Are You Drinking Enough Water? These Two Easy Tips Keep Me Hydrated Every Day. - Greenopedia
Ditch the Toxins Fitness Wellness
Most of us could stand to drink more water each day. Staying hydrated is key to keeping our bodies happy and healthy. But let’s face it, life gets busy and we forget to drink enough. Forget to hydrate consistently and we can end up with headaches, dry skin, constant fatigue, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, kidney stones, and more.
Luckily that’s easy to turn around. By simply rehydrating your body, you can help to alleviate and prevent all of the above. After that, we just need to drink enough water each day to stay hydrated.
Ha! Easier said than done, right? I thought so too until…
Two solutions that I found invaluable
Features you’ll want in a water tracking app
Two water tracking apps I like
A water tracking app: Our weight and daily activity determine how much water we need each day. I’ve set my personal daily goal to 64oz, plus I try to add another 8 to 16 oz, if I workout and/or use the sauna at the gym. I love that my screen fills with liquid each time I add a drink. It’s crazy how this simple visual can drive me to achieve my daily goal! And the popup reminders throughout the day are incredibly helpful for keeping me on track.
Water bottles with 16oz measuring lines: For some reason, those little measuring lines have made all the difference. I bought a 6-pack of glass bottles because I’m prone to breaking them. 😌But they also sell silicone sleeves to protect the bottles for klutzes like me. (You can see the lines well enough through the silicone if you position it just right.)
Also read: Filtered Water From Your Tap is Healthier Than Most Bottled Water. Here’s Why… Plus a Quick Comparison of Popular Water Filters.
With these two simple, inexpensive solutions, I’ve found that not only do I consistently drink at least 95% of my water goal each day, I often exceed 100%. Before this, I used to drink maybe 1 glass of water each day — plus about a million cups of highly caffeinated black tea — so this has been amazing for me. And the difference in the way I feel after changing my hydration habits… man, it’s like night and day.
18oz Water Bottles with Measuring Lines (6pk)
Silicone Bottle Sleeves (6pk)
With a quick search of the app store, you’ll find there are tons of free and inexpensive downloads that can help you stay hydrated. At a minimum, here’s what you’ll want your app to do:
Allow you to set your own daily goal
Have reminders pop up throughout the day
Use simple visuals to track your daily intake
Allow you to track other liquids beyond water
I played around with a ton of different apps before I found one that did exactly what I needed it to. One of the reasons it took me so long was that a lot of the apps were overloaded with extra features that I just didn’t find helpful. Those extra features either created visual clutter that I found distracting or it made me click too many things just to log a simple drink.
In the end, I found that the simpler and cleaner the app, the more I tended to use it. You can search Google Play or Apple’s App store for “water reminder apps” or try one of the two I listed below. Both have the minimum features for tracking water intake and both have maintained top ratings, even after thousands of reviews.
Water Drink Reminder by Leap Fitness Group (Android only): I’m bummed this one is Android only, as it looks great and I would have loved to try it. (Check it out.)
My Water by Viktor Sharov (iPhone and Android): This is the one I use — and they’re the screenshots above. The free version lets you track water, coffee, and tea. I used it for ages before paying for the full version. For only $4.99 (one time cost) the paid version removes the occasional ads at the bottom and graphs your progress over time (not just for that day). It also lets you track about 30+ more drinks including coconut water, broth, juice, wine, kombucha, and more. (Check it out.)
Stay hydrated, my friend. Stay hydrated.
A water tracking app and a simple water bottle with measurement lines… after all these years of struggling to drink enough water, who’d of thunk this one-two combo would do the trick! There’s almost nothing more important for our health than to drink enough water. So if this is as much a challenge for you as it was for me, try a water tracking app and see how it goes. And don’t forget to pass the tip onto any friend and family you think could use it!
Previous ArticleWhich Water Filtration System Is Best For Your Home? (Easy Comparison)
Next Article Counting Calories? Focus on Quality Over Quantity with Nutrient-Rich Foods