Water

How much water should you drink? We've been discussing water drinking on our email discussion list. Some of the subscribers want to drink more than they currently do, and someone asked me recently just how much water he should drink in a day.

I've read conflicting advice about water drinking, some saying that the water in the food one eats is sufficient unless the weather is hot or you are doing strenuous work or play. Others say that water is a key piece of improving fitness, particularly for people who are carrying a lot of extra fat around during their day.

Some water advice is presented as standard for everyone: eight 8 ounce cups of water per day. Other advice is specific to body size, as in, one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.

I like a lot of water, come from a farm family that worked outdoors. Drinking plenty lot of water was impressed upon me from childhood. I've always drunk water with my meals, plain, without ice.

But, for many people, ironically, water isn't a natural thing to drink. They drink soft drinks, or tea or coffee with their meals, always have. Drinking water as plain water is a new thing for them, and it's easy for them to forget to do it.

Water Drinking Tips

1. Link drinking water to some other repetitive activity. For example, each time you use the bathroom drink water afterward.

2. Put small magnets on one side of the front of your refrigerator door or on some other metal object in the kitchen, one for each glass of water you wish to drink in a day. Each time you drink a glass of water move one of the magnets to the other side of the refrigerator door.

3. Place coins or bottle caps, beans, raisins, etc., one for each glass of water you intend to drink, in a particular location, maybe the kitchen counter, and move one of the items to another location each time you drink a glass of water.

4. Drink a glass of water on arising in the morning, and each time you eat.

5. Place a pitcher or jar full of the day's water ration in the fridge or on your desk and sip it throughout the day.

6. If it's difficult for you to drink a whole glassful at a time do any of the above, and begin with a half glass of water for the first week, and each succeeding week add a bit more water to the glass until you are drinking a full glass each time.

For more about the benefits of drinking water, plus 20 tips for how to drink it all, click here.

More here.

Comments

[Janice]

I managed my water both yesterday and today (5 glasses - I'm building up to 8) by using a derivative of one of Pat's suggestions.

I created a little model tower with 8 bricks on a base from my son's Lego blocks and I moved the blocks one by one to change the position of the tower when I had a drink of water. (Simple thing - anyway it looks cheerful sitting on my laptop - along with a little lego man to cheer me up with a smile on his face)

Janice