I actually like drinking water. All day long, I refill my 18 oz. water bottle and I try to drink four bottles a day. I like the taste of water, so that helps. But my friend Michelle doesn’t drink enough water. She asked me for ways to drink more water and was wondering if other Drugstore Divas wanted to join her in a challenge to drink more water.

I couldn’t guarantee anyone would drink water with her, but I could guarantee that I’d update this post with ways to drink more water that my mom — who now blogs her own site, Life Of 2 Snowbirds — had written for Drugstore Divas years ago.

15 Ways To Drink More Water

Let’s talk about water first. Water is so important for our health and bodies. According to the experts, we should all be drinking at least eight 8 oz. glasses a day. Tap water is just as good as bottled water but pretty much doesn’t cost anything, so it’s very budget friendly.

So why is water so important?

Did you know that just mild dehydration can cause daytime fatigue, fuzzy short-term memory, and can cause you to have trouble with basic math? Also, when your body is dehydrated, your body rations water away from joints and without that lubrication you could experience joint, knee, and back pain — which could potentially lead to injuries and arthritis. Those are just some of the reasons why we all need to drink enough water.

Many people don’t drink enough water. My mom read that 75% of Americans have mild, chronic dehydration, and when she did, she made a conscience effort to drink more water.

Tips To Drink More Water

Michelle wrote on her cup to remind her to drink water. You can try that or some of the tips below.

1. Challenge yourself.

Label 16 oz. bottles of water with the numbers 1 through 4. Can you drink all four today? If you drink all four bottles, that’s your recommended eight glasses of water.

2. Make lemonade.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice and your choice of sweetener into a tall glass of water. If you want to save some calories, skip the sweetener and just add lemon juice into your water.

3. Drink tea and water.

Tea and coffee count towards your water intake. There was a time when the mighty “they” said tea and coffee don’t count because they’re diarrhetics, but that has been debunked.

4. Buy an infuser water bottle.

An infuser water bottle is the easiest way to make flavored water. Fill it with fruit in the center, then let it sit for a little while so the fruit will flavor the water. We have a few of our favorites at the end of this post.

5. Exercise.

Exercising makes you very thirsty. Exercising more means drinking more water. Especially when it’s hot out. If you need some help, check out our post about how to get 10,000 steps when it’s hot out.

6. Eat foods that are high in water.

You don’t have to completely drink all your water. You can get it from some of the food you eat. Foods that are high in water are lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. So add a salad to your dinner every night.

7. Immediately refill your water bottle.

As soon as you finish drinking a water bottle, immediately refill it. If you let it sit empty, you’re not drinking any more water. If you have it full, you have a chance of sipping on it.

8. Order water when you go out.

When you go out to dinner and the waiter or waitress takes your drink order, ask for a glass of water alongside whatever else you drink. Make sure to drink that glass of water before you leave the restaurant.

9. Water down your drinks.

Juice is so sweet. So when you pour yourself a glass, stop halfway. Fill the rest of the glass with water. That way, you’re cutting your calories and increasing your water intake.

10. Make seltzer.

We have a SodaStream and absolutely love it. It’s so easy to turn flat water into seltzer with the push of a button. If you don’t like plain water, seltzer is an easier way to drink water. You can add flavorings or lemon juice to the seltzer as well.

11. Drink when you want to snack.

I love snacking. If I could, I would have a snack every night. But sometimes, I’m not really hungry when I’m snacking. If you can’t tell if you’re hungry or not, drink some water before you grab a snack. You might feel full from the water and skip the snack.

12. Add ice cubes to your drinks.

If you’re drinking outside, you want to keep your drink cold. So you toss in a few ice cubes. Cool. Or — well — cold. Eventually, though, those ice cubes will warm up and melt. And that means more water for you to drink without even intending on it.

13. Eat spicy food.

I made chicken stir fry noodles the other night added a dollop of chili paste to my bowl. A very large dollop. My mouth was on fire. So I quickly grabbed my water bottle and drank every last drop of it. If you can tolerate spicy food, eat it and you’ll drink more.

14. Track your water with an app.

Sometimes, I forget if I’m on water bottle two or three of the day. There’s just too much other stuff in my brain. But, with an app, you can click a button every time you finish a bottle of water. That way, you’ll always know what bottle you’re on. And you won’t accidentally tell yourself you’re on bottle three when it’s only bottle two.

15. Get a nice water bottle.

My dad got me a Yeti 18 oz. bottle as a gift and I love it. It’s really good at keeping water really cold. And the ice in it lasts a while. I didn’t love the top that came with it because you had to completely twist it off every time you wanted a sip. That was enough to deter me. So I bought a cap with a straw made specifically for Yeti bottles. Now, all I have to do is push the straw out and sip. Ever since I bought that, I’ve been drinking double the amount of water.

Infused Water Recipes

If you don’t want to drink plain water, you might want to try one of the infused water recipes below.

• Strawberry infused water
• Fruit infused water
• Detox infused water
• Raspberry, Kiwi & Strawberry infused water

What are your tips for drinking more water? Be sure to let us know in the comments.