Water, the friend we love to hate. We know we need water to keep our bodies running, our skin glowing and lose weight. Yet we hate it because it’s not as yummy as juice or relaxing as a glass of wine. Even though it’s well known how much we need water in our lives, there is no set answer when it comes to the question of just how much water we need to drink each day.

Some people will tell you to drink eight glasses, while others call that nonsense. Others will tell you to divide your body weight in half and drink that number, in ounces, of water every day, and some will say you need to drink way more than that.

In any case, our love hate relationship is here to stay, so if you’ve been looking for ways to incorporate more water into your diet, you’re in luck. Here are some quick-and-easy ways to trick yourself into drinking more water.

Dilute Your Juice

This is actually a trick I’ve been using for quite some time. If you’re like me, the type of person who’d rather reach for a sweet sip than plain water, you don’t have to cut out juice cold turkey. Instead, fill 1/4 of your glass with 100 percent fruit juice, then topping it off with water or seltzer. You get the same sweet taste you crave from juice, while getting the benefits of water.

Add A Little Flavor

Still can’t get over the bland taste? Use fresh fruit or veggies to flavor your water. Cucumber, lemon, lime, and watermelon are tasty options and high in water themselves. Win-win!

Drink Before You Eat

Remember when you were younger and your parents would make you eat before you had something to drink? Forget that rule! When you sit down to a meal, have a glass or two of water before you start to eat. Not only can it serve as a reminder to drink more, but studies have found that drinking two glasses before meals helped people lose five pounds more over 12 weeks than people who did not increase their water intake.

Drink While You Work

Keep a reusable cup or bottle at your desk. When it’s empty, go refill it. If you get so caught up with work that you feel you might forget to get your water on, put a sticky note on your computer to remind you to drink up or try setting a reminder alarm on your phone or calendar.

What tricks do you have for adding more water to your diet?

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4 Comments

  1. This may sound silly, but I find that I drink more when I use water bottles that have a straw.
    I think it may just be easier for absentminded sipping with a straw, but I will look down and all of a sudden my whole bottle is empty. My favorite water bottle was a Camelbak with a pop up straw/mouth piece. (But beware with this kind of water bottle, after the rubber mouth piece gets a little old it may leak!)

  2. I drink more water at work than at home. I dislike paying .90 for a soda when they offer ice*water for free in the breakroom.

  3. I start my day with a large glass of lemon juice in water plus I have two giant mugs of green tea each morning to kickstarter my water consumption.

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