

Use an app

You rely on them for everything from getting a cab, to doing your weekly shop. So why not use an app for drinking water? Free hydration apps like Waterlogged make it easy to track exactly how many glasses you’ve downed during the day. And if you need a nudge, you can use the app to set reminders, too.

Treat it as an appetiser

To curb your appetite and help you eat less, make a point to drink a glass of water before every meal. Oftentimes our bodies confuse hunger with thirst, so you may find yourself satisfied, or at least slightly less ravenous, after sipping some H2O. Hooray for a slimming tip that doesn’t include cardio!

Drink tea and coffee, in moderation

Good news: tea and coffee count towards your water count. Yes, that’s right, your hot morning beverage has plenty of water in it, and its diuretic effects do not take away from it hydrating capabilities, so you can include your latte in your count. But keep your caffeine consumption to a reasonable level, like two cups a day.

If you feel compelled to drink hot drinks all day, then switch to herbal teas or just drink hot water with a slice of lemon.

Replace fluids after exercise

The more intense the workout, the more fluids you will have lost. Make sure you replace them as soon as you finish exercising.

Adding ice cubes to your water will help keep your drink refreshing and tasty. This is also a good trick for losing weight. Drinking cold water burns more calories, as your body needs to work harder to regulate your temperature.

Eat plenty of water rich foods

Drinking liquid H20 is not the only way to hydrate your body. Add water-rich fruits and vegetables to your diet, such as watermelon, which is 92% water by weight, celery and tomatoes, about 95% and 85%, respectively, or cucumber, which comes in at 97% water. Make yourself a salad and dig in for some hydrating nutrition.