Drink Your Water! 5 Ways to Stay Hydrated


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Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am passionate about hydration. Back in college I learned in the same week two statistics that put together are very startling:

1) Americans have the greatest access to clean drinking water

2) 75 % of Americans are chronically dehydrated

When I heard these two stats together it really convicted me that in a sense I am dishonoring those who would drink the water if they had access by not drinking when I do have access. So while we still need to fund projects like Charity Water and work hard to increase the global access to clean drinking water, we can start by just making sure we ourselves are staying hydrated. In case you need any more convincing here’s a great list of all the ways being chronically dehydrated makes your life suck.

So now that you’re on board with the whole “we should stay hydrated” idea here are:

5 Ways to Stay Hydrated

Drink Enough Water: 

I know, duh, right? But to drink enough we need to know how much our bodies need. One way to calculate how many ounces of water you should drink a day is to take your weight in pounds and divide by 2, the number you get is the number of ounces you should drink a day. For example: someone weighs 130lbs / 2 = 65. So that person should drink about 65 ounces of water a day.

Get a Water Bottle:

You are much more likely to drink water if you carry it with you. Get a good reusable bottle that has the ounces marked on it and is BPA free. My favorite is a 32oz Nalgene bottle.

Set Reminders: 

Even if you are carrying a nalgene full of water around all day, it can be easy to forget to actually drink any water. I love the app Gallon a Day because it reminds me a few times an hour to drink more water. The free version will give you basic reminders and let you track how much you’re drinking.

Buddy System: 

Find a friend that wants to focus on drinking more water too and start a friendly competition. Who can hit their goal the most days in a row?

Flavor It:

If you can’t handle the taste of straight water, try adding some fruit pieces like citrus, strawberries, or cucumber (I know, not a fruit). While there are commercial options out there to flavor your water, sticking with the natural options is usually best to avoid added calories and sugar. You might be thinking, “I drink flavored water every morning…coffee flavored.” The problem with coffee though is that it is a diuretic, meaning that it actually tells your body to dump water leaving you more dehydrated.

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