What do you, the trees, and every animal have in common? We all drink and require water to survive! One of my most important health goals this year is to simply drink more water! I honestly believe this is the number one step to better health and wholeness. It is the most practical and frugal step we can both take this year to better health. Without water, our bodies will die in a matter of a few days. Water makes up more than half of our bodies. Water is necessary for every part of our bodies to function properly.
Why drink more water? It…
- Increases your energy. Adults lose as much as 10 cups of fluid each day through sweating, exhauling, urination, and bowel movements. Water provides more oxygen which is necessary to burn fat and allow your body and brain to function at their fullest potential.
- Sustains healthy skin. Did you know that water is the single most important element for cellular health? Water moistures your skin inside and out, so the more you drink, the less likely you will have problems with dry skin.
- Regulates the body’s temperature by allowing you to sweat. Water regulates the body’s cooling system.
- Elminates toxins. Water is essential for your digestive tract to function properly. Water helps get rid of excess nitrogen, urea and ketones.
- Moves nutrients and other substance throughout the body. Water is essential for proper digestion, nutrient absorption and chemical reactions. The carbohydrates and proteins that our bodies use as food are metabolized and transported by water in the bloodstream.
- Helps assist in weight loss and balance. Dehydration decreases protein synthesis, the task of building muscle. With water, fat gets burned and converted to energy. Without its presence, fat increases.
- Reduce Your Risk of Disease and Infection. Body cells deteriorate when they are not hydrated and will be susceptible to attack from various diseases: heart disease for one. These cells will try to draw water from other places like heart, which will then have to work harder to pump blood causing additional problems.
• Get Well: Water helps restore the body. It can help control a fever, replace lost fluids and thin out mucus.
How much water?
To determine your specific recommended water intake, divide your weight (in pounds) by two. The resulting number is the number of ounces of water you need each day. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs., try to drink 75 ounces of water daily.
In order to form the habit of drinking more water, it is important that you start small. Don’t try to drink 75 ounces the first day! Start by tracking your current consumption and add 8 more ounces each day or so. I regularly drink at least 28 oz a day (which is one water bottle full), but my next step is to bump that up to two water bottles. I will fill my water bottle up in the morning. My goal will be to complete that bottle by noon before proceeding onto the next bottle.
If you need further help, check out the water calculator. The water calculator will also help take into account if you are pregnant, nursing, sick, elevation, etc.
How to drink more water?
– Designate and label a special water bottle for your personal use. Fill it up first thing in the morning. Make it one of your most important tasks to begin the day. Try to keep the bottle with you wherever you go. If you are at home most of the day, you might want multiple bottles to place in different rooms.
– Set a timer to go off every 30 minutes. When the timer rings, drink a glass of water.
– Add lemons to your water to improve the taste, if desired.
– Drink quality herbal teas to increase your fluids.
How to get the kiddos to drink more water?
Children need water to function properly as well. They are more prone to ignore the thirsty signs especially when they are in focused play, resulting in dehydration, headaches, pain and fatigue. Watch out for juices and sodas though. They may add fluids, but they also add sugars that decrease the health of their bodies.
Encourage the kiddos to drink more by:
- Providing them with a special water bottle of their own. Karis has a special green sippy cup that she loves.
- Allowing them to keep the special cup with them in bed or in the car.
- Adding Emergen-C or other special healthy supplement powder to their water. We add Emergen-C to Karis’ water and she calls it her “juice”. Helps increase her vitamin intake as well.
- Set the example! The more water my children see me drinking and enjoying, the more they will desire it as well. Every time I take a drink, I offer my kids a drink. They need reminders and normally drink just fine.
A final caution…
Drink Little With Your Food.
According to nutritionist Lori Lipinski, “…Simply drinking too much water with your meals can affect your ability to properly breakdown your food. Drinking too much liquid with meals dilutes the concentration of hydrochloric acid and enzymes needed for proper digestion. So to get the most out of the foods you eat, it is best to avoid drinking lots of liquids 20-30 minutes before and after your meals.”
My water bottles are filled and now I am off to drink them! Care to join me and keep me accountable? Do you have any tips to share for increasing your water intake?
my dad is a massage therapist and he can really relieve minor pains and injuries ~;,
Lindsay,
I have spent the whole afternoon reading your blog, and what an enjoyable afternoon it has been–I’ve learned some new things, as well as found myself nodding in agreement at a lot of things. Have you heard of the book, Your Body’s Many Cries for water? It is an excellent (albeit somewhat difficult) read about an in-depth look at the many benefits of water. http://www.watercure.com is the author’s website. I personally have incorporated adding sea salt to my water, and, as I have suffered from orthostatic hypotension from time to time, have seen a dramatic decrease in dizzy episodes when standing. My husband now knows to drink more water before asking me for a massage when his back is stiff and sore (I’m a massage therapist). I look forward to reading more of your blog!
I have discovered that what I love in the winter is “hot liquid” this can be coffee or tea or water it is just the heat that I love. So, I drink lots and lots of hot water. Straight up, nothing added. I sometimes drink a cup of tea first thing in the am, but not always. So if you are addicted to coffee or tea, try the water and see if it is enough.
I love your blog\website! You have so much helpful information, thank you so much for sharing it! I have really bad acne, ( typical teenager I guess) and was wondering if you knew of anything that might help cure it? I don’t drink nearly the water I should every day, but I’m going to start now! Nothing like a new year to get you motivated!
~Joey
I have heard that an apple cider vinegar wash is very effective for acne cure.
Great post! I am a big fan of water! I fill a 2 litre jug each day and try to make sure I empty it. Usually I end up drinking all that and more. I often forget to offer my eight month old baby water though, so it was good to be reminded of the need to do that.
Thanks for the great post! I recently realized how much less water I drink right now since my son broke the only straw that works with my cup. grrr.
I should go find a new one now! Or maybe a new bottle for myself. And I’d love to get him a bottle as well – though he usually drinks enough sneaking water from the fridge all the time!
*stumbled!
I really appreciate this post! I tried the timer tip yesterday and it worked great…except I was running to the bathroom all the time!
Great post…I had never heard of the calculation for the amount to drink before, great resource! I will be back to see how its going, thanks, Kim
i apologize if you have already addressed this…do you have a water filter/system that you recommend? thanks. brooke.
We had a discussion on that topic here.
I’ve been doing terrible at this. I’m sure there is more coffee in my body than anything else. And with chronic eczema, that’s not good. So you inspired me to get out my quart size Nalgene (which usually only travels with me in the summer) and keep it filled up on the counter. Maybe I’ll get rid of the sandpaper skin.
I’m consistent about drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day (using your method…a pitcher in the morning and one in the afternoon and evening), imagine my surprise that the calculator said I should be drinking 4-6 MORE glasses a day. I guess 135lbs., nursing (2) and pregnant makes more of a difference than I thought! Yikes! I need to add an entire PITCHER! And here I thought I was on top of my water consumption.
Again, great post! I never knew that drinking a lot of water during meals was not the greatest idea.
I study classical voice in college and am aiming for a career in opera. Hydration is key to any singer in helping to keep the voice in good shape. After years of auditions and performances, I’ve discovered a few things about keeping myself hydrated:
1. What you do the day before really matters. If I have a performance on Wednesday night, I need to drink plenty of water on Tuesday, and maybe not as much on Wednesday. I don’t have any science to back that up, but that’s just what I’ve found.
2. I seem to be better hydrated when I drink small amounts of water over long periods of time, rather than large amounts all at once. This seems to cut down on the bloated feeling after drinking large amounts of water (or any liquid), and I’m not running to the bathroom as much.
3. Humidifiers are a wonderful thing! I try to keep one running at night to moisten the air and keep my throat from getting dry.
As I said before, these are just my observations, and have no scientific basis. But they seem to work for me. Happy hydrating!
Thank you so much for posting information about water. I was going to study the benefits of water this month, but you did all the work for me! I love your blog. It is so refreshing and encourages and motivates me to be a better wife and mother.
My husband and I just started a 2 week Candida Cleanse kit. It requires quite a bit of water in between meals, and like you said, it suggests avoiding drinking water during meals. Followed by the cleanse, we will still be on a pretty strict diet for a few months until my husband feels healthy again and free of his Candida infection. We add lemon to our water every once in a while just to give it a little flavor. It’s highly suggested in the Candida research I’ve done.
Anyway, wish us luck. I can’t wait until we can eat some buckwheat pancakes with simmered berries!! Yummmmm!!!! I’m hungry, can you tell? =)
I agree with Emily, cucumbers are so refreshing in water! I like my water super cold, so I love having a fridge with water & ice in the door. If you’re tired of plain water, you can stick just about any fruit in a pitcher of ice water. The fruit-infused flavor is really refreshing and a good wake-me-up. Although I usually forget to do it! I especially like orange-infused water.
Thanks for the details about too much liquid at mealtime. I really like to drink a lot at meals and I’ve only heard vague murmurs about that being unhealthy.
Thanks for the reminder. Being pregnant I especially need to be drinking enough water. My kids both have that Nalgene Tritan (green and blue) and have picked out a purple one for the new baby-they felt it was important she had one to match them. Keep the good tips coming!
This is one of my goals too. Thanks so much for the great info!! I LOVE water, but at the end of the year with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays I migrated back to ginger ale. Soda…my weakness (; It’s sad to say, but I can down a 2 liter of it in no time flat! But with the new year a new focus begins.
I couldn’t agree with you more! I’ve been striving to increase my water intake as well this year and boy, have I felt it!!!! Even as conscious as I am, however, I still don’t make my goal. Thanks for the accountability! I love the idea of setting a timer!
I also like to add a pinch of sea salt to my water. I find the added electrolytes and trace minerals to be very helpful to me!
Keep up the great encouragement!
Carrie@Organic and Thrifty
My friends and I all have camelbacks from Dick’s sporting goods. They range in size and are like adult sippy cups. You bite the straw to get the water out. It makes drinking really fun!
This is something ive been trying to do forever. Ive been doing better lately, but know I know its best not to drink fluids with meals.
Also, I see the link you provided for the green sippy cup is one that is made out the nalgene plastic. When I was in school we once had a lecture from some scientists that had been doing some studies on the effects of this plastic to our bodies. Their research, as far as I know, is still unofficial…but they were finding that when the plastic began to flake away (most of the time this is caused by rough dishing detergents) it can cause (well at least in mice) infertility and chromosome deformities. Scary stuff. Make sure to throw them away as soon as you see flaking! Although you probably already know that.
Those concerns regarding Naglene are in regards to the plastic BPA #7. That is why I chose this new BPA free version.
Oh, didnt know that! Thanks for the info.
Hi Lindsay – great post, water is so important! I have been struggling lately to drink enough every day. I think we all go through spells where we are more diligent and then we become more conscious of the fact that we need to drink more. Something I started doing a couple of months ago that has helped me to drink more water is that I add unsweetened, organic cranberry juice to my water. I try to fill up two 32 ounce glass bottles each day – which would equal 64 ounces, and add to each bottle 4 ounces of the cranberry (which totals 8 ounces to the 64 of water). I also add, when I remember to buy lemons, the juice of at least half a lemon both bottles. Sometimes I add some Stevia for a bit of sweetness, but I usually drink it straight. Since our water is reverse-osmosis purified water, we don’t have any minerals (we can’t afford mineral water right now).
The cranberry juice and lemons have a lot of nutrients and trace minerals that are so important to our bodies. And I find that I crave the juice more than just the plain water, and end up drinking more of it than I would without, which makes me think there is definitely something in the water-cranberry-lemon that my body needs.
A couple of months ago I did some detoxing (and I’ll be doing some more now that it is the new year). One of the detoxes I did is from Ann Louise Gittleman’s book The Fast Track One-Day Diet. Now, I didn’t do this diet to lose weight, and it is really more of a whole foods, nutritional way of eating than a “diet”. I don’t ever go on diets and eat mostly traditional foods; this was just a really good way to concentrate getting more nutrition into my daily meals in an 11-day period to clean things out.
On this plan, she suggests a one-day fast – which I did – but the home made juice she recommends to drink during the fast has cranberry juice and lemon juice in it. I have read in many places how beneficial and naturally detoxifying these juices are and that they can and should be included in our everyday regimens and diets.
So I would encourage anyone to try doing this and see if it doesn’t increase your desire to drink more water, or even cause you to crave it – which could mean you are lacking something that you need too! I know that when I stick to my cranberry/lemon in water I feel great! Thanks Lindsay!
Water is indeed a wonderful thing for our bodies!! I currently have laryngitis (ugh!) and I am drinking tonnes of water to stay hydrated. Thanks for brining awareness about water!
Drinking water only, even though not nearly as much as my body weight require, has significantly helped my acne. Personally, I don’t have time for putting lemons in my water, but I did discover that if I add 1 small capful of the organic apple concentrate I get at my local health food store to my 28 oz. bottle it makes it more palatable even when it’s not icy cold.
Water is definitely a missing piece of the health puzzle, but I think putting too much emphasis on drinking water takes the focus away from what’s really important: nourishing food. Many real food experts are now saying that water is overdone, that the 8-glasses-a-day isn’t necessarily for everyone. Too much water drains our bodies of valuable minerals and electrolytes, and puts a strain on the kidneys.
I also disagree on the point about water being the single most important element for healthy skin. In a way it’s true, but saturated fat is actually what ushers the water into the cells of your skin – without plenty of saturated fat the water alone can’t do much. (I learned that tidbit from Eat Fat, Lose Fat.)
Don’t get me wrong, I think drinking enough water is vital, especially when you’re very active, pregnant or nursing. I just think “enough” can be less than the mainstream media promotes.
Thanks for the great info! I am quite a water drinker. In fact, there is little else that I drink. When I was in massage therapy school, we were taught a trick to get clients to drink water right after a session: Use a straw!!! Sounds simple enough but the body takes in more water each time you drink with a straw than when you just sip!! Its also a great way to get kids to drink more too – especially because they think straws are so much fun.
Thanks again.
Great post! This is one of my goals for 2010; to drink more water. My children love water and I do too. I just choose to drink soda, and I do not want my children to drink it. So I have stopped buying myself soda and have bought a stainless steel water bottle and choosing water over anything else. Water has so many benefits!
GREAT post! I find it easiest to get enough water when I’m nursing a baby – keep a water bottle near the chair where you sit down to nurse. I read somewhere that if people would drink a glass of water instead of grabbing a snack, they’d be a lot healthier.
good info- thanks!
we love drinking our water BUT I hav noticed my container can affect how easy it is to drink. I prefer small mouth water bottles over large mouth ones. But large mouth cups over small ones. interesting huh?
so if anyone is finding it difficult to swallow the water or getting full too quickly, try a different shaped container.
Lindsay,
This is actually about some of your posts about insomnia. I do remember after my third baby was born, after she was about 6 months old, I hit a period of not being able to sleep. Except for me, I’d just wake up really early, 4-5am. Unfortunately I kept that up for awhile, but used it to my advantage by getting things done.
However, if I were not able to sleep at all, what I would do is find all the verses in the Bible pertaining to sleep and rest, such as “…[For] so He gives His beloved sleep. “Psalm 127:2 or “…Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. ” Proverbs 3:24. Then I would read them aloud throughout the day, and hide them in my heart. If at night time, sleep wasn’t coming, I’d remind the devil that God gives me sleep and rest and peace, and he can’t plague me with sleepless nights anymore and quote the verses to him. After awhile, he’ll go away, and sleep will come.
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ” James 4:7
Anyways, this came to me a few days ago, and the Holy Spirit kept reminding me to write to you, so, I hope it helps in some way.
God bless,
Jessica
Lindsay – Can I tell you what an encouragement you have been for these past few posts? It seems our goals for healthy living are lining up nicely and even though I don’t “know” you, it is encouraging to know that someone else is striving while I strive to meet goals that I find daunting at times.
Thank you!
Marjorie
This also is something that I am working on. I fill my jug up in the morning and drink throughout the day, filling up when necessary. It also helps my son drink more water as he likes to drink from Mommy’s jug. I have been doing this for a few weeks and am almost to my needed water intake, but just need to be more consistent. There are days when I don’t even get close to how much water I need.
I never gave water a thought growing up, and drank mostly juice and koolaid my entire life. When I was a teenager I started to develop serious bladder infections, and once, a life threatening kidney infection. After many intrusive doctor and specialist appointments, nothing was found to be wrong with my system, other than that I was completely dehydrated, all the time. I now drink at least one water bottle (24oz bottle from Target) at work a day and haven’t had an infection in months. As soon as I go a few days where I pick a soda or juice over my daily water, I start to feel symptoms of a UTI. Recently I’ve also started to try to get two bottles down (48oz), which still doesn’t meet the typical 8 glass requirement (64oz), but is so much better for you than none at all. Don’t believe it when people tell you that you can get your water from the foods you eat. You need to drink it to continuously flush your system of all it’s toxins. When you feel that your lips are dry, you’re dehydrated-drink water!
I don’t know why but I do not like the way water tastes. I try drinking it and it tastes awful to me. I am currently expecting our 8th baby and am still a little nauseous and so nothing tastes right. I am not enjoying drinking anything right now except cold cold water.:) I drink a few glasses during the day and one glass during the night. I am going to try keep up the water drinking once I feel better. I normally just drink herbal tea. My kids drink a lot more water since we put our Brita water filter on the counter and keep it full. They are now constantly filling it and drinking a few glasses a day each without any prompting.
We don’t drink tap water, period. We drink the brand “smart” water.
I need to drink more water I drink at least 2 glasses a day (Thanks to ice/water in the door of the fridge) I just fill up quickly! As far as my daughter that is all she drinks in her sippy cups. She doesn’t get any juice/soda. And she refuses to drink milk (she still nurses 2x a day though) That was one thing I was adamant about was that I didn’t want her to require juice in her sippy always. Too many kids I know will only drink if there is a little juice in there too.
I’m working on my water intake this week, too! I drank 2 1/2 qts yesterday – hooray! I feel so much better when I drink enough.
I love your blog – thanks for keeping up the informative and inspirational posts!
I place a small glass of water(8oz)on my night stand before bed, and drink the entire glass first thing. I also drink the same amount before bed, it creates my own “alarm clock” lol
I love your thoughts about water! I love drinking water, but I have had some people tell me that they can’t drink a lot of water, or they will have to pee all the time! It’s true, at first, but your body adjusts to your fluid intake, and starts using all that fluid to replenish your water. I’ve heard that about 80% of us walk around dehydrated, because by the time time we actually feel thirsty we are beyond dehydration, we need to be proactive about “feeding” our bodies water. One other thing I’ve heard is that if you do add lemon to your water, make sure to drink it with a straw, as the acid in the lemon can destroy the enamel on your teeth. Anyway, thanks for posting this, blessings to you!!!
Lindsey,
I have a new discovery which I LOVE <3! I cut up cucumbers and put it in my water jug in the fridge…it leaves a slight cuc taste but turns your water into a very enjoyable, fresh tasting drink! I drink more water because I enjoy the taste more now…and its not so sour as lemon!
Hope you can try it and enjoy!
God Bless!
-Emily
great and informative post! I also love reaping teh benefits of drinking more water, and I let our son (2 1/2) always have a full water sippy cup with him in bed–in the morning it is always completely empty!
I never knew the little bit about NOT drinking a lot with meals. Whenever we go out to eat, I always notice that I drink a LOT of water, (and they have big glasses, too, at resturaunts!) probably close to 3 full, huge glasses. I will now remember not to!
Sarah M
oh my goodness! I just went to that site and found out I need to be drinking 125 oz a day based on all my info! That is SO much!! haha!
Sarah M