Tips & Tricks to Drink more Water | With Style and Grace

Tips & Tricks to Drinking more Water Print Recipe

For the most part, I’m very healthy, except for one big thing.

I’m not a good water drinker.

Being pregnant, it’s really important that I drink lots of water or it can make me feel nauseous. I know, I know, I have to drink even more when breastfeeding. For me, it’s a particular water glass, a straw and a lot of ice. If I have those things, I’m a little better.

When I would go to the spa, it was always easy to fill up on their “fancy” water. Although it would be wonderful to go to the spa right now, that’s just not going to happen so I’ve been making my own fancy water at home. My current favorite is this orange water. I slice up one orange, toss it into a pitcher filled with purified water and keep it in the fridge.

I make this at my apartment, my mom’s house and even at their vacation home. It gets me to drink more water and it makes me happy. Double win.

Why you should drink more:

Helps you lose or maintain your weight. Drinking water fills you up!
Keeps you more regular in the bathroom department
Your body is made up of A LOT of water and will run better if you keep it hydrated. If you don’t, you’ll probably get anything from headaches, to constipation to skin problems to exhaustion.
If you’re active, water helps keeps your joints lubricated so less likely to suffer from injury.
Awesome skin!
More energy
Better workouts
and the list goes on, but you these are the big ones that motivate me.

Tips to drink more [water]:

Find a water bottle that works for you. This is mine and I love it.
If you drink more out of a straw, buy a pack of straws.
Although it’s best to drink water at room temperature, if the only way you can drink it is with TONS of ice, then drink it with tons of ice.
Make a big pitcher of your own infusions – orange, cucumbers, lemon & lime, or berries.
Plain decaf tea, hot or iced – peppermint, camomille, black, white, etc., but without sweeteners or milk.

Entertaining Tip - serve fancy water for your next event. It’s a nice change and your guest will [hopefully] stay hydrated while they also enjoy the cocktails.

Traveling Tips:

Pack an empty water bottle in your carry-on. Fill it up at a drinking fountain or a restaurant / coffees shop.
When the beverage cart comes around, ask for a water AND drink of choice. Or just water.
Keep a cooler in the back of the car filled with several water bottles.
If a slice of orange came with your lunch, squeeze it into your water glass.

What are some of your tricks to drinking more water?

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August 27 2012

posted by With Style and Grace / filed under Beverages,Recipes / 34 Comments

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tracy

Oh man. I am SOOOO not good at drinking water. Thank you for the reminder & tips. I’m off to fill up my water bottle now!

And just wait til you start breastfeeding! The hospital gave us this big gulp-like container to take home with us and I used to drink 4 of those in one day.
Heather Disarro

i actually really love drinking water, but when i was pregnant (ESPECIALLY the first trimester) i could only drink it if it was ice cold. if it was even remotely tepid i thought i would hurl. my MIL isn’t a water lover, but she loves it whenever there’s any kind of citrus or cucumber in it!
shelly (cookies and cups)

Love these tips! I really need to be better about drinking more water.
http://heartofablonde.com Molly Rasmussen

Lisa, this is such a helpful post!

I too struggle with water consumption. I have a sweet tooth and don’t always want to drink as much water as I should. It has resulted in years of headaches for me and even a few faints from dehydration.

I’m definitely pinning this to always have these tips on hand. You’re awesome! xx
Diane

great tips, I used to have trouble keeping track of the water I drank…wondering if I had enough for the day. I used a drinking water app on my phone for a few months and that really helped me stay on track!
http://profiles.google.com/janice.lawandi Lawandi Janice

I’m like you, if there’s a straw in my water glass, I’m more likely to drink it! Haha! Great tips, Lisa!
Chrissy

Drinking a lot of water can get very boring, very quickly. Love orange in my water. Such a cute post.

adahliavolk.com
http://www.aidamollenkamp.com Aida Mollenkamp

Yay for water! I have the opposite problem and drink so much that it’s bordering on obsession. I keep an old glass milk jug next to me at all times when I’m working and work my way through 3 or 4 of them throughout the day.
http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/ JulieD

Great tips!! I actually love love the taste of water. I know some ppl say there’s no taste but when I’m on the go, I’m really bad…and get dehydrated. Thanks for these great tips!!
http://www.facebook.com/grister Geri Gilstrap Rister

Thanks for the tips! I have been making cinnamon water. I boil one cup of water and pour over two broken cinnamon sticks and let steep till the water is cool. Then I add cold water to fill the container leaving the cinnamon sticks. Many times I will pour the cinnamon water into my used plastic bottle and keep them in the fridge so I can make another batch with the SAME cinnamon sticks – I can used the sticks for about a month before I need new ones.
http://twitter.com/MyFoodThoughts Brian Samuels

Yeah, you’re pretty bad at drinking water I have been a big water drinker this summer, but I love these great tips!
http://twitter.com/alisonlewis Alison Lewis

great tips girl! I need to for sure!
http://www.facebook.com/carrie.campbellbruning Carrie Campbell Bruning

Good tips! I also have a hard time drinking water. It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that I forget….and I hate having to run to the bathroom all the time! When I was pregnant, I was diagnosed with polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid) and the doctor told me I had to drink a gallon of water a day!! It was next to impossible. Thanks for the reminder…I really need to be drinking more water
http://twitter.com/jamiethewalker Jamie Walker

I always try to keep a bottle or glass of water on my desk but sometimes plain old water just won’t do. one of my favorite “fancy water” flavors is lime with mint… sort of like a good girl’s mojito
Vicky

Wow, I SO needed this. I’m probably dehydrated as we speak! Thanks for the yummy-sounding tips!
Anonymous

Thanks for sharing this! I love my water bottle and make sure that I drink at least one whole bottle between breakfast and lunch. One between lunch and dinner. In between I have tea, warm water with lemon, and always drink water with dinner. I will have to try the orange infused water for sure!
Kristina Osborne

I’m with you. Drinking water is hard for me as well. I can go half the day and realize that I haven’t yet had any. It’s terrible and I’m working on it! I had to create a handout for patients for one of my classes in school (Naturopathic medicine) on staying hydrated. It included many of these same tips. My favourite thing to do these days is add frozen berries in the morning. They slowly release their flavour over day and keep your water cold. Plus there’s a bonus snack from time-to-time!
Aryn Ackerman

I like it with oranges, too. I have a giant coffee mug at work, and I make myself drink a full mug of water before I can eat my lunch, then I squeeze a lemon juice packet in it for lunch, then another full mug before I leave for the day. Plus I love all the money I’m saving at home by not buying soda or iced tea. My Brita water filter more than paid for itself. The only downside is that I keep forgetting to flip the arm on the ice maker, and I like lots of ice!!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies

I love infused water. I get headaches if I don’t drink enough water and like you, I really feel like I have to make myself do it. Infusing water with a little flavor definitely helps!
http://twitter.com/rachelkyle0402 Rachel Jacobs

I love squeezing a whole lemon into an 8 oz glass of water. Gives it a little zip and encourages me to drink plenty of water.
http://fooddoodles.com Heidi @ Food Doodles

Great post! I’m so lucky that the tap water where I live tastes so good, I drink it all day long.. When I remember, lol. But until I moved here I thought I hated water I know(at least where I live) you can buy large jugs of water(10 gallons I think) and refill them at a store in town to keep on your counter to drink in case your tap water isn’t very nice and that helps a lot. I definitely need to try infusing water – I even have some oranges on my counter right now. Yummy
Christine B.

Such good advice! I am definitely going to use the fruit suggestion! Thanks
http://twitter.com/DineandDish Kristen

Really great advice, Lisa. My favorite cup was actually one they sent home with me from the hospital. It was huge and had a big fat straw and was perfect for drinking lots of water quickly!
Anonymous

Finding the right bottle for you is definitely a great trick! That really made the biggest difference for me.
http://twitter.com/amandaformaro Amanda Formaro

Great ideas! I love those little Mio flavor enhancers, though I buy the generic. I always have them and drink a lot more water because of it. I also have an insulated cup with a lid and straw. Keeps the cup from sweating and I can take it with me!
http://www.facebook.com/kathleen.layton.9 Kathleen Layton

I am a caregiver, when i have a client who has this problem I give them a measured 1 cup in a glass that holds more than 1 cup so it appears that some has already been consumed. If they are TV watchers the I say,”This has to be gone by the end of the show.” If that is too overwhelming, 1 swallow a commercial. If they are readers or do hand work I set a kitchen timer. Sometimes I have to get pretty creative but they always get the job done!
http://twitter.com/FoodforMyFamily Shaina Olmanson

Love the tips. I always notice when I travel I get dehydrated because I’m simply not drinking as much as I usually do.It’s crazy how much better you feel when you’re drinking enough. (My favorite cup of the moment is the stainless steel tumbler w/ straw from Starbucks. Love it.)
Brenda @ a farmgirl’s dabbles

Great post, Lisa! I’m a firm believer in drinking water. When I went on bed rest with our first daughter, I was told to drink LOTS to keep the early contractions at bay. It really helped. And in the mean time, I learned how good it was for the rest of my body = less headaches and back aches. Yay! My latest craze is water with cucumber and mint. Can’t get enough of its refreshing coolness!
Hanananananah

I don’t have too much trouble drinking water, but I always have a box of LaCroix water on hand for when I get bored of plain water. It’s carbonated water with no sweeteners, just some nice subtle flavorings. Of course, making your own is much better! But it’s great for when you don’t have time, or when you want something carbonated.
Heidi @foodiecrush

Great tips Lisa! I drink water with tons of ice all day, but if I had my druthers I’d be drinking cucumber spa water instead. I better get on that!
http://twitter.com/JeanettesHealth Jeanette Chen

I love citrus and mint in water, although I’ve also put peaches in too. Great tips!
nestofposies

i always need a reminder of water. i like water, but i don’t drink it enough! thanks for all the tips & suggestions of what to add!
Maria

Perfect timing since I have the flu and I am dehydrated!
Kristin @ FoodFash

I’m SO good at drinking water at work and SO terrible at drinking water at home. Most nights, I never drink anything from the time I get home from work til I go to bed. I’m going to try fruit infused water to see if that helps water consumption at home. Thanks for the ideas/reminders!